Gilbertd wrote:

Maxi fuse 2 supplies the starter motor relay and the air suspension compressor, so I assume it has been converted to coils springs as well as the other 'fixes'. You are absolutely right, it would have been far cheaper to repair it properly than bodge it. Assuming the car is 99 or later, you are correct, relay 2 is for the cooling fan but I'm not sure about relay 10.

correct, is a 1999 2.5 DSE manual and yes, coil conversion without removing anything apart the air bags. EAS compressor, sensors, everything still in place.

OMG what a mess they have made...but the actual effort to bodge it goes well beyond replacing the latch and eventually the fob.

Gilbertd wrote:

When unlocking with the key, a ground is put on the wire from the keyswitch and on the wire from the CDL switch, when locking the ground is only put on the keyswitch. With the sill locking button up, so the car is unlocked, there should be a permanent ground on the Green/Red wire from the CDL switch. If the sill locking button is pushed down to lock the doors, that ground will go off. The RH door, which in your case is the passenger door, works the same (except it doesn't have a keyswitch) and this is the same ground that goes to the tailgate so it will open if the RH front door is unlocked but not when it is locked.

So, with the door open but with the latch closed so everything thinks the door is closed, simultaneously ground the CDL (Green/Red) wire and the keyswitch wire (Blue/Red) then take the ground off the keyswitch wire but leave the CDL switch wire grounded. Then release the door latch so it appears that you have opened the door and start the engine. That should take the alarm and immobiliser off and it might be possible to start the car on the key.

When the car is immobilised, the signal from the ignition switch to the starter relay is interrupted in the BeCM so your pushbutton will be bypassing the BeCM. Depending if the existing wiring has been cut or just had the wires for the pushbutton tied into them it may or may not work as it should. Quite what has been done so that it still runs with the alarm on I have no idea (as I don't know how the immobiliser works on a diese) but what relays have been removed?

wow Gilbert. this is a propre write up, thank you so much for sharing such knowledge!

I will try tomorrow, it's cold and ark now plus I have put back the door panel already.

Nevertheless, I did attempt to put the key in the coil barrel and turn the ignition whilst the led was off after grounding the CDL wire and the display returned the error message wrong Fob code.
the engine still starts as the immobiliser it has been bypassed but this also means he BECM is alive and feels the inputs. simply is a mess or misleading information.

Missing Relays:
RL2 cooling fan relay on RAVE (doesn't seems to do much with immobiliser TBH)
RL10, according to RAVE A/C dual pressure switch (doesn't seems to do much with immobiliser TBH)
Missing Fuses:
Maxi 2 50A

so, all in all, the missing relays, don't seem to be related to immobiliser functionality, how on hearth have they bypassed it I don't know.
Honestly, if would have certainly costed less money to fix the microswitch than go down all this mess

Pete12345 wrote:

When doing the above stuff, leave the doors open. If you want to simulate the doors being closed, simply close the latches using a screwdriver. That way you can access everything without getting locked or superlocked out.

great advise! supelock connection removed, i chopped the wires to avoid a deadlock again

Gilbertd wrote:

If it went off and then came back in 30 seconds, you have passive immobilisation enabled. If you unlock the doors that will turn off the immobiliser and alarm but if you don't start the engine within 30 seconds, they come back on again. When everything is working correctly, as soon as you put the key in the ignition, the coil around the lock barrel causes the remote to send an unlock code to turn them off again.

So if you do what you did to turn them off (that would normally be a ground on the keyswitch and CDL switch simultaneously and then leave the CDL switch grounded (or it will lock all the doors again) and then start the engine, the alarm and immobiliser should stay off.

that's great Gilbert. It starts to make sense now!
In fact i did not switched the engine on nor put the key in the ignition.
but here it comes the next big mess. The immobiliser as mentioned has been bypassed removing the relays on the main fuse box and the car start with a push button, basically jumping start the starter motor every time.
The mess doesn't stop here, The fob is not working either, therefore no wonder why the car is in a such mess!
as soon as I got the new latch, I will look to get the FOB duplicated and put the relays back and see what else the P38 throws at me.

what i actually managed to get working, drivers door close, push the sill button down and short the keyswitch to GND the CDL locks all doors. it wont do the reverse though.
so the BECM is actually responding, simply it's a mess with the the entire system at the moment.

but thanks tou you all guys I'm actually making a lot of progresses, so, a massive THANK YOU!

