3 Amigos that come and go?

I've read a lot about the well know 3 amigo lights and the issues that can cause them. I have a 2003 Disco and mine come on once and awhile usually under the following conditions:

1. They only come on if I have driven the car and then parked it for an hour or so. They never come on after first rolling out of the driveway, just after the car and it's working parts have warmed up.

2. If they come on and I pull to a stop and turn the engine off and restart it the lights will mostly stay off for the duration of the drive, lile 99% of the time. In the event that they do come back on upon restarting the engine I shut it down agaon and restart and then they are off.

3. Sometimes they stay off for a month or 2 and then the problem comes back. It doesn't seem to matter if it is cold or warm out or the raining or anything.

4. The car has 99,000 miles and I got it just 12,000 miles ago but I assume it has had a brake job as there is a good amount of pad and the wear is even and the rotors are just fine.

5. I do notice a fair amount of reddish colored break dust on the wheels between washing.

6. When the lights come on, there is no problem with breaking and if I brake hard the ABS feels fine, there is no squeeking or unusal noise or bad feeling in the brakes. It's just annoying having the lights on the dash board light up.

I'm wondering if it is just the type of brake pads I have and if trying to clean the sensors with a good brake cleaning product would help. I don't know how I would get the car diagnosed by a technician since the lights go off once I shut the engine down. I don't think it is plausable that I could drive it straight to the dearler if they come on and have them read the codes via their computer. I hate to do a brake job if the pads are still good and the braking is normal.

Any thoughts? Gas is cheaper right now but this restarting the V8 engine certainly doesn't help my gas mileage!

03 Discorocks

I'm new here and I have the same problem. I have a 00 Disco II but while I was browsing through the internet I found a european web site that said that one of the reasons it comes on is because you don't use the HDC enough. I wish i saved the site, anyways they said to once and a while find a steep hill slap into low and hit the HDC button and coast down.I wish I had more for ya, take it with a grain a salt. I don't get to go offroad that much anymore so my 3 Amigos come on too, not as much after I read that little tid bit. Like i said take it with a grain of salt.
Good luck

3 Amigos can come on for 3 reasons (and I have experienced all 3).

1) Bad ABS modulator - sometimes the ABS modulator's shuttle valve. If the error points to the modulator and you dont have an extended warranty, try the shuttle valve first. The repair is significantly cheaper. A few hundred versus $2-3,000 for the modulator.
2) Right front wheel hub going bad.
3) After market break pads. some of the after market pads can cause a high pitched vibration which sets off the ABS sensors. Solution is replacing the brake pads with genuine LR pads.

In order to diagnose, you need Rovacom, T4 or Autologic computer. If the lights are coming on, the ABS system is not functioning properly and i would not trust it. It needs to be fixed - just my opinion.

See my reply here.