tacr2man
Well-Known Member
At 11.9 volts the battery is only at 40% capacity , and would need a good set of jump leads from another vehicle with engine running at good level to bring battery voltage up before trying to turn over on starter.
Having boosted the battery for say 10 mins try to start by button /key . If it wont turn over , look at solenoid and check red/white wire is connected . If connected , remove and use test light to see if getting 12v at end of wire when assistant pressing start /key. If not getting supply 12v at end , then look further back in circuit , to see why no 12v on red/white wire . If there is 12v at end of red/white wire then you need to check solenoid is working , looking for 12v on large terminal going out from solenoid to starter motor.
Dorset_dumpling
Well-Known Member
Those cables don't look great. It is important that your wiring is in as good condition as possible. Corroded and poorly connected wiring is one of the most common causes of electrical problems. This may be the ideal time to renew some of your ignition wiring, particularly as this is the wiring that carries the highest current and even a relatively small drop in voltage and current will cause starting problems.
@Cal110 - you need some new battery cables, pronto....
Have a nosy here for an indication of price and availability
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/202511294259
Have a nosy here for an indication of price and availability
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/202511294259
Ignition coil function and wiring explained here:-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignition_coil
Have you got it turning over yet ?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignition_coil
Have you got it turning over yet ?
steve2286w
Well-Known Member
Your colours don’t match to manual wiring diagram which is ignition white wire to +VE on coil with -VE to distributor in white/ black wire , your colours different but sound connected correctly
have a read here may help too
https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/series-3-petrol-wont-start.352433/
have a read here may help too
https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/series-3-petrol-wont-start.352433/
Cal110
Member
@steve2286w thanks for this accurate answer, glad to hear it was wired correctly.
I’ll have a look at your link - thanks.
I’ll have a look at your link - thanks.
Cal110
Member
@Disco1BFG noting yet! I’ll have another go once I get new leads. I’m assuming you will want a volt reading input of 12.5 into the ignition coils to creat a spark?
And thanks for the eBay link
And thanks for the eBay link
A healthy, regular lead acid battery is considered only 50% capacity at 12.2 volts. Anything less than this and I'd be very surprised if there's enough energy to turn an engine over at sufficient speed to start, if at all.
It's also important to measure the voltage while the starter is engaged, this will give a good indication on the battery health, assuming it's been fully charged first.
Get the earth/battery cables sorted first and see if you can get it turning over at a reasonable speed. Worry about sparks and fuel later
It's also important to measure the voltage while the starter is engaged, this will give a good indication on the battery health, assuming it's been fully charged first.
Get the earth/battery cables sorted first and see if you can get it turning over at a reasonable speed. Worry about sparks and fuel later
Trench Rat
Well-Known Member
I know i saw you wrote that. What i'm saying is that it's worth checking if you even need to in the first place by seeing if the engine starts on the handle, hence troubleshooting.
For future troubleshooting.
Cal110
Member
Thanks for everyone’s help and comments. Think I may have resolved the issue
Changed the earth terminals.
Got a crank start handle and managed to fire the motor up for a few seconds, just before I had time to pull the choke it cut out.
Wired a positive connection directly to starter motor and turn engine over a bit.
Removed solenoid cove caps and placed a screw driver over to bridge this and got the starter to move. Currently charging the battery to get it over 12.5 to see if it will fire the motor up.
Question: should I have the ignition turned on when bridging the solenoid on start up? I’m guessing yes.
Changed the earth terminals.
Got a crank start handle and managed to fire the motor up for a few seconds, just before I had time to pull the choke it cut out.
Wired a positive connection directly to starter motor and turn engine over a bit.
Removed solenoid cove caps and placed a screw driver over to bridge this and got the starter to move. Currently charging the battery to get it over 12.5 to see if it will fire the motor up.
Question: should I have the ignition turned on when bridging the solenoid on start up? I’m guessing yes.
Only if you want it to start
If you read the link I posted above ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignition_coil ), then it half explains the why's and wherefores.... ( which is why I posted it
) - there's some good stuff on wikipedia - specially on the basics of how stuff works ... worth a read Re battery leads. They really matter so take time to get them right. Clean the ends and once they are in the clamps get a blowlamp and fill them up with solder. Solder up the flat termial ends too. Clean the chassis where the earth lead goes. It hleps to run 2 earth cables, one from the battery to a bolt ont he starter and one from the same bolt to the chassis. The starter will draw 400 amps so any bad connections make a huge difference.
TheMegaMan
Well-Known Member
@rob1miles That's an interesting comment about 2 cables. My Landy had as you describe - a lead from the chassis to the starter motor, plus a long braided earth strap from the batter that ran around the engine bay, about 2m long. I was going to omit the additional strap on the rebuild, thinking the chassis should be able to provide enough capacity, but now you've got me thinking I should replace it.
Any idea where to buy such long lengths? I can only find leads up to about 2ft so far (unless I want to spend nearly £90 on 5m of the stuff!)?
Any idea where to buy such long lengths? I can only find leads up to about 2ft so far (unless I want to spend nearly £90 on 5m of the stuff!)?
Dorset_dumpling
Well-Known Member
You don't need an earth strap that long. Shorter is better as a longer cable means more resistance and a bigger voltage and current drop. Just use the shortest one that will work.
TheMegaMan
Well-Known Member
Yeah, I understand that. But with the battery one the opposite side of the engine to the stater motor, it needs to be about that long to get around the block - certainly over 1m. But I suppose as long as I earth the block to the battery, actually the starter motor already has its second path without needing to run a lead directly from starter to battery...
I posted a link to an evilbay listing for bespoke battery cables, above
Shorter is better - it only needs to be long enough to do the job, and long enough to cope with any relative movement.
If you have a local wagon spares place, they'll have all sorts in stock.... You can guess how I know this
My D1 has three earth straps - one from batt -VE to body and onto chassis. Batt -VE to engine block, and chassis to transmission... ( this is there to avoid the dire consequences of the handbrake cable becoming an earth return
)
