Oh no ! - The New Defender 90 L663 Gets a Flat Battery & Throws Its Toys Out The Pram !

[@silktvPDR1]

Great to see LR are still using customers to do its fault finding and development!

[@L663]

It was my fault the battery went flat ... but the resultant stuff seems over dramatic !

[@jamescaley9942]

@@L663 If it secretly draws 10amps while doing nothing that is insane complexity.

[@L663]

@@jamescaley9942 See my other video where we analysed this kzbin.info/www/bejne/iX7NaIt4f5lrja8

[@Stubear22374]

Lovely to see Land Rover hasn’t changed much, expensive vehicles that still have the same issues as all previous motors did. my d3 was a nightmare at time for faults ghost faults oddities and craps put on you when you need it most, but we still love the old green oval despite this

[@andrewjones-productions]

Land Rover offer an exorbitantly priced pair of seats called 'Event seats' (or something) accessory for the luggage area of the Discovery 5. That means the tailgate being open all day long at anything from your local sheepdog trials to a gymkhana or even just the village carnival! People will obviously go and eat or to the toilet or walk around and so you have constant opening and closing. A nice idea, but why haven't Land Rover put an 'Event' mode in tandem with this concept in the infotainment system which you can select upon arrival that switches off everything but central locking and the interior lights. Switching the engine back on would or could automatically cancel 'Event mode'.

[@bungle5785]

Ha ha, I'm glad you're enjoying the true LR experience. I chuckled my way through that video, great content.

[@mda5003]

It seems modern vehicles need to be kept on a 'maintenance' charger when not being used for several days - especially if the doors/bonnet/boot/tailgate are repeatedly being opened and closed etc. Even switching on the ignition without starting the engine the battery voltage will drop considerably before slowly recovering when switched off - assuming the battery is still healthy enough. A discharged battery can leave various faults which may need to be cleared or the vehicle driven - with mine the windows also need to opened and closed to re-set one-touch operation.

[@philippemariloussian5218]

I think what is missing on the dashboard is a big red emergency button call “RESET” 😂 …. That video is a treat for ASPW 😮😅😂

[@L663]

Yes mush as I hate to give ASPW reason to comment it was what happened

[@philippemariloussian5218]

@@L663 🤒🤐😅😂

[@grahamp4384]

The alternator on my supercharged L494 failed a few months ago. I got about twenty minutes of driving from it before all kinds of warning lights start flashing up and superfluous systems began shutting down, including the gearbox locking itself into a high gear. Very Apollo 13! Made it home but didn't have enough volts left to select reverse to get it on the drive. 😆

[@cblack1green]

Snap, had exactly the same on mine, mine killed the battery as well and stranded me on the road, it had to winched onto the recovery lorry.

[@thelonewolf666]

i really like your channel as everytime i feel i want a landrover--- i watch one of your videos and then smack myself around the head and come to my senses, cheers brother, that swing out tow hitch in the uk models is a giggle, no one uses them in australia

[@L663]

I hear you - i think wanted / owning a Land Rover will soon be classed as a form of neurologically divergent !

[@jonstevens5962]

That alarm’s gonna terrify the baddies.

[@L663]

Turns out its not so much of an alarm than a cry for help !

[@dxg999]

@@L663 Is it maybe meant to sound if the tow bar loses its "locked into positionness" while towing? It's the kind of thing that would make you pull over to figure it out...

[@cotswoldphotographers]

Thanks Simon really helpful. I’ve been lucky so far with my D250 110 13k miles and no battery issue whatsoever. I certainly can’t say the same for my previous XC90 which was blighted so bad that the start stop function never worked. Additionally my wife had a beatle and needed to replace 2 batteries!! I’ve been meaning to look at setting up a trickle charge system for my 110 while the car is locked up and not in use but would be interested to see if you have a plan before I do anything. Looking at some of the other comments I think it’s far to easy to keep knocking LR about issues which happen to all manufacturers.

