Car Not Starting
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Mudding
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 140
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From: Brit living in the USA
Car Not Starting
Washed and waxed the car yesterday. Lots of soap suds everywhere, rinsed it all off. This morning, car not starting.
Had checked under hood yesterday after cleaning, all seemed fine. Just had spark plugs replaced a month ago, work fine. Battery fine. Topped up coolant. Topped up power steering fluid. Very slow leaks in both.
My gut instinct is low oil. I do have another slow leak of some kind, as I have noticed the tiny puddle every morning for the past few months, however I continue to service the car as normal. No diagnostic has mentioned any oil leaks so far, but last diagnostic was several months ago.
Could it be the oil? The car is cranking, so its not an electrical issue I don't think. Is low oil a common reason for not starting? Could it be something else that I have overlooked?
What can I do in order to get it running so I can take it to the shop?
Had checked under hood yesterday after cleaning, all seemed fine. Just had spark plugs replaced a month ago, work fine. Battery fine. Topped up coolant. Topped up power steering fluid. Very slow leaks in both.
My gut instinct is low oil. I do have another slow leak of some kind, as I have noticed the tiny puddle every morning for the past few months, however I continue to service the car as normal. No diagnostic has mentioned any oil leaks so far, but last diagnostic was several months ago.
Could it be the oil? The car is cranking, so its not an electrical issue I don't think. Is low oil a common reason for not starting? Could it be something else that I have overlooked?
What can I do in order to get it running so I can take it to the shop?
Last edited by 4x4 Brad; Feb 11, 2016 at 12:09 PM.
Rock Crawling
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 333
Likes: 22
Describe what happens when you turn the key. Are we talking a cranking no-start? Can you hear the starter motor spinning the flywheel?
What do you mean by low oil? Have you pulled the dipstick and checked the level? No, low oil is not a common no-start condition. Land Rovers usually leak a bit — a slow oil leak isn't too big of a concern. You have a lot of oil in your engine.
What do you mean by low oil? Have you pulled the dipstick and checked the level? No, low oil is not a common no-start condition. Land Rovers usually leak a bit — a slow oil leak isn't too big of a concern. You have a lot of oil in your engine.
Baja
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 9,298
Likes: 318
From: Boston Strong
low oil will not keep your truck from running.
you need three things spark, fuel and air. seeing you are writting this i will rule out the lack of air.
you need to check and see if you have fuel, there is a schrader valve at the back of the intake manifold to test fuel pressure. looks a tire schrader valve.
and you need spark there are several way to test for that, for using a tester to simply grounding the plug wires and checking for spark.
if you have no spark the i would suggest checking the ckps, it can be done with a scanner on the rpm scale, if no rpm on the scanner while cranking the csps is dead
you need three things spark, fuel and air. seeing you are writting this i will rule out the lack of air.
you need to check and see if you have fuel, there is a schrader valve at the back of the intake manifold to test fuel pressure. looks a tire schrader valve.
and you need spark there are several way to test for that, for using a tester to simply grounding the plug wires and checking for spark.
if you have no spark the i would suggest checking the ckps, it can be done with a scanner on the rpm scale, if no rpm on the scanner while cranking the csps is dead
Last edited by drowssap; Feb 11, 2016 at 12:37 PM.
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Mudding
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 140
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From: Brit living in the USA
Hi batard, thanks for replying...
The oil level is way below the "add oil" mark. I pulled the dip stick. There's less than an quarter of an inch of oil showing on the dipstick.
Being terribly uneducated when it comes to engines, I'm not sure what a spinning flywheel would sound like. What I am getting is a "DUSH-duh-DUSH-duh" sound when turning the key.
The oil level is way below the "add oil" mark. I pulled the dip stick. There's less than an quarter of an inch of oil showing on the dipstick.
Being terribly uneducated when it comes to engines, I'm not sure what a spinning flywheel would sound like. What I am getting is a "DUSH-duh-DUSH-duh" sound when turning the key.
TReK
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 2,748
Likes: 506
From: Seattle, Wa
KEEP YOUR OIL FILLED!
It probably is the crank sensor, most common reason for no start.
But owning a LR requires you to look at your fluid levels and not let them get so low.
If you don't know how to top of your oil you should probably buy a Toyota.
It probably is the crank sensor, most common reason for no start.
But owning a LR requires you to look at your fluid levels and not let them get so low.
If you don't know how to top of your oil you should probably buy a Toyota.
Rock Crawling
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 333
Likes: 22
So it's cranking but not starting, it seems.
Like drowssap says above, you need fuel and spark to get the thing started, so that's what to check next. I'd do the diagnostic steps he suggests. That might narrow it down.
Like drowssap says above, you need fuel and spark to get the thing started, so that's what to check next. I'd do the diagnostic steps he suggests. That might narrow it down.
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Mudding
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 140
Likes: 7
From: Brit living in the USA
drowssap, thanks for the help. I must admit though that I am a total newbie to engines and all that technical jargon just flew over my head. I feel like a caveman in a laboratory. We have determined that it's not an air issue. It may either be a spark issue (unlikely) or more likely a fuel issue.
Oil is very low. I can add oil and fuel and see what happens? Maybe the fuel gauge is busted? It says I have a third of a tank.
Oil is very low. I can add oil and fuel and see what happens? Maybe the fuel gauge is busted? It says I have a third of a tank.
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Mudding
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 140
Likes: 7
From: Brit living in the USA
Yep Dave, you are right. I should check my levels more often. I last checked oil about 6 weeks ago and have put less than 800 miles on her since then. This means there must be a leak. It's been less than 3000 miles since my last oil change.
Rock Crawling
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 333
Likes: 22
Add a little oil (of the correct grade and type, of course) if you're low.
When people say check for fuel, they're not saying you might be low on fuel. There's a system that delivers fuel from your gas tank to the cylinders. That gas then gets aerosolized by the fuel injectors and lit up by the spark plugs. What sometimes happens is that a fuel pump fails, so there's no fuel getting to the injectors to be sent to the cylinders and make your engine start turning over. It could be something as simple as a blown fuse for your fuel pump. But you have to diagnose first that you're not getting fuel to the engine.
Look at this diagram, which shows the fuel system: https://i.imgur.com/NMuFEfv.png
On the left side is the fuel pump. Imagine this being dunked into the fuel tank pumping fuel through the pipe in the middle to the eight injectors (for the eight cylinders, hence V8). The bit marked "2" is a schraeder valve that you can use to test whether there is fuel pressure. In the diagram it should be on the driver's side of the engine right near the firewall.
When people say check for fuel, they're not saying you might be low on fuel. There's a system that delivers fuel from your gas tank to the cylinders. That gas then gets aerosolized by the fuel injectors and lit up by the spark plugs. What sometimes happens is that a fuel pump fails, so there's no fuel getting to the injectors to be sent to the cylinders and make your engine start turning over. It could be something as simple as a blown fuse for your fuel pump. But you have to diagnose first that you're not getting fuel to the engine.
Look at this diagram, which shows the fuel system: https://i.imgur.com/NMuFEfv.png
On the left side is the fuel pump. Imagine this being dunked into the fuel tank pumping fuel through the pipe in the middle to the eight injectors (for the eight cylinders, hence V8). The bit marked "2" is a schraeder valve that you can use to test whether there is fuel pressure. In the diagram it should be on the driver's side of the engine right near the firewall.
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