Batteries

benjenbav

benjenbav

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Ok, this is a cheat. Shouldn't be on this forum but I don't have the time and energy to post it in the Lounge and get into a debate about the origins of nazism, plus there are more engineers on here. Hopefully one might help, please.

My car (the one I usually drive when I go to the boat :D) has air suspension. When I'm sat in traffic for a long time I get a "suspension fault" message on the computer. It's been in the shop two or three times for this and they've changed endless filters in the system and they believe that the suspension pump is working fine.

I think it may that the batteries are a bit tired because the issue only appears when I've been sat in a jam for a while and the computer message will clear by putting the gearbox in neutral and taking the revs up from idle to 1,500.

More evidence for my theory: the last couple of cold days have shown slightly less enthusiasm for starting in the mornings.

TBH, I don't really mind what the issue is. But am a bit bored with taking it back and forth to the shop and not getting it sorted.
 
Air suspension light on mine comes on when battery is low. Usually on startup when the cars not been used for a while.

It's cured by letting the car run for a few minutes then switch off & restart, or by putting a charger on.

If you're using heavy electrical equipment , at idle the alternator may not be supplying enough juice, but since you've mentioned that starting has been a problem on cold mornings, I suspect your battery is at fault, and would be better to check that than faffing with pumps & filters etc.

Best way to check if you've got a fault with the air suspension, is to walk around the car, and see if one corner is about 4 inches lower than the rest :-)
 
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I think it may that the batteries are a bit tired because the issue only appears when I've been sat in a jam for a while and the computer message will clear by putting the gearbox in neutral and taking the revs up from idle to 1,500.

If it's a Princess Range Rover :) Batteries or battery ? I would suggest that it could well be your air pump starting to go or a small leak in the system as tickover speed is probably not enough to maintain pressure & in the end the pressure reduces. The battery if it is failing is more likely to give you spurious errors at start up & not when running
 
My first thought was the pump but that's been checked by the main dealer and they say it's fine. There's a pretty heavy load on the batteries when idling in a jam especially on a cold day what with running the seats plus the steering wheel plus everything else and it feels like it's just not getting enough oomph to everything until the engine is working.

I think I'll get the battery and the alternator looked at. Thanks, everyone.

PS Maybe not a "Princess" Range Rover but it's certainly not from the Lucas "Prince of Darkness" era of RR electrics. I had one of those years ago and was intially worried when I kept seeing warning lights until a friend reassured me by saying that, on that model, random warning lights were a good sign because it meant the loom wasn't burned out. :D
 
benjenbav said:
My first thought was the pump but that's been checked by the main dealer and they say it's fine. There's a pretty heavy load on the batteries when idling in a jam especially on a cold day what with running the seats plus the steering wheel plus everything else and it feels like it's just not getting enough oomph to everything until the engine is working.

I think I'll get the battery and the alternator looked at. Thanks, everyone.

PS Maybe not a "Princess" Range Rover but it's certainly not from the Lucas "Prince of Darkness" era of RR electrics. I had one of those years ago and was intially worried when I kept seeing warning lights until a friend reassured me by saying that, on that model, random warning lights were a good sign because it meant the loom wasn't burned out. :D
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My air suspension gets grumpy if the car has been left for a while and (by implication) the battery is praps a bit low volts. But like questor I just reboot the car after a few mins and all is fine again. I haven't needed to switch the steering wheel heater on yet this year, you must be in the north... :D

Cheers
Jimmy
 
A thorough battery charge to give it a fair chance to get up to working pace would be my first task: Charge over night, remove charger and leave it to rest for an hour and then and a voltmeter check.
If 12.4v or below I'd begin looking for a new battery. 12.6v is fair, 12.8v or more is good.
 
From the symptoms described ( without an examination -read bat volt test in the AM) my provisional diagnosis would be battery -treatment consists of removal of the old one and fitting a new.
" Princess RR ,s " shut down none essential items when bat volts drops below xyz volts .
Same system fitted on 4x4,s made in Germany , by well known sports car named after Hitlers buddy who designed the Beattle
Also shuts down Sat Nav and BOSE +phone + seats ,steering wheel,and locks air suspension .
Reboots when you rev it up or travel a few miles .
Cold weather obviously exacerbates problem .
I know this with reasonable confidence cos typically -10 to -20 degrees in the AM up here in the Swiss Alps
Moreso with Solihull stuff less so with Stuttgart stuff .
Another one with Solihull stuff avoid parking up in low ratio cos that's shuts down as well ie cannot switch up until bat volts are up .
Don,t ask how I found out :cool:
 
Serves you right for buying an unreliable pile of poo from Solihull. FWIW, I've been getting strange warning messages on my RR recently as well which come and go and which have coincided with using the remote heating in this cold weather and also regularly using the heated seats/wheel. I've just put it down to the fact that the battery is getting hammered. Might be a good idea to replace the battery as at least one weather forecasting service is forecasting a snow armaggedon this winter
 
Deleted User said:
Serves you right for buying an unreliable pile of poo from Solihull. FWIW, I've been getting strange warning messages on my RR recently as well which come and go and which have coincided with using the remote heating in this cold weather and also regularly using the heated seats/wheel. I've just put it down to the fact that the battery is getting hammered. Might be a good idea to replace the battery as at least one weather forecasting service is forecasting a snow armaggedon this winter
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Teehee. A few months ago when Match was briefly at Berthon, I mentioned to the owner that I thought the fabric cover on the tender's outboard was a bit drugdealery. We then had to get something from my car and a suggestion about pots and kettles was made. :D
 
benjenbav said:
Teehee. A few months ago when Match was briefly at Berthon, I mentioned to the owner that I thought the fabric cover on the tender's outboard was a bit drugdealery. We then had to get something from my car and a suggestion about pots and kettles was made. :D
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Yup, maybe ditch the blacked out windows and the pimp my ride 22" spinning alloys?
 
Is this BJB?

rover_tupac.jpg


Cheers
Jimmy
 
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