So I purchased a used 2008 LR2 in October of 2013.
In the winter on the hwy there seemed to be issues when driving for over 1 hr or more. I would receive Hdc fault system unavailable, Transmission Fault, Terrain Response System Fault. Other than that seemed fine. I would turn the vehicle off and be fine the next day.
I would take it to the shop and they couldn't get any codes from it.

Well, now that the weather has warmed up, when the temps reach over 20 degrees Celsius, it is happening every day. I took it to my local mechanic and read the codes, there was a whole slew of codes. Mostly communication errors with all the modules.

I talked to someone over at Land Rover in my local city and they told me this has been an issue for the past 3 years (with at least 2 previous owners) and they have replaced the wiring harness, main computer, most if not all the modules at least once, trying to figure it out. But would not give me the whole history of what was replaced. They said that the people at Land Rover in England couldn't even figure it out!

I am hoping someone can help diagnose this issue and hoping it is a simple thing.
So it seems to only happen when it is hot outside or when driven at highway speeds for at least over an hour.

Here is the link to a video of what has been happening...yesterday was the worst. While sitting at a train crossing this sequence happened 3 times. Then when I started to drive it would not stop. I pulled over and turned it off for approx. 10 mins. When I started it back up again I get my normal faults. Typically starting with a Terrain Response System Faulty error then a Transmission Fault maybe a few mins later, then maybe a HDC Fault 10 mins after that and once in a blue moon an Engine Fault.

LR2 Live System Faults

The only other it really does is the instrument panel goes wacky (needles go up and down) and in first gear, every now and then it gives a jerk (to me it feels like the transmission is not smooth shifting).

Thanks in advance for any help!

Have you read this ?

http://www.freel2.com/forum/topic8712.html

My battery earth cable was corroded inside, looked perfect from the outside but caused horrendous issues for three years & Dealer was useless !!!!!!!!!!

I would look at the earth cable from Battery to body, peel off some of the wrapping and see if its corroded , if it is fit a new one plus an extra earth cable from the battery to one of the starter motor mounting bolts. Jaguar x-type sport gone
Jaguar x-type 2.2d sport one of my best cars ever sadly gone
Freelander 2 GS auto 2008 most unreliable ever ! gladly gone
Freelander 2 GS manual 2013 only time will tell !

+1 to checking the battery leads & connections, poor earths & bad cables can cause this sort of thing.

AND

How old is the battery itself? Modern cars (esp. Land Rovers & Jags) seem to chuck fits like this when the battery is old/dying.... 2008 Freelander 2 HSE Si6 Black/Black - Hers
2009 Jaguar XKR 4.2 S/C Portfolio
2005 Jaguar XJR 4.2 S/C Black/Cranberry
2005 Jaguar X-Type 3.0L AWD - Gone

As others have said it's worth checking the battery and its connections, but given the apparent heat sensitivity and timing of the faults I suspect it won't be as simple as that. Faults like this are a nightmare to track down, as they're usually not there when you're able to look for them!

If I've understood correctly the car continues to drive normally when the fault occurs? That, plus the range of different errors occuring (TR and engine faults, gauges going up and down, lights flashing on and off), would seem to point to the instrumentation system rather than anything actually originating in the engine or TR systems.

It would be interesting to know which modules are reporting communications errors, as that may help to identify which bus a faulty device may be on. There are several different bus networks in the car, all connected via a central junction box - the instrumentation display is on the medium speed can bus, the TR system is on the high speed can bus, and the engine is on the LIN bus. (Many other things share those buses too, of course.)

My suspicions would fall initially on the instrument cluster itself, or something else on the medium speed can bus which is faulting in such a way as to interfere with bus communications, but with so little to go on one can't be sure. And even if the fault can be narrowed down to the medium speed can bus there are still plenty of possible fault sources as that bus includes not only the instrumentation but also things like door modules, seat modules, audio control module, parking aid and trailer module.

well once the vehicle gets hot the cooling fans will also be active and I had 3 fan speed controllers until the point of the earth cable being fitted, so this could explain another aspect of problems occurring when the fans load up ! Jaguar x-type sport gone
Jaguar x-type 2.2d sport one of my best cars ever sadly gone
Freelander 2 GS auto 2008 most unreliable ever ! gladly gone
Freelander 2 GS manual 2013 only time will tell !

