Poor starting 200tdi Defender

Good evening, I have had my Defender for nearly 2 years without any staring problems up until last few weeks. It does start but takes a while but the starter is kicking neary in, I have changed the heater plugs as they were knacked but still the same.

I am now thinking is the battery on its way down as it is very nearly cranking the starter on the first turn.

On the other hand the heater plugs are only on for 2 seconds after the engine starts?

Or iis it some dodgy Diesel?

Anyone know what amps should be in the battery?

kastle34 said:

Good evening, I have had my Defender for nearly 2 years without any staring problems up until last few weeks. It does start but takes a while but the starter is kicking neary in, I have changed the heater plugs as they were knacked but still the same.

I am now thinking is the battery on its way down as it is very nearly cranking the starter on the first turn.

On the other hand the heater plugs are only on for 2 seconds after the engine starts?

Or iis it some dodgy Diesel?

Anyone know what amps should be in the battery?

Click to expand...

Yeah acidic amps

kastle34 said:

Good evening, I have had my Defender for nearly 2 years without any staring problems up until last few weeks. It does start but takes a while but the starter is kicking neary in, I have changed the heater plugs as they were knacked but still the same.

I am now thinking is the battery on its way down as it is very nearly cranking the starter on the first turn.

On the other hand the heater plugs are only on for 2 seconds after the engine starts?

Or iis it some dodgy Diesel?

Anyone know what amps should be in the battery?

Click to expand...

I can't say how many amps you should be reading on your battery but you can usually tell how healthy a battery is by how well it turns your engine over. What do you mean by the starter is 'kicking neary in'?. If the engine turns over at a continuous speed it should fire on the button. A healthy TDi will usually start in less than one whole turn of the starter. If you suspect the battery, connect some jump leads up to your battery from battery of another vehicle and then try starting your landy. That will tell you if the problem is indeed your battery.

On the other hand, how does it perform once you're up and running Is it sluggish or is it nippy and torquey?. A dogey fuel batch is unlikely but it's not unheard of. First port of call in poor starting situations usually always lie with one or more of four things:

1) Dirty fuel filter
2) Dirty air filter
3) Air getting into the fuel
4) Fuel not reaching the engine

First things first. Remove and inspect the innards of your fuel filter. Are they clogged up or contaminated? Replace it none the less. The same goes with your air filter. Is it soaked in oil or totally contaminated with crud? It may also be that your lift pump has failed, or the lift pump non-return diaphragm has failed allowing fuel to run back down the fuel line as opposed to sitting in the lines primed and ready for starting. This will also obviously mean that there is air in the system.

-Pos

Check yer earth straps to chassis etc are nice and clean

The engine is fit and pulls like a train, a few weeks ago though I did buy some dodgy diesel(Yellow industrial) but it did run ok with this in

kastle34 said:

The engine is fit and pulls like a train, a few weeks ago though I did buy some dodgy diesel(Yellow industrial) but it did run ok with this in

Click to expand...

Try the things listed above and give her a full tank of standard DERV
-Pos