Hello Gents, i am asking for your help and advice in a problem that i am having with my 2006 range rover sport. Canadian model 4.4 liter engine, hse trim. Flat battery problem. i have read many posts re: the flat battery problem.

history i am the owner of this sport since Sept 2016, unknowingly purchased with said fault. i did have a independent range rover garage do a pre purchase inspection of the truck and starting and charging systems were given a pass.

previous owner had owned the truck for two years and had provided me with service records whilst under his ownership. oil changes ect... he had replaced the battery Dec 2015 and the air compressor for the EAS Jan 2015.
Checked the upper tailgate switch, was dry and not corroded.
So as of late i have decided to try to solve the problem. one of the things i have noticed is that when i park up the truck and lock it with the key fob, is that when i press the top button on the fob, the doors lock as normal, three flashes from the turn lamps. and a few seconds later a release of air from the EAS and a slight lowering of the truck. i say slight because i have lowered to access height and access height is much lower. is this normal? read the manual and couldn't find anything on it. however did find a section on programming it to lower the EAS using the third button on the fob, last one from the top.

so here is where i started, read many forums, soaked in as much info as my brain would allow. disconnected the power for aftermarket DVD player and headrest screens as per one of the posts which recommended to do so. still after two days i had a flat battery.

wondering if that partial lowering thing is causing the EAS to remain active?

Thank you in advance for your help and advice in this matter. Cheers Neil

This may sound a bit simplistic but have you tried fully charging the battery? Disconnect it first and then charge overnight with a decent smart charger. Check voltage with a digital voltmeter after waiting for the surface charge to dissipate - should be at least around 12.8 volts. Reconnect and see how many days it lasts.

You can check for battery drain by connecting the voltmeter in series with the battery positive lead but wait for the car to 'go to sleep' before doing so.

If the battery is good (test to see how long it holds a charge when disconnected) and your voltmeter shows a drain of more than 50 mA then you need to trace the drain. There is a detailed guide on quiescent battery drain written by Robbie on the Disco 3 site. 2008 MY Java Black TDV8 HSE

Thanks Paddi, no i have not fully charged the battery using the trickle charger. i've had the battery charging system checked once by an independent range rover shop and once agian by BCAA your equivalent to the RAC. but and here is a big but, i did question them on why the battery was not load tested? load testing involves bringing a battery to full state of charge, putting a load on the battery dependent on it's CCA rating for a determined amount of time like 15 secs or so and the voltage should not drop below around 10 volts i believe . both times they looked at me like i was crazy mad for even suggesting such a thing. their answer was that if the battery was able to start the vehicle it was deemed ok. i totally disagree with this answer. i no longer use the independent shop for anything as now i know how wrong they are.

Paddi you are right, i need to start with the battery. fully charge it and load test it and go from there. the battery is still under warranty and will take it back to place of purchase and have them test the battery.

i did read Robbi's write up what an excellent write up that was. that will be my guide along with any suggestions and help from this forum and it's members. Cheers Neil.

BTW. any thoughts on when i lock up my truck why the truck drops an inch or two?within 5 seconds and holds at that height for the entire night , still do not know if that is normal?

My disco 3 used to level itself when i locked it and never gave me any issues and cant say i have noticed it yet on my sport

when you shut a door, it will re-level

Forgot to comment on the flatulence and levelling but the other posters cleared that up nicely

If the battery has died, not unlikely if it has been completely drained or or twice, then you'll probably find the warranty will be honoured regardless.

Considering it is cheap and easy to replace might be worth changing that upper tailgate switch just in case. 2008 MY Java Black TDV8 HSE

Thanks for the replys Guys, much appreciated. Ok went over to the shop where the battery was purchased and was not looking forward to the reception i thought i was about to receive. i don't have the best of luck with warranty's . i explained to the young man my problem and to my surprise he said they will give me a brand new replacement at no charge. he even said i can upgrade to an AGM battery if i pay the difference. Wow so i will take them up on that offer.
the warranty will still remain intact. just to satisfy my own curiosity i will have the battery load tested at a mates shop or the battery shop also offered me testing for free. wow, customer service is still alive and well at this battery shop.


Right, onto the partial lowering, i call it range rover yoga. partial downward dog pose. i'll explain as best as i can, so please bear with me. the truck drives at normal ride height, i park the truck on a level street parking spot. i get out of the truck, all the doors are closed,and i lock the truck with the key fob. five seconds later i hear air exiting from under the truck and the the truck lowers two inches aprox. but not to full lower like access height. all 4 corners lower at partial downward dog. so i guess my question is being at this in between height, would the EAS control module fail to go to sleep? and stay on causing battery drain?
Thanks for your reply's and comments Cheers Neil

Hi Paddi, forgot to mention, had the upper tail gate switch out. not a single drop of water or moisture. the metal lever looked brand new, no corrosion. the micro switch also looked new,dry and unremarkable. the plug contacts where also clean and dry. the switch was checked with my ohm meter and worked flawlessly. thank you for the suggestion, i believe the previous owner may have replaced it, saves me a few dollars. Thanks again. Cheers Neil.

Sorry to hear your woes. I cannot offer much advice other than let you know my 2005 when locked will hiss and drop/level slightly. I don't drop mine to access height, but 2 inches sounds a lot of travel. I would say mine only lowers 1" maybe. Drive is also on a slight gradient. You have checked the boot door switch, but also the door actuators are all to common to fail. The door faults were obvious problems unlocking/locking, you could lock and then door could be just opened.

hope you trace it.

Hello Adam, thanks very much for your input. being new to the range rover brand/ family of trucks and community, i am not quite sure on the quirks of the vehicle. should it do this? is this normal? ect... therefore if i can find it in the owners manual, i turn to this great forum. Thanks again. Cheers Neil.

I'm also a new owner - but I've seen the car lower itself very slightly in the driveway when I get out, and it only seems to happen in the driveway (its a tiny/slight gradient). Basically a hiss of air, like when you remove a pump from a bicycle. All seems perfectly normal to me.

Just like the disco fart then Just bought a RRS 06 MY HSE TDV6 136,000 miles, to be a second car to my bland, boring Mitsubishi Outlander 68 plate 2.0 petrol 4

Thanks to everyone for their help and advice. just chucked a new battery in the truck on Sunday. drove it for 30 minutes, and parked it for two days. jumped in and started right up, no warnings, no alarms, what a relief. i'd say problem solved. Cheers Neil.

p.s. no battery was replaced at no cost to me.

Hello, my first post on your forum.......

I have decided to get a new battery for my 2007 RRS. Had years with no problems but lately, if the car sits for more than 3 or 4 days, it only just starts, after 5 or 6 attempts (and resets the dash computer readings!).

I had a quick look under the battery cover and it's a Land Rover branded Varta unit in there, 90ah, RC150, 950amps.

Question: Any recommendations on a new one? Another Varta or a different brand?

Thanks,

Jules

I have learned a very valuable lesson with batteries in our trucks recently. not only is it important to buy the battery with the best specs,or at least one that matches your current one, provided your happy with what you have. but also to keep in mind the warranty. you want to get one that offers a full replacement for the life of the warranty period. which simply means no out of pocket expenses to you. eg. proratated warranty. don't know how warranties work in the UK, but where i live i have learned most manufactures offer free replacement at any time during the warranty period. AGM batteries are becoming more affordable and seem to be the way to go for performance and a no mess solution. meaning no more battery acid leaking and making a mess in the battery tray. good luck with your search, Cheers Neil.