I've done a search, but not found anything relevant.

Three times now I've had the dreaded bong with message 'HDC inactive, lowering suspension' with the warning lights coming on, and the suspension lowers to access height, but without any lights showing on the height control. In each case its been after a 25 mile drive, and two times for sure it's been very wet, not sure about the third time.

If I cut the engine then restart, it all clears.

Has anyone seen this? Could it be moisture related?

Thanks for any advice chaps. 2007 TDV8 Vogue SE Java Black

Last edited by taskam on 15th Mar 2014 12:20pm. Edited 1 time in total

guessing it could be the battery or a height sensor ..............

Any loss in power? Could be a split turbo hose as it frequently generates hdc fault message if split. Present :2008 TDV8 HSE
Gone Audi A5 2.7TDI
Gone Discovery 3 HSE
Gone Mercedes CLK
Gone Range Rover 2.5 DSE

Battery's a year old but fires up just fine without any bongs, even after fbh been running for half hour.

No loss of power, everything running sweet. I wondered if a sensor getting damp could trigger this. 2007 TDV8 Vogue SE Java Black

we've had loads of rain so its possible...its dry today so is it doing it now?

I'll be going out later today or tomorrow so will find out and report back. 2007 TDV8 Vogue SE Java Black

I had the same thing happen to me just before Xmas, it had been raining hard and when one of my xenon lights blew up, I got the same. Once I'd replaced the bulb, it was fine afterwards.

My guess would be low battery, HDC seems to be the most sensitive to low voltage of all systems on board, if my battery is even slightly low I get the HDC inactive warning when I start.

I'm going to be replacing my battery with one of these when it arrives in a couple of weeks;

http://shop.odysseybattery.com/p/pc1350-a

I've used Odyssey batteries for many years in my Defender, providing both engine starting and winching power. Nothing compares to an Odyssey, worth every penny of the investment.

Odyssey batteries hold their voltage higher during the discharge cycle, which should help enormously with our vehicles!! They also provide more Cold Cranking Amps (CCA) than any other battery of the same size.

Devon 4x4 sell them in the UK, I'm not involved with the company just a happy customer. Speak to Jake in parts if you need anything, he's very helpful.

Matt

Thanks for your reply discotigger. The severe rain seems to be a common factor in this.

Thanks for your reply boat.buoy. I used to get the HDC error message (but without any warning lights), when starting up with my original battery. Since I replaced the battery with a Bosch S5 110Ah bad boy, it's been faultless even after intensive fbh use. This warning I'm getting now seems unrelated to battery voltage since it happens after a half hour run, but may be linked to large puddles I've driven through. I'll check the voltage tomorrow before I start up anyway to check. 2007 TDV8 Vogue SE Java Black

Well I have had 4 trips since, and it's happened twice. Once was very wet, once was slightly damp so don't think it's moisture related now. Also get a message on the touch screen flashing up something to do with terrain response, but I haven't been able to catch it all yet.

Battery at 14v with engine running, so not voltage related. Appreciate any more thoughts fellas. 2007 TDV8 Vogue SE Java Black

Meant to add that the two warning lights that come up are the dynamic stability control and emergency brake assist that both stay at amber. Everything clears when restarting 2007 TDV8 Vogue SE Java Black

Found the reason for this in case it helps anyone. My steering wheel has always been slightly offset, which is annoying but I lived with it. Recently my track rod end ball joints have started to go, meaning that occasionally the steering wheel goes slightly more offset. This then seems to confuse the ECUs because from the steering angle sensor it thinks it's going round a tight bend and wonders how that's possible travelling at 70mph!

Confirmed this when I change both side tie rods and track rod ends and the alignment was way out....steering wheel 180 deg offset and the warning came up immediately. Got the tracking sorted and everything fine now. 2007 TDV8 Vogue SE Java Black

Glad to hear it's sorted and cheers for the update info.

The battery is always blamed for these types of problem, so who would have thought of the steering angle sensor!

I had this exact same thing on mine last year, turned out to be the steering wheel not sitting straight while driving in a straight line. Quite an easy fix with a 4 wheel alignment.