I have a disco'97 that is giving me grey hairs. She runs well and will suddenly stop running. The engine turns but i have no ignition. Fuel pressure is good. Normally after a few tugs on the coil wiring she starts again until next time. Coil has been replaced and all wiring connections re-made. Sometimes she wont start until i tug the coil wiring harness. Super frustrating.

 

Hang tight, help will be there soon. Crankshaft position sensor. Did you happen to steam clean the engine?

The calvary is on the way.

 

Thanks adigerol77. I'll have a look at the sensor today!

 

Sensor is hard to reach with big hands, best to plug in and let it hang to install. Every little nut and spacer must go back on in exact sequence, spacing is critical. Diagnosis is check for spark when this happens, no spark points at CKP. Some have poured cold water on it and reset it. Here's some pages on it.

 

Cheers savannah buzz. Another symptom i've experienced is that from time to time the engine will not idle smoothly when warm. She tends to hunt down at very low revs and sometimes stalls. Is this perhaps caused by the same sensor?

 

Indeed. It is "triggered" by the nose of the sensor (a coil of wire around a metal shaft) being passed by metal tabs on the reluctor ring. These whiz by millimeteres away, and cause the generation of a signal which is used to control timing in the computer. If the signal degrades due to coil wires shorting or opening up, or metal flakes stuck to the sensor rod (ferros contamination) or bent reluctor teeth, timing will suffer. Sometimes chucks of starter teeth can work their way in there and cause problems. Since your problem is off and on, would not suspect reluctor disk teeth. On a D2 they went to a different style disk that is drilled and milled out, rather than stamped and bent meal tabs.

Here's some pix:

 

Take some pics while you are in there if you get a chance. We all learn from those.

 

Ok guys, i'm stumped, i've looked everywhere under, behind and around cylinder 7, no wires, no sensor, nothing. Could my crank pos sens be mounted elsewhere? The vehicle has a sticker "gulf market only". I'm in KSArabia.

 

Does your truck have a distributor for the ignition? If so, won't have CKP sensor. The distributor systems have an ignition amplifier module that can heat up and drop out.

If you don't have a distributor, look at this picture. The connector leads down to a small cover over the sensor. PITA to get at. Should be left side of engine.

The RAVE manual does not show alternate layout for this device based on LHD or RHD configurations.

 

Yes Savannah Buzz, it does have a distributor ignition system. Does this blow an easy repair out of the water? Where to now? Bullet and bonfire? The support that i've received on this blog is great. Thanks to everyone for your advice.