Same problem here with my 2006 HSE. Sometimes it will start and sometimes it will just click changed the battery with a new interstate battery= no difference, battery light was coming on so I changed the alternator= still clicks. So I am going to change the starter this week. This has been going on for about 6 months some days she just doesn't want to start. I would like to add if I turn the key a bunch of time it usually will eventually start 🎉🎊🎉🎊😃

 

If you are changing the starter:

I had this issue as well and the starter/solenoid was the likely culprit. So I just replaced the whole unit. One thing I'll mention for you to check while you are under there: Pay very close attention to the grounding straps that run from the motor to the frame. Their design is an absolute mistake from the factory. I say that because if you follow the cable down, you'll see what is basically a funnel from the unshrunk wrap at the end of the cable. It actually collects water and lets it sit in the connector. When I took mine off and up ended it, a nasty cocktail of liquid poured out. It looked like it had been there for years. I really think that reduced the grounding of the motor and caused a weak link in circuit.

Just something else to check while you are there.

 

So I changed my starter this morning it took me around 3 hours. I could probably do it in 2 hours now. You can do all the work in the front wheel well and under the vehicle. No suspension has to be removed either ��. I hope this stops my starting problem

 

Any corrosion on battery terminals?

 

WOW be very very very careful with your diagnosis here everyone.

I've had intermittent start problems with my LR3 since last winter (I got it in the fall but have had many other rovers..)

Sometimes she'd crank very hard and fire right up. Then as it got colder all of a sudden it developed a phase when it would just click. Then I'd try 5x more times and she'd crank and fire. Then it might go away. Then maybe it would take 10x and when she cranked it was VERY SLOW - like the engine BARELY fired.

I work at a shop and do the electrical diagnostics for the hot rods and restoration vehicles plus the general maintenance vehicles that come in. Based on the fact that some attempts were fine and others failed I chalked it up to a worn starter solenoid (worn contacts, failed to "latch" and complete the start sequence.. just weak thunk or click - other times when it completed the connection it would crank with full current).

Had the starter priced out, looked up the procedures (PITA!!!) and kinda decided to wait a bit till it got worse.

...then summer time came and the problem completely disappeared. Till 2 weeks ago (ie when it started getting cooler again.)

This time the clicking and slow cranking happened MOST of the time. Mornings were rough, lunch was okay but sometimes even after sitting in the parking lot during lunch I got the "click" when it was time to go back to work!

Then last weekend I didn't go anywhere on Saturday. I get in the thing Sat night and and it's just a very basic click. I try 15x times and nadda - just a basic click. It was dark so maybe it looked different - but the interior lights seemed dim. Okay, so battery concept jumped back into my mind but I said no way because sometimes eventually it'll crank and fire right up! I hit the running lights - no change in interior light brightness - but I reminded myself that they're all LED so it doesn't mean much on the load factor. Only other thing I could think of was high beams (with car still off..) and sure enough, the interior lights flickered for a second. Okay now for a 93 / H8 size battery that's totally unexpected..

Soooo I jump the discovery to the LR3 and wait a second. Turn the key to start and she fires RIGHT UP.

I leave it on a PulseTech (amaaaaaaaaaaaaazing chargers and technology, google it) charger all night and it went from 25% to only 50% by the time I woke up (though it DID fire right up thanks to that charger all night).

Bring it into work and call Interstate to get a (hopeful) warranty claim since it was an 85mo MTP MegaTron Plus. No dice. He took one look at it and said it was at least 5 years old!!! Sure enough it was a 2010 battery w/ no warranty.. He was shocked the thing was even functional still - also said they don't even do the 85mo thing anymore.

Interesting to note that the MTP battery was 725CCA. I replaced it with an MT (regular MegaTron) H8 instead, and although it's a lower end battery technically - and has a lower reserve capacity and AH rating, it DOES have a 900CCA vs. 725 CCA rating. It's interesting to note that Land Rover issued a bulletin raising the CCA requirements from 825 to 900 CCA for these vehicles and starters. I SERIOUSLY believe that the solenoid mechanism, magnets, and contacts require a large amount of current to establish a reliable connection and crank the engine over. If they don't - the spring mechanism will just "bounce" the contacts off eachother - hence our "click" issues. I think this thought process aligns perfectly with LR's bulletin release on the uprated CCA requirements.

