I'm no mechanic, but I seem to get the impression that a lot of the faults that develop with the F2 can be put down to a failing battery, so I was wondering what the warning signs are that a battery may be starting to fail. My battery is coming up to 5 years old now, and I have no idea how to tell if its still good or not. Updated- Waiting for a Scotland v England 6 Nations home win. 24th Feb 2018
Gone-1972 88 SWB Soft top
Gone-1981 24v FFR Lightweight
Gone-2009 Freelander 2 TD4 GS manual
Gone before it bankrupted me- 2008 Discovery 3 TDV6 Auto
2013 Freelander 2 SD4 GS Auto

Sorry double post Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

Last edited by Lightwater on 14th Aug 2018 2:50 pm. Edited 1 time in total

It will loose about 20% of its capacity each year. You are on borrowed time after 4 years. I replaced mine last year. Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

In practice batteries vary hugely. My car is coming up to 9 years (I've had it for more than 6 of those) and it's still on its original battery. By the above rule of thumb it should be down to around 16% capacity, but in practice it still starts the car first time even at -10 degrees, or after having been parked up for a couple of weeks.

With the FL2 signs of a dying battery often include warning messages on start up - usually non-availability of HDC, limited traction warnings, etc. Plus, of course, sluggish cranking.

...... and to add to that, if you have a 'stop/start' mode,l the 'stop/start' won't work.  FL2 now gone and have a couple of items left for sale:-

Brodit active iPhone holder + Brodit dash clip,
Bluetooth Music Streaming Module.

mcsimmo wrote:

My battery is coming up to 5 years old now, and I have no idea how to tell if its still good or not.

The last time my battery failed I got an error related to my HID headlights.

The battery died the next day.

Nothing wrong with the headlight other than the fact that they couldn't deal with the low voltage when I pressed the start button.

The Red Arrow points at the ICON for the Headlight Leveling Error




Note: this is the fault that I got but it is just as likely that a different random fault could have occurred instead (my first battery died by switching one of the relays in the battery junction box on and off rapidly for more than 30 minutes)

I am on my fourth battery at 10 years and 114,000 miles

Good Luck

Paul

Last edited by p_gill on 15th Aug 2018 5:59 pm. Edited 1 time in total

In my experience, all of the warnings mentioned above go away once the car is started, (if it starts). There is a lot going on in these cars when you push the start button. As well as all the electronics and sensors starting up, there are at least 2 pumps that have to build some pressure, ABS and Haldex. If either are a bit sluggish due to a battery in poor condition you’ll get the warnings about HDC and special programs as they depend on those 2 pumps.

I changed my battery this week. It was 4 years 3 months old but struggled a couple of times to crank the engine during "Beast from the East" and although fine in this summer weather I thought it prudent to change it now. It's also much easier doing this as planned maintenance rather than an unplanned change in the depths of winter in the freezing cold! 2014 Freelander 2 TD4 GS Auto

colsay wrote:

It's also much easier doing this as planned maintenance rather than an unplanned change in the depths of winter in the freezing cold!

I've been convinced that its probably a good bit of preventative maintenance to change mine.

I've been googling away and am looking at a Yuasa HSB019 as my battery of choice. Does anyone have any experience of this battery?

Also it seems to vary in price from around £90 to £130 which is a big difference. Updated- Waiting for a Scotland v England 6 Nations home win. 24th Feb 2018
Gone-1972 88 SWB Soft top
Gone-1981 24v FFR Lightweight
Gone-2009 Freelander 2 TD4 GS manual
Gone before it bankrupted me- 2008 Discovery 3 TDV6 Auto
2013 Freelander 2 SD4 GS Auto

Last time I had a new battery it was for my D3.
I had checked around e-bay, Halfords etc but went with LR which was only a couple of £s more.
That included them ensuring I had the correct battery for the vehicle, fitting it and if any electrics needed re-setting, then they would automatically do it [at no cost].
I also got a 2 year warranty with it compared to a 1 year warranty elsewhere.
So IMO worth checking out your local LR dealership for a quote [ease & peace of mind].

..... but then again LR parts prices have 'sky rocketed' in the last year or two.  FL2 now gone and have a couple of items left for sale:-

Brodit active iPhone holder + Brodit dash clip,
Bluetooth Music Streaming Module.

4 months ago I fitted a Varta F18 85 ah which was about £95 delivered from Tayna

Easy to DIY fit (though quite heavy!!) and it comes with a 5 year guarantee

You do need to be careful to get the correct battery though...............they do vary between the models and years and if I remember correctly the battery initially proposed by Tayna when I put the car reg into the search was incorrect

Steve

Just to add to the previous post, the Tayna car reg search engine did not recommend a battery of the same physical size as my existing battery so I used their contact form to eventually end up with the correct replacement which in my case was a Varta F19 with 5 year warranty.
The battery weighs 20Kg so I was pleased I had a friend helping lift out the old and then position the new battery. I reckon I saved nearly £60 through DIY installation compared to a Dealer supply and fit. 2014 Freelander 2 TD4 GS Auto