HELP! Freelander won't start

This site contains affiliate links for which LandyZone may be compensated if you make a purchase.

stevemountain

New Member
Posts
4
Freelander has developed a fault following a short trip. The journey comprised of a 45 minute motorway followed by 15 minute country lanes towing a small trailer in very heavy rain. There was lots of standing water on the road. The car was fine on the motorway however on the country lane I noticed the car was sluggish to respond to a depress of the accelerator pedal. I returned to the vehicle an hour later and was unable to start it. Following lots of umming and arring the RAC man was unable to start it either and we returned home on the back of a low loader. Oil and filters were changed approx 500 miles previously and sailed through it's MOT the week before....The Freelander is a 2001 2.0 TD4 GS that has just turned 96000 miles and been in the family for 8 years so comprehensive service history.
 
Last edited:
diesel or petrol?
If petrol then more than likely, water's got into the ignition side of things, plug leads etc. Although if it was that simple, the patrolman should have been able to sort it.

Only way to be sure is to kill it with fire...or nuke it from orbit, that's the only way really..

er... WELCOME I guess.

First post is usually an intro in the introduction section, then go and ask away in the appropriate vehicle section, in your case the Freelander one.
 
Match and a gallon of petrol will sort the POS right out. :D

You still haven't visited the aptly named "introduce yourself" section have you? ;)
 
does it turn over but not fire ?

have you tried easy start into the air intake ?

have you checked the fuel cut off switch ?

can you hear the fuel pump running when you turn the ignition on ?

will it bump start ? will it jump start ?
 
Yes, it turns over but doesn't fire. I have checked the fuel cut off sitch. I can also hear the fuel pump from the rear of the car. It wouldn't jump start, I haven't tried bump starting though or easy start - I will try using easy start tomorrow. Thanks
 
might effect the maf sensor .. at a guess ..

ROVER 75 MGZT ENGINE FAULT FINDING
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3) MAF SENSOR FAILURE (quite common, as opposed to the very commonplace degradation. More on this here)

This often occurs after a journey in heavy rain and spray as well as just due to age and general unreliability. It is caused by spray being drawn into the air intake, and eventually impinging upon the Maf sensor. The poor quality Bosch heated sensor doesn't take kindly to taking a shower and expires before its time.
~~~~~~~~~~~

i.e. something to check If you've the bosch maf fitted
it can happen on a td4 .. but not as common as on the 75 .. due to the intake position
 
Last edited:
So ... arranged to take my Freelander to Landranger in Longton for Paul to take a look at. It just so happened the emergency services were able to start it this time. Would you believe it lol. The fault was identified as the fuel pump (under the fuses, ecu) . To get the car started he just gave it few gentle taps with a spanner. This was enough to get me to the garage, changed the pump and it's now as good as new. Really pleased as having read all of the previous threads on here my gut feel was fuel starvation but unable to prove it myself. Thanks everyone. Steve.
 
had a simular thing happen not on a LR but on a BMW E30 325i
RAC man eventually got under the fuel tank, said when I shout, start the engine,
smacked the tank with a hammer to jar the fuel pump into action,
started as normal..
but got it recovered home anyway
new pump was £120 way back in 1998 !!!

the thing is, I was used to giving old SU pumps a bash to get them working light years ago when I was younger ;)
never gave it a thought on that old beemer,
but lessons learned and all that.
your bash the pump just might help out other LR blokes now too.
 
Back
Top