Six weeks ago I replaced on a 1995 Discovery 1 had had then just bought the following in order to fix a repeated engine stoppage and start problem:

-Full ignition wire set
-Spark plugs
-Ignition amplifier module
-Fuel and air filters

She started perfectly and ran like a Swiss sewing machine for a month.

A week ago the symptoms came back, only much worse. Despite always an easy start when the engine is even VERY cold, it will now suddenly hiccup and stop after driving for about two minutes. Only after patience and many attempts will she suddenly fire as if nothing had happened and go along merrily. The time taken for starting is becoming progressively longer. I am amazed that the battery still holds up.

• Should you stop after the engine had been running for some time and turn the ignition off, there is no way she will start again. Zilch. Nothing, no matter how long you may try. Only once the engine has cooled down to COLD will she immediately without fail start.

• Here is the dichotomy: No matter how warm the engine may be, and how impossible it was for the starter motor to start the engine, if you are on an incline and run her down in 3rd gear and release the clutch she will start IMMEDIATELY without any hesitation and run perfectly smoothly.

ONLY when the engine is NOT completely cold, anytime the starter motor is engaged and turns the engine briskly there is no start. When the engine is turned by a tow or on an incline she starts immediately.

It seems the coil / ignition module can not deliver the required voltage for a proper spark when battery power is also used by the starter motor - but only when the engine is warm. A cold engine does not have the same issue.

I still trust the one month old ignition module, so my mind is now on the ignition coil which may be on its last legs. But why start easily in very cold conditions? This has now caused me acute frustration and also embarrassment. I want to rely on my vehicle as I work and travel where the driveability it offers is required.

Ten years ago I gave back to the dealer my second Landrover in disgust (it was given to me by the dealer as replacement because they could not fix the numerous issues with the previous one, and I was sueing them for loss of safari income). I made a promise to myself never to buy a Landrover again. Nowhere in Africa, away from dealers and parts shops where real reliability is required will you see Landrover - only Toyota Landcruiser and Mitsubishi Montero.

So now ten years later I buy another one and it was darn silly - particularly reading the plethora of problems related by Landrover owners on this forum. It simply is a notoriously unreliable vehicle in so many respects - certainly NOT for traveling alone in the lonely places - maybe OK for a little playing and then back into civilization and spares shops.

Any ideas regarding the easy tug-start but no self-starter start? The battery is perfect.

 

I'm sorry to hear that you're having problems with your Rover, Mr. Montero. I wish I knew the 'magic words' to make it work properly for you.. My 8-ball is all out of answers

 

Why, hello Ms. RandRover (in the Japannese way, if I may),

Now you take that magic ball of yours in for a service - I see a financial fortune for the two of you with the thread initiators on this forum of bad-happenings-news, once it is back in service with its perfect diagnostic abilities and a catchy URL and a stiff fee .

All the detailed checking today showed the coil and other ignition components to be in working condition - maybe the quality and severity of the spark from the coil is not as it could be, but it is there.

I have isolated the heart of the problem to continuous over-fuelling, so as the engine gets hotter and the inlet air density less and less the fuel/air mixture becomes too rich to be ignited by the spark, which indeed is a little weaker while the battery is also supplying current to the starter motor.

So what causes this continual overfuelling even when the engine is turned off? It can only be from leaking injectors - there is a continuous fuel pressure in the supply line to these little finely designed and manufactured atomizers, which then leaks drops of fuel into the combustion chambers when the engine is not turning, leaving liquid fuel to be ignited - which is hardly possible; when the engine is turning the fuel squirting from leaking injectors into the cylinders now also consist of little liquid droplets. If it is not a delicately, fully atomized mist that emanates from them in a pre-determined conical shape but little droplets of liquid, they are flame killers and not flame sustainers.

So today I have decided to - until I have installed new injectors and new inlet manifold gaskets - I shall release the fuel pressure in the fuel injector supply gallery as well as the air pressure in the fuel tank each time after turning off the engine. I tested it a number of times during the day and it works well; it is a good interim method to prevent over-fuelling of a warm engine at the next start-up.

So, there is some data for that crystaline sphere of yours...

 

Well hello, Mr. Montero. I’m afraid that I’m all out of my mind reading abilities for a while. I put my eight-ball on the shelf on Friday as the only answer it seemed to output was ‘yes’. I suppose that could be a good answer for some but it could lead me to trouble with a capital ‘T’ (that Rhymes with D that stands for ?) You can see my dilemma.