[@L663]

The flat battery was my fault - the issues for me here are 1) why did the alarm keep going ? 2) why did I not get a clear message on the screen of the issue 3) why does the tow bar need resetting - it had not moved - it should be more resiliant - it does not give an issue when the battery is disconnected. I posted this video not to knock LR but to help others if they have the same issue.

[@cotswoldphotographers]

Absolutely Simon and I wasn’t saying you was knocking LR I merely meant that issues like this happen a lot now and that it’s not just LR that have these issues and especially where so much technology is involved. I agree that a more detailed error log would have been helpful so perhaps LR will take this onboard. As a community we are lucky to have someone like you with your knowledge in our corner. 👍

[@Timmt09]

Try a solar panel charger like the caravaning peopl use it should stop battery going flat

[@markwall6651]

Simon I was shouting at the phone to check the towbar!! Usually when started the sound last for around 20 Seconds then turns off till next restart, had my dealer fooled too till We saw the flashing light! No cameras- just soft reset the pivi pro by Holding down the volume button for thirty seconds reboots the system!!!

[@L663]

So it is not just me ! I hope the video helps others who have the same issue !

[@markwall6651]

@@L663 it surely will do an help dealers too😉

[@TheWrongBrother]

Considering the battery drain, and the number of actuators included with the vehicle for various functions, the Defender does indeed look like it would benefit from a dual battery setup, one for core functions and another for non core. I wonder how much more drain that main battery will suffer when higher power accessories are added/optioned to the vehicle like a sunroof, winch, overlanding lights etc. especially those that might need to work when the vehicle is switched off.

[@mikeclark4416]

I thought for a moment Land Rover had changed their ways in turning out bad vehicles ,and started building reliable ones ! ,but thats been dashed !

[@L663]

Hi Mike - to be fair to Land Rover the flat battery was in part my fault as it has had the doors opened and closed a lot recently. The rear tow bar module needs a software tweak or the BCM ( Body control module ) needs to cut power to it when in low power mode to protect it from seeing low voltage.

[@eliotmansfield]

need a decent constant voltage high current power supply - as you can see the house loads of these things are in the region of 10-15 amp, so doors open and filming for 30 mins will drain it quickly. I use modified server power supplies that will provide up to 50 amp. The dealers have these for when doing firmware updates to maintain a decent voltage level

[@L663]

We do have a sealey power supply we use for ECU programming which would have been a better choice !

[@Snacksaregood]

Could a faulty battery cause issues with the air conditioning? I’m having a weird issue with my air conditioner not blowing the same power setting in the back as the front. It also blows much hotter in the back as well.

[@888johnmac]

main vehicle battery under the electric seat ?? how many engineers with how many degrees thought that was a good idea ?? ( yeah i know there is a jump point under the bonnet , but come on )

[@L663]

I dont mind it under the seat.... low centre of gravity... not exposed to temperature variations....but the electric seat is annoying in the 90 and its slow !

[@ecossearthur]

Several other manufacturers place the batteries underneath the seats.

[@fenflyer]

I stick with a good old P38 🤣

[@timothyknight7881]

We don’t have a deployable tow bar in the USA. Seems like something else to go wrong.

[@petermorris3665]

Exactly. Seems to me like a complicated solution to a problem that did not exist - A bit like electric handbrakes.

[@L663]

I am a big fan of the electric handbrake - in its latest form with motor on caliper - the motor and cable version was a disaster.

[@timothyknight7881]

I can’t get my Defender to turn off the Hold function of the break. Turned off now, but it still automatically does what it wants. And it is not handy when parking in my garage.

[@burgerbirger2221]

With a high parasitic drain like that and just one battery, no wonder the ECU goes poopy in it's pants and need to be reset. Just a safety thing, not to damage the ECU.

