starter in 96 Disco

[edh]

I have a no power situation,,that is absolutly no power beyond the battery. Battery checks OK.
I want to check the connections on the starter. I can see it but cannot get at the power lines going into it. There is a shield around part of the starter that I would like to remove. Has anyone out there ever had to get at their Disco starter? Can you give me some hints at the best way to get at the connections?

Thanks
Ed

 

[Chongo]

power supply

starter in 96 Disco

I have a no power situation,,that is absolutly no power beyond the battery. Battery checks OK.
I want to check the connections on the starter. I can see it but cannot get at the power lines going into it. There is a shield around part of the starter that I would like to remove. Has anyone out there ever had to get at their Disco starter? Can you give me some hints at the best way to get at the connections?

Thanks
Ed


Hi Ed.

The starter solenoid won’t be your problem as the power supply wire to the vehicle’s electronics is connected directly to the battery, and per your data, you have no power beyond the battery. Only a open circuit or broken wire, fuse, etc. could be the problem.
First test I recommend with Land Rovers is to wiggle each fuse one at a time and see which one make the system work again. If not, then using a volt meter, or test light, check to see if you have power to the fuse box from the power supply input wire from the battery. This will be the wire that comes from the batteries harness to the engine to the fuse box. If you do have power at the fuse box, check all fuses, also check for power at the alternator battery connection. If there is no power at the fuse box power supply terminal, then there is a connection problem with the circuit from the battery to the fuse box, clean both battery terminals. Third problem, (most likely), could be ground problem, check all connections, clean and re-attach. All contacts, must be free of corrosion in order for there to be a good connection, whether on the positive side or negative side, and sometimes you can’t see the corrosion very easily. Sometimes the corrosion attacks the battery cables inside the coating of the wire next to the battery terminals, and it is hard to see because it is under the wires insulation, but it is an open circuit and the cables need to be replaced. Forth problem could be the engine ground strap, this can be easily checked by attaching one jumper cable to the engine metallic surface and the other end to the negative post on the battery, if this works, then you need to fix the open circuit issue in the ground strap.

Let me know how it goes……… Good luck.

Chongo

 

[edh]

Hi Chongo,
Thanks for the reply,,
I will wriggle all the fuses in the black fuse box by the battery. The heavier amp fuses are screwed in.
There is only one wire leaving the positive side of the battery. That appears to go to the starter, although I have not been able to see the connections at the starter.
There is a wire that appears to come from the area of the starter and connects to the black fuse box by the battery. Facing the fuse box from the front of the vehicle, this wire attaches to the right side of the fuse box. There is no current in this wire.
There is a short wire that comes from the neg side of the battery that attaches to the fuse box on the left side.
I have had these wires off to check to see if there was a broken connection, all appear to be fine.

Thanks

Ed

 

[Chongo]

Hi Chongo,
Thanks for the reply,,
I will wriggle all the fuses in the black fuse box by the battery. The heavier amp fuses are screwed in.
There is only one wire leaving the positive side of the battery. That appears to go to the starter, although I have not been able to see the connections at the starter.
There is a wire that appears to come from the area of the starter and connects to the black fuse box by the battery. Facing the fuse box from the front of the vehicle, this wire attaches to the right side of the fuse box. There is no current in this wire.
There is a short wire that comes from the neg side of the battery that attaches to the fuse box on the left side.
I have had these wires off to check to see if there was a broken connection, all appear to be fine.

Thanks

Ed


You might be right, 96 disco’s might have the power supply come from the battery to the starter, then to the fuse box, in my wife’s 04 it is straight off the battery, even 01’s to 04’s are straight of the battery.

Good luck....... Chongo

 

[tempestv8]

Just tap your starter motor gently with a hammer. It will probably start up just fine.

The solenoid is on its way out, probably filled up with mud and now dried out.

 

[edh]

I apologize for not getting back here before this.

Thanks to all who contributed.

My problem was a loose connection in the fuse box and a loose connection in my head because I did not check things close enough.

Up and running like a prince.

I just had a go round with the alternator. The bearings went. I believe the alternator that was in there was installed incorrectly. One of the bolts had been overtightened and cracked the flange which probably contributed to the bearing failure.

Thanks again,

ED

 

[joey]

Glad to hear you got it sorted out. I didn't see this post prior to now, but I was going to suggest checking for corrosion in the fuse box... this is an area that normally needs attention.