Defender TD5 won't start

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Brown said:
Just to add another bit of information to this thread, I broke down back in October and sent my ECU to ECU Testing and they did indeed repair it. It had effectively 'bricked' - no communication wit Nanocom, no engine check light, no fuel purge sequence. Oh, and the engine wouldn't start either. They took about six days and sent me loads of emails about how it was progressing through the workshops. I'm not sure about the lifetime warranty as it has been less than a year, but so far I'm a happy customer.

If I find myself with £300 or so spare I might send them my old one and see if they can fix that.Then I can carry a spare. In five years of ownership I have had two major ECU faults and one flat tyre, so at this rate it would be more useful than a spare wheel.
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It's interesting that you have actually had this done, I wondered about it just because the £60 I spent would have gone into the repair and the warranty was a big consideration.
I also now have a spare unit which works but it can't be trusted, and I was wondering what to do, may consider a repair on it.
I understand one of the main things they do is replace the two big capacitors on the board which get old and tired.
Hope it goes well for you, but keep us updated with any news.
 
The one that popped in October wasn't very old - it had been put in new by a garage in early 2015. I wonder if they're getting old on the shelf these days, even before they're installed in a car. After all, they haven't made that model for a decade.
 
george rollason said:
Thanks brown,That's another logical suggestion to investigate. How did you discover the loom was the problem with yours? The thing is, i don't want to throw money at parts and it doesn't fix it. That's why i haven't taken it to a garage, they're too keen on part swapping around here. If i'd replaced all the parts that are usual suspects i'd be £100's in by now. Is there anyway to start it without ecu connected?
Click to expand...

I just realised I've forgotten to answer your question. There was an incident just after I bought the car in 2012 where I went over some potholes and it went into limp mode and wouldn't respond to the accelerator. After being assured by mechanics that it would be the fuel pump or the accelerator potentiometer, eventually a main dealer located the problem in the wiring loom. Then it developed the fault that put me off the road at Christmas 2014 as well as the engine dying and failing to start, it occasionally drained the battery overnight. I was also aware that the wires were chafing through in places such as near the plug that connects to the crank position sensor. A new loom and it was much better.
When the ECU is disconnected or 'bricked' you can get it going on Easy Start, but it needs the ECU to work the injectors to run properly. The pressure is provided by cams on the camshaft, but it needs the ECU to open and close the valves in the injectors.
 
Last edited:
Latest update . . . . I sent ecu to ecutesting.com, 2-3 day turnaround was actually 9 days. They sent me a text asking them to ring them on day 8. Sat there for 15mins on hold, then finally a guy answered and said there was nothing wrong with it and they were refunding the £310 minus about £55 inc p+p for testing it. Plugged it back in this morning, exactly same. turns over but wont start. I'm gonna pursue them for a full refund. Phoned kentdale land rover, £710+vat for new unit, and £80+vat for programming.:(
 
So back to basics.

You have fuel pressure at the FPR?
The snap on diagnostics did not show any faults?
You have tried bumping , but no joy?

Cheers
 
neilly said:
So back to basics.

You have fuel pressure at the FPR?
The snap on diagnostics did not show any faults?
You have tried bumping , but no joy?

Cheers
Click to expand...
Snap on showed 5 injector faults, won't bump, its not fuel problem, will run on 4 if i remove inj 1 plug, will run perfect with land rover test ecu coded to vehicle.
 
george rollason said:
Latest update . . . . I sent ecu to ecutesting.com, 2-3 day turnaround was actually 9 days. They sent me a text asking them to ring them on day 8. Sat there for 15mins on hold, then finally a guy answered and said there was nothing wrong with it and they were refunding the £310 minus about £55 inc p+p for testing it. Plugged it back in this morning, exactly same. turns over but wont start. I'm gonna pursue them for a full refund. Phoned kentdale land rover, £710+vat for new unit, and £80+vat for programming.:(
Click to expand...
Thats similar to what happened to me, except mine started when it came back, but cut out on me a couple of times while I was using it.
Durng the time it was away I took off as many of the earth straps as possible and cleaned them then re tightened them, also I had the battery disconnected all of the week it was away and I wondered if it kind of re set the security system.
Do you have access to Nanocom? it will tell you if the ECU is unlocked and ready to run?
I ended up buying a S/H ECU and re programing it now it seems Ok ( typed with fingers crossed)
 
raywin said:
Thats similar to what happened to me, except mine started when it came back, but cut out on me a couple of times while I was using it.
Durng the time it was away I took off as many of the earth straps as possible and cleaned them then re tightened them, also I had the battery disconnected all of the week it was away and I wondered if it kind of re set the security system.
Do you have access to Nanocom? it will tell you if the ECU is unlocked and ready to run?
I ended up buying a S/H ECU and re programing it now it seems Ok ( typed with fingers crossed)
Click to expand...
Don't have nanocom
 
Seeing as it'll run with one injector unplugged but not when all five are plugged in, could it be an injector fault? Don't forget that there's a number of crossovers in the wiring - it's not like one wire just controls one injector. If one injector is shorting or returning a duff signal it could throw the lot out. I don't know how likely they are to do this, but it might be worth considering.
 
Brown said:
Seeing as it'll run with one injector unplugged but not when all five are plugged in, could it be an injector fault? Don't forget that there's a number of crossovers in the wiring - it's not like one wire just controls one injector. If one injector is shorting or returning a duff signal it could throw the lot out. I don't know how likely they are to do this, but it might be worth considering.
Click to expand...
but it runs fine with another ecu, doesn't log any faults either.
 
ECUs all have personalities of their own. Even if they've got the same part number. Some are more tolerant of things like short-outs and signal degradation than others. A bit like computers and radio sets.
 
george rollason said:
Not yet. I phoned land rover to order new ecu . . . They've had to recall a batch due to them all being faulty, so there's a 3 month wait. I've left a message with dynachip, but he's on holiday until 2 aug.
Click to expand...

I had the same problem getting an ECU but Britpart has some NNN500020 in stock they are genuine LR units.
 
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