P38A diesel not starting

Hi all,
1996 diesel auto p 38
this morning the ole girl wont start. Turns over but wont fire
no red led flashing on top of dash. when you turn the key the heater plug light comes on as does the injector light which then goes out. She turns over freely. I've locked her with the fob and unlocked her but still the same. I've fed in the eka code ,its been accepted but still the same. I've checked and ive got diesel flowing freely from the filter head to the fip pump.With injectors loosened there's diesel when cranking but doesn't seem enough and appears low pressure. I've used a sync mate and the ecu was and still is synced.
I've substituted a crank sensor but still the same and the original sensor works on the other rangerover ok.
Anyone have any ideas please

Does sound like loss of sync - turning and turning but not starting. If you have fuel air and compression in 3cylinders (one must be no.4) it should go if not immobilised?

Does an orange light flash on dash when you crank it?

@wammers is your best chance

RangeRoller dt said:

Does sound like loss of sync - turning and turning but not starting. If you have fuel air and compression in 3cylinders (one must be no.4) it should go if not immobilised?

Does an orange light flash on dash when you crank it?

@wammers is your best chance

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You need at least three consecutively firing cylinders with good glow plugs to get any sort of start. It does not have to include number four though. A couple of duff glow plugs in the wrong place will cause problems.

How about the emergency cut switch in the driver's footwell?

I agree with Wammers, glow plugs. Try a whiff of Easy Start, if it starts & runs that will confirm it's a glowplug problem, either failed plugs or a problem with the relay or fuse.

Have you tried measuring the amount of diesel coming out?
If you are questioning diesel pressure then our wammers has a guide to follow to confirm your supply from the intank pump.

Mark Piercy said:

Have you tried measuring the amount of diesel coming out?
If you are questioning diesel pressure then our wammers has a guide to follow to confirm your supply from the intank pump.

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They will start and run unless the tank level is very low or parked nose up with a dead in tank pump, at least mine did.

Datatek said:

They will start and run unless the tank level is very low or parked nose up with a dead in tank pump, at least mine did.

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Good point Keith.
Mine also started on a 1/2 tank and one day didn't at all.
It is one to thing to rule out.
What about the weather here??
It was nice last week?.?

Mark Piercy said:

Good point Keith.
Mine also started on a 1/2 tank and one day didn't at all.
It is one to thing to rule out.
What about the weather here??
It was nice last week?.?

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It hasn't stopped raining for more than a couple of hours all week, not heavy rain, but enough to stop me pouring concrete Still raining this morning. Still I did get more time on the project car. In between fighting paperwork.

Hi all thanks for the replies but still a non starter
Nanacom says no faults in the becm.
I have alive feed with ignition on to what i would call the stop solenoid so can i take it that the engine ecu and becm are synced as the syncmate says they are.
Sniff of easy start and she will fire but not run and i dont like using the easy start for too long. Heater plugs feel warm .my main concern is that with slackened injector pipes there just isnt enough high pressure fuel coming through.Flattened two batteries and ive plenty of fuel after the filter head.Im certain in my own mind that if i had enough diesel coming to the injectors,the ole girl would start and run.
was running great.stopped at night and next morning just wont fire.
alarming the nanacom says the timing modulation is 94 but thats purely on cranking over as shes yet to run.

any ideas gratefully received

How much fuel comes up from the tank in 30 seconds?

Should run with easy start if it was glows but think they should be more than just warm? Never heard of a FIP just conking out they normally just play merry hell Injectors wouldn't all go together and would leave a code

So it's something that doesn't show an error code...

I forgot to take a rag out I used to block the air duct in storage once, nothing blocking air?
No bubbles in clear pipe as in air-locked?

Have you checked that the stop solenoid is actually working we have had a couple lately that have packed up you should be able to feel it click as the ignition is put on.

brianp38dse said:

Have you checked that the stop solenoid is actually working we have had a couple lately that have packed up you should be able to feel it click as the ignition is put on.

