Hi Hippo,
Apologies for the delay in replying and updating this thread, I seem to have been extremely busy recently but I do have some in-roads on the Cold Start problem to report to you and anyone else who may be suffering similar problems....
Firstly a quick update of what we tried before now: We changed Air-flow temp sensor and although the vehicle ran better it didn't help the non start issue. We then changed all glow plugs and again no help. We double earthed the engine and although this didn't assist with the issue the car ran much smoother after, in fact, my mate also double earthed his own 'newer' FL2 and suggested that his ran much better with gear changes that were much more sharper and smoother which is very interesting for anyone who has a LR2.
So with the problem still occurring and actually getting worse from any temperature below 4 degrees I felt it was time to spend a wedge and have a full analysis on the vehicle. Although my local garage had looked they didn't have the equipment or software to get right into it so I set about finding a LR specialist in my area and happened across
'Steve Hill Land Rover' based in Brislington, Bristol. I booked the car in for a full analysis and was assured that he had the latest equipment and software to get right in and do a deep diagnostic test on the vehicle and if necessary single components as required.
The diagnostics weren't cheap and ran in at about £100 but they did turn up two faults that none of the other three testers had picked up, and these were 'Cam Sensor' and a 'Sticking Throttle Body' faults.
Between this and the car going in to be fixed today we had the snow and the problem was so bad that I really struggled to start the vehicle and in fact yesterday it took me 40 minutes of continued trying before it eventually started. Interestingly the car would start but immediately stall (split second) and thinking about it with the grey smoke out the back when it did eventually start could point towards the throttle body (fuel mixture) fault but it never flagged up before!?
Today was warmer and it only took about 20 minutes to start it but I was starting to find it all a bit tiresome by then!!
This afternoon I picked the vehicle up from Steve and it ran beautifully on the way home but I suppose that tomorrow morning's cold start and then a few after will be the real test but I'm optimistic that we may have found the real fault and 'hey' if nothing else I have loads of nice new parts that shouldn't need changing for a while!! LOL
I'll update again after a few weeks to see if we do have a permanent fix!
I will also report finding
Steve Hill Land Rover very professional and providing an extremely slick and knowledgeable service, I would recommend them for anyone in the Bristol area from my first two experiences with them. the car also came back very well cleaned inside and out which is always a nice touch.
Cheers
Higgy