To start or not to start

Good day,

I have a Landrover Disco SE 2002, and I live in Florida. About 2 months ago my Rover would not start one morning after a hard rain. The next day the Rover Started right up. For the last 2 months I have been battling this start no start problem. The local Rover dealership replaced the fuel celeniod and 2 weeks went by with no ploblems. Now we are in the rainy season in Florida and it seems like every day it rains the Rover will not start. I replaced the spark plugs. I am so frustrated with this thing i am pulling my hair out over it. Just recently we had a really hard rain, like 4 inches in one day, the rover would not start for 2 days, this very morning it started right up. I think something is getting wet, but I just do not know where to look. PLEASE HELP, because I am torn, in one hand I love my Rover, in the other I hate it because it has become a burden.

Nash 10-04-07

The best thing to do is to trace the fault when it does not start. There are dozens of things that could be wrong. The most likely ones are the plugs (which you replaced) and the spark plug leads.
No doubt the problem is electrical. Next time your disco won't start, have someone crank the engine and you staying near the exhaust pipes. If you can smell gasoline then it's something spark related. If you can't smell the gasoline then it's fuel injection related (or antitheft system). Or maybe the water gets inside the car and messes up the electrics ...

My advice would be the same one I gave another user from US: http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f8/97-disco-wont-start-45895.html

Hey thanks, I did notice that 2 of the 8 spark plug wires had some corrosion and I sprayed some anit-corrosive oil into them. I think I might need to replace them, but on the 2002 the plug wires end behind the middle back of the cyclinders which is an impossible place to see and work on. I will try the exhaust idea next time and go from there. if you think of anything else please let me know. Thanks again

Nash

I think you should change the leads. Not 2, not 4, not 7 but all of them. If your disco spent it's entire life in the south US' hot & humid climate then the leads might need a change.
If the leads are cracked (small tiny cracks on the surface or on the ends - almost invisible), whatever you spray on them would be like a band aid on a wooden leg, it will look neat but do nothing...

Couple more questions sir.

1. How much does each lead cost, and

2. What is the best way to change them, because like I said the leads end at the distributor I guess, which is located in the middle of the back of the engine up against the firewall between the back of the engine and the front seats. I can feel my hand back there but it is very tight in space. Do the leads pull off just like they do on the spark plugs????

Thanks again, Nash

Please don't "sir" me unless you want me getting into a suit and put a tie on, which I hate by the way

1. Like I said, better ask some specific Q on the Land Rover forum in US: DiscoWeb Message Boards
I'm not familiar with the LR part prices in US, in UK they cost about $10 a piece.

2. Yes, you just pull them out as like from any distributor you're familiar with. Pull one lead out, put the new one back in place and so on.