Discovery I, 1997 Electrical Problem. May Day...

[Dmitri Lebedinski]

Hi,
I have an intermittent electrical problem on my Discovery I V8, 1997. Sometimes, when I switch on left or right turn light I hear a "pock" sound in the rear part of the car. Engine works fine and all electric system works well. When I go to stop, switch off engine with the key all electrical system becomes completely dead and any attempt to switch on an engine with the key doesn't do anything. When I pull down a stick in a door that blocks a lock I hear "tick, tick, tick" behind the dashboard in front of the passenger's seat. If I wait for 15 minutes and then switch on the lights again electrical system comes up.
My local dealer didn't find anything.
Regards
Dmitri

[pavel]

you say your electrical system goes completely dead when you switch off with the ignition key? Are you removing the key or are you leaving the key in the ignition when you 'turn off'? We had a similar problem caused by the alarm system. My wife finally figured it out by removing the key, reinserting it and then turning to 'on' position, pausing for a second or 2 and only then would the engine start. If your problem is caused by the alarm system, it is a very common problem according to the Dealer. Pavel

[Dmitri Lebedinski]

Hi Pavel,
It looks like an alarm system to me too. However, my guess is that at certain point after the sound "pock" there is a break in electric circuit. It triggers alarm system on and when I switch off an engine immobilizer switches on and all electric system goes down. It's just my guess...
What did your local dealer tell you about your problem?
Regards
Dmitri

[Colin S]

My 96 SD did the same thing when I first got it. the clicking is the immobilizer. I used the remote control and pressed the unlock button several times and the problem went away. The best advice I can give is to keep every electrical connection you can find on the car clean at all times. I'm amazed that with all the electrical systems Land Rover built into their cars, the wiring is still so sub par. They may have cured the quality problems in their new cars but in my opinion, the Discovery 1 is the best model Land Rover ever built. I only wish the quality of the new trucks would be combined with the design of the older V8 trucks of the mid 90's.