L322 2011 4.4 TDV8 Vogue starting problems - SOLVED

Hi all,
New to RR in general, have now owned my first one for 3 weeks (its done about 55k and I have to say I LOVE IT), had some battery problems and so bit the bullet and got a main dealer to put a new one in.

My problem is this, sometimes when I start the car I have the fob on my lap and press the Start/Stop button and the engine starts straight away, all good. On other occasions all I get is a click, I wait for up to 20 seconds with my foot on the break and nothing happens (just another click after about 15 seconds). So I then resort to starting again and holding the start/stop button down and eventually after about 8 - 15 seconds it will start.

The other morning it took me three and a half minutes to get the engine started, not ideal!
Am I doing something wrong, is there a way to start a cold engine vs a warm one? The owners hand book says that if the engine doesn't start then hold the button down until it does but this seems very odd that there is no pattern to how to start the thing.

Any words of wisdom would be hugely appreciated.
Thanks

Richard

I would think that the first port of call would have been to whoever you bought it from,

tarphenry said:

I would think that the first port of call would have been to whoever you bought it from,

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Yup, not getting much back from that source to be honest, he has said that he will pay for whatever needs doing which is fine but I was wondering if this was a car fault or something that I am doing. Thanks for your response. Richard

Could it be something as simple as your fob battery needs replacing? Did the dealer give any advisory on an issue when they had it in?

gold rover said:

Could it be something as simple as your fob battery needs replacing?

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if only, both fobs have had new batteries in the last 7 days - thanks for the thought though!

Richardb19 said:

if only, both fobs have had new batteries in the last 7 days - thanks for the thought though!

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Were both batteries bought from same location/in same pack? New batteries have been known to be faulty. Buy another one and try it.

gold rover said:

Were both batteries bought from same location/in same pack? New batteries have been known to be faulty. Buy another one and try it.

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OK, will give it a go, nothing to lose at this point. will update later once tried...

Richardb19 said:

OK, will give it a go, nothing to lose at this point. will update later once tried...

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Try phoning dealer, see if they had any issues when they had it in. Also did issue start before you had it in for battery replacement or after? When those with more knowledge than me arrive, this sort of information may help.

gold rover said:

Try phoning dealer, see if they had any issues when they had it in. Also did issue start before you had it in for battery replacement or after? When those with more knowledge than me arrive, this sort of information may help.

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Dealer says there was no problem other than it hadn't been used much so the battery was probably a bit low, (not sure I am getting the full story to be honest - but the car has a full service history with reputable dealer stamps) so I decided to avoid the messing around and just get a new battery installed in my first week of ownership, I now think that it wasn't anything to do with the battery and is in fact a different fault. (The AA guy said there was nothing wrong with the battery when I called him out on day 2!)

When the car is warm it usually restarts with a single push of the button, not 100% of the time but about 90%.

I wonder why the handbook (see attached image) says that if the engine continually fails to start then you should press and hold the starter button until it does, the handbook gives no reason why this would be necessary but clearly they recognise the issue! (It is a separate note for the Diesel engine)

I'm sure you understand that there is electrickery at play here, the pressing of the stop/start button is not a direct link to the starter, correct function requires a few other things to be operational and communicative, ie. brake switch, park/neutral inhibitor switch, key/transponder, glow plug box of tricks and temperature sensors all conversing through God know what module, but more than likely it's the simplest component.
In the absence of sound pin-point advice here I'd be talking to a reputable specialist rather than a dealer for this.
Only thing I'd have a gander at would be the starter ignition wire, as in the small spade connector one, it may just be needing cleaned up/pulled off an on......
Good luck.

myfirstl322 said:

I'm sure you understand that there is electrickery at play here, the pressing of the stop/start button is not a direct link to the starter, correct function requires a few other things to be operational and communicative, ie. brake switch, park/neutral inhibitor switch, key/transponder, glow plug box of tricks and temperature sensors all conversing through God know what module, but more than likely it's the simplest component.
In the absence of sound pin-point advice here I'd be talking to a reputable specialist rather than a dealer for this.
Only thing I'd have a gander at would be the starter ignition wire, as in the small spade connector one, it may just be needing cleaned up/pulled off an on......
Good luck.

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Thanks for taking the time to respond, I will hope for a simple solution. Appreciate it. Richard

Unfortunately this one is above my pay grade maybe @wammers or @Saint.V8 might be able to assist.

Richardb19 said:

OK, will give it a go, nothing to lose at this point. will update later once tried...

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changed out both fobs with new batteries again, from different packs. no difference, tried to start it twice this evening with a single push, no action so resorted to holding the button down, started after 10 secs. 15 minute drive and now still have to hold down button to restart it. I think it might be the starter motor...

Something wrong with the glow plug timing circuitry perhaps?

Pete The Biker said:

Something wrong with the glow plug timing circuitry perhaps?

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Thanks Pete, will add it to the investigation list...

Simply a failing starter motor, hence the reason it was getting worse and worse. problem now solved.
Thank you to everyone for offering opinions and potential solutions, much appreciated.
Happy Christmas!

Richardb19 said:

Simply a failing starter motor, hence the reason it was getting worse and worse. problem now solved.
Thank you to everyone for offering opinions and potential solutions, much appreciated.
Happy Christmas!

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Glad to hear you got it fixed. Always good to know resolutions, as it helps others. Have a great Christmas and happy motoring

Richardb19 said:

Simply a failing starter motor, hence the reason it was getting worse and worse. problem now solved.!

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Best outcome really. No voodoo nonsense just an old and weary part replacement with no oil on ones hands, just the possibility of a leaky biro stain, lol.

Hello Richardb19, It sounds like the same problem as I am having. I have a Range Rover Vogue SE L322 4.4 TDV8 (61 Reg) and on a lot of occasions I have trouble starting it at the first push of the button. Sometimes it starts straight away but other times, I have to make several attempts before it will start. On the attempts which fail, it sounds as if the solenoid attempts to "pull-in" (I hear a "click") but the starter does not activate. No warnings come up in the dash and as it always eventually starts, I do not believe that the battery voltage is low. I too have replaced the fob batteries. In the olden days, similar defects could be put down to a faulty solenoid or a dead segment in the starter motor and turning the starter a small amount by hand (starters used to have a square on the non-drive end of the shaft and were reasonably accessible) would rectify the problem until next time. I have tried to contact my local dealer to speak to a competent technician but I cannot get past the receptionist who always insists that I book it in for a mechanic to look at. Does this sound like the problem you had and if so how much were you charged to replace the motor? I do not fancy waiting several weeks and spending mega bucks to sort a known simple problem.

Hi Brian,
Yes this sound exactly what mine was doing, I would bet that it is the same problem, flat spot on the starter motor, reason it takes different lengths of time to start is it depends where the starter is on the flat spot, sometimes it ticks past it quickly other times less so. I had a new starter motor fitted at a main dealer and it cost £443.00, no problems since (well not with that anyway!)
Hope that helps.
Richard