Defender 130 TD5 - No start

[DFender]

Hey guys,

Still new(ish) to the defenders. Never had an issue like this and really scratching my head. Not sure if you have ever heard of it before.

Car has sat in the driveway for 2 weeks as I had access to another car while so decided to lap up the luxury while I had it available. Get in to go for a drive on the weekend and wont start. Lights on but no one home, no crank or fuel pump noise. No worries, assume dead battery so put the charger on etc

Fast forward 2 days (on charge)

Battery is reading perfectly. Checked with jumper pack as well.
Same thing - turn key , lights on, glows properly, but nothing else. Usually I hear the fuel pump fire up before I start up, but I cant hear anything. Multimetre barely changes. Stereo et al all fire up no dramas.
Checked fuses - ignition fuse was a goner, replaced. Also replaced starter fuse anyway, despite being good (looked a bit old).

I have the check engine light and the oil light seems to stay on, which, dont quote me, but I don't believe I ever seen before. Any ideas on what to try? I am convinced it is an electrical or ECU issue of some kind but a bit lost on where to go and how to further troubleshoot it.

Any help would be much appreciated!

Cheers!

[austastar]

Hi,
Check your owners manual for the procedure to follow prior to removing the battery.

Try that, and check the eath lead on the battery when you remove it. Was it loose.

If yours is the same as a Puma, it may solve the issue.

Cheers

[JoeFriend]

Engine and oil light stay on, so no dramas there.

I doubt it would be the earth strap, as you have stereo working etc.

Have someone turn key while you are listening to the starter motor, if everything else works fine then it could be that.

If it was a dodgy fuel pump then you would get starter trying to turn it over but no go.

Only other things I can think of is check all relays etc to ensure they aren't burnt out. If you burnt out the ignition fuse then the relay may have burnt out and jumped, hence the burnt ignition fuse.

[DFender]

Hi,
Check your owners manual for the procedure to follow prior to removing the battery.

Try that, and check the eath lead on the battery when you remove it. Was it loose.

If yours is the same as a Puma, it may solve the issue.

Cheers

Unfortunately I don't have the owner's manual. The car was purchased second hand and run perfectly up until this point.

Any ideas where I can put my hands on this procedure?


Engine and oil light stay on, so no dramas there.

I doubt it would be the earth strap, as you have stereo working etc.

Have someone turn key while you are listening to the starter motor, if everything else works fine then it could be that.

If it was a dodgy fuel pump then you would get starter trying to turn it over but no go.

Only other things I can think of is check all relays etc to ensure they aren't burnt out. If you burnt out the ignition fuse then the relay may have burnt out and jumped, hence the burnt ignition fuse.

Had my old man under the car while I tied to kick it over. Not a noise to be heard at all from underneath. I suspect it may be the relay. Is this the relays in front of the gear stick?

I have 1x black and 1x yellow relay under the drivers seat, the black one seems to click after maybe 10 seconds on? Not sure what these are for.

[JoeFriend]

Relay is on the fuse panel in front of the gear stick. Check those. Should have pics on it to show which is which.

Next to check is the starter itself and whether it is getting power. So use multimeter on the starter (starter is under the fuel cooler, access is easiest from underneath). If you are getting power it's likely the solenoid is dicky and needs to be replaced.

[JoeFriend]

While you are there I would check the FPR to ensure it isn't leaking. It's on the drivers side of the block at the back, just below the line of the fuel cooler. They are known to leak and kill starters.

You can also try hitting the starter with something, if the solenoid is only slightly dicky you can sometimes get it working again for a while.

[austastar]

Any ideas where I can put my hands on this procedure?

PM sent

cheers

[Tote]

Also check that the inertia switch hasn't been set off, unlikely if not moving but quick to check.

Regards,
Tote

[DFender]

Relay is on the fuse panel in front of the gear stick. Check those. Should have pics on it to show which is which.

Next to check is the starter itself and whether it is getting power. So use multimeter on the starter (starter is under the fuel cooler, access is easiest from underneath). If you are getting power it's likely the solenoid is dicky and needs to be replaced.

Had a quick look yesterday, but quickly ran out of light. I will investigate further this afternoon with the multimetre and a spare pair of hands.

Will give the starter a quick whack and check FPR at the same time.



PM sent

cheers

Thank you very much.

[DFender]

Home from work and an update: It starts!

Removing the negative battery terminal as described in the owners manual (excerpt kindly PM'd to me) then placing back on, the defender roars into life. Sits there and idles fine BUT... turn the car off, and I am back at square one. No crank, no anything. Pulling the terminal off and back on again after 5-10 seconds will get the car to start.

EDIT: Additionally, engine light is flickering on and off randomly. Goes out then comes on and occasionally flickers. Car idles and revs no problems at all.

EDIT: Just went out after letting it sit there for halfa and it fired up straight away. Turned off and back on without any issues either? Turned off and back on 4-5 times in a few minutes with no problems?

[DFender]

More trouble in paradise.
Was stating and cranking over fine, so decided to take it for a quick spin arouns the block.
Put the foot down a bit to get out of an interesection and she started running rough. Instantly got it over to the side and sat there running at idle okish but when trying to get any sprt of power to move running rough and then stalled. Now i just cant get thw thing started again. It cranks over but absolutely nothing.

[Lionel]

More trouble in paradise.
Was stating and cranking over fine, so decided to take it for a quick spin arouns the block.
Put the foot down a bit to get out of an interesection and she started running rough. Instantly got it over to the side and sat there running at idle okish but when trying to get any sprt of power to move running rough and then stalled. Now i just cant get thw thing started again. It cranks over but absolutely nothing.

To me this sounds awfully like a fuel delivery problem. You did mention the pump did not seem to be starting with the "ignition on" in an earlier post.

I would be carefully checking the fuel pump relay, all related earths & pump power connections & fuses, the ECU earth & connecting plugs.

Possibly the pump itself is faulty, though mostly they will start making scarey noises before they cark it.

Cheers,

Lionel

[pjw]

Have had similar issues. My suggestion is to get into the ecu and check for oil in the plugs, as running rough is normally the case.
Plus there are fuses and relays under the seat with it. I turned the ignition on on started to wriggle wires until I heard the pump start. It helped me track down which wires had a bad connection due to corrosion on the terminals.
Once replaced has been good ever since. From my failing memory it was a bad crimp on a earth wire plus a loose terminal going into the ecu.
As for a manual, just go to the shop bit above and order a rave cd from Dave and you will have everything you will need.

[DFender]

Thanks guys, appreciate the help. Given me some good places to start looking. I am away for work for the weekend, so have passed along to a few mates that have investigated. I at least got a few mates to drag it back home for me so I dont have to worry about it being pilfered.

I do have oil in the ECU plugs, I replaced the injector harness about 12 months ago, doesnt look like much anymore, just old stuff coming through possibly? I will get the contact cleaner onto it.
Giving the wires and stuff a wriggle will be a good idea. The fuel pump relay (i believe the yellow one under the drivers seat?) has been replaced.

Is there a fuel cut-off solenoid or anything I should be checking?

[DFender]

Gentlemen,

Resolved! actually 2 issues - dicky relay in the starter motor, which was causing some intermittent starting issues and PJW nailed the other issue - corrosion on the Fuel pump relay. Heard the pump running upon replacement, ran the fuel system purge twice and heard a heap of air coming out. Started first kick like she used to.

First issue I've had like this and I learnt alot. Really appreciate all the help here. Workshop manuals are on the way.