Matthew,

Dude! Ok so I have relate my story, quickly.

I bought my D2 with a leaky intake gasket, so about a week before my wife and I went on vacation last summer I took to my brother in laws house and started tearing into it. I'm no pro wrencher, but I figured what the hey, let's get dirty and get it done.

After a really really annoying two or three days of setbacks, I finally got it tore apart and put back together. This was after I had broke a bolt off in the head (HF torque wrench, thanks) causing me to have to remove the lower intake and scape off the RTV once, then AGAIN because I ran out of the stuff the next day at like 12:30AM when the auto stores were closed.

Ok so picture this: it's two days before we have to leave for vacation and we pretty much HAVE to use the truck to drive about 1000 miles round trip. It's 2AM. I jump in the truck to start it, praying that everything will work ok. I start it, and I get a horrible coughing sputtering. OH. GOD. Tried it several times. Same thing.

Good thing it was night and my brother in law and sister were already asleep, cause they would've seen a grown man almost cry. Turns out I had got a bad wiring routing diagram (to this DAY I don't know why the RAVE doesn't have a diagram of the wire routing) and I was putting the wires on exactly backward. I checked it like three or four times, every time it was correct according to the diagram.

Finally I got on some forums, found another diagram, and by jove, it was different. Switched the wires and bam she started like a dream. It was 6AM by that time, but I was one happy man.

Totally great news! I can feel your relief from here.

 

WONDERFUL! I can only imagine how exciting it was when you heard the engine running after so long. Hope it started today and you won't be able to respond for a few days because you're out DRIVING!

I do wish they had an idea of what was up - but your's give me hope that mine will be back on the road one day too!

Enjoy.

 

Today is the day I got my truck back!!!

5 weeks without it was rough. Next time I'll try to find a good support group. "Rover Separation Anxiety" anyone?
I wish I could tell everyone the exact cause of it not starting. I posting the write up that Alan did so you can read it for yourself. All I can say is, go through all your connections and clean 'em good.

I do have to toot my mechanics horn. Anyone in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, this is the place you want to go!!! After

North Texas Rover
11324 Mathis
Dallas, TX 75229
972-869-4881

I hope I'm allowed to do that.

Thank you all so much for your support, I hope my experience will help someone else.


P.S.
OK, so I can't get a legible picture of the invoice up, so here is what Alan had on the invoice word for word:

" Service Requests:DIED; REPAIRED, STILL NO START; REPAIRED MORE .• . STILL NO START?? CHECK CUSTOMER INDICATED FAILURE DIED GOING DOWN ROAD; CUSTOMER REPLACED CRANK TRIGGER. .• STILL NO START, OTHER REPAIRS STILL NO START????? CHECKED CRANK TRIGGER INSTALL, CHECKED FUEL PRESSURE, CHECKED & FOUND INJECTOR PULSE; BUT NO SPARK???? PULLED UPPER PLENUM AND FOUND BARE INJECTOR WIRE UNDERSIDE OF INTAKE. PULLED IGNITION COIL PACKS AND FOUND
PLUG WIRES INSTALLED ON WRONG CYLINDERS, CORRECTED. PULLED ENGINE WIRING HARNESS LOOSE TO VERIFY NO SHORTS OR OPENS. VERIFIED HARNESS WIRING FROM COMPUTER TO ENGINE. REPLACED FUEL CONTROL UNIT AND BCU W/GOOD UNITS WITH SAME RESULT (NO IGNITION BUT HAS INJECTOR PULSE & FUEL PUMP OPERATION) REMOVED HARNESS TO TEST FOR PROPER CRANK TRIGGER WAVE W/OCILLISCOPE (GOOD PATTERN) WHILE TESTING, VEHICLE STARTED TO FUNCTION!!!!?!?!?!?!?
NO OF AVAILABLE EXPLINATION OF REPAIR IS AVAILABLE!!
Technicians: AA, LILMEX, SOH
"

 

I've been having a similar problem recently. This is on a 2001 DII, 160k miles.

The car will not start the first time that I turn the key. When you turn it once or twice, it does start and there is no problem after that.

After a few weeks of this I figured out that to start the vehicle up the first time I had to partially turn the key, enough so that the fuel pump was enganged and sent gasoline down the fuel line. Then turned the key back to off, then turned again and the car starts like it was new.

An independent machanic had the vehicle for about a week and checked the fuel pressure. It was fine so the fuel pump is probably ok. I asked for a fuel system clean up and had the motor starter replaced (it needed this anyway, so it was preventive maintenance).

So now with the fuel system clean up, a new motor starter, and verification that the fuel pressure is adequate once the vehicle is running, I still have the same problem.

The symptom only shows up after the car is not running for several hours, So it looks like the fuel pressure drops to the point where there is not enough gasoline in the fuel line to start up.

Any suggestions / comments? It looks like there is some sort of clogging in the upstream fuel line.

C

 

That is defiantly the fuel pump, mine was doing the same thing.

 

I replaced my fuel pump and solved the problem. The secret is to check fuel pressure after it has sat all night. The system is pressurized and it leaks down over time. That is why you have to turn off and on several times to get the pressure back up.