[@Alisilverado]

It happened for me last week The battery got flat And try to jump it Didn’t work Send it to dealer The battery was dead They changed it And test the car no drain Strange my car 2020 6000 mile only 😅

[@L663]

The battery has a hard life on the Defender ! probably harder than it needs to have really....

[@j.everett5645]

Once you stop the car, and before exiting, put the key into a farady bag (around AUD$12) . This stop the key talking the car and not initiate the Pivi-pro system etc that cause the battery to flatten. The car stays asleep so yo can open the close the doors as much as you like with no impact on the battery.

[@rogermadeley7413]

Nice if it's outside and it's snowing/raining and you have 20 mins to get to work. I have a Freelander 2 (2008) which has had the same battery for 5 yrs with no problems but have just replaced it now for the winter. Way too many electrics on these new models to be reliable.

[@L663]

Electric devices are fine - care needs to be taken how power is used on modern cars.

[@peternash6206]

Have you found an informed Land Rover technician who can buddy up with you with some of these bizarre faults? What an amazing opportunity for Land Rover to clear the air.

[@L663]

I am more than open to have a dialogue with LR - there are some issues with my local dealership in terms of tech support.

[@peternash6206]

@@L663 I gave up with Land Rover Swindon many years ago but wonder if it is worth asking Land Rover UK if they could hotline a techie or techie department to work with you. Keep up the good work. One small criticism is that you do not always tell us how the dealer resolved some of these bizarre hiccups. Keep the pressure on and always enjoy the videos.

[@L663]

@@peternash6206 Hi - so far every time I have taken the car to the dealers with an issue they have struggled to fix the issue - a couple of times I have fixed them when the dealer could not - I am having some issues with the dealer at the moment but would rather not focus on this.

[@peternash6206]

@@L663 Good luck and thanks for the channel - I now live in Spain and try to do my own fixes so your videos are invaluable.

[@JC-xw7ml]

Must be because it’s in the garage being worked on a lot and not being driven much. I drive around 15 to 20 Miles a day and use mine for work, I must open the doors at least 20 times a day to get stuff out. More for the back door (using the boot button doesn’t fire up Pivi system) never had low battery warning in 2 years. 🤞🏼

[@L663]

The flat battery was my fault - lack of use - but it seemed to get itself into way too much of a pickle ?

[@somoneac26]

After the latest update, the Pivi Pro stays on even though I got out the car and the door was closed. I needed to lock the doors then it turns off.

[@JC-xw7ml]

@@somoneac26 yes, it was annoying when radio used to turn off after a couple of minutes if sitting in car. Now it doesn’t have to boot up every couple of minutes. Better in my opinion

[@JC-xw7ml]

@@L663 yeah, the tow bar thing was a bit weird, totally flat battery must cause the safety alerts to go a bit nuts before resetting

[@stevenmoran4060]

How very strange! Might be an idea to have a word with the dealer to see if it’s a new thing or something they know about. Really stupid idea putting the battery under an electric seat, if you broke down,as we did in a 6 month old new car, all the dashboard died. But RAC man came eventually and said the battery was gone. But at least ours was under the bonnet, how would you replace yours if you can’t get to it cos the seat won’t move?

[@L663]

Yes it seems to be the tow bar causing some problems - but it did not indicate that when i turned the ignition on early in the video - only when i actually start the car ! I guess you would have to attach a battery to the points in the engine bay and then use this to power the seats.. to get to the battery ! The 90 would be so much better with the seats like The Stig - manual slide but electric recline etc.... did you see my TikTok on this...www.tiktok.com/@powerfuluk/video/7162902608879947014?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1&lang=en

[@alhit007]

Sorry if it’s a stupid question but is there not a plus and minus pole underneath the bonnet?. Or was that what you had charger connected to? So that you could put an external battery on it to start it?

[@L663]

Yes there are and that could be used to start the car - my problem was not starting but stopping the noise.

[@alhit007]

@@L663oh ok,love your style, at least we get a real life look at the problem, excellent 👌 keep it coming Simon,

[@soylentgreennewdealtimeshare]

How far Land Rover has fallen since the days when England made proper Defenders and Range Rovers. It's tracking nicely with everything else.

