Disco 1 Intermittent non starting

Hello, I am away from home and unable to get to my 300tdi disco, it is left with my (fairly capable) better half, i hope to get to it this weekend to work on it myself but any suggestions for work she can do in the mean time would be helpful.

Since coming back from a clutch change it has had intermittent failure of the mfu circuits, temperature gauge to maximum, and occasional failure to start often following abs misbehaviour. She turns the key and apparently it clicks once only. If she leaves it for a while (she says a few hours normally) it starts and then performs perfectly.

I suspect an earth has come loose with the clutch job, probably either a body to battery connection or body to chassis intermittently knocking out the ground for the mfu and whatever wizardry tells it to fire the starter motor. I asked her to try putting a jump lead from engine to battery and then from seat belt mount to battery without success making me suspect it is more likely to be an internal circuit to body earth. Is there an earth point that would tie together the abs computer, starting gear, mfu, and temperature gauge I can point her at to fix before i get a chance to get at the thing? Alternatively does anyone have any ideas what else may connect all the symptoms, or should I book an exorcist?

It may be as simple as a broken/loose wire but testing and not guessing is required.
An iffy 'spider immobiliser' can give an intermittent starting, not allowing the engine to crank before it finally packs up, if it cranks but there's no fuel to the engine that could also be the immobiliser, easy to test the two circuits just bypass with a length of wire.
It would be nice to know what is clicking, a relay I suspect but which one, for example security ecu, starter, aux, I take it the engine doesn't crank.

She says it sounds like a relay, only audible in the cab, fairly quiet, coming from the passenger side foot well

All the usual dash lights come on but not the immobiliser failed light (it stays off like it should), but the engine wont crank at all.

123asd said:

She says it sounds like a relay, only audible in the cab, fairly quiet, coming from the passenger side foot well

All the usual dash lights come on but not the immobiliser failed light (it stays off like it should), but the engine wont crank at all.

Click to expand...

The only relays in the passenger side are the ones in the security ecu and the auxiliary relay that operate when turning the ignition switch, the starter relay is on the drivers side.

For me I'd go the immobiliser, I've had the same issue, intermittent starting then finally cutting out on the outside lane, the dash light gave the indication the engine was reimmobilised as it should by extinguishing on unlocking but my engine wouldn't crank. So as a Test, a link wire from a 12v supply to the starter relay or the solenoid (won't say any more) but that is one circuit that's disconnected when the vehicle is immobilised, its even simpler with a D1V8 but I won't say anymore on that either