Ok i have a 95 manual disco and its recently been driven around and I've had no issues. Its been a week since i drove it and upon hoping to drive it i noticed the truck had power but when i try to start it i hear nothing. No clicks or any engine noise or anything. I jumped the disco and charged the battery but still nothing. Is it my starter? what would be the first thing i should check. you guys have always helped me out with tons of new lad rover discovery issues so I'm hoping some one can shoot me in the right direction.
Thanks

 

I do not know stick rovers but on normal stick I would be looking for the neutral safety switch on clutch pedal or something, after checking that I would have someone turn try to start while you test power at starter

 

I have a disco ii so yours should be easier to diagnose. I also have an excursion and it had the same problem you describe... Check the power cable going to the starter... Both ends. I hit mine with a screwdriver and it has worked for months. It was just some corrosion on the contacts.

 

How do i go about testing the starter?

 

Two possibilities... First, you can pull use a battery and connect straight to the terminal on the starter--just tapping the wire against it to see if you get a reaction. You would be under the truck, in close proximity to moving things and high amperage for that and I'd advise against it. Second, you can pull the starter and take it to a shop (usually the good ones repair starters and alternators only); they will test it for you, probably for nothing or a couple of bucks. I barely remember putting my starter on, but it seems that there are just a couple or three bolts that are obvious, but hard to reach. your Disco I can't be much different from my II.

Before you do either, I would move the wire attaching to the terminal around a little and see if that does the trick.

Also, I can't believe I forgot this, but it might help you. A few weeks ago I was driving 70 on a two lane road in the middle of nowhere on a pitch black night and my truck went dead; like an EMP hit it. Lights out, engine off, no brakes... The positive wire to the battery down the side of the engine had somehow come loose from its keeper and touched the exhaust manifold, burning through the insulation and grounding the battery to the block. a couple of zip ties fixed it and got me back on the road. You said your lights and other things come on, so that's not your problem, but you might look for a wire loose or resting against something that gets hot. For instance, the heat shield around the starter gets super hot... maybe the power cable to the starter is resting against it and is grounded. The starter is in a hellishly hot location and the wiring to it is carefully routed, so maybe something got free. If you have a DC electrical tester you could have someone turn the key while you see if the heat shield around the starter is energized... if so there is a place where the power cable is touching metal.

The starter is alot like an alternator... aside from the aforementioned, you could also have bad brushes that aren't making contact inside the starter, or the copper wire that is wound around inside of it a bazillion times could have a single break somewhere (rare, but it does happen--happened to my alternator).

I know you checked the fuses/relays. Another thought is that there is a control wire that goes to the starter. I can't remember it at all, but it will be from the ignition/computer on the passenger side and should end in a connector of some sort. That connector may be loose.

The problem is that there is a heat shield (on my II anyway) over the starter that makes it hard to get your eyes on it. I have just shoved my heat shield out of the way a little then back with no ill effects.

The starter is just an electric motor that gets everything spinning; I am sure you can get this one figured out. If you get really stuck let me know and I will shoot some pictures of what I am thinking might be the problem.

 

Check for voltage at the solenoid when you try to start it. You should see constant voltage on the high current lead, and voltage switched to the solenoid on the control lead when the key is turned. If you see voltage appear at the control lead to the solenoid when you turn the key but don't hear it pull in with a distinctive click, it's replacement time. You could probably give it a whack and get a little more life out of it, but you'd be on borrowed time. But if you're not hearing a click, my guess is there's no voltage at the solenoid and therefore the solenoid can't switch the high current lead to the starter motor. If you get nothing on the control lead to the solenoid, break out the Rave electrical troubleshooting manual and start tracing it back, no clue if the manual rovers have a neutral safety switch or something similar or how the alarm and ECU interact with the manual, I have the auto soccer mom version. Also, what goes in must come out, nothing will engage if there's no current return path so check the starter mounting and make sure it is bolted up to the block good and tight.

 

well i jumped the gun and bought a new starter from British starters.
Land Rover
I figured it was most likely the starter that was messing p and i don't mind upgrading to better parts when its time for updating. Now i just need to work on finding a tutorial on ow to remove this starter...

 

I bought one of those starters, the high-torque ones. They are great. Replacing the starter on a D1 is not much fun though. I ended up doing a lot of the work through the right front wheel well. I bent the inner fender up a little to get in there without having to lay on the ground so much. The heat shield is a PITA.

 

Did it fix your issue?

 

well my new starter currently is in transit but today will be the day i try to get ho old one out.... i need to get a ratchet extsenion at lowes but then I'm jumping into starter issue..... wish me luck