Thanks for info on starter ground. I dropped off the info for Atlantic British and asked my shop to call them for parts/help. Told him the sales guys at A-B have always bent over backwards for me to get the right parts and even expedited them after the cut off time to get me on the road.

My shop said they hit the number for "service station" and the guy only wanted his account number and when he asked for help with the situation he was a major a-hole. My shop said they asked if A-B if they offered an OEM land rover starter and all A-B would say is Ours come from England. Very weird. I've only ever had good experiences with them. Looks like I am SOL. Maybe I'll put one more starter in myself, like a Parts PLayer as suggested.

 

Still working on my 03 Disco if anyone is following or has new ideas.

The garage sent me on my way - with a bill, So just to verify everything, I got a Parts Player starter and replaced it myself this morning. This is the THIRD starter.

It still does not crank.

While under there I tested the ignition spade wire with a voltmeter. Gave 11.6 volts when turning the key.

Got my buddy's truck and tried to jump. No crank.

Next ran jumper cable from his running truck directly to positive terminal on the starter and negative to my disco battery. Tried to start. No crank.

It really is as if the starters are jamming or unable to turn the flywheel. the shop said they have only been able to start it by wiggling the crankshaft bolt with a socket, which seemed to release the starter and then it would spin and crank. I don't have a large enough socket to attempt this (21 mm, I think)

Please - any other ideas what would create no crank situation when all power is present is starter is new. This is my most perplexing issue is 12 years of ownership. Thanks!

 

Thats low

what does the voltmeter read when you measure the cable on the starter that goes to the battery? And what does the voltmeter read when measuring the + and - posts of the battery?

 

RESOLVED
Just want to say thanks for the suggestions and close this thread with the resolution. I finally caved and went to the dealership. The service rep returned with the diagnosis of bad ignition switch.

I found this hard to believe, as I found nothing on the starter schematic that said it would not crank once the starter relay closed and amps were delivered. I asked to speak directly with the tech, who said he owned the same truck, until he gave it up because it was too expensive to repair (I am not making this up.)

So I gave the go ahead. Cost of parts and labor is $1,000, with a part that had to come from Land Rover with the custom VIN and takes 2 weeks acquire. I actually had to wait twice, as forst one arrived broken in the box. FYI, Atlantic British does have an ignition module for about $350, but it cannot be rekeyed to match. Given my struggles to get to the bottom of this, I went ahead with the dealer.

RESULT: Truck starts and runs.



OFF TOPIC On the downside, one of my air suspension bags will now not drop. Dealership sent me off that way saying that one was leaking, but it is clearly one stuck in off-road height. Not sure what they did, but it handles like hell. So have to go back