Hi there,

New to the forum and wondered if someone may be able to assist?

Just brought a 2010 td4 hse auto, everything seemed really good but after a week of use it has developed a fault and won't start intermittently.

This first happened on a very cold morning which was the first frost we'd had since owning the car, but now the fault happens at anytime, regardless of whether the car is hot or cold.

Basically when I put the fob in and press the start button everything lights up as it should with no faults on the dash and you can hear all the normal noises while it wakes up.
I then step on the break and hit the start button and nothing happens other than hearing a single click.
I can repeat this process for between 2 and 20 times and then it will just randomly start.
Sometimes it does slightly struggle to start but generally it's pretty good.

I had the battery tested and the guy said it was showing more amps than the battery was rated to, but he didn't really fill me with confidence.

The issue happens with both key fobs.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

Lee

single click ,if its fairly loud,sounds like the starter motor, if you bash the starter with a nice long bar it may burst into life and that will obviously confirm it.

I would still suspect battery.
You do not mention your usage of the FL2 since you bought it. - have you an old battery which had been charged before you bought it?

That not to say that the poor battery has highlighted your weakest link - the starter system.

Have you read any codes? FL2 XS SD4 Auto 2010 2012-2017 (21k - 91k miles) (MY2011)
FL2 Metropolis SD4 Auto 2014 2017- (16k - 77k+ miles) (MY2015)
Metro in its 11th Year of (Extended) LR Warranty / Full LR Service History
(Expensive, but Trouble/Worry free - hopefully?)

Hi and thanks for replying.

I wouldn't say it was a loud click, it's more like an electrical click, perhaps a relay or something.

I have used the car pretty solidly since having it and done several long journeys in it 100m round trips without issue.

I haven't taken it anywhere to get the codes read yet and don't have a code reader myself.

Do you think it is worth getting a new battery to illuminate it or start with getting the codes read?

I did notice that the mileage trip resets itself after the fault as well, which was a bit odd.

Thanks

Have you checked the cabling going to the starter motor and the earth returns for corrosion and loose connection. Now at the point when I learn something new something old is lost out the other side !
Now retired so it doesn't matter anymore.
Freelander now gone.

Hi gasman,

Is it easily accessible or will I need to strip things out to get to it?

I've not had a chance to have a good look at it yet. Although I'm no mechanic.....

Thank you

Lee

Sounds like the starter motor. Two options, the starter should have a solenoid built into it, think of it as a big relay, small wire energises the coil and big contacts come together. These contacts wear away / burn away over time, towards the end they become intermittent, so you can hear the coil energise, the contacts move but they don't always meet.

The other option is the carbon brushes in the motor wear away over time, towards the end of their life they are so short that the curved springs shoving them down not longer exert enough force that they touch the rotating armature.

A good wallop will shock either into making contact - but this is a get you home policy.

Yes it could be the battery, but you should have heard it turning over slower and slower the previous few days. Tangiers Orange - gone, missing her
Replaced by Ewok what a mistake - now a happy Disco Sport owner

Thanks Andy I'll give that a try tomorrow.

I have noticed the electric windows running a bit slow which could point to the battery as well. But could the battery test still test good? Although the guy at Halfords said it was over on amps?

I know Halfords are generally useless......

If the battery is more than 4 years old, then it's past its best.

However your issue could be the starter solenoid contactor as suggested, which is a common failure on many cars, including the Freelander 2.
Thankfully it's a cheap repair, with a replacement contactor set costing less than £20, and a total of maybe 2 hours to install it. Hyundai Ioniq 5 Ultimate. The family car.
2009 Rimini Red SE TD4. Gone.
2006 Tonga Green i6 HSE. Gone.
Audi A5 convertible, my daily driver.
1972 Hillman Avenger GT, the project.

This is a new one on me......

Just had the codes read and it showed a fault with the key module not reading the fob.

We think that the weight of the bunch of keys I had attached to the fob was putting backward pressure on the fob and not allowing it to engage correctly. It's working now I have removed the bunch of keys.

Let's see if it lasts.......

Thanks for all the advice chaps

Well that is the most far out fix I have ever read on here well done and fingers crossed.

Scroco wrote:

This is a new one on me......

Just had the codes read and it showed a fault with the key module not reading the fob.

We think that the weight of the bunch of keys I had attached to the fob was putting backward pressure on the fob and not allowing it to engage correctly. It's working now I have removed the bunch of keys.

Let's see if it lasts.......

Thanks for all the advice chaps

Got to be one of cheapest fixes ever if it works Jules

🤦‍♂️🤣

The FL2 does quite a bit of self checking, so reading the codes is always worth it.

My only word of caution is that during the 'Start Up' phase the FL2 is prone to giving false errors if the Battery/Voltage supplied is a bit iffy.

Early FL2s need a second earth to help to overcome this problem, although it can also happen to later models if the Battery is not that fit.

Pleased it all came out OK. FL2 XS SD4 Auto 2010 2012-2017 (21k - 91k miles) (MY2011)
FL2 Metropolis SD4 Auto 2014 2017- (16k - 77k+ miles) (MY2015)
Metro in its 11th Year of (Extended) LR Warranty / Full LR Service History
(Expensive, but Trouble/Worry free - hopefully?)

Thanks Ian,

I think I will stick a new battery on it anyway.

Why change a habit of a lifetime...... every Land Rover I have ever owned has needed a new battery within the first month of ownership.

👍