Hi guys

Hope someone can give me some advice on the electrical starting fault my 92 3.9 Classic has developed since driving home through the floods.

Car was working fine, drove 70 miles home through the rain and maybe went a bit too quick through some floods (alternator light came on for a bit but then went out).

Got home parked up and then went to start it again and no dashboard lights except indicators. Have left it for a few days to see if it would dry out but still none.

Now the wierd bit, when I turn the key to start there is a point where the car will start and the red dash lights come on but as soon as I let go of the key then it stops.

If I turn the key the full way as starting normally then nothing happens no lights etc it's only if I turn the key about half way and hold it there that it fires up but just dies (battery light comes on briefly) and then nothing.

I thought it might be something to do with the cobra alarm/immobiliser getting wet but it all seems to work ok and surely the car wouldn't start at all.

Could it be something to do with the ECU, is that under the bonnet so might have got wet?

Could it be something to do with the starter motor but then why no dashboard lights and why would it start at all?

I'm completely confused by it and would be grateful for any suggestions you might have to check first before I have to start looking at getting it towed to a garage and the scary prices.

Cheers

Dr W

Have you checked under the bonnet yet? Take all electrical connections off one by one and give a squirt of WD40. Leads, coil connections, etc. etc. Clean the earth straps as well, make sure they've got a good connection.

ECU is under driver's seat so that should be ok. Fact it was working fine before driving in the wet means it should be something simple. Have you checked your fuses as well? Could've blown something...

Haven't checked fuses yet but why would it fire up and only cut out when let go of key?

Got me baffled.

Had another thought, could it be a fault with the ignition lock/barrel? If for some reason the connection wasn't being made properly when turning the key, except for the one point where it touches again, explaining why it works in one place? Could this fail after working fine normally?

Will check fuses etc tomorrow

Cheers

Could be mate. Hopefully it's something simple. Crack open the WD40 and go from there. Hopefully an electrical person will be along soon who can help further.

Good luck with it.

Hi,
When you say it fires up, is the starter still engaged?
Classic's are great cars but can have problems with ignition.

As Blackvoguebeauty said clean and dry the ignition and apply wd40.

But, do it in a logical manner.
After cleaning and drying apply wd40 but ensure you do not soak HV electrics and try them staright away before the thinning agent has evaported. Wipe excess off with dry cloth.

If using kitchen paper ensure no bits are left behind.

Start from coil clean with kitchen paper or a clean cloth and push home connections, checking for marks of arching or corrosion. If you find any then clean contacts and corrrosion.
Move along leads and check condition, cleaning, drying, and applying wd40.
Remove clean and dry distributor cap, same action as above, push home all connection and give a little pull if loose adjust ends of leads. Check for arching and corrosion.
Check inside for condensation and if severe dry with hair dryer, not forgetting the distributor base and rotor arm.
Dont try to pull the rotor arm off yet if it's stuck. But twist rotor clockwise and see if it springs back, try again anticlockwise and see if it swings back.
Spray only cap and leads, not iside the distributor.
Replace cap and move down each plug lead cleaning drying and checking if the connections are tight.

Have a cup of tea, and try again.

Remember the ignition system requires the best components, so if you Replace any only use Land Rover genuine spares.
If poor or non starting from cold suspect the fuel temperature sensor, this will give coughing and spluttering when cranking but will not fire and run on its own.
If you need more help report back and ask again as there is quite a list of known faults.

Good luck

Thanks for the advice.

If I hold the key in the position then the engine will start and run without any problems, this is in the position with the starter motor engaged but not grinding (you know the noise you get when you try and engage the starter motor with the engine running).

Car has always started first time and had new coil, distributor cap, copper core HT leads etc in last few months so I'm pretty sure its an electrical issue rather than an engine issue.

I will have a look at the ignition switch this weekend after reading the manual etc, does anyone know if this is an easy job and can the ignition switch be replaced without changing the barrel etc?

Many thanks

when it comes to floods you have my sympathy (checkout my pics in gallery ) my p38 dse was caught 2 weeks ago and ive had to completely strip out the interior and dry everything, no doubt water is not good ! what i can tell you though is that as things dry out they come back to life, yes i still have some issues but its now running and driveable, straight after the flood there was nothing not even a ignition light !, just take your time make sure everything is totally dry dont think water cant get in there cos it can you will be surprised, i hope it sorts itself out

I would hazard a guess at the dizzy getting wet, been there done that me self.Pop the top off give it a wipe and a spray of wd40.
Redrangers list is probbably gonna get yer sorted.

Sounds like a switch problem to me, I can't see the floods effecting it. I generally don't like coincidences, but it sounds as if this may be one.

goonarmy said:

I would hazard a guess at the dizzy getting wet, been there done that me self.Pop the top off give it a wipe and a spray of wd40.
Redrangers list is probbably gonna get yer sorted.

Click to expand...

Don't squirt WD40 into the dizzy it can ignite in the confined space of a dizzy cap.

Dry thoroughly

^yeah meant out side for wd40 wipe for in side!!!

Hello Doc,

It certainly sounds like an ign switch problem already mentioned, which sorta makes the flooded drive home a coincidence - weird.

Flood the ign switch with WD40 to see if it improves the internal contacts, if so inject it with vaseline for a longer term cure.

If not, what could the H2O have affected that also extinguishes the dashboard lights?

Well, possibly the alternator regulator or rectifier electronic bits inside the unit itself got damaged - hence the temporary charging/battery light coming on during the monsoon.

Then why did it go out? - well tha bulb might have failed and as the lamp is also part of the alternator excitation circuit you may have a complete charging circuit failure.. That drags the battery down and inhibits reliable starting.

There is no logic to this guess - just an association of symptoms.

An auto electrician called in to test for the above, may be a lot cheaper than a service agent, what, what?

Ramon
Vintage Model Airplane and Rover SD1 3500cc Twin Plenum Vitesse

Cheers guys for the responses

I think I'm going to replace the ignition switch and see if that works as I don't want to try and repair and then this happens again somewhere. If it's not then I'll start looking elsewhere.

A quick question the ignition switches for sale seem to come with the whole lock etc. Is there anyway to change the key barrel on my existing one to a new one so that I don't have to change keys? I already have a different key for the tailgatee I don't really want three different keys.

Thanks for your help.

These Classics certainly like to give you new and exciting challenges on an almost daily basis!

Oh and Ramon loving the SD1, haven't seen many of those recently, used to love seeing them as Police cars when I was a kid.

Cheers

Dr W

Thanks for all the advice guys.

Turns out it was the ignition switch as when I tested the old one the dash lights would come on when I wiggled it.

Should have been a nice easy job however didn't factor in the alarm system which was wired into the ignition switch so spent the afternoon taking the wires off one at a time and resoldering them on, once done it started first time, sweet.

Only problem was snapping one of the metal bars on the steering column shroud which is now being clued in the kitchen ready to be fitted in the morning.

Cheers

Dr W