[@L663]

Its not all bad and if used daily this issue is less likely to occur !

[@bugjuicer]

So trying to start, made it sound like Scooby Doo..?

[@seanskinner386]

Sorry to ask a question on an older video. I have read about issues if the battery completely dies it cannot be just recharged/jump started but needs a trip to the dealer (a computer or gap tool etc). Is that true? I am having trouble confirming with simple searches. I’ll reach out to my local LR dealership but I don’t always get the best service. Just wondering if you had experienced this.

[@L663]

I have run the battery flat loads of times and never had to use a computer to reset it !

[@jonathanranollo3429]

Hello! I am waiting for the delivery of my Defender 110 X-Dynamic HSE P400. What battery charger should I use? Thanks for your help.

[@silverfox4113]

Too much electrical crap today!!!

[@AndyK.1]

You and parking cameras 😂

[@L663]

Now i am confused....

[@alib6211]

So this is a 48v mild hybrid, does that mean the 48v lithium battery NOT the 12v AGM battery starts the engine? So land rover I guide says do not charge the 12v battery if connected to the car, how do you know which battery is flat/low and how can you charge the 48v battery? My P400 is also not a daily driver and it keeps having fits due to low 12v battery, starts fine but no electric powered steering, your disconnect/reconnect the 12v battery worked a treat

[@L663]

Hi - this is an interesting point There is no way to see the status of the 48v battery that i can see - i thought the 48v battery was used for starting but that does not seem to be true !

[@HQBProductions]

Simon…I suspect that you may not have driven the car enough to bring it up to full charge and that is why it gets upset . When I had a fading battery, it did strange things to the tailgate operation so the tow bar might have a similar reaction to being disconnected or run down? In my experience, any such problems clear if you stop, switch off, lock up, wait 30 seconds then reopen as normal. A new version of “unplug it, wait and plug it in again”…it seems to work! I think a nice 100 mile run would make a big difference! 🤔🫢😀😀😀😀

[@jimmyquinn9639]

Lovely job 🚗🚙🚘👍👍👍👍⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[@fredflintstone1]

first maybe wind the window down and disconnect the battery, I suspect that it has a seperate battery for the alarm as well

[@manorbleak1]

Poor example of an Xmas jumper :)

[@L663]

I can improve !

[@Pandora882]

That's just a jumper

[@brownfamily67]

Regarding repeatedly opening doors etc: My previous JLR vehicles have given a warning on the display when the battery is low something like “Low battery- please start engine” Does the Defender not do this?

[@L663]

Yes the flat battery was my fault - the interesting thing about this video is how the car deals with it. This could happen ( and has happened ) when camping etc.

[@alansilver3482]

First time you have looked totally stressed.

[@L663]

Yes it was mixture of stress and confusion ! Also this video was "live" when most others we have some time to get things worked out !

[@kimchurchill881]

Hi Simon what battery charger would you recommend for my Defender 110? Thanks Kim

[@L663]

Any CTEK charger is good ! would go for at least 5 Amp version

[@davidwilson4468]

If you have a flat battery and need to replace it how do you move the driver's seat to get to the battery if its flat? Is there some way to manually move it?

[@L663]

Yes you can connect a battery to the points provided in the engine bay and that will give the seat power. If the seat motor fails that could be tricky... you need to move the seat to access the bolts to take the seats out !

[@davidwilson4468]

@@L663 Dont you just love designers, what a silly idea!

[@dave206p3]

did you do a double-lock. I was told that shuts down the computers entirely.

[@L663]

No I did not try that but i think it was going to complain until the tow bar was reset

[@dave206p3]

@@L663 the car will give a quick horn beep after a double lock. Dealer said good to do it once in awhile to reset the onboard computers. Thanks for all the great videos they have been really helpful!

