L322 2011 4.4 TDV8 Vogue starting problems - SOLVED

Hi Richard,
Thanks for your response but I wonder if the solenoid on yours was replaced as well because I would have gone for that first. I cannot hear any start of an attempt for the starter to turn, all I hear is a faint "click". I have never kept my finger on the button for as long as 10 seconds as I think that is a very long time but will try this when it happens again. I usually just start the starting sequence again. The other morning I was going on a 150 mile journey and I must have tried it a dozen times and was about to throw in the towel and jump into my little Fiesta (never had any probs with that one) when it fired. I risked it and went and had no problem starting it for the return trip. I would have thought if there was a dead segment on the starter, it would need something to move it from the position it had stopped in to get it working again - just energising the solenoid would not do this. I am going on holiday in a couple of weeks and will not do anything before then and keep my fingers crossed. Thanks for your posts, they have been most helpful - until I saw those, no one I spoke to had experienced a similar problem and didn't seem to have any idea what the problem could be as it was impossible to show anyone the problem because it was so intermittent. I was afraid that if I took it into a main dealer, they would do a "Trial and Error" job on it which probably would have involved some very expensive software etc. Which ever way it went, I would have been charged "Lawyer's fees" for a garage mechanic.
Thanks again,
Brian

That's a long sword of words to fall onto

BrianBN said:

Hi Richard,
Thanks for your response but I wonder if the solenoid on yours was replaced as well because I would have gone for that first. I cannot hear any start of an attempt for the starter to turn, all I hear is a faint "click". I have never kept my finger on the button for as long as 10 seconds as I think that is a very long time but will try this when it happens again. I usually just start the starting sequence again. The other morning I was going on a 150 mile journey and I must have tried it a dozen times and was about to throw in the towel and jump into my little Fiesta (never had any probs with that one) when it fired. I risked it and went and had no problem starting it for the return trip. I would have thought if there was a dead segment on the starter, it would need something to move it from the position it had stopped in to get it working again - just energising the solenoid would not do this. I am going on holiday in a couple of weeks and will not do anything before then and keep my fingers crossed. Thanks for your posts, they have been most helpful - until I saw those, no one I spoke to had experienced a similar problem and didn't seem to have any idea what the problem could be as it was impossible to show anyone the problem because it was so intermittent. I was afraid that if I took it into a main dealer, they would do a "Trial and Error" job on it which probably would have involved some very expensive software etc. Which ever way it went, I would have been charged "Lawyer's fees" for a garage mechanic.
Thanks again,
Brian

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Hi Brian,
When mine was going wrong it was intermittent too, on some days it would start straight away and on other days I would hold the button for up to 20 seconds before it started, sometimes it never did and I would start the sequence again and it might then just take 8 seconds. I also only ever heard the 'click' that you were talking about and never the starter motor moving, there was litterally no sound at all other than the click. - the fact that every start up was a lottery of how long it would take drove me mad as it was never the same twice. I resorted to filming the starting sequence on my phone and took that into the dealer and pointed them at the started motor (I had just replaced the battery in the fobs and the car battery for a new one thinking that this was the problem - incidentally when I thought it was a dead battery and I jump started it, it always started on the first button push hence the reason I changed the battery but this didn't solve the problem so at least I could rule that out)
Anyway I hope you get it sorted but it does sound just like my experience - let me know how it works out.
Cheers
Richard

Thanks Richard, I will report back to you but probably not for a month or so. The 'click' I hear I take to be the solenoid energising but not making the connection with the starter positive cable.
All the best,
Brian

Hi Richard,

I have decided to change the starter as the solenoid is integral to the motor so both have the be replaced together. I suspect that it is dirty, corroded or burnt contacts. I have never had a solenoid problem (usually a separate item) with any of the cars I have owned since the late '50s. I bet that the contact material is some cheap stuff - the best is pure unadulterated copper. I'll let you know how I get on.

