XEi Petrol not starting/stuttering when moving

Hi

During the recent cold weather my Freelander started playing up and not wanting to start. I managed to get it to and drove a couple of miles to the garage to get some petrol. On the way it was struggling to rev and stuttering, irrespective of speed/gear. Having filled up with petrol again it didn't want to start, succeeded eventually and made it home, again the engine playing up on the way home as if the power kept wanting to cut out. After not using the car for a few days it now will not start at all. The engine turns over but not catching (from my totally non-technical understanding . The battery looks like it only has a little juice left, I can turn the headlights on, but when I turn the starter, they flicker, as does the battery light on the dashboard. Looked in the engine and the battery indicator appeared to be black (need recharging?).

Just wondering if it was a battery problem would this cause the stuttering driving experience?

Many thanks

Berryman

er erm er erm er er ****IN BURN IT

Beast o Bodmin said:

er erm er erm er er ****IN BURN IT

Click to expand...

Spot the T.W.A.T.

Try a new rotor arm - genuine one from LR.

welcome berryman

What year is the FL?

It's the usual checks when running poorly, spark plugs, fuel getting through

eightinavee said:

Try a new rotor arm - genuine one from LR.

Click to expand...

Eight - do you know the proper resistance in the rotor arm. LR one is 680ohms

Had that issue a few months back. It was a premature fault in the resistor. Rotor arm wasn't even 6 months old, resistance was 600ohms.
Engine died completely.

Apparently a few problems have been reported with rotor arms on MG-Rover.org

Thanks for all the advice. I'll get it checked out.

It's an S Reg. 1998 - I believe with the infamous K series engine?

Regards

Berryman

Could be many things I believe.
The most common (and non-horrible thing) that it could be is the Rotor Arm & Dist. Cap.

It's not overheating or anything when it is running is it?

Parts4x4landrover said:

Could be many things I believe.
The most common (and non-horrible thing) that it could be is the Rotor Arm & Dist. Cap.

It's not overheating or anything when it is running is it?

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No, the gasket went a while back so since getting it fixed now keep an eye on the temp/coolant situation. You might be right about the rotor arm/dist cap. - had this before a few years ago, though the car did still keep moving unlike this time. Will let you know what the outcome is in case anyone else suffers similar issues.

Northern Irelander said:

Eight - do you know the proper resistance in the rotor arm. LR one is 680ohms

Had that issue a few months back. It was a premature fault in the resistor. Rotor arm wasn't even 6 months old, resistance was 600ohms.
Engine died completely.

Apparently a few problems have been reported with rotor arms on MG-Rover.org

Click to expand...

They must vary when new then,my wifes 1.8 died a few months back about 6months on a new LR rotor.I've found them to be 8-900 Ohms when new,and going up to 1.2K before failing.Even my wife noticed how much better it went with a new one,(Usually blissfully unaware.) I think its poor quality control,shame really - esp as the head gasket faults now seem to be sorted.It is the only time that £500 car has missed a beat in nearly 2 yrs.(After I did the head gasket.)

Might be worth having a look at this one that is also in discussion at the moment. Might help.

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f9/spluttering-69168.html

For anyone else who has similar problems, yes, it was the distributor cap and rotor arm.

£40 to replace.

Berryman

rovers are notorious for rotor arms, genuine or pattern! not sure how bad the k's are, but the t's go through them at a rate of about 2 rotor arms per service interval! HTH!