couple of random and general questions

[Eric K]

1. My mom wants a Land Rover pretty much because it raises and lowers and she has a bad hip. She can't have a car (because who knows why) and the fact that she has to climb into my LR3 even in access mode doesn't deter her. So does anyone know of a simple way to find out the access mode heights of various land rovers?


2. Driving home last night in my LR3, I had the lights on, front and rear heated windshields, as well as my seat heated, when I tried to turn up the radio it said low power mode. I turned off the heated windshields as they had done their job and I could then pump up the volume. I get that is a lot of stuff, but I thought the alternator would be able to keep up as I was driving. Is this a normal thing or do I have a problem?

 

[nwoods]

Question 1 scares the crap out of me. Land Rovers are not like a kneeling elephant. That little compressor cannot perform that trick on frequent, daily basis. Do me a favor and have her try something around the height of an Acura MDX, maybe a Nissan Murrano, BMX X3 or X5, Volvo XC90, or the 10 or 12 Mercedes models that start with the letter G.

Question 2: sounds like a failing battery and potentially a failing alternator. They are wearable parts. 3 years is the average life span on an LR3.

 

[Eric K]

hahaha.....you would have to know my mom, changing her mind isn't really a thing. :}

Thanks for the info on question 2, pretty sure my battery is good (last winter I think), but I think I have had the alternator for a few years. I think. I will check on that tonight.

 

[DieselRanger]

Question 1 scares the crap out of me. Land Rovers are not like a kneeling elephant. That little compressor cannot perform that trick on frequent, daily basis. Do me a favor and have her try something around the height of an Acura MDX, maybe a Nissan Murrano, BMX X3 or X5, Volvo XC90, or the 10 or 12 Mercedes models that start with the letter G.

Mine does it several times a day and has for 3 years with no problems. Also does it quite frequently offroad. Not such a "little" compressor.

But I would agree that there are far better choices for someone who has a bad hip and wants an easy in/out experience, and will cost less to own - such as a Subaru Outback or Forester. If she wants to be posh, go with something German.

 

[Eric K]

OH I flat out suggested a Subaru. AWD, pretty nice, good ground clearance for the light snow that we get but she thinks is a problem, but it was a no go. She's pretty stubborn. I am basically hoping she forgets about it and just keeps the vehicle she has.

 

[soflorovers]

Question 1 scares the crap out of me. Land Rovers are not like a kneeling elephant. That little compressor cannot perform that trick on frequent, daily basis. Do me a favor and have her try something around the height of an Acura MDX, maybe a Nissan Murrano, BMX X3 or X5, Volvo XC90, or the 10 or 12 Mercedes models that start with the letter G.

Question 2: sounds like a failing battery and potentially a failing alternator. They are wearable parts. 3 years is the average life span on an LR3.

Well, with Re: to Q1, you're correct for the older Rovers such as the Gen 1 RRS and LR3. However, later LR such as the L405/L494 have the ability to automatically raise and lower the car with parking/unlocking, so I guess LR must've updated the hardware to cope, right? Grandpa had a diesel L494 with that feature enabled from day 1 and it was sold problem-free with over 40k miles. However, maybe LR didn't do anything to upgrade the compressor, it's just a time bomb, and maybe we just got lucky? Honestly, who knows.... Looking at the replacement parts on Atlantic British now for the later L405/L494, and it appears to be an upgraded AMK unit.

 

[soflorovers]

Mine does it several times a day and has for 3 years with no problems. Also does it quite frequently offroad. Not such a "little" compressor.

But I would agree that there are far better choices for someone who has a bad hip and wants an easy in/out experience, and will cost less to own - such as a Subaru Outback or Forester. If she wants to be posh, go with something German.

As I pointed out above, my guess is that the D5, L494 and L405 probably came with slightly sturdier compressors than the LR3's that most members on here have grown accustomed to. Additionally, I haven't heard much from people Re: compressor failures once they upgrade to the better AMK units in their LR3/4. Is it possible that the new OEM units are slightly more robust?

 

[Carson G]

Frankly I think most of the problem on the LR3’s and early sports has to do with suspension leaks and the air drier causing the compressor to run too long. And frankly changing a compressor isn’t that hard to do once you’ve done it once I could probably knock it out 20 minutes.

 

[Corgi_express]

Question 1 scares the crap out of me. Land Rovers are not like a kneeling elephant. That little compressor cannot perform that trick on frequent, daily basis.

Um, what? Automatic access height is a standard feature on modern Land Rovers. Why in the world would they build an air suspension that cannot handle being lowered two or three times per day?

 

[Carson G]

Um, what? Automatic access height is a standard feature on modern Land Rovers. Why in the world would they build an air suspension that cannot handle being lowered two or three times per day?

Frankly if the system isn’t leaking it could 100% handle it. Once the system starts leaking is when problems start. Because the compressor has to run for a long time. Long run time= heat which kills the compressor.

 

[Carson G]

hahaha.....you would have to know my mom, changing her mind isn't really a thing. :}

Thanks for the info on question 2, pretty sure my battery is good (last winter I think), but I think I have had the alternator for a few years. I think. I will check on that tonight.

I get 3-4 year out of a battery and I’ve only had to replace the alternator once 10 years ago.

 

[Eric K]

if it is the alternator, does everyone go with the OEM $400 alternator or are there good alternatives?

 

[Carson G]

if it is the alternator, does everyone go with the OEM $400 alternator or are there good alternatives?

Yeah definitely OEM.

 

[Carson G]

If you have a multimeter you can check the battery while it’s running and you’ll know pretty quickly if it’s charging.

 

[RR876]

I have an L322 RRSC 4.2 and assume that the alternator will be similar to the Jag 4.4.

I purchased a reman unit from eBay which failed after three months. The seller asked for me to return the unit but he never refunded the money. I would t trust a reman unit again since it takes several painful hours to replace an alternator on the supercharged engine.

I subsequently purchased a brand new Denso. The new part was an updated version of the original and works perfectly. Denso is the OE supplier.

Looks like they can be purchased for about $300 brand new on eBay.

Original part number Denso YLE500190

Replacement part number Denso YLE500390