Hey everyone,

So about a month ago I left a dome light on inside over night. I saw it the next morning turned it off. I started the car it struggled but then fired up.

After driving around for about a hour I parked and on the next day she would not fire up again. I jumped her and back to business it went.

Then the next day she would not fire up again. So I tried jumping her again but no luck. I tested the bat with a meter and it was at 9.8 Volts and would drop to 7.68 on load.


I took the battery in and sure enough it had a dead cell and was not delivering any cranking Amps. Since the bat was still under warranty I was able to just get a free replacement but I upgraded to a Optima Red Top for only $50.00

Well long story short... i put the new Battery in and she still won't fire up.

I guess whats weird is that it started with a dead Battery but now it seems to be something else...

So either the starter or the Cables... or...

Before I start ripping it apart is there anything I can check for? All the lights and power turn on just nothing happens when I turn over.


Thank you!

 

Does it turn over/crank but no start?? Or does it do nothing at all when you turn the key?

 

It does nothing. No click like you would get on a dead Battery. All of the Cabin lights work and the dash lights come on light normal but when I turn the key the lights click off for a second but nothing happens with the starter.

thanks

 

Did you try pushing the inertia switch? On the firewall in the engine bay, same side as the battery. Sometimes it resets for reasons that cannot be discerned by mortals.

 

You know I Have not... Never even thought of that. I will try that tonight when Im home from work. Thanks for the advice.

 

If your cables are CLEAN and you still have no starter spinning, take a long heavy object and HIT the starter motor a couple times. See if it will then start. If so, you'll need a new starter. Check all your fuse's too.

 

I cleaned the connections before placing them on the battery however I am sure that these are the original cables that probably came with the Disco. So I am not 100% sure what these cables look like inside the insulation.

I am gonna try both methods you guys suggested once I'm home.

I did check the fuses in the engine bay and they look good. But How does one check this big fuse next to the little ones that are easy to see if they have blown?


thanks!

 

I use a 12v pick test light and just go down the row and test each side of all the fuses. A lot of the time, you can't see a blown or "broke" fuse when it's installed in a distribution block, you need to make sure power is running through it.

 

So I just got back and tried the two methods with no luck. But just to make sure I was doing this right. By reseting the inertia Switch... is it just as simple as pressing the button?


And by hitting the Starter motor how hard should I hit it? I used the the end of hammer with the rubber handle and banged on it a few times. I know you said a hard metal. Can I just go to town on it?


If I need to replace the starter what would you recommend? I can pick one up at the local advanced auto parts, its the Durlast brand or should I go for something else?

I am also having a hard time finding a replacement for the cables. I would go with a bigger gage if thats possible but does any one carry that?


Thanks

 

i got my starter from oreily's and it was about $100 after I returned the core. It's only held in by 2 8mm Allen head bolts. You can actually just push the heatshield out of the way instead of removing it. I beat n beat on mine to no avail but it's also how I found I had a blown head gasket (coolant was leaking on the solenoid). Jeff Blake did a nice write up on changing cables but the entire thing is the engine harness