I have a T rag Freelander XDi. A few weeks ago I was driving along at about
70mph and I put the headlights on. The speedo dropped back to zero and the odometer reading disappeared. The next morning as I set off for the dealer's it was all working fine again, except that the trip odo was registering zero and the odo had not counted the miles from when the speedo switched off. Turning the lights on had no effect.The dealer tested the car and their computer said that the ABS Modulator was failing and it would cost £1800 to replace. My credit card company has deep pockets so I agreed.
The day after it was fixed I drove a 12 mile round trip twice and as I got home the second time the speedo switched off. I drove immediately to the dealer whose computer now refused to acknowledge its connection to my car. They spent the next day driving the car around and retesting it, with the speedo etc. working fine. On Land Rover's advice they checked (broke and remade) a number of the electrical connections. They could not replicate the fault. I spat blood at the £1800 but agreed to drive the car around through the Christmas period and observe carefully when the fault occurred.
Late one afternoon I was nearing the end of a 30 mile trip when it happened again. The headlights were already on and I had been about to turn off the heater which was cooking my feet. A few days later I drove to London (200 miles) with no lights and no heater; from London to Maidstone with heater and no lights; and from Maidstone to London with lights and no heater. The problem did not recur. I drove home with the heater on the windscreen and after about 100 miles took a break. I set off again with heater on my feet and headlights on and after 15 miles the speedo stopped working.
The next morning it was all working fine again and the dealer could not diagnose or replicate the problem.
It seems completely irrational that cooking my feet (usually actually my wife's feet) whilst having the headlights on should affect the speedo.
Has anyone seen this problem before? Does anyone know the cure?
Ar'll sithee DaveT In Sunny South Yorkshire