Good morning gentlemen,

Bad end to a bad year it seems.

Got into my 2007 4.2 SC L322 this morning for work and that’s when the issue started.

Car unlocked fine, deployable sidesteps deployed fine. Started engine, which was a bit hesitant, which was new. Car started, everything normal. Sat in the car waiting for it to warm up a bit and for the screens to clear. Then the engine stopped and everything shutdown. No warning lights prior to shutdown, just a short flash from the parking brake. Now key will not turn in the ignition and I had to go round the 3 passenger doors and lock them via the push button and the drivers door with the key.

Now have one dead RR.

Had a new heavy duty battery fitted 18 months ago, so didn’t think that was the issue, but what do I know. Lifting the bonnet and looking at the engine is as far as my mechanical skills take me, so think total mechanical idiot, if you will.

Leading up to this, and starting last week, there has been a sound from the engine like a fan that will not switch off. It is audible in the cabin, though not madly loud, and it increases in speed and slightly in volume when the accelerator is pressed. But after a few journeys of some 20 miles or so there seemed to be no major issue as the engine performed normally, the temperatures never wavered from normal, and there were no warning lights or ‘bings’ to warn me I was killing it. My usual garage is shut until 4th Jan 2021 so was going to book it in then.

I am hoping that it’s the battery that’s knacked or, at worse, the Alternator.

Is there someone with more than my 3 working brain cells that might have an idea of what I have described might potentially be. And please, be gentle with me!!! 😳

What do you mean by a short flash from the parking brake?

Just that really. It went on for perhaps a second, and then went off with everything else.

The light was on the instrument panel among the cluster of other warning lights, lower right hand side.

Could quite easily be an alternator failure... Im guessing the battery light was not illuminated whilst you sat there allowing the car to warm up?

Do the headlights work?

Nothing works. No lights interior or exterior.

Cam-Tech-Craig wrote:

Could quite easily be an alternator failure... Im guessing the battery light was not illuminated whilst you sat there allowing the car to warm up?

The only thing to do is put a fresh (charged) battery on her, then check the charge rate is climbing above 14v... Thats the place to start sir...

I am hoping that it is just the alternator too. I had to have the battery replaced 18 months ago because the previous one failed as well.

I’ve been a bit cheeky and joined the AA in order to report it broken down and get it recovered to the garage first week of January. I’m sure flat bed recovery would cost more than the annual AA premium in Central London, even if it is just 5 miles. I have my fingers crossed I’ve not just wasted £149 to ‘try it on’.

Thank you gentlemen, my mind is a bit more settled than it was when it happened. Then I was in full on gutter language mode and bouncing off the ceiling!!

To be honest, I’ve been very lucky in the near 4 years of owning my old beast. Biggest spend was on new front air suspension. Everything else has been minor in the great scheme of things.

If you have a battery charger it would be worth trying to charge the battery, if you were able to do this your car should go back to normal for a while at least.
If you do decide to charge the battery disconnect the battery earth (-ve) cable from the battery and connect the charger to the battery direct. After charging, connect the battery earth again and see what happens.

Thanks for assistance sir, it’s very much appreciated!!

sounds like the battery terminals. give them both a wobble to make sure they are tight ..

Will give that a try. Thanks for the advice, and let’s hope it’s a cheap fix. 👍🏻