[@bodgerbill3]

Land Rover software is a pile of shit, so glad I sold my 90 (at a small profit).

[@OverlandingwithBruce]

Simon you do know all the haters are now going to say you see landrover is rubbish, that’s why o sold mine, that’s why I didn’t buy one blah blah, because no other vehicle has ever had a flat battery 😂 All owners should know logically this is a silly system and yes LR should get their asses kicked for this but it just needs to be managed. Did you not get a warning on the dash before it went flat?

[@L663]

Hi Bruce - its only fair that i give the unbiased view - good and bad. This is indeed an issue that can be avoided but still could happen. The message should be clearer about the tow bar - and it should be a message on the IPC that you can acknowlege and clear - all that bonging is just not needed.

[@OverlandingwithBruce]

@@L663 agree 100% . My comment was tongue in cheek. Did it warn you?

[@paulbrooker5203]

How many miles a day do you have to drive these cars to keep the battery charged up ?

[@L663]

Its a good question - I guess it depends on type of driving and speed etc. Also depends on how often you open the doors when not driving. My car does not do enough and is always being worked on so its no surprise it gets a flat battery !

[@hedydd2]

@@L663 Perhaps you should make a habit of connecting a charger on it while working on it. Personally I’d have jumped it off another vehicle or charged battery and run it for five miles or more, coming back and connecting the charger to it overnight. If totally discharged, a battery may be killed outright or will never regain its original cranking performance.

[@paulbrooker5203]

@@L663 I was thinking about getting one but I live on a small island in the Hebrides and don't do alot of mileage so electric maybe the way to go

[@L663]

@@paulbrooker5203 It is a great car and will probably be OK in normal use - I am sure Land Rover are working to reduce the static power drain and this can be done via software updates remotely.

[@haanjamiis]

Oh, JLR 🤦🤦‍♀🤦‍♂

[@philipbellew9645]

A great advert for the high tech reliance on the battery. Interlinking so much leaves the home diagnosis almost impossible to fathom. Flat battery = tow bar failure??? What would be the outcome of an MOT be with that buzzer going off? JLR have gone down a slippery slope of needless high tech to appeal to the i phone generation. Like an i phone, it does so much irrelevant stuff well but the actual phone operation is still clunky and poor. Defender use is marred by too much reliance on gizmos and bells (which appear flakey at best).

[@L663]

I love all the gizmos but they need to controlled in a manner that does not impact the car.

[@g0fvt]

It is frustrating how awful dealers knowledge of modern cars is, with one of my own (not a LR) it took a little while to understand the eccentricities of it. The car had genuine faults that were easily fixed at home but that dealers seem incapable of diagnosing. Faultfinding strange behaviour of a vehicle at home can be great fun if you don't actually need to use it but the prospect of it having a tantrum when you are offroad and out of phone coverage is not funny.

[@volvo24091]

Trying to steal your own car

[@ecossearthur]

Pivi reboot my ode!

[@silverfox4113]

I think I will stick with my trusty 2004 Es premium discovery 2 Td5 these new ones are just too unreliable !

[@L663]

Hope your chassis is OK - shame the chassis let down the Discovery 2

[@mvirdi2333]

❤❤🙏🙏🇬🇧

[@L663]

Hi Mr Virdi !

[@timwright848]

Gotta wonder what these new defenders will be like in 20 year's time.

[@L663]

The good news is that will be better as Land Rover will have improved the software with the updates from SOTA ( software over the air )

[@buttyboy100]

My 1982 Series 3 doesn't seem to suffer these problems. Imagine being away from home, miles from anywhere and having to depend on this hairdresser's high street cruiser.

[@L663]

@@buttyboy100 Happy to do a head to head test if you fancy.... New V Old....

[@timwright848]

I'm just not sure that the new defender is or will be as robust as the old one my 2003 110 gets alot of abuse without many issues but the new defender looks a little.....fragile, it's seems to be a premium suv and not a true off reader.