HDC System Fault - New alternator and now new battery

PETER HARRIS

MEMBER
2014 LAND ROVER RANGE ROVER
4WD
AUTOMATIC
50,000 MILES

My car has been backwards and forwards to the garage with the following message “HCD system fault”. The special terrains such as sand, snow and ice etc, were restricted and I could not raise or lower the vehicle. Shortly after this I also got the message “low battery”. The battery was tested and found to be working fine. To cut a long story short the dealership decided to replace the alternator (under extended warranty) as they were having problems diagnosing the vehicle. As soon as I drive the car out of the dealership all lights were back on (HDC fault), now they are saying it could be a problem with the can bus wiring? And I need to buy a new battery as this is not covered under the extended warranty and they want £300.00. Any advice? I feel that they do not know what they are doing and I am paying unnecessarily for something which may not solve the problem.

3 Replies

STEVE W.

MECHANIC
13,465 POSTS

Hello and welcome to 2CarPros. Was the message HDC Fault System not available? That seems to be common on them if the battery shows even a minor voltage drop that would be considered okay on other vehicles. That same drop would cause a low battery warning as well. My first test would be to use a load tester on the battery to see if it does drop any voltage under load. Next would be to clean the connections for the battery cables and check the fuses for any corrosion that could cause any voltage changes. It wouldn't be a bad idea to check the battery current sensor as well. It could be reporting the wrong data if it was dirty or the connector is faulty.
It could be an issue in the CAN but most of them seem to be battery related.

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Thursday, April 11th, 2019 AT 8:23 PM

PETER HARRIS

MEMBER
2 POSTS

Thank you very much for your reply. It sounds like it may well be the battery then. I’m just annoyed at all the messing about I’ve been through and the numerous trips backwards and forwards to the dealership to get the problem resolved. I’m more annoyed about the fact that I have to pay � 300 for a new battery having had the alternator replaced under the extended warranty. They told me yesterday that batteries are not covered under the extended warranty. At one point they did say that the faulty alternator could have affected the battery. Thank you

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Friday, April 12th, 2019 AT 12:18 AM

STEVE W.

MECHANIC
13,465 POSTS

Yes a bad alternator can easily mess up a battery. I know what you feel about the constant run around with the dealer driving you crazy. I looked and that battery runs about $200.00 dollars at my cost, toss in the labor and mark-up and $300.00 is right there, unfortunately It suffers from the same fate as the ones for many vehicles these days, limited usage that drives the pricing up.

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Friday, April 12th, 2019 AT 9:12 AM