Brian

£443.00, just made my eyes water

Hi Tony,
Mine too but I will get some prices today from main and independent traders. I see on the net that they seem to range from £150 for a reman unit to £240 for a new one. I'll see how much it is for supply and fit from various outlets. It seem the labour time should be about 2 hrs, that makes the labour from an independent about £120 so I expect a minimum of about £300. I'll keep you posted.
Brian

Hello Richard and Tony, The price I got from my local main dealer was over £800 and one from an independent over £600 for supply and fit inc VAT. I decided to buy a re-man on-line (£135 inc VAT - no core charge but they would like you to send the old one back) and got my local Formula 1 outlet to fit it for £100 (official time allocated for this job is 1.5 hrs). My days of grovelling under cars getting eyes full of road dirt and faces full of oil etc are well and truly over. So far so good - only touch the button and wait for it to go through the start sequence and hey presto a second or so later the engine is full of life. The old starter had a couple of vent/breather pipes fitted but the replacement did not - only one floppy rubber drain tube. I am not sure which is the later version but suspect it is the one that has been removed? So long as it works I don't suppose it matters but before the old one goes back, I want to thoroughly test the re-man replacement.

BrianBN said:

Hi Richard,

I have decided to change the starter as the solenoid is integral to the motor so both have the be replaced together. I suspect that it is dirty, corroded or burnt contacts. I have never had a solenoid problem (usually a separate item) with any of the cars I have owned since the late '50s. I bet that the contact material is some cheap stuff - the best is pure unadulterated copper. I'll let you know how I get on.

Brian

Click to expand...

Bet you a pound to a pile of rabbit drippings you are spot on. The number of times I have stripped down a solenoid to get to the burnt and corroded main brass terminals inside , I have lost count of. The high amperages of starting current burns the terminals very quickly, leading to poor connectivity and holding the start button down for extended periods holds the solenoid "in" forcing the brass contractors against each other. The connection through the burned areas of the contacts eventually makes enough contact by arcing through the burned sections to pass enough current to start the engine. The "cheap" solution if you are good with a soldering iron is the unsolder the terminals on the solenoid end cap, remove the cap, access the main brass contact and file it smooth, restoring good electrical connectivity and reassemble.

Richardb19 said:

Hi Brian,
When mine was going wrong it was intermittent too, on some days it would start straight away and on other days I would hold the button for up to 20 seconds before it started, sometimes it never did and I would start the sequence again and it might then just take 8 seconds. I also only ever heard the 'click' that you were talking about and never the starter motor moving, there was litterally no sound at all other than the click. - the fact that every start up was a lottery of how long it would take drove me mad as it was never the same twice. I resorted to filming the starting sequence on my phone and took that into the dealer and pointed them at the started motor (I had just replaced the battery in the fobs and the car battery for a new one thinking that this was the problem - incidentally when I thought it was a dead battery and I jump started it, it always started on the first button push hence the reason I changed the battery but this didn't solve the problem so at least I could rule that out)
Anyway I hope you get it sorted but it does sound just like my experience - let me know how it works out.
Cheers
Richard

Click to expand...

Richardb19 said:

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

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hello Richard, I have the same problem as you with my 2011 Range Rover 4.4 tdv8. It's really frustrating as I couldn't start it the other day at a petrol station with my wife and baby in the car and queue behind me. Very embarrassing! I previously, about 6 months ago, had the alternator changed by the authorsised dealership and last week had the battery replaced but the intermittent problem persists. Any ideas for a solution gratefuly received

Hello Ruban. You will have now read the previous correspondence so I think that you will realise that the problem is with the starter solenoid. As the solenoid is integral with the starter, it means a replacement starter. I got a re-man one from eBay at £135 and got a local garage to fit it. Just been away for a couple of weeks towing my caravan and all worked OK, no further problems.

I now have a fuel gauge problem and from what Richardb19 has said, it is likely to be a bad connection. I finally managed to speak to my local main dealer and it appears that the connection to the tank unit is the most likely place for this. It is not necessary to drop the tank as it is accessible by lifting the carpet under the rear seats. I will look and see if I can identify what the technician at the dealership told me and let you know. BrianBN

Hi all
been reading these threads with interest . my Dad has had a 2012 4.4tdv8 for the last 3 years and its had the starting problem 6 months into ownership . hes 85 and never driven it I use it to take him about . He took it to a main dealer who immediately said it was the starter motor £700 bill job done , few weeks later it started doing it again , this time went to an independent who put a new battery on , again lots of money . Several weeks later starting problem back so back to independent garage , this time a new alternater was put in . Yep you guessed it few weeks later still not starting so we took it back to main dealer and paid a lot of money for a full inspection . no faults found . So at a loss now . The car now has a genuine 27k miles on it main reason being it never starts .
Has anyone else tried all the above and still having problems ?

