Hey guys I'm new on here first of all would like to introduce myself I'm Nathan from widnes (north west) and I own a 1998 landrover discovery 300tdi ES model, now I've had it parked up since November as I wanted to get Christmas out the way before I got it back out again, I do regularly start it and give it a run round the block to keep everything running as it should, now I started it today ( had to jump start it as battery was flat) left it running for a while to warm up then took it round the block as I normally do, when I got back I left it on the front ticking over while I went in the house to get the keys to my other car to move it I got up the path and I started making a whining noise and just shut straight off, tried starting it again nothing no power and at all tried jump starting it again nothin, left my car connected to it for over 40 mins and nothin just makes 2 or 3 feeble attempts and turning over but just won't start, it's making a squealing noise as it try's to turn over but just won't have any of it, I've tried changing the battery charging the old 1 but just won't turn over properly like something is stopping it, I thought the starter motor had gone at first but it won't even bump start, really is baffling me hope 1 of u guys could shed some light on the situation for me
The V8 man
Well-Known Member
Could be a dodgy earth strap, have u tried turning the engine by hand to see if its all free?
blackhadder
New Member
Does sound like an earth fault. Had a similar prob on my 24v Lightweight some years back. Try fitting a new earth strap to some good metal.
DEFENDER90-DAZ
New Member
Jump lead from battery negative (-) to good clean point on the engine - then try again 
well guys after charging the battery again for 2 whole days and putting a jump cable from the negative side of the battery to the engine and a clean piece of metal on the chassis still the side turns over very slowely bout 4 times then stops then have to turn the key off and do it again and it turns over bout 4 times sl;owely then stops, as i said seems like there no power at all in the battery or somethin is stopping it from turning over freely
nrgserv
Well-Known Member
voltage drop while cranking usually goes down to 9 or 10 volts. dropping to 5 would indicate a goosed battery, assuming the starters not trying to turn a seized engine.
you still aint answered me question as to what happens when you tried bumping it?
if it wont bump cos the engine's tight, the starter has no chance.
you still aint answered me question as to what happens when you tried bumping it?
if it wont bump cos the engine's tight, the starter has no chance.
discomania
Well-Known Member
I think everyone is overlooking something here; it cut out. I would be wanting to know why it did that in the first place (fuel related probably) then see if there is any link to the non starting (likely)- a dodgy starter wouldn’t cause it to stop.
You know the engine turns over on a socket OK so the engine isn't tight and the pulleys, alt etc are all turning freely?
Your battery fully charged isn't doing such a great job by the sounds of things, how old is it? If a battery becomes profoundly discharged even once and sits it will never be the same again and often will spell the end of a battery. If the voltage drops significantly, it is possible the fuel solenoid will not stay in the open position. A wee test here, with the ignition on, go to the back of the injection pump and pull the cable off the pump, now (without shorting it against anything else) touch it back onto the terminal on the pump, there should be an audible click, if you cannot hear anything then it's probably not working. First thing then is to meter it out, is it getting 12v, it is possible to be an alarm immobiliser fault. This can go while running and will simply cause the engine to shut off - lights out sooty. If all is good here then with the cable disconnected and the meter still attached try starting the engine, ensure the feed to the pump is staying live during cranking.
If that all checks out, then after you have cranked it, get in under the vehicle and feel the earth strap and positive feed to the starter are they warm? Even after a 10second crank I would expect the cables to be cold if they are good, a high resistance somewhere would cause them to heat up. So if you are certain your battery is you, first off, get the earth straps off and clean them all up (use a file and cleanup the lug and the contact surface).
You know the engine turns over on a socket OK so the engine isn't tight and the pulleys, alt etc are all turning freely?
Your battery fully charged isn't doing such a great job by the sounds of things, how old is it? If a battery becomes profoundly discharged even once and sits it will never be the same again and often will spell the end of a battery. If the voltage drops significantly, it is possible the fuel solenoid will not stay in the open position. A wee test here, with the ignition on, go to the back of the injection pump and pull the cable off the pump, now (without shorting it against anything else) touch it back onto the terminal on the pump, there should be an audible click, if you cannot hear anything then it's probably not working. First thing then is to meter it out, is it getting 12v, it is possible to be an alarm immobiliser fault. This can go while running and will simply cause the engine to shut off - lights out sooty. If all is good here then with the cable disconnected and the meter still attached try starting the engine, ensure the feed to the pump is staying live during cranking.
If that all checks out, then after you have cranked it, get in under the vehicle and feel the earth strap and positive feed to the starter are they warm? Even after a 10second crank I would expect the cables to be cold if they are good, a high resistance somewhere would cause them to heat up. So if you are certain your battery is you, first off, get the earth straps off and clean them all up (use a file and cleanup the lug and the contact surface).
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nrgserv
Well-Known Member
personally i'd try a known battery, given that-
- your descriptions of the issue
- its been sat since november and its now cold
- its dropping to 5v when cranking, and the electronic stuff on the motor will shut stuff down, inc the immobilser. (which is possibly why it wont bump start)
edit- actually remove you battery, not just a jump start.
dm above has some good points and must have posted while i were reading the thread again!
only downside is if you have a 3 wire pump, you wont be able to pull the solenoid cable off!
- your descriptions of the issue
- its been sat since november and its now cold
- its dropping to 5v when cranking, and the electronic stuff on the motor will shut stuff down, inc the immobilser. (which is possibly why it wont bump start)
edit- actually remove you battery, not just a jump start.
dm above has some good points and must have posted while i were reading the thread again!
only downside is if you have a 3 wire pump, you wont be able to pull the solenoid cable off!
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cheers guys uv all been alot of help and gavce me some ideas, i spoke to a mate of mine today whos got a td5 disco and he said he had exacly the same problem and it was the tank fuel pump, i no there different engines but its worth a try, ill keep you all updated when i have another play around with it tomorrow.
just to answer a ferw of your questions discomania, yes the engines turned over fine and all belts pulleys ect are the same, the battery is pretty new no more than 6 month old but as said it has been left since november but it did start straight up off a jump start (before it cut out) then i charged it for a full 2 days and it seems to be holding between 12.3 and 12.6 untill i crank it then it drops to 5, i have tryed another battery of a mates discovery and it was exacly the same as mine struggling to turn it over that why i ruled out the battery.
discomania
Well-Known Member
Totally different beast, you don't have a pump in your tank.
Don't compare them, with all due respect you need to concentrate on the one you have and the faults YOUR engine is giving you.
Get it burling over nicely then we will worry about why it wont fire. Start simple - electrical connections, metering things etc...
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