There's still a mystery here. If it was locked and unlocked with the key, it shouldn't have become disabled in the first place. If the door is locking and unlocking the linkage is OK but why is it not flashing the lights on an unlock turn? Marty, is there any possibility that something has broken inside the latch so it is physically unlocking but not operating the switch (although it that was the case I would expect no flashes when turning either way)?

Taking it apart and getting the latch out probably isn't something you'd want to do with it parked outside a shop and even if you take it out and find it's broke, you don't have another to put in it's place. Pushing it a bit might work or the other method I've heard of the AA doing is put put one of those metallised blankets over the back of the car, crawling underneath it and using the fob against the receive aerial etched into the offside rear window.

It is bizzare, im very puzzled. If i was to conntact someone near me to have a look would they need to specialise in land rovers, i.e its sat about 100 metres from a garage that MOT and service. Would they be likely to fix it?

No, a standard code reader is no good, not even the stupidly expensive Snap-On ones. You need dedicated LR kit, Nanocom, Lynx, Testbook or a Syncmate. There might be an LR independent nearby who may be able to help (although a lot of them won't come out to you). Or just wait for Marty to re-appear and use it as an opportunity to get some miles on his new engine. I'm closer to you than Marty (not much over an hour away) and would offer to help but I'm supposed to be working at the moment, busy this evening, at work tomorrow and got a replacement central heating oil tank to install on Saturday so Friday evening is going to be taken up removing the fence that is around the old one.

But if you haven't got it sorted by Sunday........

The change in RF receiver stops the battery going flat, yes - but it depends if they spent the money for a 3rd gen one, or just put a second generation one in.

That aside, if the new one is there but it is still getting bombarded with RF, even though it won't wake the BECM up, it that could still interfere with the transmission.

There isn't much in the latch that could break and stop one of the switches from working as the parts are all retry strong.. but it's not entirely unheard of. I'd have to look at the specific part when I get home to see if the end of it snapping off would stop the CDL switch from operating. It might ..

The only issue will be if the BECM has gone into alarm lockout, and I rock up with just the Nanocom...

If you want the to come look at it, then I'd probably charge about £60 for travel and the hook-up.

If the BECM has gone into alarm lockout, then I charge £100 to unlock them, but that something I usually do at home on the work bench..

Hey its stuck there until it gets sorted so any help any time would be appreciated, luckily we have a third car so im in no real rush but sooner the better. Obviously i know if you did your putting yourselves out so any fees petrol costs im willing to pay for the service

Wouldnt the alarm be going off though if there was an alarm lockout? I mean im not going to be able to do anything myself now thats quite clear so if someone could be kind enough to take a look i would really appreciate it

The alarm sounder might not be connected. I was in a similar situation to you with Engine Immobilised and knackered door switches in my case. Luckily the alarm had been disconnected or I would have lynched by the people living near where the car was sitting. I later hooked it up again and found that the backup battery is surprisingly resilient. Now it is charged I'd have to get some ear defenders and park it in a field before unhooking it again.

Not necessarily but if the only message you have is Engine Disabled, Press Remote, I doubt it has. The only worry is that the more it is messed with, the more likely it is that it goes into full lockout. My concern is the same as Marty's. Turn up there with the Nanocom only to find that it is something more serious and it needs more specialist kit (which he has but I don't).

If I were you I'd be investing in a Nanocom right now. It might not arrive before the weekend but you'll have a backup plan that you will definitely get value from if you've got a project. It's what I did!

You need the P38 version for the correct engine, here: http://www.nanocom-diagnostics.com/shop/browse

This is the link to their "What engine do I have" page http://www.nanocom-diagnostics.com/uploads/downloads/p38_engine_types.pdf

Cant say i can really warrent 350 quid. Id prefer to pay to get someone to look at it first

It may seem expensive but with what it can do, it is invaluable. Even if you don't intend keeping the car, they go for almost full retail price on eBay on the rare occasions someone sells one.

How much does the local Range Rover dealer charge to read the codes?

I have no idea, i called them yesterday on a promise they would call me back and I've heard nothing.

If marty can get to me at somepoint i think im going to go for that option

That's the best option ............. if anyone can get it going without emptying your wallet, he can.

Marty's definitely your best option with this Stokes90:He really knows all about this stuff and frankly i would not trust even a local 'LR Specialist' who would just truck it away to a garage and charge ££00s probably to tell you it needed ££00s to put right !!

You could try moving it somewhere in case there is some huge RF signal where it is at present (although if you ask in the shops/businesses nearby they may tell you 'this has happened before with some other cars' (maybe)

You can read through all this too (if you did not already) but there are just too many variables and variants for a simple remote diagnosis: http://www.rangerovers.net/repairdetails/becm/alarm.html

It is no consolation but yes I have been through this whole PITA myself (like many of us)

Yes i could be here for months trying to figure it out myself, and from what i've heard marty is my man. Im happy to wait to see if he can fit me in. Ill try shifting it, may need a little help with it though!

I'll come up tomorrow when I've finished my other job, as it's 20 miles from home in the right direction for Coventry.

If you send me an email on p38webshop@gmail.com with your details, phone number etc, then I'll send you a mess a when I'm on my way, with an ETA as I'm leaving the other one.

I'm aiming to be at the other RR about 10:00-10:30am, so could be at your RR as early as about 11:30, but it will also depend on whether it a simple 'plug in, resync and go' as I'm led to believe, or whether it will be more than that.

I'm going to attempt to make a power cable for my faultmate to run it from the accessory socket in my RR, and I'll bring my laptop, just in case it is an alarm lockout. It doesn't sound like it is, but won't know for sure until I hook up to it.

Alarm lockout on becm won't necessarily trigger the vehicle alarm.. it just means the BECM is in an alarmed state (rather than the vehicle alarm being set) and that causes it to lock itself down and ignore EKA entries and other attempts to get it working properly. It usually happens s when the vehicle is locked/alarmed and the battery goes flat.. but RF interference can cause weird things to happen too..

I've had to resort to the EKA a couple of times when I've parked somewhere, been able to lock on the fob and then not been able to unlock with it so had to use the key and then put the EKA in with the key. But I had the exact same problem as the OP last night on my SE. Having to clear some space in anticipation of an oil tank being delivered this morning, I went outside to move the SE and another car. As the SE gets started so rarely, I always lock it with the key with the bonnet open and then disconnect the battery. Then I can unlock just the drivers door, open the bonnet, reconnect the battery and start it. Never had a problem in the past but last night I reconnected the battery and got Engine Immobilised (as well as all the usual window not set messages) when I tried to start it. Out with the Nano, plug it in, check the owners handbook for the EKA while waiting for the Nano to boot, enter the EKA into Nano, hit the button, start the engine. It really is that simple if you've got a dodgy switch in the latch or a receiver that's being swamped with RF.

Your a star i will send an email. Thank you