Gilbertd wrote:

But still a lot cheaper than the same thing but in a Land Rover bag https://rimmerbros.com/Item--i-FQJ103250
hell yeah!

i have done some more playing around to try and resume the BECM from the constant alarmed mode.
i have tried sending signal to the BECM shortening -B to the Blue Red wire that is the key switch line.
it does responds to the inputs, flashing hazards lights, i even managed to get the LED off for about 30 secs, but then it goes back all the time to slow flashing as it's alarmed>

I will send the P38 to 80's state, only mechanical latches for the time being, replace the latch when arrives and then try and find a nanocom to cehck the actual status of the BECM.

funny enough, when I plugged back the White blue cable, the door ajar line, the BECM actually woke up and shut all the doors. SO i believe is a mix of misfiring micros and BECM status of confusion due to the several misleading messages.
so CDL works only if the conditions are right, and at it stands today it's a lot wrong going on

order placed, but flipping hell...39 quid for the latch 35 for shipping and duties....jeez

thank you very much Gilbert and you are right on everything.

just tested both latches microswitches, and the LH driver the keyswitch is dead. Always on OL, no matter if I turn or not the key in the barrel.
So, given the expected behaviour from the micro switches test, I'd conclude that a new latch is needed.
Hopefully, this will solve the permanent alarmed status on the BECM as at the moment, logically speaking here, so might be a speculation, the mechanism works, so the door actually opens with the keyswitch but the BECM never gets the signal from the keyswitch micro and therefore doesn't disarm the system, hence the permanent status.

Pete12345 wrote:

Il.mazzu wrote:

right. Hell yeah.
after endless attempts with the superlock motor, in desperation, I tried the lock motor and boom, door open!
what puzzles me is that the sill button should override the lock, but didn't.
so, now i have the door mechanically working but since the CDL and alarm is still alarmed on the BECM, the locking is not reliable.
in fact, I do still have the near side passenger door locked, but i can live with that for the time being

Yes the latch needs both superlock and the lock motor to run to open the door from that mode. Now you have the door open insulate the superlock wire so it cannot engage, and do not superlock the car . . ever.

Next step is to get the CDL working correctly on both front doors, plus the keyswitch on the drivers door.

Once that's done, then you should be able to correctly unlock using the key & if required enter the EKA using the key or Nanocom.

managed to unlock the left passenger door too from the BEDM plug C1291 with the pink and orange cables.
Microswitches do respond to the 12v signal, so, i think the last couple of thing I need to confirm are microswitch health on the driver's door and get the alarm status sorted with nanocom.
i can't rely on microswitches behaviour at the moment as the car is permanently in alarmed staus (dash led slow blinking at the time, even when driving).

I will isolate the Superlock wire and i can't actually willingly superlock as the fob is broken and the key switch lives is own live. more to come. but for the time being Massive Kudos to you all!

without your prompt support I will be scratching my head

right. Hell yeah.
after endless attempts with the superlock motor, in desperation, I tried the lock motor and boom, door open!
what puzzles me is that the sill button should override the lock, but didn't.
so, now i have the door mechanically working but since the CDL and alarm is still alarmed on the BECM, the locking is not reliable.
in fact, I do still have the near side passenger door locked, but i can live with that for the time being

Gilbertd wrote:

Il.mazzu wrote:

to try the 9v or 12v trick, I connect the Orange/Pink and Black GND?

No, the superlock motor is between the Orange/Pink and Pink/Black wires. Power one way round powers it on, the other way round powers it off. Be aware that the Pink/Black is also used by the central locking motor, cutting the Orange/Black just means that superlock cannot be engaged, but the Pink/Black needs to remain connected.

right, I figured it out from RAVE and connect C1422 that i needed OB and KB.

just tested with 9V and 12V. motor is responsive, it spins and clicks, both ways, but the bad news is that neither result in the door opening.

the internal handle is not floating or limp. pulls the ajar all the way as the outer handle. The sill button does move up and down, but the door is still lock.

I wonder if has broken mechanically inside, although I doubt it.

any more options, before i break the ajar?

Il.mazzu wrote:

Gilbertd wrote:

If you can get the door open without breaking the latch, cut the Orange/Pink wire (or the one on the latch that connects to the Orange/Pink) as that is the one that feeds the superlock motor. The spring doesn't hold the superlock on, it holds the latch so the door is able to be closed. Breaking the latch makes it no longer possible to latch the door shut, so you will need a new latch anyway.

ouch, ok, thank you very much again for the extensive explanation.

I managed to remove the seat and move the door panel away enough to operate. i found the Orange/Pink cable, chopped it but nothing has chnaged,

to try the 9v or 12v trick, I connect the Orange/Pink and Black GND?

Pete12345 wrote:

Yes Nanocom has an option in the BECM Outputs menu to unlock each door. If the motors are both working, it should disengage superlock & unlock the door at the same time, i.e. same as the FOB does when you unlock.

great Pete, thank you for confirming that.

boot is now functional, won't lock but opens.
next, trying to get enough access to the door to cut the superlock wire.
the only way is trying to remove the passenger sit from the cabin and open enough the door panel. I see pretty complicated, but....i think is the last option before braking the lock.

question, can the nanocom, send a signal via the BECM to the superlock to disengage?

