wayneg wrote:

As long as you can start the car and the steering lock is disengaged I see no reason why not to continue indefinitely.

Are you aware of the Fuse 18 trick?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxQ8JKlpn6E

The fuse 18 thing seems a bit of a temporary bodge to me although you might be happy to live with it. If it were my car I would spend some time and remove the solenoid and replace the magnet as that seems the most likely well-documented cause and a cheap fix if you can DIY. 2007 TDV8 VSE
2003 TD6 gone.
2002 P38a gone
1999 P38a gone
1997 p38a gone
1993 VSE gone
1992 VSE gone
1966 Series 2a with V8 conversion gone

A bit of an update on my husband's RR.

I didn't do anything to resolve the key issue. After speaking with a mechanic friend of my husband's, he offered to try and fix it (he's managed to fix some before). However, he lives some distance from me now, so I put it on the backburner.

Meanwhile ...

The RR had a massive suspension airbag fail. Had to get her towed to a dealer 2 hours away. To cut a very long and tedious story short - $4000 and 5 weeks later, I got her back yesterday (and boy, was I ecstatically happy!).

Regarding the key issue, they said it was the key transponder, at $800 and something or other. Unfortunately, it wasn't. So it's still not operational. They said the next port of call would be the ignition, which is another $800 odd. So I've put that on hold, as I suspect it will be a waste of money.

Today driving to a local shop in the middle of nowhere (pretty much) when I went to leave, yep, the key wouldn't turn at all. Great ... no mobile phone reception ... wonderful.

It turned out to be the lead had completely come off one of the battery terminals. I suspect the dealer kept removing it (as opposed to the other battery terminal that I had been removing/refitting to get her started when the key was removed). It was as tight as it would go but still wasn't making a connection. After a gentleman sandpapered it and poured bicarb of soda with boiling water over it, key presto, all good. However, this is only a temporary fix, as it is still lose. This terminal has all sorts of weird and wonderful leads and bits and pieces coming off it. The kind gentleman who assisted me said I'd have to get the specialist part from Land Rover.

So ...

My next question (which probably sounds really, really, stupid) is: in the meantime, if I carry some aluminium foil in the car in case it does it again, would that work to make a firmer connection, if I wrap it around the lead?

I can see you all now rolling around laughing ...

Alternatively, any other suggestions? I suspect it came lose because I have to drive on a bumpy dirt road when I leave my property before I hit the black stuff. So more than likely, it will do it again.

Having had to wait 4 weeks for the parts to arrive from the UK for the air suspension and transponder key thingy, I don't expect this will be rectified any time soon.

I don't want to be too "frightened" every time I get in her, thinking it will happen again.

As always, your advice is appreciated.

By the way, I was told the other 3 suspension airbags are very close to failing as well. The dealer mentioned that once they hit the 10 year mark, it becomes a nightmare, as things start to fail, which is expected I guess. He said even the brand new Range Rover air suspension bags only have a shelf life of 10 years.

Anyone want to buy a Range Rover? Hahahahaha!

In your picture, undo the nut furthest on the right then bang the connector down onto the battery termial, it looks like its 3 or 4mm short of being on correctly, only then tighten the nut. The cost for an airbag seems off the scale expensive. The rear bags last a lot longer than the front so dont worry about them. The fronts go after 10 years or so meaning if you have done one the other will need to be done ASAP before it fails. Get one from ebay for less than A$300, they are an easy diy fix but might need the computer resetting. [/url]https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/FOR-RANGE-ROVER-VOGUE-L322-FRONT-AIR-SPRING-SHOCK-STRUT-RNB000740-TOP-QUALITY/272598764502?epid=2292329748&hash=item3f78270bd6:g:NPEAAOSwJE1dv4fF[/url] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UXzMddqwZU

I fitted the airsprings from Maxspeedingrods 2 years ago with no issues, still going strong. 2007 TDV8 VSE
2003 TD6 gone.
2002 P38a gone
1999 P38a gone
1997 p38a gone
1993 VSE gone
1992 VSE gone
1966 Series 2a with V8 conversion gone

Last edited by wayneg on 21st Dec 2019 11:23am. Edited 1 time in total

Thanks so much for the advice. I'll undo the nut tomorrow then reposition it.

The front air suspension for the passenger side cost $2000. When it failed, I rang as many garages as I could find relatively locally (as opposed to Land Rover dealer, which is 2 hours away) but they all refused to do it, saying it was too specialised. I think they were all frightened to have anything to do with it, being a Range Rover. No-one wanted to touch it with a barge pole.

I will talk to the dealer and see if they will put in an airbag that I supply, which by the sounds of it, will be considerably cheaper.

The rear "springs" (as they are apparently called, as opposed to front MacPherson struts) are $1000 each. I'm feeling a bit more optimistic with your view that the rear tends to last longer.

It does make me upset to read of dealers ripping off customers with older cars, Shame I am on the other side of the country, I would fit a front strut for free, its that easy. Maybe show the video to a local mechanic to show them its not rocket science, 2007 TDV8 VSE
2003 TD6 gone.
2002 P38a gone
1999 P38a gone
1997 p38a gone
1993 VSE gone
1992 VSE gone
1966 Series 2a with V8 conversion gone

That is so thoughtful ... I just had a look at the invoice from the dealer - the front strut was $1,480 (just for the part).

If I get a mechanic who is more local to fit it, won't they need to use the Land Rover diagnostics to do the computer resetting?

If there is no problem with the suspension when you change the strut if you are lucky all will be ok. The law of Sod could cause a fault and a suspension reset might need to be done. The cheapest option for the long term is get your own reset tool, I carry one in the car at all times . Both of these will do the job and much more, they will work on any landrover and also read fault on any car. Any decent mechanic should have something similar that covers all cars. I have the cheaper version and has been a great asset, the more expensive one was not available when I got mine but would have chosen that given the option. If you buy a strut from ebay, remember they are sided so make sure you order the correct one
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/iCarsoft-LR-V2...SwB0xdTbkc
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/ICARSOFT-LR-V1...SwNHtc4zRb 2007 TDV8 VSE
2003 TD6 gone.
2002 P38a gone
1999 P38a gone
1997 p38a gone
1993 VSE gone
1992 VSE gone
1966 Series 2a with V8 conversion gone

Have a look at the Foxwell NT530, it does a bit more than read and clear codes.

Just a side note to this my iid tool also reads the voltage as 12.2 with a fairly new batter just after a drive... I wonder if this is a fault?
It also reads the map sensor as stupidly out which my snapon does not Current stable:
2006 BMW M6
2007 4.2 V8 S/C FF
Gone:
2002 4.4 V8 FF

Im certainly no expert but the electrical faults I'm suffering on the L322 tdv8 started with a new battery and the + battery terminal being only partly secured, in the end (with the aid of a neighbour RR expert) we dismanteled the 45Am fuse hold and installed a traditional terminal clamp with wires in the same combo - no exploding terminals here just one of those stupid BMW vertical grip things that failed to clamp hard enough, first bump in the road and the terminal came off and arched around for 3 months on/off/on/off . + terminal is now tight as a ducks a'' and all fixed and the random arching and breakdowns fixed - BUT it fried the ignition barrel so now Im chasing another fault - all since having a flat / new battery in June 2019

Blitz - how are you doing with all the fires? looks like your area - Coffs Harbour really suffering? our thoughts with you - the whole world is hoping you get some rain soon.

Good luck + hope you are ok