Help broken starter?

Can anyone help, the disco, bless it! finally refused to start, after months of intermitant problems when trying to start, you know unlock landy put key in the ignition, lights on dash appear normal, turn key BUGGER, nowt happens, retry and eventually she starts, but now nothing, the lights on dash all seem ok, I phoned up the AA, got them to have a look, AA man put a electronic gizmo, like a multi meter on the starter and told me that there was no live feed to it, he then told me that the immobiliser had failed, and the ecu would need replacing as the immobiliser was contained in the ecu, that sounds expensive I thought, so after a quick internet search, I find Automotive Electronics, I phoned them up, and was told to remove the ecu and post it off so they could disable the immobiliser, great I thought, 142 quid later, ecu back, I put it on the Disco and nowt happens, just as before, damm, is it the starter, or maybe the solinoid, has any one else come across this, thanks for you time

LandyPhil said:

Can anyone help, the disco, bless it! finally refused to start, after months of intermitant problems when trying to start, you know unlock landy put key in the ignition, lights on dash appear normal, turn key BUGGER, nowt happens, retry and eventually she starts, but now nothing, the lights on dash all seem ok, I phoned up the AA, got them to have a look, AA man put a electronic gizmo, like a multi meter on the starter and told me that there was no live feed to it, he then told me that the immobiliser had failed, and the ecu would need replacing as the immobiliser was contained in the ecu, that sounds expensive I thought, so after a quick internet search, I find Automotive Electronics, I phoned them up, and was told to remove the ecu and post it off so they could disable the immobiliser, great I thought, 142 quid later, ecu back, I put it on the Disco and nowt happens, just as before, damm, is it the starter, or maybe the solinoid, has any one else come across this, thanks for you time

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I'm afraid my psychic link isn't working at the moment. What year is your disco? what engine? Did the AA guy say it was DEFINATELY the ecu or that he 'suspected' it was the ecu?

Did the AA guy power up the starter motor itself to test it works? Did he check the feed to and from the ignition relay? These 2 tests alone could tell you whether its the starter motor, ignition relay or ignition switch at fault or if it's the wiring it will show where the wiring is likely to be faulty.

Is ya Disco Petrol or Diesel?

Is there a click from the solenoid when ya turn the ignition key to position 3----start position?

sorry, vial info, 1995 300tdi manual, the AA guy, only tested the starter to see if there was a live feed to it, which there was'nt, thanks for the quick reply Ratty

yep there is a click from the starter when the key is turned fully, oh erm 300tdi, 1995

LandyPhil said:

sorry, vial info, 1995 300tdi manual, the AA guy, only tested the starter to see if there was a live feed to it, which there was'nt, thanks for the quick reply Ratty

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LandyPhil said:

yep there is a click from the starter when the key is turned fully, oh erm 300tdi, 1995

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I'm a little worried that there is a click from the starter when the key is turned yet there is no live feed.

Do you have a multimeter or test light yourself?

I'd check for the feed myself and then test the starter works by applying a live feed to the ignition terminal. You can either use a screwdriver or similar to short between the main positive connection and the ignition terminal or you could use a piece of wire to do it.

Also check EXACTLY what was stated on the paperwork. If you can tell me what exactly was written I may be able to help you recoup your costs for the ecu repair you didn't need.

Take a look at the starter motor, attached to it is the starter solenoid.

Remove the spade terminal that goes to the solenoid.

Using an electrical probe---
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Fitted the crocodile clip end to battery earth and push the pointed end into solenoid spade terminal connector...MAKE SURE THAT THE POINTED END OF THE PROBE DOES NOT TOUCH ANY OTHER METAL

Turn the ignition key to start position.

If the bulb in the tester illuminates you have 12v to the solenoid.

Next step is starter motor off....strip down and clean.

judging from what have been said above, it sounded very similar to my starter a few months back.

it all started with the intermittent 'refusal' to starting, but if you insist with a few more crank, it will start up. Till one day, no matter how many crank you give, the starter just wouldn't move, but does give you the clicking sound.

If there's clicking sound when you turn the key to 'start'...then there should be power supply to the solenoid as it is causing the solenoid to click. However, the power supplied is not getting to the starter motor. 2 possibilities can happen here:

1) contact points needs cleaning
2) plunger within solenoid may be stuck

Best way of checking this is actually taking the starter motor out and bench test it. Procedure of testing is as follow:

- use a multimeter, with the -ve connect to car body or chassis, and +ve to the upper terminal on the solenoid (lower terminal has a thick cable into starter body).....if you do not get a reading at all, no power is supplied from the battery, as this terminal is 12v live at all times, you will then need to check where the cable goes and where it broke. However, if you get a reading equivalent to battery power (12v - 13v), do as follow.

- remove +ve and -ve terminal from battery

- remove starter motor...you'll need 15mm socket and 15mm spanner to remove the 3 bolts and nuts securing the starter, and 13mm to remove power supply spade from solenoid. You'll also need to pull out the starting wire next to the solenoid

- place starter motor on a firm surface, using a jumper cable, connect -ve (black) from battery to starter motor housing. Connect +ve to the lower terminal on the solenoid (the terminal with a thick cable into the starter motor body)....if starter doesn't turn...get a new starter. If the starter turns, test the solenoid with the +ve connected to the upper terminal on the solenoid, and a thin-ish cable from +ve to the push fit terminal (where starting wire from ignition was).....if the starter turns, your problem lies elsewhere (which will be another thread for testing). If the starter doesn't turn, either the plunger in the solenoid maybe jammed or the contact point on the terminal needs cleaning. In my case, it was BOTH.

- undo the 13mm nut from the lower terminal, use wire brush or sand paper, clean the terminal surface as well as the spade terminal surface. Put it back on and re-test through upper terminal on solenoid. If starter turns, it was bad contact surface. If starter still doesn't turn, plunger in the solenoid maybe stuck.

- plunger - to remove solenoid from starter motor housing, you'll need to undo the 13mm nut on lower terminal again and remove 3 x 'phillips' or + screws at the back of the solenoid. Then pull out the solenoid. You'll see a plunger that was meant to slide in and out within the solenoid. Clean the surface with some sand paper, then smear some grease onto it. Re-insert solenoid, tighten up the 3 screws & the 13mm nut on lower terminal. Redo +ve test onto upper terminal as described above. If starter motor turns, you've successfully cured your intermittent starting problem, and its time to re-install starter motor. If starter still refuse to turn, (A) get a new starter motor (B) get a replacement solenoid.

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