Anyways, the vehicle has been absolutely perfect since the battery swap - shifts are also more solid though I have no idea how that's possible. Then again there are so many computer systems in these things, a failed battery could cause many issues. At the end of the old battery last week I was getting transmission faults, HDC faults, my radio would delete all data, the parking brake would throw faults, and check engine light would turn on!!!! All from cycling the start/ignition (and thus dropping the current too low I suppose.)

IN ANY EVENT. Logic would dictate that if on the 15th attempt the starter fires okay and the engine starts, it can't be the battery (after all they only get MORE dead as you try....) however this is not the case.

In this case I suppose one or more cells in the battery failed and made it very susceptible to temperature changes. It might show a good 12-13v but just have zero CCA or reserve if it sits for a day or so.

Many of you have changed your battery and in that case I guess continue onto starter diag, but definitely take another look at the battery for the rest of you.

FWIW even if it's the battery, a new starter with new springs, magnets, contacts, etc will work much better than an old starter solenoid even with the same battery - so keep that in mind. I was days from swapping out my 10 year old starter and now it cranks like the thing just rolled off the showroom!

 

My 05LR3 160k miles decided not to start after parking at post office. No clicking from solenoid when turning key. My cheap code reader gives P0321: Crankshaft Position sensor/engine speed(RPM) sensor problem. Indy shop says it is the starter motor because they were able to get it to crank only once after jumping directly to it from battery. I wonder if it is the solenoid as I wasn't hearing it and it is available separately. I called Roverparts.com, 1st question was whether there is 12V at the solenoid. next, if there is voltage, suggested jumping from that 12V connection (ie. the battery) to the starter motor. If starter works have diagnosed solenoid failure. Am I correct that they are co-located? if that is the case and they are in such a confined location how hard would it be to perform this test? (after exposing the parts as per this video: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...kepnW9LdtDzY0a )

Any thoughts appreciated. Mechanic billing 1hr for diagnostics and wants 2.5hr to replace starter motor.

 

A crank position sensor issue and a starter issue are 100% different. A crank sensor will prevent starting, as in it wont fire up. A bad starter will prevent turn-over, cranking. That video is a great guide, I used it and had my starter replaced in an hour. No lift, no jacks - just had her up in extended height mode. Was A LOT easier than I expected it to be. The only tricky part was disconnect the two or three wire harness that connects (from ignition to activate starter solenoid). If you decide to tackle this job, I would really just consider a Denso rebuilt (as in rebuilt by Denso themselves). Price is less than $200. Usually $150 once you return your core - I kept mine as a spare which I will rebuild.

But you need to clarify what the issue is. Not starting and not cranking are not the same issue. And as you can see in this thread, the way these starters fail causes random start/no start problems. Mine was not easy to start in extreme cold but fine all summer. When I took off the old starter I inspected the solenoid contacts, they were VERY worn!

 

For those having intermittent starting problems please check your battery ground first. I could have sworn I needed a new starter. Same problem as others. Intermittent issues starting but after some time it would start. I would hear a click but then nothing. After connecting another ground from the battery to the truck - start up with no problem.

 

Update. I may have had a ground issue, but I still had intermitting starting issues and eventually a dead vehicle. I needed to eventually replace the starting. Since then, no issues whatsoever.

 

I had this issue on my 2006 LR3, where it would all of a sudden it not start after driving fine. I couldn't jump start it or anything. One time I had it towed, then at the repair shop it started fine. The shop found nothing wrong.

I found the issue to be a bad ground connection. I didn't see any corroded ground connections, so I bought an extra grounding cable and connected battery ground to a bolt on the engine. See pic below. This worked and the problem never return. I did this fix about 5 years ago.