It would certainly be instructive if a link could be identified to something lilke the fans (or the aircon, or the window motors, or the sunroof motor, etc, etc). Fans (motors in general) are electrically noisy and faults in their suppression, insulation, earthing, etc, could certainly cause problems elsewhere if a module wasn't itself sufficiently protected. But so far there seems to be no clear evidence of such a link.

The car's main computer (CJB - central junction box) is broadcasting some information on one main CAN ID (0x7E) that's used to wake up the instrument cluster.
If the information on that CAN ID is not coming with the requested frequency/cadence, that is the behavior of the instruments.

My opinion is that either the CJB is having a problem, or the instruments have a problem or there is a problem on the low speed CAN bus for which CJB is one end/termination and the instruments is the another.

I would try to update the software on CJB and instruments to the latest firmware and I would try to see what's happening on the low speed CAN bus. Eventually with a CAN bus monitor, if available.

Also I would check the wiring and the connectors for oxidation or bad/improper contact. There is a main connection for both CAN buses on the base of the right A pillar. If you remove the carpet on the base of the right A pillar you will see the three connectors there. Check them.

Wow, thanks everyone for the great responses! We have an appointment with Land Rover here in Winnipeg and will see if they can FINALLY diagnose it...although I suspect since this has been on going...we might not be able to.

My husband and I have added a second earth lead (thanks to this great forum) and changed out the battery switch. Neither have seemed to have worked!

oldgeezer/Cambo - I just replaced the starter and the battery in January/February, so it is brand new and when tested running at full power!
We have tested leaving the air conditioning and heating/cooling fans off...still happens regardless.
BUT I did notice that without getting a fault I turned it on and the fault came on immediately. BUT it comes on regardless..lol so I think it was just a fluke!

pab - yes the car drives normal (with the occasional jerk in low gear). The only module that seemed to hold the errors was the Body Control Module. It had communication failures with the Air Bag Module, Steering Module and a bunch more (don't have the paper on me).

Alex_pescaru, I will find out when the last update was done when I bring it in to the dealership...but I suspect it won't make a difference since there is some link to heating up. Where is the base of the right A pillar? Sorry I don't have any manuals.

One more thing to note...so besides being my main vehicle, the main reason I purchased it was to use it for storm chasing...
well I went out one day and it was +25 out - the errors were occurring. I stopped several times for short periods and turned the vehicle on and off. At one point because of the storms it cooled down to about +16 and the errors went away and did not come back on for the rest of my journey that day (approx. 1 hr ride back).

Base of the right front door, at the passenger feet, for LH drive vehicles.
These three connectors are inside a white cover box.



Last edited by alex_pescaru on 16th Jun 2014 7:54 pm. Edited 2 times in total

Thanks I will look when I get home today!

Also take note of something, also important !
The CAN bus path from Central Junction Box to Instrument cluster is passing through the HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) module. In other words, if you disconnect the HVAC module, the instruments wont function.
Better to check the HVAC connector too.

Shannbil
Did you get anywhere with your LR dealer.
I have the same problem when outside temp hits 28°C, a beep dials and display go, system check in progress then everything back up. Otherwise car drives as normal. Tattoos - Why would you choose to look like the wall of a public toilet?

The Road Toad - Nothing yet...have appointment on Tuesday as it should be hot enough that day.

Someone told me something to try...which I might just do!

Since it is a heat related issue...is on a cooler day to take a hair dryer to the components that "could" be the issue and see if the truck lights up when over a certain area! I will do this when I take a look at the things alex_pescaru
mentioned!

Does anyone know what controls the temp displayed on the dash?
It is currently only 22 degrees out but the temp gauge states 28. Wondering if the issue has something to so with this!

Quick update!

Took it to Land Rover, as we finally had a nice day here in Winnipeg, MB. So they were able to reproduce the error. They are figuring it MIGHT be the ABS module that is causing the issue, but want to be sure.
Their computer said a reset on the computer was recommended, but with temps at 30 degrees on the weekend, it did not make a difference...although it did have some slightly different behavior...including an engine light...that went off as of Monday morning! lol go figure!

So the data from Land Rover has now been sent to the UK and am waiting to hear back. I hope they can FINALLY resolve this...but I am not too hopeful!
Will post another update once I hear back!

Also, just to note. We did look at the can bus and my hubby blew out the connectors, but they seemed fine and clean. I noticed that it was a little better, but still did not fix the issue. We could not get into the HVAC module as we were unsure of how to get the front off without damaging anything. I will be purchasing a service manual shortly!