Discovery starting problem

I have tried to search the symptoms the Discovery has, but no luck so far, so I hope someone can help. The Discovery is a 2003, manual TD5 and has suffered all the usual problems - air springs, started motor solenoid, fuel pressure regulator etc.

Recently it has on three seperate times refused to turn over let alone start. When I turn the key the relay under the steering wheel clicks, as do the relays in the fuse box under the bonet and I have lights on the dash board, but it will not turn-over. The last two times it started once by just leaving it and trying later, the second time by removing the relay and cleaning terminals, (just coinsidence I guess) It happened again today but this time it just would not start. I had to leave the car and when I went to lock it with the fob it wouldn't lock. I then locked the car with the key and it wouldn't open with the fob, so when I unlocked it with the key and opened the door the alarm went off and despite pressing the fob the alarm continued until it stopped on its own. The disco then started normally and the key fob works. I remember reading on the landy zone that Discovery's suffered immobiliser problems to do with a 'Spider' but having reread the forum I've found that it doesn't apply to TD5's. Can anyone help?
Cheers!
It's driving me to drink more than usual-just off for a pint!

could be bcu problem. Is it auto or manual, do elec windows work when it wont start?

It doesn't sound like the immobiliser if the relay is clicking. The relay click would also rule out a dodgy ignition switch. I would check the fly lead to the starter motor first off. Give it a wiggle and see if it starts then. If that doesn't work then using a power probe, test light, multimeter etc, check the fly lead is turning live when the ignition is turned to the crank position.

It's manual, and I've not tried to open the windows

Cheers Ratty,

I'll check it over in the morning in daylight, as I said in the post, it's fine at the moment, but not knowing if it'll happen again is a pain in the a***. It's good to know where to start looking, thanks

landyuser said:

Cheers Ratty,

I'll check it over in the morning in daylight, as I said in the post, it's fine at the moment, but not knowing if it'll happen again is a pain in the a***. It's good to know where to start looking, thanks

Click to expand...

let us know how you get on.

Will do, thanks

my starting problem was just like that the clunk and then nothing , now and again it worked , anyway i listened to a few on this site and they said to change the solenoid contacts .
i bought these on e bay and the next day fitted them and job done the disco starts every time now
i hope this helps ,the contacts were only £9.95 plus postage a good and cheap result

Hi Ratty & co

The Discovery is starting ok now, I did check the flylead to the starter all appears as it should with a clean and firm contact. Obviously as the disco starts ok, there is current running to the starter motor solenoid. It's one of those irritating occasional faults, but if it happens again I'll contact the forum again; should I start a new thread or continue with this one?

By the way thanks to "Shuffles" for his suggestion, but I repaired the solenoid last year and the symptoms are a little different.

landyuser said:

Hi Ratty & co

The Discovery is starting ok now, I did check the flylead to the starter all appears as it should with a clean and firm contact. Obviously as the disco starts ok, there is current running to the starter motor solenoid. It's one of those irritating occasional faults, but if it happens again I'll contact the forum again; should I start a new thread or continue with this one?

By the way thanks to "Shuffles" for his suggestion, but I repaired the solenoid last year and the symptoms are a little different.

Click to expand...

Best to keep on the same thread. As you say there isn't much that you can do when it's actually working. Sods law says it'll keep going until the least convenient time to give up.

Hello Ratty and Co. are you there? The same problem has occured again, went to start the disco and NOTHING, just the click from the relays. Thought I'd try what worked last time by key locking, then key unlocking, the alarm going off and then all was fine; but not this time! As Ratty suggested when I started this post I checked the flylead going to the starter motor solenoid with a test light/power probe,while someone cranked the starter - no current.

This afternoon before all this happened I'd been adjusting the handbrake, and the back of the Discovery had been jacked-up to get the rear wheels off the ground. I can't see how this could have anything to do with the non-starting problem, but I thought I'd mention it in case it had any relevance.

Not only is the Discovery now not starting, but the alarm is now sounding, reseting and sounding over and over again. Initially I unplugged the small horn relay in the fuse box under the bonnet, and disconected the wire from the horn on the passenger side bulkhead, the hazzards kept going, so in the end I disconnected the earth terminal on the battery. Help.......

Have you checked the vehicles battery voltage to make sure that it's not simply that it's flat?

Assuming it's an alarm/immobiliser issue, sometimes simply disconnecting the battery, holding the 2 battery leads together for 10 seconds, and then waiting 10 minutes before reconnecting the battery can get you going again.

Can you remember what the flashing immobiliser LED was doing when you last had the starting problem? (just trying to suss out if it's the same fault as before or a new fault)

Do you know when the battery in the remote was last changed? Do you have a second remote and if so have you tried it out? Do you know the EKA code and have you tried entering it?

I'm guessing that you are no longer hearing the relay clicking?

Hi Ratty

Thanks for your list of suggestions, here is the state of play so far:

Battery was tested and was fully charged and the terminals are clean and tight.

Did as you suggested and held the 2 battery leads together for 10 seconds, waited 10 minutes and tried again, unfortunately to no avail.

The flashing immobiliser LED (red light) was flashing once every three seconds or so while the alarm was activated. When locking the door with the key, it flashed rapidly for a short while.

Had never changed the battery in either remote since I've had the Discovery, so changed it. Still no joy .......

I still heard the relay clicking.

Walked toward the car this morning clicked the remote out of habit - "clunk" the doors unlocked and it started first time. (aprox 36 hours since the last time it started). What should I do now, should I take it to be diagnostically checked £££££?

Im having the same problem!
I will try all of the above ideas when I get back from work.
If any of these ideas work I will let you alll know.

I'll be interested to hear what you discover.

landyuser said:

Hi Ratty

Thanks for your list of suggestions, here is the state of play so far:

Battery was tested and was fully charged and the terminals are clean and tight.

Did as you suggested and held the 2 battery leads together for 10 seconds, waited 10 minutes and tried again, unfortunately to no avail.

The flashing immobiliser LED (red light) was flashing once every three seconds or so while the alarm was activated. When locking the door with the key, it flashed rapidly for a short while.

Had never changed the battery in either remote since I've had the Discovery, so changed it. Still no joy .......

I still heard the relay clicking.

Walked toward the car this morning clicked the remote out of habit - "clunk" the doors unlocked and it started first time. (aprox 36 hours since the last time it started). What should I do now, should I take it to be diagnostically checked £££££?

Click to expand...

It sounds like it's more likely to be the alarm unit than the remotes. It might be worth your while checking any earth connections as they can often be the cause of immobiliser issues.

A diagnostic check MAY show up your problem.

Did you re-sync your fob after changing the battery? (hit the lock button 5 times in quick succession)

I had very similar symptoms on my Disco 1.

I eventually traced this to the positive supply to the under-bonnet fuse box. It was making an intermittent contact somewhere within its length, attempting to start the car would somehow cause it to break down, and that would be it. No power there, means that none of the switches or relays would work. The alarm would sound on its back up battery as I believe it was supposed do.

Not sure if the TD5 is the same, but thought it worth a mention.

MW

Hi All,

Should have some more info soon.
I have removed the battery and the starter motor as I intend to have them both checked today so I can rule them out.
When I put them back (assuming there is nothing wrong with them) i will then check the earth straps. I believe there is one on the engine and one on the gearbox.

Not just the earths, the positives too!

If it still does it, try using a jumplead to bypass the various cables, and see if that shows which one is the problem.

MW

Just a thought, can you the immobiliser be turned off using hawkeye or nanocom?

If so would be worth a try if only to eliminate it from suspicion.

MW