Some odd issues with an 02 TD5 Defender

Hey chaps,

Im in need of help as im just totally stumped at this point.

Just got my Landy fixed after the crash damage a couple months ago. Took it be tracked and it had some starting issues, turn the key and you can hear the starter motor going but the engine wouldnt fire with no reponse from the throttle. This happend twice in 40 minutes, drove home and it was fine started perfectly.

Then drove it down to Oxford for NYE, was fine all the way there took it very easy but noticed a strange new noise coming from the turbo.

On the way back it was fine for about 40 miles then the engine warning light came on and lost all power, few seconds later and got power back, this happend about 3 - 4 times. Wasnt sure what the issue was so I pulled over and called recovery.

The recovery chap said either waters gotten somewhere it shouldnt or the turbo is about to blow.

Finally got home got it off the lorry, attempted to get it into my drive and it wouldnt start again, but this time it sounded like the engine was trying to start rather than just the starter motor spinning.


Heres for the very odd bit. Went out this morning to see if I could see what the issue was, all seemed fine. Car started first time, quickly with no issues, revved up fine and stayed reved for 30 seconds no issues.

So I though i'd go for a short drive see if I can hear/see anything going wrong, took the handbreak off and the engine cut out. Then would not start with the handbreak off. So handbreak back on, it started, took it off cut out. Infact moving the handbreak at all seemed to cut the engine.

On the last try I got 4 warning lights -

Amber Engine
Amber Glow Plug
Red Oil
Red Battery

All constant not flashing.


Checked the ECU cubby, all is dry. No water, no oils just a lot of dry pink dust/mud dust

Checked all the wires in the engine all dry, no oils.

Checked the manifold & turbo all seems to be in place, nothing warped and no bolts sheered. No black soot either.


Please help!

Thanks
Josh.

Td5 posible oil in the injector loom to the ecu ?

drewster said:

Td5 posible oil in the injector loom to the ecu ?

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yep.

Check the injector harness buddy. the one that comes out the head. if there is oil in there then it needs sorting out. dont know if you can clean it and dry it but id buy a new one and replace it, then clean the other and keep it as a spare.

Also have you opened your ECU to see if its damp in there?

Going to try and take a look tomorrow weather permitting.

Was my plan if that is the issue, to clean it and kkeep as a spare.

ECU is bone dry, just full of clay dust and dry mud dust. Was going to remove the ECU and clean the lot out, seal it all attempt to stop crap coming back in.

I've had a couple of breakdowns with my TD5 which yielded similar symptoms. That is, poor running, cutting out, engine going into limp mode with the yellow engine warning light on and refusing to pick up revs, refusing to start etc. The puzzle was in both cases that the faults were intermittent. The first one turned out to be a fault in the wiring loom going from the ECU to the engine. So it's worth jiggling those corrugated plastic sheaths around and pulling them back and forth to see if it will make and break contact to make the fault appear and disappear. The fact that the handbrake makes a difference points in this direction, because putting it on and taking it off may be jiggling the wires a little. In the second case, there was oil in the loom. Disconnect the multiplug where the injector loom goes in the cylinder head (front driver's side of the engine) and see if it's got oil in it. If so, dry it off with carb cleaner and/or a tissue and see if that improves matters. A new injector loom isn't that dear and is easy-ish to fit. My bet is on wiring faults rather than a mechanical fault. Oh, the other thing is the accelerator potentiometer - they sometimes go wrong, or so the AA man told me.

Cheers mate, ill take a look tomorrow. Did check the pedal seems fine, though I know they are prone to break..

had the exact same problem with my 02 td5 90

i had only had it a week and it kept cutting out momentarily, especially when it was
bumpy. the hand brake lever was loose, and i found that if i pulled it up about an inch
or so the engine would die.

i tightened it up and the problem was solved, i dont know why it happened though.

my hand brake warning light flickers occasionally still though.

this may not help but at least your not alone

Is nice to know im not the only one... Starting to regret not buying a 300tdi now... Damn electrics!! Though I do have a nice solid roll cage that came with

Will report back tomorrow when me n my mate have had a butchers, luckily it doesnt seem like its the Turbo!

