I have a 10 plate Freelander 2 (with stop / start). Every 4 - 6 weeks I get a 'HDC Fault' message and the car won't start - I just get a clicking noise.

I have left the car and returned an hour or so later and the car has worked. This week, the car just wouldn't start even after an hour waiting, and I had both the AA and Landrover tech out to look at it (it's still under warranty). The solution to get me back on the road seemed to be to reset the battery.

The car went into Guy Salmon Landrover Bristol, a few months ago. They replaced some electronic parts, and told me that they could not see any error fault reported (backed up the Landrover tech, btw) and the next time it happened to get the AA to tow it to the garage in the failed state so they could work out what was wrong.

When the car went wrong this week, I found out that in no circumstances would Land Rover agree to the car being towed in. I eventually ended up speaking to the Customer Care team (very responsive when you contact them via Twitter), who has promised to tow the car in, if it happens again.

Guy Salmon tell me that they have replaced the start button. But, I have little confidence that they know what the problem actually is, as a result expect the fault to re-present shortly.

Has anyone else any thought on what the problem might be, or having the same problem themselves?

My patience is wearing very thin. Can this be a common problem or am I very unlucky?

Thanks in advance.

I often get an 'HDC fault' message on starting on very cold mornings but it disappears quickly, and it's never failed to start.

There is a thread running somewhere hereabouts that suggests the error message is provoked by the extra demand placed on the electric system on cold mornings, but I don't recall anyone else failing to start completely, as in your case.

Interesting how suppliers/manufacturers respond to twitter etc isn't it? Would they have responded so quickly if your complaint wasn't already shared with 25,000 people?

I suspect the HDC Fault message may be a symptom rather than the cause - HDC faults wouldn't usually prevent the car from starting aiui.

Which leaves us with the clicking noise. More information on that, please. Can you tell roughly where it's coming from? Does it sound mechanical (e.g. solenoid or starter motor problems) or something to do with the electronics?

A car like the FL2 is controlled by several computers all communicating over a couple of local area networks, and as an IT techie I know how hard it can be to debug problems in something like that when one can't reproduce them. Hence the dealer trying to get at it in the failed state. I wouldn't be too hard on Guy Salmon - with the car working again by the time they see it, and no error reports to guide them, they're working blind!

Thanks for the advice chaps.

The clicking noise seems to be coming from behind the dashboard, if that helps.

The no start problems have persisted in the summer. The cold weather could be a factor, but things like the heated seats / windows dont get turned on until the car has started.

I have some sympathy for Guy Salmon, as you say they are working blind.

Twitter is a really effective way of getting manufacturers attention. They have people whose responsibility it is to monitor and act upon open comments in social media. You'll be surprised how quickly you get a response.

The Start Control Unit is in the dash - it's where the key docks. This is presumably what the dealer means when he says he's replaced the start button? In which case there's a good chance that was the cause of the problem. Fingers crossed!

....or it is simple matter of the battery on it's way out. John
07 HSE Narvick Black
Land Rover Series One
Triumph Rocket 111 (sadly gone!)

HDC fault is triggered by a battery voltage drop , so when a heavy demand is on the battery, or its not top notch then HDC disabled appears during start up !

In my case eventually a cause was found and it was a corroded earth strap ( internally ) from the battery to the bulkhead.

You cant see its corroded as its wrapped and shrunk wrapped at the ends so it looked perfect until they cut the plastic shielding off & it was thick green. It was thought this was caused by flux not burning off during the manufacturing process.

Hopefully yours is just the battery but if you have a slight technical ability and a volt meter, set the meter to 12 volts and clamp one terminal to the engine block and the other end to the negative battery terminal and get someone to start vehicle when very cold. If you get more than 0.3 volts you have a bad earth. The reading will only appear whilst cranking ! If you get over 1 volt then you have a bad earth !

Agree with oldgeezer

looks like battery or ground issue. Perform the voltage drop test as oldgezer described above.The 0.3 Volts difference should be used for lower current circuits such as headlights etc. For voltage drop during cranking use 1V value as a treshold.If no problem is found repeat the test at starter motor terminal (the thick one) and battery positive.

BTW : this voltage drop test is very easy but powerfull method to sort out a lot of electric issues - remember it and you can use it to test any electric circuit

Yeah i had over 3.5 volts on cranking across the earth !

When i measured battery voltage at cranking it was dropping below 7.2 volts !

The 2 landrover dealers never found it in 18 months of lazy starting and HDC disabled appearing on cold start ups !and the wipers doing a single sweep on start up ! real random and a pain in the arris

If you have access to a scope even better, by the way a digital meter isn't much use, an old analogue is best for this type of test.

oldgeezer wrote:

Yeah i had over 3.5 volts on cranking across the earth !

When i measured battery voltage at cranking it was dropping below 7.2 volts !

The 2 landrover dealers never found it in 18 months of lazy starting and HDC disabled appearing on cold start ups !and the wipers doing a single sweep on start up ! real random and a pain in the arris

If you have access to a scope even better, by the way a digital meter isn't much use, an old analogue is best for this type of test.

If you have the test meter set to read volts, you are not testing continuity, you are testing for a voltage differential from one end of the earth strap to the other. This differential would be caused by a poor connection through the earth strap, creating a resistance.

The voltage drop is proportional to the current passing through the strap, and the resistance in it. So the worse condition the strap is in, the higher the voltage drop.

The formula is V = I X R where V = volts, I = current in Amps, and R = resistance in Ohms.

Hope that helps.


Pete

Pete The Biker wrote:

If you have the test meter set to read volts, you are not testing continuity, you are testing for a voltage differential from one end of the earth strap to the other. This differential would be caused by a poor connection through the earth strap, creating a resistance.

The voltage drop is proportional to the current passing through the strap, and the resistance in it. So the worse condition the strap is in, the higher the voltage drop.

The formula is V = I X R where V = volts, I = current in Amps, and R = resistance in Ohms.

Hope that helps.


Pete

Boycey, You are right in thinking if you put the probes across negative battery post and the other to engine block you SHOULDN'T get a voltage reading and if you don't then all is good

But if you do get a voltage reading it is telling you that there is a differential between the two, and the engine block , bodywork and negative battery post is not at the same potential which should be 0 volts. Therefore there is a resistance somewhere within an earth strap, an earth connection or there should be a strap where there isn't one.

EYorkshire wrote:

Boycey, You are right in thinking if you put the probes across negative battery post and the other to engine block you SHOULDN'T get a voltage reading and if you don't then all is good

But if you do get a voltage reading it is telling you that there is a differential between the two, and the engine block , bodywork and negative battery post is not at the same potential which should be 0 volts. Therefore there is a resistance somewhere within an earth strap, an earth connection or there should be a strap where there isn't one.

Ah!!

The coconut goes to 'E' Yorkshire.

NOW I understand. Thanks very much .

A day wasted if you don't learn anything, so delighted to pick up tips here.

but you need to watch the needle for voltage when the starter engages so you need someone alse crancking it and it needs to be cold and left overnight before you try it