DiscoII Non starter

Had a look at 3 Disco 2s today: one was a complete dog, one the air suspension wouldn't raise and the last one wouldn't start. Not a good days hunting, I think I'm jinxed!!

The one that wouldn't start was a bit dissapointing as the rest of it wasn't actually in too bad nick at all. The battery had gone completely flat so we tried to jump it and although the ignition lights all came on when I tried to engage the starter nothing happened, not even clicks. Left the other vehicle attached for a good 10 minutes to try to get a bit of charge in there and it still wouldn't go at all. Has anyone got an ideas what might be causing that, I was wondering if it might be the imobiliser loosing it code as it might have been flat for a while? If so I suppose that is a dealer job to fix?

Was they all cheap?not a great start to owning a disco2 go for a good one or you will hate it

well the non starter was 5k for a 51 plate with 90k miles and the one with fooked suspension was 7.5k on an 04 with 120k miles, so no not really that cheap lol! The search continues...

Had the same thing happen when I looked at a D2 TD5 in Bristol last year. I think once the TD5 is run dry, there is a special procedure to get it primed again (involves turning the ignition on and off ten times or something?).

Its always hard on cars when they are sat around for long periods. ( On dealers lots )They are often very low on fuel and the batteries usually go flat from being started a lot but not driven a lot !.

I do agree thats its not a good start, ( no pun intended !! ), if you cant even get the car going, but this may sometimes only be because the battery needs a proper charge.

Will the seller of the non starter get the battery charged up for you to have another look ?. Having said that, who tries to sell a car that wont even start !.

Forget what I just said and steer clear !!!.

Del.

CanAmSteve said:

Had the same thing happen when I looked at a D2 TD5 in Bristol last year. I think once the TD5 is run dry, there is a special procedure to get it primed again (involves turning the ignition on and off ten times or something?).

Click to expand...

Nope.................just if it's starter solenoid is gone

The ECM senses if there's a need to preheat the glow plugs. The indicator light is NOT a sure indicator for it's functioning. The glow plugs reach 1000°C and are also used always when engine is cold- this means they don't stop working once the engine started. They are shut off by the water temp indicator giving a signal to the ECM or after a certain time passed. All this helps in reducing emissions. Seems effective as no more power-robbing catalizers are mounted.

An unusual feature is that the ECM shuts off the fuel line- not the driver by his ignition key. So the shutoff may take between 15 seconds under normal conditions and up to several minutes on a very hot engine!
A special procedure has to be followed if there's air inside the lines:

1. Shut off

2. Wait 15 seconds

3. Turn key to position 2 (contact)

4. Wait 30 seconds

5. Shut off for 5 seconds

Repeat this 4-5 times so the air gets purged out
If you run out of fuel:

1. Floor the right pedal

2. Let the starter turn for 30 seconds

If it did not yet start, wait and let the starter cool down. When the ECM does not detect a running engine after 10rotations of the crank, it goes to purge mode. Now it injects 4 times as much fuel as under maximum conditions allowed. Do use this sequence only when out of fuel as else it risks to drown the engine.