Shall I have chocolate cake for breakfast, lunch and dinner? ‘Yes’

Shall I go buy myself that new Barbour Jacket that I want? ‘Yes’

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes…

I’m afraid I don’t even know where one would take their magic 8-ball to have it serviced. And you see, I can’t even ask my 8-ball that question as it only spits out the answer ‘Yes’. Oh, thank you, dear 8-ball..

Ms. Slightly Crazy thrives on communication and when she doesn’t get it she goes even crazier It just occurred to me as I sit here and write (speak) of communication that this must be the issue with Land Rovers and the problem you’re having with your ‘over fueling’ issue, Mr. Montero. As I was inspecting the Rave and owner handbooks a couple of months ago it dawned on me that there was one thing missing from this symbiotic relationship. Performance specifications. Please correct me if I’m wrong but I don’t believe I saw performance specifications listed anywhere in the Rover publication when I printed the RAVE and owner handbook and read them from front to back. There is nothing that states what the Rover CAN and CANNOT do.. it all seems a bit vague and up for debate (as evidenced on this forum). And unlike me (and my 8-ball), Rovers are not mind-readers. Perhaps that is why things fall apart so quickly? We are all different individuals with many different interpretations of what a Rover can and cannot do. Some guys like to take their Rovers off road and push the limits. Others prefer to drive their Rovers strictly in town and not veer off the beaten path. Some guys (and gals) stick strictly to stock, others choose add-ons. It’s all up to interpretation.

Oh dear.. I just looked outside and it’s snowing REALLY HARD.

Anyway, as I was saying, where would one find the Performance Specifications for a Rover? Is there such a thing? Perhaps your symbiotic relationship is failing because of expectations. Perhaps you need to talk to your Rover a bit more Mr. Montero and ‘encourage’ her to ‘get up over the hill’ so to speak. She may be over fuelling the system because she doesn’t want you to run out of gas and be left stranded on the side of the road somewhere. Again, it’s all down to interpretation and expectations. If you speak to your Rover and say ‘come on girl, we are a team and I’m not going to get disgusted with you, this is what I expect, yada yada’ then I’m sure you won’t have to release the fuel pressure as you have been so cleverly doing.

Now onto more 'pressing' matters.. what to do with my precious 8-ball. It would be fun to say 'yes' to everything

 

" If you speak to your Rover and say ‘come on girl..."

I spoke to her all right - in my mother tongue, and with no uncertainties left hanging. If she does not get her act together and keep herself together she's out - history, to be labelled a born failure; conceived and bred by her begetters to live to disappoint.

You mention performance figures - as an ex fast warbird driver those are things the operator wants to know. Not so with British cars. When the famed company Rolls Royce was once asked by Car magazine what the horse power was of a Silver Cloud (or some other esoteric, if not amorphous title), the answer was: "Adequate".

"What is the top speed?", the reporter wanted to know. The answer was "Fast enough".

"What does it cost?", which illicited the equally amorphous response: "Buy one and it will show on your invoice".

With the lesser Landrover we will only know what it eventally cost at the end of its life if we dare add it all up...

Now, snow I like a great deal. It at the same times stirs something in me as well as causing a feeling of contentment.

What has your Landrover done to to you today? - will be my new thread heading.

Rgds

 

Have you pulled any OBD codes?

Fueling is directly related to the intake, engine, and fuel temperature sensors. Since your issue seems temperature related I would check these out.

 

Thank you Eric,

It is a fairly neglegted vehicle with none of that, and I would not have an idea what to make of the codes.

Actual temps are all very normal, so if there is over-fuelling because the engine control module gets a false signal that all is very cold, then that could be the reason. And how would one know that it maybe gets accurate readings but due to some firmware problem still orders a wrong output?

 

A crank position sensor can lead to the sudden cut out a desire not restart once warm.

I believe the injectors would continue to cycle during cranking though

 

Thanks, ArmyRover,

The dichotomy is still unanswered - why does it start at the first turn of the wheels when tugged in gear or on an incline with not the slightest hesitation even when hot, but refuses any amount of effort by the starter motor under the same conditions?

 

Rpms are forced a lot higher by dumping the clutch maybe