While the Land Rover product produced since 1988 is much more reliable in this area than the British electrics nightmares of yesteryear-- spawning jokes about Lucas refrigerators and warm beer-- there are still areas to watch for, and frustrating failures that defy logic. On the P-38 (1995-2002) Range Rover, one such area is the main Fuse Block in the right front corner of the engine compartment. These crack from overheating- due to load on the many relays present in the Block. The relays usually are discolored- your first indicator. And this component will then cause a multitude of electrical gremlins to surface.
Expect A/C, Main Lighting, warning messages on the dash readout, and audible alarms to come and go until outright failure occurs. Inspect it- and replace it if you are experiencing any of the before mentioned symptoms.
If you find it difficult, if not impossible to shift your Discovery out of Park, the odds are the Brake Light Switch is failing. This is part of the shift interlock system (which requires you to have your foot on the brake pedal before moving the selector out of the Park position). Sometimes the following procedure will work: With the engine running, emergency brake applied-- tap your foot on the brake pedal (fully removing your foot in-between taps) while trying to coax the Selector out of Park. We have saved many a customer an expensive tow to our repair facility when this works. Of course-- the next time you put the vehicle in Park there is only a small chance this will work again. So order a switch and replace it now.
Another common problem associated with the Brake Light switch failure on Disco I models relates to the tail-lamp units. The heat build-up from the lamps staying illuminated -due to the switch failure -melts the bulb socket first-- then damages the housing to the point where it also must be replaced.
A few words about Sunroofs on the 1996-2002 Range Rover. If you have a roof rack fitted be very careful that the roof when "kicked-up" with the switch does not contact the roof rack! The sunroof rails will be damaged, and the only fix is to remove the entire headliner and fit a new assembly. The job cost approaches $1000 at a repair shop. The parts alone are more than $500.