Hello R1shed,
I know that it is always a risk going to a main dealer as they will try to weedle more money out of you but I really do think that you should go back to them and claim a new starter under warranty. I think it is a faulty starter that they have fitted. Probably picked it out of the scrap box and not from the new stock shelf. I have had my re-man unit on for six months and not had the problem again. It is an intermittent problem so when the main dealer checked it, the fault did not occurr. After reading the thread from other people, I decided that it was most likely to be the solenoid contacts on the starter which were corroded or burnt so producing an intermittent contact. When it does not start, can you hear a slight click? If so it sounds like the solenoid is being energised but not connecting the main power contacts. Get another starter fitted under warranty. BrianBN.

As regards my fuel contents gauge problem, my local independent expert in Land Rovers and associated vehicles, confirmed that it was likely to be a bad contact on the connector inside the tank. There is a Technical Service Bulletin on the subject and it recommends that the connector plug is cut out and the two pairs wires are crimped together with a splicing crimp. The trouble is that the wires are so fine that a standard RED crimp sometimes will not crimp securely. My independent dealer said he had experienced the problem after a main dealer had crimped the wires so now he soldiers the wires together and fits "heat shrink" over the joins. He did this to mine and I have not had a problem since. BrianBN

Richardb19 said:

Hi Brian,
When mine was going wrong it was intermittent too, on some days it would start straight away and on other days I would hold the button for up to 20 seconds before it started, sometimes it never did and I would start the sequence again and it might then just take 8 seconds. I also only ever heard the 'click' that you were talking about and never the starter motor moving, there was litterally no sound at all other than the click. - the fact that every start up was a lottery of how long it would take drove me mad as it was never the same twice. I resorted to filming the starting sequence on my phone and took that into the dealer and pointed them at the started motor (I had just replaced the battery in the fobs and the car battery for a new one thinking that this was the problem - incidentally when I thought it was a dead battery and I jump started it, it always started on the first button push hence the reason I changed the battery but this didn't solve the problem so at least I could rule that out)
Anyway I hope you get it sorted but it does sound just like my experience - let me know how it works out.
Cheers
Richard

Click to expand...

hi my 2011 tdv8 had the same problem and it is the mega 400 amp fuse on the positive teminal . strip it down clean all the mating surfaces with emery reassemble and cure the annoying fault ,

R1shed said:

Hi all
been reading these threads with interest . my Dad has had a 2012 4.4tdv8 for the last 3 years and its had the starting problem 6 months into ownership . hes 85 and never driven it I use it to take him about . He took it to a main dealer who immediately said it was the starter motor £700 bill job done , few weeks later it started doing it again , this time went to an independent who put a new battery on , again lots of money . Several weeks later starting problem back so back to independent garage , this time a new alternater was put in . Yep you guessed it few weeks later still not starting so we took it back to main dealer and paid a lot of money for a full inspection . no faults found . So at a loss now . The car now has a genuine 27k miles on it main reason being it never starts .
Has anyone else tried all the above and still having problems ?

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yip i had it to and i have cleaned up all the connections on the mega fuse on the positive battery terminal , now starts every time cheers

Richardb19 said:

Hi Brian,
When mine was going wrong it was intermittent too, on some days it would start straight away and on other days I would hold the button for up to 20 seconds before it started, sometimes it never did and I would start the sequence again and it might then just take 8 seconds. I also only ever heard the 'click' that you were talking about and never the starter motor moving, there was litterally no sound at all other than the click. - the fact that every start up was a lottery of how long it would take drove me mad as it was never the same twice. I resorted to filming the starting sequence on my phone and took that into the dealer and pointed them at the started motor (I had just replaced the battery in the fobs and the car battery for a new one thinking that this was the problem - incidentally when I thought it was a dead battery and I jump started it, it always started on the first button push hence the reason I changed the battery but this didn't solve the problem so at least I could rule that out)
Anyway I hope you get it sorted but it does sound just like my experience - let me know how it works out.
Cheers
Richard

Click to expand...

hi richard . i cleaned up the maga fuse connections on the positive battery terminal , i have written more below hope this helps anyone with the problem