Freelander 2 wont start, short crank

Ok I've been reading as many posts as I can, but I'm still not sure what steps I should take next. If changing glow plugs was a quick job I probably would have just gone for that next but I want some extra confidence that it's worth it after watching videos.

The thing is, when I read about others with glow plugs problems, they seem to suggest that the issue is that the engine cranks fine in the cold but doesn't catch/ignite.

My issue is different, I get a short half crank and then nothing else. If I try this multiple times eventually it won't even do the short crank unless I give it 15 minutes to recover.

It's almost behaving like the battery is low. Which it isn't. Although a jump start gets the car going! I've tested the battery and the alternator, all doing well.

So why am I wondering about the glow plugs? Well it is cold 3c today, so not really cold but certainly within the documented range that the plugs activate within. And, the plugs light doesn't illuminate even for a split second on the dash. And then, I also have the classic glow plugs fault code when I plug in my reader.

But, I have had that code for the 4 years I've had this car. I have no doubt my plugs aren't doing well or working, but I'm not convinced yet that this is actually what's causing my 07 Freelander 2 to start... Can someone confirm that in some cases if it's a glow plugs issue in the cold, you might only get a short half crank when trying to start that can be resolved with a jump? Or is this actually indicating something else is at play?

Thanks in advance.

If a jump start is starting the engine, then the first thing to do is replace the battery with one that can handle the high current requirements of the starter motor. I've seen these engines require over 500 Amps to get rotating, so the battery needs to be able to handle that with a reserve to supply the additional 100 Amps for the glow plugs and electronics of the vehicle. General advice is to replace a battery that's more that 4 years old, if starting issues occur.

I did replace the battery 2 years ago but maybe it's had it already.

But I did borrow tester and it seemed fine.

How many CCA is the battery rated to and how many did the tester say it had?

I think as well there is a recommendation to add an additional earthing strap or summat on F2. Presumably though a jump starts would also suffer from any earthing problems.

I'd be changing the battery first... then go from there.
There are quite a few mentions about the additional earth that @GrumpyGel suggests - guess you could easily check that by using a single jumper lead from your battery neg terminal to another earthing point (think they run them to the starter).

If it were the glow plugs, I'd expect it to be cranking but not firing for 5 seconds or so on a cold morning.

This is all useful advice and information! Will report back.

HeywoodFloyd said:

This is all useful advice and information! Will report back.

Click to expand...

Good advice above regards battery etc.

One other Issue maybe your starter motor. It may have worn starter solenoid inside. There are cheap rebuild kits available to replace the solenoid and contactor components on eBay. I repaired my daughter TD4(now my car) not long after purchase. I’m no professional mechanic but know my way around a car with spanner’s etc. the entire job maybe took 1.5hrs from memory. Certainly not a difficult job.

I attach a link to an FL1 TD4/Denso rebuild kit

HeywoodFloyd said:

This is all useful advice and information! Will report back.

Click to expand...

Good advice above regards battery etc.

If you have a code regards glow plugs and no glow plug light on the dash …. Well that’s an issue..

Diesels are compression ignition engines. They rely on ‘heat’ in the chamber to ignite the diesel.. all done without spark. Now you state you battery is ‘okay’.. but at 2 years old, having a glow plug fault that battery has worked harder for its life than a healthy system.

A new battery will turn the engine over rapidly enough to force the combustion process through a higher compression that a weak battery… a slow battery won’t cut it unless the glow plugs/system works. Get the glow plugs working so you have the optimum chance of start up. Wiring, relay, glow plugs.. they all need checking/testing.

If you get a new battery it will be working harder than it has to and you will be in the same place you are now in a year or two.

You battery needs to be the correct size and CCA for the car.. anything less will die early..

Best of luck..

Does the new battery need a battery reset on the ecu to give correct charge? And was this done 2 years ago?