Gilbertd wrote:

If you can get the door open without breaking the latch, cut the Orange/Pink wire (or the one on the latch that connects to the Orange/Pink) as that is the one that feeds the superlock motor. The spring doesn't hold the superlock on, it holds the latch so the door is able to be closed. Breaking the latch makes it no longer possible to latch the door shut, so you will need a new latch anyway.

ouch, ok, thank you very much again for the extensive explanation.

Gilbertd wrote:

The BeCM isn't involved in the tailgate locking. Power goes to one side of the tailgate latch, the other side goes to the pushbutton and the pushbutton is connected to the RH front door latch and gets a ground via the central locking microswitch. So if the door is locked, there is no ground there so no complete circuit to open the tailgate, when unlocked a ground is present on the Green/Red wire from the latch and the circuit is complete so pressing the pushbutton opens that tailgate. You can get at the Green/Red wire at a connector inside the boot behind the side panel where the coloured wires all change to white before going into the tailgate.

Gotcha, thank you very much for the clear explanation.
so if I brake the RH latch and remove the spring that responds to the superlock motors, i can then open the door and the boot via the sill actuator.
I could live with the car not locking at the moment, as long all the doors can be opened.

anyone on here that lives in the north of Italy and has a Nanocom to try and solve the mess I Have? happy to pay

Gilbertd wrote:

The tailgate is locked when the RH front door is locked, so really you need to reinstate the central locking. I would suggest un-bodging the wiring and getting it back to how it should be. If the sill locking button doesn't cause the other doors to lock, chances are the CDL switch has died, which would also explain the locked tailgate. If the alarm light is permanently flashing, chances are it isn't turning off so the starter circuit will be disabled by the BeCM, hence the starter push button to bypass it. The immobiliser can't be removed but someone has obviously found a way around it. Not sure how the immobiliser works on the diesel (in fact, I know very little about how anything works on a diesel)

Hi Gilbert, thank you very much for your answer, really appreciated.
The car is a mess to say the least and tom mu understanding, the BECM is alarmed, permanently. so the immobiliser has been bypassed removing the 3 relays on the main fuse box.
the fob is broken, and therefore even if I attempt to reinstate the relays I highly doubt I get anywhere.
My only concern to procede with the Lock breakage procedure is that i might be able to get the passenger door open but the boot will still be closed as the superlock is within the BECM corrupted stautus.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but given the mess the BECM is in, a Nanocom might be the best bet to unlock the door and consequently the boot, but I might have too much confidence in the Nanocom, not doubting the Nanocom capabilities but the mess the car is in.

Harv wrote:

Welcome here. Others with more experience with the door locks will chime in, but my first thought is that your door is "super locked". I'm guessing it's your right hand door. If it's locked, your boot will not open.
Hello there and thank you. Yes, you are spot on, unfortunately the boot is locked too as the bloody superlock has kicked in.

i bought it as a project car and will be mainly used by my son. it had many issues, mechanicals and body, which I'm sorting bit by bit.
the engine will undergo a major overhaul in weeks with timing chain, diesel pump, crankshaft seals front and back, injector cleaning and clutch.
body panels need considerable amount of works, which will do in summer. but now, what is driving me crazy since yesterday is the Front passenger door.
the car has undergone some serious bodge by the previous owner....
the entire alarm/immobilzer/door locking system it has been bodged. immobilizer removed, central locking remove, or at least put to sleep in a dodge way.
essentially, alarm led blinks, immobilizer removed, removing the relays form the main fuse box.
engine cranks turning the ignition but then with a press button.
Driver's door open and closes only mechanically with the key.
key fob is a dead bug, just a shell with a partially working board.
up to yesterday the front passenger door would latch and unlatch seamlessly, but now is permanently latched and i can' open it, nor I can open the boot and the rear door passenger side. so, i have left driver and non driver rear door.
even when working, the front passenger door CDL will not lock all the doors, so I had to go around a close manually, which didn't bother me. but now is a real mess.
I don't want to recover the CDL functionality, i just want to gain access and be able to open/close all the doors mechanically.

any idea more then welcome. I have already tested in the past the microswitches on the passenger door and all were returning the correct reading, but this was almost a year ago.

thank in advance

Hi everyone,
New member here, finally joining the P38 corner of the Land Rover universe. I currently own a Discovery 3 and a Range Rover P38—two machines I both love and hate for all the obvious reasons. They’re brilliant when they work, maddening when they don’t, and somehow I keep coming back for more.
The P38 in particular has that perfect mix of charm, capability, and… let’s say creative engineering choices that make it overcomplicated, temperamental, and constantly in need of attention. But when it behaves, it’s still one of the most satisfying vehicles to drive.
Looking forward to sharing experiences, learning from the veterans, and swapping stories about the joys and disasters that come with keeping these legends on the road