Non Starting P38 4.6 and Clicking noises.

right ive been searching endless everywhere i can and no one seems to give me a definite answer on this.

on sunday morning i got out of my car at 3am everything on it was working fine, no problems anywhere, came to use it less than 12 hours later and nothing, the radio and windows and wipers work, but non of the engine lights come on, the trip computer or the heater panel. this is obviously in key position 2. when i turn it to start it there no sound at all, and if the wipers are working they stop until i put the key back to 2.

right i turn the key, theres a clicking sound coming from under my drivers seat, the BeCM, and theres also a clicking noise coming from the fuse box in the engine bay. it click once when i turn the key, then when i put it back nothing.

i had the rac out to look at it, he couldnt figure it out, checked the battery and said that was fine, checked connection from battery to fuse box, and to alternator and all were fine.

then i had my own mechanic out to look at it twice, hes checked battery again and all the same, checked fuses non blown all working. then he checked the connection from the battery to a small wire on the starter solenoid and said there was nothing at all.

im wondering if any of you had experienced this before, and what could be the problem. ive read everything from BeCM, to the fuse box iteself, to lose cables or even corroded.

any help would be great. thanks.

it does sound like the battery is ferked

but obviously that switch wire having no power could imitate that problem.

have you tried putting power to there that lead goes, take the lead off first, if it starts then i would say its shorted somewhere.

check the wires resistance to the body. maybe its got trapped in something or just burnt out???

so even though the battery seems orite charge wise, do you mean its not giving off the power right??

so your saying it may possibly be just a dodgy wire??

sorry for this but take what lead off?? im in no way a mechanic so as much of a description as youve got would help a lot.

wherever the lead goes to on the starter, i think its just a switch wire, put 12 volts to where the lead came from (youve taken it off to avoid putting 12v back up the lead, thats just trying to be as safe as poss)

if the car then starts (get someone to assist in starting whilst you touch the wire to the battery or another battery)

then this is your issue.

it could well be that the relay is ferked!

swap the starter relay for another one, of the same type/colour!

ive switched the relays about and nothings happening with that, still a clicking sound coming from under them. im gonna give the other idea a go, i just need to jack up my car to get to the starter.

im still a little unclear of what im connecting too but ill have a looksee. cheers

nothing seems to be working, a mate of mine is coming down in his range rover to give me a jump start to see if the battery is causing the problems.

ive done more research and ive come across the starter inhibitor switch, but i dont know where it is, and ive found that re syncing the ECU and BeCM could be a possible fix too.

im willing to try all my options, i havent had my car since sunday and cant get anywhere.

Stupid one, sorry, but is it in P or N?

yes, i did check that, but non of the warning messages or engine lights come on like normal which has lead me more down the route of the battery been ****.

have you looked at the leads on the back of your alt?

if theres no lights on the car then i would say battery is dead, try with a jump (- lead to chassis/engine lifting eye) and see if you get lights etc!!!

tried jumping it, not a peep out of it, no lights no nothing, for some reason when i put the car in reverse the reverse lights dont come on at all, does that mean anything??

its really bugging me now because no one including two seperate mechanics and the rac know whats going on, there is no way im the only person to have this problem ever.

where are you? some body may be able to help you..

im in York, ive had so many people not know whats up with it that i dont think anyone is gonna get it.

i just dont have a clue whats up with it, all i know is all electronics work, when i turn the key no lights come on where the dials are like they usually do, the heat panel doesnt turn on, and theres a single click coming from under the fuse box, thats everything thats happening to my car.

things i know are, the reverse lights dont come on at all, the headlights come on but dont dim or anything when i turn the key, theres current going through my battery to the alternator and fuse box, but NOT a current going to the little wire on the starter solenoid when i turn the key. all the relays and fuses are absolutely fine.

have you looked for burning under your fuse box. do you know anybody with a fuse box you could try?

i know no one with a range rover of the same type at all, i will say the other day i did smell something coming from under the fuse box, like that hot plastic smell you used to get from old tvs when you left em on too long.

im just a bit annoyed that i spend £150 a year on rac and all he did was check battery and say, looks good to me sorry i cant help. and not even mechanics know whats up with it at all, are range rovers really that hard to sort out??

am i honestly better just scrapping it, or is anyone willing to take it off my hands for some money, i cant go any longer without a car.

non of you think it needs resyncing do you?? the ecu and becm??

jon, if you can get to guisborough near middlesbrough, i have just bought a new fuse box for my 1996 4.6, i have not fitted it yet, the old one still works, i did a repair on it, but just like things to be right.

You are more than welcome to try my old fuse box, i personally think that is your problem, if you pull out relay 7 and have a look for partically melted area where the relay goes in, the underside of the fuse board are prone to solder joints breaking down, i have lots of various faults on mine that were intermitent, down to the car changing gear when it wanted to, the fault was the fuse board, even though it has no control over the gearbox or controller what so ever.

any electrical shorting on a range rover sends messages to the becm and causes it to do strange things, however there is the starter, fuel and ignition relay in the fuse box, so if it has developed a fault it could affect the items you descibe.

unfortunately i my 3 week old son has taken a ill and is in hospital at Newcastle waiting for an operation, otherwise i could have met up with you some where, if you PM me or know someone that can collect it for you, let me know. Rich.

little update, RAC came out again, batterys fine, there volts going though, had it on charge for about an hour and still nothing, hes had ignition out and having a look for loose wires cant see anything at all.

he went through all immobilizer to see if that was a problem but that came to nothing. Ive tried eka code again to see if that did something. nothing.

so im officially stumped, fuse box has been out today, everything seems fine inside there. theres only the fact theres no volts between the battery and the solenoid left now.

how much do you reckon i could get scrap for this car?? anyone want to take it off my hands??

its been at garage all week and they cant seem to figure it out, they had it on a diagnostic, nothing showed up, he said he got it working at one point, drove it around, it was working fine, turned it off, then it would start again at all.

ive been asking for long enough on here and it dont seem to be getting anywhere to be honest.

ive already asked this but no one replied, could it be the ECU BeCM need syncing????? or could it be a crank sensor problem?? im running out of ideas with this now.

hes waiting for a wire diagram to come through to check everything out.

if theres nothing going to the starter wire then it wont turn over. have you checked continuity on this wire?

does it turn over if you bypass this wire?

theres got to be something loose. i trust the starter has been checked?

i think its gonna be one of those silly issues thats just too damn silly to figure!!!


if it needs syncing, usually, there are two codes that come up something like p1692 or p1672.

it would also turn over if it needs syncing so i dont think its that.

the crank sensor wont stop it turning, it'll just stop it firing!

could it be g/box related, they will only start in p or n. check it says its in p or n. you could also try putting it in low box p or n just to see if it makes a difference.

the fella who got it going obviously did something inadvertantly so g/box could be it?????