R75, Audio system + seat motor no power

[bjornebarn]

Hello!
I recently bought a Rover 75
My problem is that even since buying the car the audio system, including the CD changer, and the motor for the passenger seat won't power on. I've checked through all the other fuses and they are good. My suspicion is that there might be some kind of short circuit that keeps those two systems from getting enough power, while at the same time draining the battery. I can't say yet however if the new battery is also being drained as quickly or not; at least this time it held enough charge over night, which it didn't last time.

I'm however new to cars (this is actually my first one) and I can't really find any relevant information while searching online, so I was hoping that you could help me find the cause - driving without music is not fun and if there's a short circuit draining the battery it's ofc quite serious...

Thank you very much for any help and suggestions!
:xmas-smiley-007:

[suzublu]

Do you have highline audio fitted? Look in the boot for water ingress :smiley: If you have sat-nav, it might not be shutting down properly, resulting in a flat battery.

[bjornebarn]

I have the Symphony without any sat-nav. I will see if I can find any water ingress.

[SD1too]

Hello!
I recently bought a Rover 75 2.5 V6 auto ... Already on the first day it had low oil pressure, started overheating and also the battery drained almost immediately ...
Hello "no" (that's not your name, surely. ;) Is it Bjorn?),

:welcome: to Roverland and to this club's forum.

I'm just curious about this low oil pressure. How did you determine that? :confused:

Was the overheating caused by a radiator fan fault?

Battery drainage on the V6 is rare, particularly if you don't have sat. nav. Perhaps the battery was in a low state of charge when you bought the car. Have you tried charging it externally for at least 24 hours? If it doesn't respond to that treatment, it could be that the battery has reached the end of its life.

Simon

[bjornebarn]

Hello "no" (that's not your name, surely. ;) Is it Bjorn?),

:welcome: to Roverland and to this club's forum.

I'm just curious about this low oil pressure. How did you determine that? :confused:

Was the overheating caused by a radiator fan fault?

Battery drainage on the V6 is rare, particularly if you don't have sat. nav. Perhaps the battery was in a low state of charge when you bought the car. Have you tried charging it externally for at least 24 hours? If it doesn't respond to that treatment, it could be that the battery has reached the end of its life.

Simon

Thank you! Yes... I'm Bjorn :p

For the oil pressure, a warning sign started coming on almost from the first time driving. In the beginning it was sporadic and seemed to mainly be when the car was on a slope, but before returning it to the dealer it was on constantly. I checked the oil level and it was way over the top of the max-marking on the stick.

No, the radiator fan was working fine, but when I turned off the engine, the fan continued for half a minute or so, started clicking and then the battey was dead. I had to jump-start the car the three or so times I drove it, and the first time I drover it for at least 50 km to get some charge, but early next morning (after ca 8 hours) the battery was already dead. The next day I drove for another 20 km or so, and when I turned the engine off the battery was dead within half a minute.

The dealer repaired it but all I could understand, aside from exchange of battery, was that they had to exchange some part of the engine, which cost ca 250 euro to order from Rover (of course I didn't have to pay anything). They also exchanged all the oil.

[SD1too]

Thanks for your reply Bjorn. I don't think things are as bad as they sound.

Oil pressure
It sounds as if your oil level was very low. The dipstick showed above the maximum mark because you probably don't know the special procedure for reading it accurately on the V6. Here (http://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/showpost.php?p=1233152&postcount=46) it is.

Radiator fan
The fan running after the engine had been stopped indicates that it was overheating. The temperature gauge wouldn't have shown this. One reason may be that the fan's slow speed has failed. This is an extremely common fault. I'd check it if I were you. Start the engine from cold, press the windscreen demist button, then get out of the car and listen at the radiator grille. Is the fan running continuously?

Battery
There may not have been anything wrong with your battery. It had probably become discharged with the fan running all the time (it takes an enormous current). 50 km is not enough to bring a discharged battery up to full strength. The best way is to charge it externally for 24 hours.

The dealer's repair
Ask the dealer which part was renewed at a cost of €250.

Gas
Are you talking about LPG?

Heated seats
A blowing fuse indicates that you have a short circuit somewhere. Check for wiring damage.

Electric seat & audio system
How are your electrical skills Bjorn?

Simon

[bjornebarn]

Thank you for your help!

Oil
Okay, I didn't know that there was a special procedure. Anyway, after the repair the car stopped complaining about the oil pressure, so I guess that it has been resolved.

Radiator Fan
I'm not sure how it's behaving after we got it back from the repair (we could only drive for one day before it broke down again), but the temperature was stable according to the indicator. When we had the overheating problems, the temperature almost immediately rose to the top of the gauge. I will check how it behaves when the car has been repaired again.

Battery
The only thing I can say for sure is that the battery is holding it's charge now, but I don't know if it's because the dealer made sure to charge it properly this time before handing it to me, or if the fan isn't draining as much due to lack of overheating or not...

Anyway, I guess you don't believe that there could be a short circuit draining the battery at the same time as stopping the Audio system and the passenger seat motor from getting (enough) power?

[bjornebarn]

I found the problem with the audio system. Apparently there's a 10 A fuse on the backside of the radio itself, that I found yesterday while taking out the radio. Now it's booting, but, it's asking for a code and I can't find any in the papers that came with the car (even though it's the original papers from the dealer when the car was bought in 2001).

Do you know how I can get the code and is it easy/quick? Otherwise I think I will buy a new radio, but since I'm new to this I don't know if there are different types of connectors or not (i.e. how do I know if I can connect a new radio or not from a normal electronics shop?)

EDIT:
I found this site while googling: https://www.google.se/search?site=&source=hp&q=rover+audio+code&oq=rover+audio+code&gs_l=hp.3..0i13l5j0i13i30l5.338.4257.0.4377.16.16. 0.0.0.0.135.1338.13j3.16.0.msedr...0...1c.1.60.hp. .0.16.1335.yage6Mm9tck

where they can give me the code for 25 pounds. That is ridiculously expensive considering what they are actually selling, and the fact that I can buy a modern radio with aux in, USB memory stick, bluetooth etc for 5 pounds...

[suzublu]

Just fit a modern radio, much easier. You may need a BMW to ISO connector for your car as it's a 2000 model.:Snow:

[SD1too]

... but the temperature was stable according to the indicator. When we had the overheating problems, the temperature almost immediately rose to the top of the gauge.
The temperature gauge will not give you any idea of stability Bjorn. The needle will point at 'normal' at all temperatures between 75 and 115°C. Above that upper limit, the needle will rise rapidly to maximum as you experienced. To monitor an accurate digital display of the actual coolant temperature have a look at this (http://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=185808).

... it's asking for a code and I can't find any in the papers that came with the car ..
Which model radio do you have?

Simon

[suzublu]

Symphony Simon :noel: