Location of 1991 3.9 efi starter motor relay?

Hello all. Hope Christmas was good.

I'm in a little bit of a hurry and have a starting issue..... always the way Car has been running well and starting on the button, even with the off road abuse it's had recently

Luckily, I was most of the way home from a great day's off-roading before the issue came to light. Stopped for fuel, then no start. I had noticed a slight misfire and loss of power for about 30 seconds on this journey. There is no solenoid click at all. I know battery is good and have since added a booster which makes no difference. I have used rover gauge to check gear lever position switch is OK too. The immobiliser appears to be behaving correctly too. So next obvious check is the starter circuit itself.

So where is my starter relay?? I have haynes and RAVE but still can't figure this out. My VIN begins HA600***. I have found a single relay under a cover on the bulkhead behind the washer bottle, what is this?
Cheers

Assuming you are talking about a Range Rover, the starter solenoid relay is in the cluster of relays under the lower dash panel just by the steering column. There is a bank of 10 relays, in the lower bank of relays, the starter solenoid relay should be the fourth one in from the left, or if you prefer the second one from the right, it is between the ignition load relay and the heated rear window relay.

If you look in rave it should be in the electrical section, look for RELAYS, DELAY UNITS, TIMER UNITS, DIODE PACK - 1990/91 - IDENTIFICATION. See if you can find diagram RR2738M, it is relay 5.

Thanks for the information and yes, you're correct, it's a Range Rover. I'll edit the title thanks. That's a bank of relays I haven't spotted so far. Will have a look tomorrow when it's light.

aha, with your guidance I found the diagram in RAVE.... not sure how I missed it before.... that's what happens when trying to hurry.

I got time to look under the lower dash panel today. The relays were in a slightly different order but can only assume this is because the car doesn't have the heated front screen. (I found the leads marked L I S and W as per the RAVE diagaram, with S leading to the yellow starter solenoid relay)

The starter relay clicks as the key is turned to the crank position and I confirmed correct operation with a multimeter. This indicates that the issue is further down the line i.e. somwhere in the wiring from the relay to the solenoid, or the solenoid / starter itself.

What are the logical next set of tests from here? How can I check that the solenoid is receiving the signal from the starter relay? Are there earth points to check? Is it possible to test correct function of the starter solenoid once it is removed and on the bench? Perhaps I should just order a solenoid?

Any advice welcome.
Thanks

gchristofi said:

What are the logical next set of tests from here? How can I check that the solenoid is receiving the signal from the starter relay? Are there earth points to check? Is it possible to test correct function of the starter solenoid once it is removed and on the bench? Perhaps I should just order a solenoid?

Any advice welcome.
Thanks

Click to expand...

Bench test starter/solenoid is easy enough, all you need is a 12v power source like the battery or a starter pack.

Anyway, it might be worthwhile disconnecting the battery then carefully checking all the connections to the solenoid and starter motor. There is a small wire to the solenoid (can't remember colour, might be brown or red) it gets heat damaged so might need to cut end and put on a new ring connector - I did on mine.

The other thing might be the starter motor itself. I had to swap mine out a few months ago. I was getting intermittent cranking problems, sometimes when the key was turned it was just dead. New starter motor, no problems since.

One other thing to check is the ignition switch, check it hasn't fallen to bits and that when you turn the key it is actually energising the starter circuit.

Thanks Kev. Have ordered a replacement starter. Figure that with all the deep water / mud, I will need one sooner or later even if I can get the old one to work. Now just need time to try a swap.

Tremendous advice from Kev as usual, all the best mate