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fozziediscovery

Member
Hi all, here is another v8 wont start thread.

I have a Disco 1 S reg 3.9EFI that has problems starting.

The damn thing will spin over for ever and a day without firing. I had noticed that at the point I release the key from cranking, it will fire for the split second. Sometimes it will turn over and fire intermittently. But eventually it will fire up, just before the battery goes flat.

I had it booked in at an independent land rover specialist near me who said that the problem is the battery as it is a leisure battery and it is only supplying 9 volts to the coil.

After picking the beast up after work this afternoon I went straight out and brought a new battery.
After fitting it and trying to start it, the disco seems just as bad to start.

Any ideas?

I did use a search engine and went back numerous pages on this forum.

My other vehicle is a 300TDI disco 1.

Fozzie.
 
check coil is live when engines cranked ,could just be poor coil and or amp, try feed to coil direct from battery
 
Cheers James,
Im a complete novice when it comes to electrics and I'm just learning about ohm's law but I have a volt meter. What part of the coil do I need to test, from memory there are four spade connectors and two threaded terminals.

Fozzie.
 
12v at + terminal on coil may drop a couple of volts when cranking but anything below 9 would be an issue
 
Hi not sure what side of the coil is the positive as it doesn't say. With the key in the second position the voltage is showing 12.1 volts at both terminals of the coil. When cranking it drops to about 10 volts, occasionally I saw 9 volts (this was displayed on both terminals of the coil). When running the coil shows 14.1 volts one side and anything between 1 and 10 volts the other side. When cranking It started about 10 times all after only a couple of turns.
 
Last edited:
What ignition checks have you actually done?

Do a search I know I have posted the basic ignition checks more than once. As James has already said, I think I would suspect ignition amplifier but you need to do all the basic checks first. Please try to avoid pattern ignition parts, especially rotor arms. A leisure battery won't stop your motor working - I run my RRC on a leisure battery with no problems at all.
 
My only experience of intermittent non starting was all down to iffy connections on top of the coil, (not something I wanted when disembarking from the ferry at Calais) now cleaned and tight so no more issues...:)
 
discool said:
My only experience of intermittent non starting was all down to iffy connections on top of the coil, (not something I wanted when disembarking from the ferry at Calais) now cleaned and tight so no more issues...:)
Click to expand...

A good point! Check all the connections are clean and tight, might also be worth checking the earth connections as well - take them apart, clean and re-fix. Check the connectors to the coil, ignition amplifier and alternator for corroded or damaged spades/blades. Also check the wires and make sure they are properly attached to the connectors. Don't forget to check your king lead and HT leads, take each off in turn and clean the ends and the sockets they go in to and make sure they make a good firm connection.
 
Cheers for the replies, much appreciated. Just so I make sure I'm doin
PHP:
g everything by the 'landyzone reply' book, what should I use to clean the ends of the ht leads?
I will research previous threads as well.
I will take a picture of the coil and wires as I did use contact cleaner not so long back but they still look grotty.

Fozzie.
 
Use anything that makes the terminals bright and shiny, wet & dry paper, wire brush, wire wool, metal polish are just a few.

Battery acid even :D
 
I had a quick look today.
It seemed to be starting a lot better at the moment.
A couple of the spade connectors on the plus side of the coil were quite loose so I just crimped them up and now they are a lot more secure.
I don't reckon that it made it any easier/quicker to start though.

I then put a wire straight from the battery to the plus side of the coil and I convinced myself that it was quicker to start, not by a lot.

I ran out of time but I need to go back and clean the earth strap etc.

I did take a picture of the coil but I don't know how to load it up.

What do you reckon so far?

Fozzie.
 
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