'98 D1 Crank / Intermittent no start with clicking relay behind glove box

[Rangeroversurfer]

my LR mechanic said that the fuel pump had barely any pressure and it was original......honestly, no hot restarting problems since then, none at all. i know that i had a friend who had a VW Vanagon that would have a Hot restart problem and that would have vaper lock issues, but he got it sorted, but yeah to your point, definitely the best advice is on the this forum for Rigs from this era....and I basically was stumped.......as I had replaced all the items i mentioned all to no avail.........so not much else to change at that point, again just my 2 cents

 

[latarheel]

When its down it is it dropping fuel or spark? Also i have seen failed ignition switches cause an issue like that. All spitballs in the dark.

An update on this thread: my crack mechanics even replaced the alarm ecu to no avail and traced all grounds on the truck to confirm clean contacts. What they did notice after being stranded at lunch once again was the clicking relay behind the glove box is for the spall fans which makes no sense but in slowing down the ignition sequence, they were able to start the truck without the relay clicking but normal speed ignition motion caused it to start clicking and then it wont start. Next week is replacing the ignition ($75) to see if that fixes the gremlin but what a bizarre process for what is typically a very simple truck. I'll post again with the outcome so the spitballs have helped. When done , this will be a very expensive lesson in the costs of trial and error.

 

[latarheel]

replaced the ignition and still no start

 

[CBiDrive]

Had nearly the same issue with a D1 I just picked up to build. Left it idling while I was shoveling snow, it was deep enough that I did not realize it was still in drive when I got out out of it. Got back in, and got it turned around to get it in the driveway and after shutting it down, I was never able to start it again. Rolled it down driveway to get my wrecked one out of the garage, still would not start, new battery and all. Had to use the wrecked one to push it in the garage, said screw it and proceeded to pull the drivetrain.

Never did figure it out, cranked good but never could get it to fire. Hopefully when the new motor/tranny goes in the fault is not baked into ECU to produce same result. Thought about changing ECU but the wrecked on was pre-AEL and new one was AEL, both 97's. Will be going to stand alone harness in the near future when the "new new" engine is done and going in.

Engine I have now will be going in it's 3rd truck and I know it is a good runner, just hope that it starts.

 

[p m]

Not sure if it applies to y'all's situation, but I've been in this boat around 2001.
The cause was bizarre: a sticky door lock caused two fuses that fed the alarm ECU to blow. Not one, but two. Local LR dealer had my truck for a week to zero results, and their only suggestion was to replace the engine ECU.
I found the blown fuses, replaced, engine started every time. Then one of them blew again, and I replaced it with a circuit breaker of the same rating.
Haven't had this problem ever since.

 

[discostew]

I think the only way you’re going to be able to fix this thing is to make some measurements while it’s acting up. I would start with that relay that’s clicking or buzzing when the truck is acting up.
Keep in mind that most if not all intermittent electrical problems are poor connections. When you say a relay is buzzing or clicking it makes me think something is backfeeding the circuit. That happens if the intended ground path has resistance and the easiest path to ground is thru that relay to another ground. The same can happen if the feed voltage for one circuit has less than battery voltage and it’s easy for 12.6 volts to push its way into a circuit that has only 8 volts due to corrosion.
I think you have less than battery voltage in some circuits due to a bad ign switch or less than a good ground in some circuits.
What I’m describing would be called a complex parallel circuit. Like the whole vehicle is a complex parallel circuit.
I used to see it when I worked for Oldsmobile. They ran a large battery cable up to a bank of relays on the firewall. The battery cables would get corroded and one of the side post battery cables would end up with like 9 volts while the rest of the car was at 12.6 or 14.2 if it was running. Those relays would do all kind of stupid stuff while that was happening. An engineer explained the whole complex parallel circuit thing to me and then it all made sense.

 

[discostew]

Did this thing ever get sorted out?

 

[latarheel]

Fuse box is next step but I did forward your suggestions on your 12/1 post . I’ll post progress as I have it . Thanks !

 

[discostew]

Fuse box is next step but I did forward your suggestions on your 12/1 post . I’ll post progress as I have it . Thanks !

Sounds like he’s throwing darts now.

 

[latarheel]

His garage is the best in Phoenix for vintage land rovers so I suspect it’s a personal challenge now not letting a simple D1 defeat him.

 

[discostew]

It gets personal after a while. That’s for sure.

 

[4Runner]

Here’s a few thoughts. Don’t GEMS Rovers have a fuel pump relay in the engine bay? It’s been 12 yrs since I owned that vintage. Have you guys been thru that? Also at this point, I would wait for the problem to be happening. Grab a can of starting fluid with a straw. Pick a vacuum port on the intake and conservatively spray while someone cranks it over. If it starts then you know you just a fueling problem. If it doesn’t do anything then you have a spark problem and would concentrate on that first. You still may have a fueling problem too, but good troubleshooting is dividing the system into smaller and smaller parts till you have the culprit. Good luck, I know it’s frustrating.

 

[latarheel]

So I picked up the truck yesterday and so far so good after 7 months in the shop and trial and error as its not my daily driver. Ignition replacement didn't fix it but the last series of items were fuel relay replacement, main fuse block under steering wheel replaced, all relays behind the glove box and passenger well kick panel. All grounds in the truck tested, Fuse block in engine bay removed checked and tested. Driven every day by the garage for a month to lunch and not return of the crank no start issues. I can tell the experience scarred them as this week , a longtime customer brings in a new to them '97 Disco with 50K miles for service and the answer was no.