Thread: TD5 defender starting woes

Have you got oil in your injector harness ?

Attached shows the major earth points on a 99 Defender TD5

Thanks Ladas, just what i wanted!
The LR boffin did replace the harness on the injector side, so hopefully that is that, but i will check the rest tomorrow on the ECU side.
Thanks for getting back so quickly with that diagram - much appreciated

I had the same problem with my fender td5. The starting got progressively worse until it just would'nt start ( it would crank but not fire). I took it to trs in adelaide and it turned out to be a problem with the starter motor. It was mucking around with the ecu unit, this in turn was stuffing with the indicators, interior lights etc. Once the starter motor was replaced all retuned to normal.

Hope this helps.

have you checked the battery terminals.'sometimes they corrode under the lugs & cause all sorts of strange things to happen

Thanks Ed and Scarry - i will have a closer look at the starter and the terminals are fine (on the battery i assume?). I did however this morning discover some oil in the harness - absolutely sh**s me as my landrover guy replaced the injector side of things but failed to mention the rest of it. I have sprayed it with a solvent and will keep a close eye on it, but i still don't think that's the problem. It sounds like the problem that Ed had....
Thanks for the replys and input - every bit helps and i will follow up on all the suggestions.

Hi Louis
The injector harness they replace is under the rocker cover.The residual oil in the rest of the harness takes quite some time to come out,and can cause issues till its all gone.Remove the sealing rubber on the orange ECU connection to allow it out,replace it once the oil is gone or before you go off-roading.The Black connector is uneffected by oil in the harness.
Get a 500ml coke bottle drill the lid to suit a 4mm reticulation riser,use it to flush metho spirits into sections of the main harness,carefully undoing plugs and drenching.Flush down the tubings too,it all helps break the oil down.DONT DO IT TO A HOT ENGINE OR IF YOU ARE DUE TO USE THE VEHICLE,YOU MAY CAUSE A FIRE!!!!!
Goodluck
Andrew

Well i never.......

Went to an auto-electrician today to clean/service the starter motor as per Ed's post, and it was absolutely stuffed. Put another one in and now she starts like it should. Funny how things turn out - so just because it turns over well does'nt mean it works.....???
Thanks again Ed - your suggestion worked.
Now to tackle the oil in the harness, rust in the doors, tidying up the electricals, etc etc - it never ends, but then it is a landrover