I had a similar problem with mine cutting out then turning over without firing. I tracked it down to a loose relay, one of the ones next to the ECU. It had started to deform the plastic housing with heat. I bent the metal prongs in then strapped it with insulation tape. No problems now in 6 months...fingers crossed!!

Been out all morning. Got the rocker cover off, injector harness off.

It was FULL of oil, totally full. I noticed as soon as I took the plastic cover off there was so much oil that it was actually leaking out the rear drivers side of the engine.

Cleaned it all up, got as much oil out of where it shouldnt be as possible.

Currently cleaning up the injector harness now to keep as a spare, new ones on the way.


Now do I need to clean any excess oil out of the injectors? Its not visible but I know its in there, its not possible for it not to be!

harness will be its whether it leaks into the loom connector that causes issues ,clean injector connectors new loom will have new seals fitted for the connectors

Cool cheers mate.

I expect I will have to use a little clutch cleaner on kitchen towel.

Its just very nice to know this should be the issue.

Ive had the injector harness sitting upright on some kitchen towel for 3 hours now, its still leaking out a lot of oil. I cant believe how much is in there.


Is there anyway to stop oil getting in there in the future? Or is it just a case of replacing it every now and then?

As they get old the oil seems to find its way through the plastic bung that goes in the hole in the cylinder head and into the multiplug. Especially with oil that's been in the engine for a while, there'll be lot of metal particles floating in it which make it more conductive. That shorts things out. On Discos where the ECU is near the engine it can make its way all the way back to the ECU and cause trouble there, but as it's a longer cable run on a Defender that's less likely in this case. The injectors themselves, and the loom connectors get absolutely slathered in oil under the rocker cover whilst the engine is running and everybody's happy, but once it gets in the plug it causes trouble. Maybe because everything's closer together and the resistance is less. I don't think there's an easy way of stopping it happening, because it has to do with the place where the wires go through the bung. But it's not too bad (or too dear) a job to do.

Another advantage of doing this is that you can fit a new gasket to the rocker cover at the same time, which (if my experience is anything to go by) will cure a few oil leaks. I think they go a bit crisp after a few years. The new ones are nice and fresh and squashy. Absolutely mouthwatering.

Although the injector harness is full of oil I do not think it is this that is causing the present fault. It sounds more like a broken or corroded earth cable to me.

ratty said:

Although the injector harness is full of oil I do not think it is this that is causing the present fault. It sounds more like a broken or corroded earth cable to me.

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oi ratty,instead of being helpful on here,answer yer pm's will ya.ffs.

I also agree with ratty,
Take off all your main earth cables and make sure the terminals are clean and where it mounts to chassis/engine is also clean and tight.

Ill get on the earths today, while I wait for me new harness.

Thanks again.

Cleaned out the injectors today, also cleaned up the rocker cover because I could.

Found the ECU earth was all clean, but cleaned it anyway. Couldnt find the rest of them, am I being thick or are they really easy to find?

Only odd thing I found was there is a purple wire coming out of the ECU connected to nothing.. The wire isnt bare though.


Also I found some breather tubes under the plastic engine cover. Am I right to assume these are for the transmission/gearbox? If so can I just clip and extend this up?

hi everyone. i have just bought a 2004 defender 90 td5 xs. I had a slight misfire on idle so i checked the red connector linked to the ecu and found oil in it. So i bought an injector harness and changed it. I made this move for safety reasons as the car was working perfectley but after reading all the issues and after finding some oil in the ecu socket i just changed it. unfortunately when i put everything back together and started it i ended up with a 4 cylinder engine. i removed top cover again and checked that all the injector clip ons are secure and they were. I then cleaned the ecu connectors again and sprayed some electric cleaner spray. but all for nothing.......HHEELLPP plls...........
I must admit that i did not clean the injector plugs and they did have some oil in them......IDEAS PLEASE

Clean the injector plugs, I used break cleaner. Got all the oil out, also cleaned up the rocker cover.

Did you clean all the oil out of the ECU?