Minimum electronics on p38a

[ivanlrlukic]

Hello everybody,

I wonder what electronic units/systems are really necessary to  keep on p38a?

Poorly maintained vehicles are lying around for silly money but their electronics are today not reliable enough even if cared well about.

Air suspension could be replaced with coli springs.

It would be interesting to hear successful stories what units/systems people removed or replaced with more reliable units/systems.

Regards, Ivan.

[Simon_CSK]

Ivan

The more of the electronics you try and remove the less of a Range Rover you will have. The P38 was never built without air suspension and you can allways tell on the road the cars that have had it removed as they sit much higher. The Air suspension is not that complex a system and the car is worse for not having it.

I am not electronically motivated and I have managed to get to grips with 2006,7,8 cars with more complex systems. Has taken me a lot of time and effort but has been very much worth it.

[ivanlrlukic]

Reading horror stories on this forum from people that couldn't enter or start their vehicle with key fob pushes me to imagine me and my family standing in front of it in rain on holiday..

[P38 Paul]

16 minutes ago, ivanlrlukic said:

Reading horror stories on this forum from people that couldn't enter or start their vehicle with key fob pushes me to imagine me and my family standing in front of it in rain on holiday..

Been there , seen it , done it , but you wont be standing there for long with the back up from all the lads & lasses on this forum , they have always got me out of the sh!7 , you only have to ask 😉

[Escape]

As above, the air suspension is not that complex and really sets the P38 apart from the Range Rover Classic (which got the same EAS by the end of it's run). So I would (and will!) definitely keep that.

Immobilization issues can be largely avoided by disabling passive immobilization in the BECM. I know of several cars that operate happily with no working fob, for many years without a single issues. Your main fear would be if something breaks in the mechanical latch. That can happen to any car, but the P38 only has one door with a key barrel, so no redundancy unlike the classic. Also there is logic in the claim that the mechanical lock was never designed to be used all the time, but only for emergency use so may not last. But while I have seen some locks fail, I certainly doesn't seem more likely than on any other car.

The one elektrickery bit I did replace on my P38 is the ECU to control the transfer box. It seems unnecessarily complex (but fail safe) and the older version have a tendency to fry the transistors. So I made an all-relays replacement that is plug&play.

For my project Phoenix P38 I've been going over all the electronic systems to maximize survivability. The BECM controls mostly comfort functions, so those are of no importance. Main exception being the lights, no accessible relay to easily bridge.
The manual box has no electronics and even the ZF has a good fail safe that still allows reverse and third, enough to get you home even without the ECU. 
That just leaves the engine. Unless you fit an old diesel or something on carbs, you'll always need electronic control. The P38 does have an very good security system that is nigh on impossible to overcome. The obvious downside being, if the system acts up, you can't start your engine. There are ways to run the GEMS as stand alone (involving more electronics), I've gone a different route and fitted MegaSquirt (for other reasons than just the security). Starter motor and ignition pass through the BECM but can easily be bridged.

There was someone on RangeRovers.net who had the idea to replace the entire BECM with a set of switches and relays. That would be a massive task, with a lot of things to go wrong and you'd invariably lose some functionality. I don't know how far he got, but I don't see the point, I just focus on begin able to get home even if things fail. And to be fair, even a standard P38 will survive being drowned, as long as you dry out and clean the BECM etc.

Just to add, anything fancier than a P38 gets on my nerve, as then I get the feeling the elektrickery is trying to take over things instead of assisting me.

Filip

[Simon_CSK]

On 8/3/2021 at 9:07 AM, Escape said:

Just to add, anything fancier than a P38 gets on my nerve, as then I get the feeling the elektrickery is trying to take over things instead of assisting me.

 

Filip

I have been playimg with Range Rover Sports recently and they have worse electronic gremlins than the P39's My last and my currect Sports both TDV8's will shut down the vehicles computer without warning. It will keep the engine running if you are driving butmy current one will spend periods where it is difficult to start. At worst it took an hour and a half. Tried disconnecting battery and removing the instrument cluster (the scouce of the problem) for the car to ignore me and just leave me waiting. 

I still wouldn't remove the electronics from the Sport's it is what makes it a gret car to drive. The TDV8 is a great setup but really desparate to try a 5l supercharged.

Keep the electronics (and I have a P38 sitting outside my house with communication problems and it has been there for a year lol)

 

[Escape]

I completely agree Simon, the more electronics, the more potential gremlins. And with everything connected, it is more likely to cause serious problems. Or immobilize the vehicle for safety or security reasons. At the same time, this is what adds another level to the possibilities in modern cars. I do appreciate the Sport for what it is, it's just not my cup of tea so I'll stick to older cars.

The reason I'm redoing the elektrickery on my P38 is more because I can than because I don't trust the system as is. And because I have nothing else to do to pass the time. 🤓

Filip

[Bowie69]

28 minutes ago, Escape said:

I have nothing else to do to pass the time.

Got a few projects over in Blighty if you are interested, a few other forumers could come together to help you in this hour of need  

[elbekko]

2 hours ago, Escape said:

And because I have nothing else to do to pass the time. 🤓

That's why your build is going so quickly?

/hat, coat, running

[Simon_CSK]

9 hours ago, Escape said:

I have nothing else to do to pass the time. 🤓

 

Filip

I have a Discovery 2 that needs the chassis welded and some other minor bits for the MOT

I have a Discovery 3 that I need finish replacing the starter motor on

I have a Range Rover L322 that needs the Gearbox and Torque convertor replaced, some paitwork, plug a leak in the Air con and fix a couple of electrical gremlins.

I have a P38 that I need to get the ECU talking to the BeCM. 

And a Sport that needs the Speedo repaired.

That doesn't include the CSK which I still need a donor car for.

If you have spare time you will always be welcome here.