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In addition, you can take a piece of wire to it (with ignition off) from the battery and check it functions like that??

update
Fitted a fully charged 1000 cca battery and
i collected the diesel after the filter head,when the heater plugs operate 180 ml were collected
if i bridge the relay out in 20 seconds i collect 300 ml so i think the in tank pump is working ok
no air can be seen in the clear pipe
The solenoid valve i can hear clicking if i disconnect and reconnect it with ign on .
Out of interest i connected the nanacom back up. Now im getting
ENGINE SPEED SENSOR INVALID VALUE
Type: HIGH CIRCUIT,MAJOR FAULT,LOGGED
RPM=128
WATER TEMP =218
OCCURRANCE=10

Its freezing outdoors ,ice forming so I cant see where the 218 comes from

the above was recorded during cranking only so how the water was 218 on 10 times is a bit confusing. As is the rpm as she sounded to be cranking as fast as usual,even a bit faster with the big battery on
Does the high circuit mean the crank sensor is u/s or a break in the wiring or is the engine ecu malfunctioning
thanks again to all

@Grrrrrr is a nanocom potcher he will know.
As far as I know, EDC uses green temp sensor in head, sensor on no.4 injector and crank sensor

If it were say crank sensor, it reads off magnetic pips on flywheel. Even with new sensor if pips on flywheel or wiring is shot a new sensor won't work.

Dodgy head sensor tends to play hell when warm I don't think it would stop it starting but may give duff water temp reading - unplugging it ecu takes 'nominal' value (of working one)

No4 inj - Put me down for a 'don't know' with this one The wires to these sensors get very brittle with age and heat and can get snagged easily - be xtra careful with them replacements aren't cheap

One thing too note is DO NOT unbolt the bracket that holds the crank sensor from the block, only unbolt the sensor from the bracket
i believe you can test the sensor with a multimeter and a magnet.

RangeRoller dt said:

@Grrrrrr is a nanocom potcher he will know.
As far as I know, EDC uses green temp sensor in head, sensor on no.4 injector and crank sensor to measure how much fuel to chuck in/engine speed etc.

If it were say crank sensor, it reads off magnetic pips on flywheel. More unlikely but even with new sensor if pips on flywheel or wiring is shot a new sensor won't work.

Dodgy head sensor tends to play hell when warm I don't think it would stop it starting but may give duff water temp reading - unplugging it ecu takes 'nominal' value (of working one)

No4 inj - Put me down for a 'don't know' with this one The wires to these sensors get very brittle with age and heat and can get snagged easily - be xtra careful with them replacements aren't cheap

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Where do you get this stuff from? Start fuel is determined by engine temp, it has nothing whatsoever to do with crank sensor or number four injector. From his Nanocom readings CPS is duff or has a bad connection.

rover75lover said:

update
Fitted a fully charged 1000 cca battery and
i collected the diesel after the filter head,when the heater plugs operate 180 ml were collected
if i bridge the relay out in 20 seconds i collect 300 ml so i think the in tank pump is working ok
no air can be seen in the clear pipe
The solenoid valve i can hear clicking if i disconnect and reconnect it with ign on .
Out of interest i connected the nanacom back up. Now im getting
ENGINE SPEED SENSOR INVALID VALUE
Type: HIGH CIRCUIT,MAJOR FAULT,LOGGED
RPM=128
WATER TEMP =218
OCCURRANCE=10

Its freezing outdoors ,ice forming so I cant see where the 218 comes from

the above was recorded during cranking only so how the water was 218 on 10 times is a bit confusing. As is the rpm as she sounded to be cranking as fast as usual,even a bit faster with the big battery on
Does the high circuit mean the crank sensor is u/s or a break in the wiring or is the engine ecu malfunctioning
thanks again to all

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Have you been playing with Nanocom and changed any BECM settings?