Hi
Just had the HDC warning on start up and done a bit of reading up on people putting on a 2nd earth cable to starter motor.
Im just wondering if this 1 i have seen online will b ok ie terminal sizes , length etc?
Would appreciate some advice
Thanks

yes that would be fine you might have to file the 6mm hole a bit , but I picked my 1 up from halfords a couple of years ago for around £5 and you have a selection in front of you and can choose terminals and length hope this helps . 2009 FL2 S now gone
2011 FL2 HSE AUTO
2012 FL2 XS AUTO
2000 Kawasaki er 5

I bought from the same supplier on ebay,8mm and 10mm holes 36" long,fitted perfectly.
easy job to do.

Thanks alot i'll get one ordered

I didnt connect to the starter motor as this threaded hole on top of the autobox seemed perfect for an additional earth cable.


 Jules

Agreed.

Am I missing something here? I have a 2013 XS manual and not sure what benefits a 2nd earth lead will add?? 2014 Freelander 2 XS TD4
Firenze Red

A direct earth return between battery and engine/starter motor, good when cranking.

Volrider wrote:

Am I missing something here? I have a 2013 XS manual and not sure what benefits a 2nd earth lead will add??

The thicker the cable the more it costs, if you can save a pound per cable and you make a couple of million cars the saving is considerable. The thinner cable will just about do the job when the battery is new, when the starter is new, when the glow plugs are new - when the system is new.
Putting in a thicker cable which would have been fitted before the accountants got in on the act would have been normal, the second cable just brings you back up to the specification the Engineers would have specified - Engineers will always specify the next size up because they accept that headroom in specification allows a system to age without disruption. Tangiers Orange - gone, missing her
Replaced by Ewok what a mistake - now a happy Disco Sport owner

Volrider wrote:

Am I missing something here? I have a 2013 XS manual and not sure what benefits a 2nd earth lead will add??

simple test.
wait till its cold.
Put a multi-meter ( or scope if you have one ) on the centre on the battery post and the other end onto the gearbox housing near the starter. Then whilst watching the meter / scope get an assistant to crank the engine over to start.
If you get more than .03Volts then fit an extra heavy duty cable.

Mine had 4.2 volts across showing a massive drop through the earth cable , which when investigated further turned out to be thick green and corroded inside its shrink wrap at 3 years old !
I had gone through 3 years of hell with 2 dealerships that couldn't diagnose anything right! If the computer doesn't tell them anything they are lost. nothing wrong with a bit of good old fashion diagnostics.
the list of things it fixed is too long but here's a few
Whilst cranking,
HDC and ABS disabled
Reduced engine power
, radio loosing stations,
windows loosing settings,
no power pulling away when towing ( this was due to auto box selecting snow mode bad earth just throwing it into snow mode )Only found this once extra cable was fitted it pulled away like a train towing.

Wipers doing a random 1 sweep on start up even when switched off !
Damaged several wiper motors, landrover refused to pay as they said act of god if they are frozen to windscreen on start up !
That's when I really lost the plot with the useless dealer.
They had it 10 days just for that fault, first they told me they all do it, then they couldn't get it to do it ! he walked me to the car, checked wipers were off, hit the start button and the wipers did a single sweep ! He looked at me and said they all do it.
the extra earth strap stopped that, but then the dealer said they wouldn't be able to warrant the vehicle as it wasn't a recognised fix.
God it was a nightmare from 2008-2011
worst experience ever
best bonus was MPG improved from 22-26 to 33ish average 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 !

Wow. You wouldnt think a simple earth cable would make such a difference. But Ive seen similar things on older cars not starting because of a high resistance corroded earth. Jules

But I wonder, is this pre facelift cars that have the issues? Mine is a very low miles (18k) 14 plate, was it sorted on the later models? 2014 Freelander 2 XS TD4
Firenze Red

I think you are missing the point, this is not a fault restricted to a specific year of FL2, it's not a fault specific to the FL2 - it is very common on modern cars that have lots of on-board electronics that are sensitive to voltage.

What happens is that there is an expected return current path from the starter motor, if that path is faulty either by design or poor connection, then the current will return via any alternative path, so lots of subsystems see current flow that was never expected by the designers. It gets better, traditionally only the positive leg of the circuit is fused, so the negative legs carry a lot more current than expected and the wiring can suffer - melted wiring anyone?

You have to remember I was a forklift engineer for many years, these have huge batteries, and a poor connection that can "only" carry 500A and is trying to pull 800A for an extended period of time can cause all sorts of fun, you get used to looking not for resistance but for voltage drop. Tangiers Orange - gone, missing her
Replaced by Ewok what a mistake - now a happy Disco Sport owner