Thread: Starting difficulties

Hi there,

Politely requesting some advice. I've read many different posts and now a bit confused on the best to proceed with my problem. Basically, my range (1999 bosch 4.0 V8) won't start. Starter motor tries to turn the engine over but just won't get over the line. I did find this handy 20 questions on another site which will hopefully shed some more light on what has and hasn't been done:

1. Were you able to open the doors of your Range Rover with the remote? YES

2. If you opened the drivers door of your Range Rover did the alarm sound? NO

3. When you put the key in the ignition did any warning come up on the dashboard? NO

4. When you turned the ignition key*to position III did the starter motor turn the engine over. Tried to. Sounds healthy, but doesn't catch

5. Is your battery in good condition? YES I believe*What is the voltage before trying to start? Didn't test before trying to start, after several attempts battery reading at 11.83. Have had it on charge this afternoon back up to 12.6, still won't turn over.

6. Have you done any maintenance to the vehicle recently, such as remove/disconnect and reinstall/reconnect the battery?*YES - disconnected battery thursday night for approx half an hour while wiring existing additional lights into high beams. Car started and I drove it home, drove for 2 more days before it stopped starting. Disconnected battery Tuesday evening for 1/2 hour to powercycle BeCM, no change.

7. Any other symptoms, warning lights, things that you have done that we should know about?*No. Car has behaved perfectly up until now. Started using 2nd provided fob when it was discovered that the unlock button worked first go each time (on the first fob we were using it was worked when it hit it in exactly right spot) on Friday. No low battery warning on this fob, was low battery warning appearing on vehicle dash on wednesday/thursday. I synced 2nd fob to car. I have replaced batteries in 1st fob, resynced to car, still no start.

8. How long have you owned the vehicle/how well do you know it? Nearly 3 weeks, have wealth of information on history of car and all work done to it, plus previous owner has been very helpful.

9. Is this the first time that you have had this problem? YES

10. Are your foot well carpets*wet (from rain/ snow/coolant leak)?*NO

11. Do you have 2 sets of keys/remotes? Do they both work? YES - not at the same time

12. Do you have multiple warnings on the dashboard display such as windows not set, sunroof not set? (These can mask other warning messages on the display.) Have done, cleared/set windows etc. Also getting ones which are symptomatic of flattening battery, caused by me cranking battery repeatedly. When cleared no additional messages appear.

13. If the engine will not crank when you turn the ignition to position III have you been experiencing EAS problems? NO. Took a little while to come up from bumps on sunday after washing, but no other issues.

14. When you last drove the vehicle did you you EAS compressor run? YES

15. If starter motor does not operate and turn the engine over and you have had EAS/EAS compressor problems then check Maxi Fuse 2 in the Engine bay fuse box is OK. Is this Maxi Fuse OK? YES/NO.

16. Have you had problems with selecting gears (X/Y selector switch)? Have you cycled through the gear selector and tried to start in both park and Neutral if the engine is not turning over? Had small problem when it wouldn't change into 1st from second unless I slammed the button on Saturday - have discussed with previous owner and he has fixed this in the past. It was an isolated incidence and has not repeated since. Car will not start in either P or N.

17. Have you been wading recently or driving through very deep snow? NO - unless you count about 5cm water wading?

18. Have you checked the connections to the starter solenoid and the starter itself are clean/corrosion free and intact? NO.

19. If the engine does turn over but does not fire do you have sufficient gas in the tank? YES

20. If the engine does turn over but does not fire have you had problems recently with poor fuel/water in fuel/catalytic converters, poor running? NO

Have nanocom evolution - faults that have appeared: PXXXX (what it says) = permanent power supply fault drive cycle A occurred one time signal too low. Fault is not currently present, fault determined as persistent, fault does not cause the MIL lamp activation.

In nanocom motronic/inputs/state switches crank phases 1 and 2 performed, not 3 and 4. However, checking with another RR his only performed 1,2 and 3 and starts so not sure if this is actually indicating a fault with the Crank Sensor. Crank error was also indicated as 0. Performed tooth test (within same area of nanocom) and all seems well there - more than 30 teeth per second, well into 100 teeth per second.
Immobiliser marked as off, resync'd BeCM and ECU anyway (I think it did, it didn't tell me if it actually had or not)
BeCM powercycled
BeCM sleep test performed - goes off, does not come back on until you open door. Performed this test with depleted battery (purely based on fact it sounds tired when I try to crank it) so that may be affecting it.
Have tried to jumpstart using fully charged jump pack. No joy, but makes battery sound happier.
Interestingly, the engine temperature at one point registered as 247 degrees on nanocom (when engine had been off for 24 hours). However, nanocom instructions indicate that no matter what this figure is, it will not interfere with the engine starting. *
Fuel pump primes when key is in III position.

If anyone can shed any light, provide any advice, or tell me another thing to look at, I would appreciate it

T

Hey,number 4 question,
4. When you turned the ignition key*to position III did the starter motor turn the engine over. Tried to. Sounds healthy, but doesn't catch

Does this mean that the starter turns the motor over or not,may be a faulty starter motor not engaging?

Regards Steve