My 1999 td5 110 defender started cutting out while driving, it restarted but for shorter intervals, Now it will not start at all. Fuel tank is full, I have run the purge cycle around 10 times and no sign of the engine starting.

Does anyone have any suggestions? The vehicle is about 10 miles from home in the the south of france.

Just been looking through the fantastic workshop manual from this site, and a thought came to me, could this be a fault with the main relay module for the ECU?

 

Whereabouts in the south of France? The problem is it could be many things that cause it to cut out. Has the truck been serviced lately and the diesel fuel filter changed? It could be a water build up in the tank or filter. The tank fuel pump may be faulty and stopping. The ECU could be packing up. The injector harness may have taken on oil from the head/rocker area and fed down to the ECU (common fault) There are so many things it would really need the fault codes reading and eliminating. Is there an LR main agent near where you are.

 

I'm near Sant Afrique/Albi, There is oil in the harness, I have wiped it out of the connectors.
Purge cycle is running with no 'odd' noises. fuel is moving around the system. When the truck first stopped the fuel filter was heating from the fuel traveling around the pipes.

There is a strange 'hiss' from the engine end of the fuel system, not sure if that is relevant as there seams to be no leak of fuel.

I'm going to try draining the ECU of any oil tomorrow. And see see if that helps.

The fuel filter is clean inside, no water or crud.

 

It could also be the fuel pressure regulator located on the engine. They have a habit of packing up and causing problems.

110 TD5 won't start after Fuel Pressure Regulator replacement!! - Land Rover Zone

The oil in the rocker box back feeding along the injector wiring loom to the ECU is a very common problem which causes many spurious ECU signals and damages the ECU. Replacement of the injector loom is the only real alternative and possibly the ECU loom to the engine if the saturation is extensive. Unfortunately your issues are a slow process of elimination and you may be lucky and hit onto the source of the problems. Turn on the ignition but don't start the engine and remove the fuel filler cap and listen to ensure the tank fuel pressure pump is running and operating.

http://www.discovery2.co.uk/Injector_harness.html

http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=42788

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LAND-ROVER...-/370764664331

I use these people for spares. They are excellent for a fast service. Re the injector loom, if you decide to renew it ensure you use a genuine Landrover loom as they have sorted out the problem with oil back feeding.