Disco 1 200tdi starter electrics

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Georgeblade

Georgeblade

Active Member
Posts
139
Hello,
I think my 200tdi wont start due to a failed starter solenoid - there is a click when i turn the key to start and the ignition lights dim but no action.

However, the Haynes manual wiring diagram shows a starter relay, but I can't find it and there don't seem to be anywhere to the solenoid except from the battery and the exciter wire from the ignition switch.

Any thoughts on whether there is a relay?

It's a 1993 pre facelift 3 door.
 
large click from under bonnet shows relay a little faint click is working and starter needs replacing,you could prove the point by making a short lead up with a female terminal at one end remove the solenoid wire from the relay at the solenoid fit your new short length on and touch the other end of that wire to the large terminal with battery cable connected to it if starter good it will spin over if poor solenoid will just click
 
jamesmartin said:
large click from under bonnet shows relay a little faint click is working and starter needs replacing,you could prove the point by making a short lead up with a female terminal at one end remove the solenoid wire from the relay at the solenoid fit your new short length on and touch the other end of that wire to the large terminal with battery cable connected to it if starter good it will spin over if poor solenoid will just click
Click to expand...

Thanks for getting back to me, I just tried a lead from Battery +VE to the solenoid actuator terminal and it clicks but no action (had the ignition switched to dash lights on).
So, I guess the starter motor has had its day. New one on Tuesday methinks.
 
Am I the only person who strips starter motors down to check the carbon brushes and the commutator? Also I have a guy not too far away who rebuilds them cheaper than getting new. Just a thought.
 
Stanleysteamer said:
Am I the only person who strips starter motors down to check the carbon brushes and the commutator? Also I have a guy not too far away who rebuilds them cheaper than getting new. Just a thought.
Click to expand...

I very much doubt it, any one with a bit of automotive skill and interest and of course a bit of time on their hands would remove and disassemble the motor for a look-see.
Not that I've ever had issues with starter motors, but dynamo and now alternators yes.

Isn't there a trick with hitting a jammed starter motor with a hammer to free it?
 
Georgeblade said:
Hello,
I think my 200tdi wont start due to a failed starter solenoid - there is a click when i turn the key to start and the ignition lights dim but no action.

However, the Haynes manual wiring diagram shows a starter relay, but I can't find it and there don't seem to be anywhere to the solenoid except from the battery and the exciter wire from the ignition switch.

Any thoughts on whether there is a relay?

It's a 1993 pre facelift 3 door.
Click to expand...

Haynes also tells u where the relay can be located and how to identify it :)
 
Disco 200 earth straps are proper ****e and rely on the body to get and earth supply to the engine, well worth running a jump cable from battery neg to the engine block then trying again.
Iirc its where the earth cable bolts to the inner wing drivers side corrodes between cable crimp and wing unseen and striekes randomnly.

300 went to one piece cable from battery to inner wing then onto engine block

Edit sphelling
 
Last edited:
discool said:
I very much doubt it, any one with a bit of automotive skill and interest and of course a bit of time on their hands would remove and disassemble the motor for a look-see.
Not that I've ever had issues with starter motors, but dynamo and now alternators yes.

Isn't there a trick with hitting a jammed starter motor with a hammer to free it?
Click to expand...
I think that was old fashioned inertia starters which could get stuck in the ring gear, but maybe modern ones do too, anyway, the idea of the hammer blow was to shock the pinion out of the ring gear so its spring would pull it back. I agree brushes tend to be the thing you get to change on alternators and dynamos, but diode packs can also fail, sometimes in weird ways. Once thought I was never going to get back from Portsmouth driving back to school at night with a minibus full of students, ignition light flickering dimly, headlights dimming, for ages and ages then suddenly it all sprang back to life!
 
Thanks everyonefor your thoughts and comments, it's 26 years old so maybe a replacement starter motor isn't such a bad idea.
 
Do check the price of a professional rebuild before you buy though. My research shows that you could save between 1/3 and 1/2 the price of a new one.
 
Stanleysteamer said:
Am I the only person who strips starter motors down to check the carbon brushes and the commutator? Also I have a guy not too far away who rebuilds them cheaper than getting new. Just a thought.
Click to expand...
as a person that did work in a reconditioners which rebuilt nearly all units including starters which are lighter built now generally fitting a new was cheaper and more satisfactory than trying too recon a modern 10 or 20 year old starter
 
jamesmartin said:
as a person that did work in a reconditioners which rebuilt nearly all units including starters which are lighter built now generally fitting a new was cheaper and more satisfactory than trying too recon a modern 10 or 20 year old starter
Click to expand...
Do I stand corrected then? Getting a starter for a 1968 Autoshift VW was impossible, even getting it rebuilt was extremely difficult. But I know you weren't talking about special cases like that.
 
jamesmartin said:
in 1968 they still made stuff to be serviced or reconditioned
Click to expand...
Right! Makes sense! To be honest I don't spend much time working on young cars with throwaway bits, thank heavens. Did you know there is a new law in France now, every garage has to offer to repair your car with secondhand parts, obviously not safety critical ones. Cannot help thinking there is some virtue in this, sometimes, but at least it is a bit green. The scrappies must be rubbing their hands together. Long long time since I went to a French scrappy, (1979) but in those days their pricing practice was dead simple, half the price of the new part, which seemed a bit harsh, but there you go!
 
Stanleysteamer said:
Right! Makes sense! To be honest I don't spend much time working on young cars with throwaway bits, thank heavens. Did you know there is a new law in France now, every garage has to offer to repair your car with secondhand parts, obviously not safety critical ones. Cannot help thinking there is some virtue in this, sometimes, but at least it is a bit green. The scrappies must be rubbing their hands together. Long long time since I went to a French scrappy, (1979) but in those days their pricing practice was dead simple, half the price of the new part, which seemed a bit harsh, but there you go!
Click to expand...
back in the 90s when we worked as a reconditioners with land rover,their aim was to make parts and units unserviceable and didnt even have parts lists or parts to repair later boxes etc
 
jamesmartin said:
back in the 90s when we worked as a reconditioners with land rover,their aim was to make parts and units unserviceable and didnt even have parts lists or parts to repair later boxes etc
Click to expand...
Looks like all they wanted to do was make work easier for the mechanics working in main dealers and and money for their parts suppliers. Kind of good for the countries and Land Rover's economies but not good for the customers' pockets or the environment.
 
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