So it has started to get cooler in Australia and I have started to notice a very slow crank first up in the morning on my 2010 Freelander 2. I changed the battery only last year with the same issue and have also added the extra earth cable. More recently after much googling I have also tried locking the car at night (2 clicks) and turning lights/wipers off auto while also making sure the radio is shut down. I do have two faulty door locks which I seem to remember reading some had found could be a culprit so will try pulling the fuse on the central locking tonight. Does anyone have any other suggestions or cures? Is there anything I’m missing. Thanks in advance, I continue to find this forum a great source of ideas and suggestions.

Bad earths and connections can have a huge effect on starter motors which require lots of amps. Testing with a simple multimeter often doesn't help as the circuit is not broken and only problematic when you need a very low resistance to push lots of current with only 12v.

I had an intermittent starting issue with my series 3 - long and slow turnover with eventual starting or more often resulting in a flat battery before starting.
After cleaning the engine earth and starter feed it starts immediately.


So I'd recommend, as a simple task, first clean up the earth connections with emery paper till they shine especially engine to chassis and battery to chassis. Then at least they are eliminated from further investigation. Jules