In Tennessee and need help desperately with my 1997 Defender 90 - taken it to several European “specialists” and they can’t diagnose the problem. Sometimes it will start and sometimes it won’t. No rhyme or reason. First guy replaced crankshaft position sensor and checked fuel pump while driving it. New guys say it’s starting up every time. No one else within 5 states wants to touch it. Any suggestions? It only has 56,000 original miles on it and is so much fun to drive. Thanks!! Summer

 

So, l'm assuming it does not crank/turn over when it doesn't start (going by topic title), like a dead battery issue. I'm also going to assume it is gas engine...unless it was recently imported? Crank sensor and fuel pressure would have nothing to do with whether or not it cranked/turned over...so...l guess l have to assume again that it does crank/turn over...but...doesn't start/run. More info is needed, before any logical answer could be given.

 

It sounds like it cranks just fine. It is a gas engine. Weird thing, for the past few month it’s been starting on cold starts and then after it sits for an hour or so, would not start again and it would take several (5-7) tries to start. Hope that makes sense - when we first got it around September it was starting fine no issues. Then around January after driving it about 3 times a week (25 miles) to barn and back, it would cold start and then not start back up. About a month ago, it would not start cold and would take (5-7) tries too. They do not think it’s a battery issue and are telling me it’s starting up fine there even after idling and turning on/off. Found some info about an emergency fuel cutoff switch bc it seems like it’s not getting fuel to start. ??

 

May have something as simple as a loose connection between the starter and the battery. Check the battery cables and make sure they are tight. Make sure the cable running to the starter is tight and not covered in goo.

Your D90 has the same 4.0 engine as the Discovery I. They are easy to work on repair once you isolate the problem.

What all has been replaced to your knowledge?

 

They should check the fuel pressure while cranking. It may have a bad check valve in pump and fuel is draining out of line...or it may have a weak fuel pump relay.