Land Rover Repair: 88 Range Rover Ignition Warning Light, mass air flow, maf sensor

Question
I have an 88 Rover, and it is full of surprise leaks, and cracks. haha anyway. I just had to replace the ignition switch and have had no problems other than 3 times, where the car shuts off, the ignition warning light comes on, and then i can simply turn the car off then on and it runs great, with no warning light on. Yesterday, the ignition light came on, and today the car nearly died on the road, it would not go over about 25 and if i accelerated too hard it would choke a bit. I charged the battery and still this light is on....any ideas? Maybe the alternator?

Answer
Hi Michael,

Not owning a classic Rangie, I'd guess it could be something like the failure of the Mass Air Flow (MAF) sensor.  Does the '88 have a MAF?

If it was the alt, you engine would slowly fade to the side of the road as your battery dies.  It would take time for the battery to recover before you could start the cycle all over.

I do know that the MAF failures in Series I & II Disco's, LR3's and Freelanders can result in hesitation, lack of power and even stalls after exceeding 500 revs per minute.  

I wish I knew more about the classic Rangies but I don't.  What you should do is go to www.discoweb.org, find the Bulletin board section for Range Rovers and post your question there.  I'm sure you'll find a felloww '88 owner who can give more specific advice.

Best of luck,

JohnMc