Disco 2 Won’t bloody start!!

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Started 3/4 times this morning which was less than helpful as I was recording to the Nanocom to get crank speeds on failed start.

Recorded but now waiting for Amazon to deliver an SD card reader as that appears to have gone with the ex wife (if only she’d taken the disco too!!)
Will update tomorrow when I can view/upload the data files

Crank position sensor on order - as it’s only £25 I figured it’s worth ruling out
 
well this is the nanocom file - dont think it shows anything of value, but I'm not entirely sure!!

fault codes haven't come back since clearing

the only thing I've noticed is that the fuel purge and use of accelerator seems to aid with starting when its not playing ball - but not consistently
 

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02Disco2 said:
the only thing I've noticed is that the fuel purge and use of accelerator seems to aid with starting when its not playing ball - but not consistently
Click to expand...
Injector seals mate, gotta be worth a look

Or fuel filter housing

If you can get it driving along, does it cut out?
 
1988smithy said:
Injector seals mate, gotta be worth a look

Or fuel filter housing

If you can get it driving along, does it cut out?
Click to expand...
No drives fine when it’s running. No loss of power or anything. After running starting again is pretty much guaranteed not to work though!!
 
These intemittent symptoms without a clear pattern are the worst, in most cases it's about a weak contact or chafed wire somewhere and can become very expensive to rule out... i had something quite similar myself long time ago, at that time i knew too little about D2s so replaced the crank sensor, fuel pump, filter head, engine bay fusebox, starter motor and ended up by replacing the ECU which didnt cure it then i changed the engine main harness with friggin' expensive new one and that was it... in your case with that strange rpm reading and the hystorical crank speed fault code my first suspect is the starter which disturbs the crank signal but wait untill it doesnt start again to read the rpm then
 
Don't think there is much I can add, except could there be an air leak somewhere, a tiny crack in the top of a fuel pipe or something or as @sierrafery says.....

Am I right in thinking that when you have the key turned and nothing is happening and all the lights dim, that must surely be an important short to earth?
02Disco2 said:
and all the electrics go dark
Click to expand...
...is what I am talking about.
If the new crank sensor doesn't sort it, I'd give the contacts in the starter and the associated wiring a good looking at and where it disappears into the loom, disconnect the two ends of each wire and make new ones up, connect these to where the original ones connected and thus by pass anything that could be causing the issue. i.e. chafing etc.
Could it possibly be something as simple as a fault at the ignition switch? I once had a car where if I turned the key too far it wouldn't start! Just plain wear, But could it possibly be sometimes bridging two contacts in there thus sending the juice to two places at once, or to the wrong place?
Clutching at straws I know. But I had my ignition switch preventing starting for a while.
Best of luck with it, mate!
 
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Stanleysteamer said:
Don't think there is much I can add, except could there be an air leak somewhere, a tiny crack in the top of a fuel pipe or something or as @sierrafery says.....

Am I right in thinking that when you have the key turned and nothing is happening and all the lights dim, that must surely be an important short to earth?

...is what I am talking about.
If the new crank sensor doesn't sort it, I'd give the contacts in the starter and the associated wiring a good looking at and where it disappears into the loom, disconnect the two ends of each wire and make new ones up, connect these to where the original ones connected and thus by pass anything that could be causing the issue. i.e. chafing etc.
Could it possibly be something as simple as a fault at the ignition switch? I once had a car where if I turned the key too far it wouldn't start! Just plain wear, But could it possibly be sometimes bridging two contacts in there thus sending the juice to two places at once, or to the wrong place?
Clutching at straws I know. But I had my ignition switch preventing starting for a while.
Best of luck with it, mate!
Click to expand...
Thanks! (And thank you to everyone that has replied so far).

Will try to fit CPS this weekend and try that. I’ll also record the non-start again with the Nanocom and see if I can get better readings and post here

Injector deals was mentioned so will consider those too - the write up on discovery2.co.uk is really detailed for that so I may give it a go when I have time and the rain holds off but will need a few more tools before I tackle that one!
 
Thought I’d get the jump on the disco this morning and record the non-starting as it was -3c and hadn’t been started for 4 days…. Started first time without issue!
And again this evening. Bloody thing

CPS fitting tomorrow if it gets above freezing
 
sierrafery said:
These intemittent symptoms without a clear pattern are the worst, in most cases it's about a weak contact or chafed wire somewhere and can become very expensive to rule out... i had something quite similar myself long time ago, at that time i knew too little about D2s so replaced the crank sensor, fuel pump, filter head, engine bay fusebox, starter motor and ended up by replacing the ECU which didnt cure it then i changed the engine main harness with friggin' expensive new one and that was it... in your case with that strange rpm reading and the hystorical crank speed fault code my first suspect is the starter which disturbs the crank signal but wait untill it doesnt start again to read the rpm then
Click to expand...
I’ll update again when I’ve changed the CPS. I replaced the starter about a week ago with a new Denso unit as I originally thought it was that but doesn’t seem to have made any difference! The earth lead to the starter and ignition cable look ok - I couldn’t see any signs of chafing or wear near the starter itself
 
You can't really check that with multimeter as the problem occurs only under load while cranking, the only way to rule it out is to replace it with known good one, as first step you can check if all it's plugs are well connected and pins tight eventually use some contact spray on them... i hope your problem is not the same as mine was and the engine harness to be the culprit
 
sierrafery said:
You can't really check that with multumeter as the problem occurs only under load while cranking, the only way to rule it out is to replace it with known good one, as first step you can check if all it's plugs are well connected and pins tight eventually use some contact spray on them... i hope your problem is not the same as mine was and the engine harness to be the culprit
Click to expand...
Ok thank you - will try it that and hope, as you say, it’s not the harness!
 
Gooday 02Disco2....share your pain. Had a No Start several months ago...mine started out with being locked out of car...Then turned key and nothing except for chimes....then it would start with no probs. Found I think Fuse 13 (10A) blown that was a feed for BCU.......Advised to replace interior fuse box and also sent BCU to Richard at Callrova. But still intermittent No Starts. Richard advised to start again at engine fuse box and check connections / wires and on giving the wires a "Tug"......this cable popped out, around 2" into the loom. Just below engine fuse box. Never would have seen it as taped and in the bunch of wires. Corrosion evident on end of cable so possibly an intermittent fault, not just cut. Only thing I can think of was cable nicked in build and water perhaps tracking down over 20 years!!! and shorting out....who knows. But it worked and another tale to add to my Disco 2 woes to tick off. Good luck......
 

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It's been a while since I had a td5 disco, but, when it wanted to be a pig to start, it was one of the following.
Loose battery connection
Injector harness
Immobilizer/alarm fault (receiver unit above rear view mirror)
Fuel pump failed.

When it did crank and fire intermittently, it turned out to be the injector harness.

Anyway, good luck and hope you get your d2 running again. Great motors, wish I never sold mine.
 
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