4x4life Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 Hello everyone. Its great to be a Disco owner. My name is Steve and I've recently bought my 1st LR. It's a 95 Discovery with the 3.9 AT. It has less than 90k on it and ran very well for 3 weeks. Then it wouldn't fire up ( for 15 minutes or so ) after driving somewhere, going in and returning to the vehicle. The last time it happened, it didn't start up and hasn't since. No spark/fire from distributor to the plugs. I've replaced the coil, the plugs, the HT wires and the distributor. I've run new wires from the coil to the distributor. I have the correct voltages from the ignition to the coil, from the coil to the amplifier. I even have 12 volts at the HT wire at the distributor tower from the coil. But nothing to the plugs. Of course the cap and rotor are new also. Its frustrating because it is doing the same thing with all the new stuff as with the old. (I have spares now) I did notice that once it quit firing all together, that the TPS wire from the plenum to the plug had burned about 3/4 of an inch of the insulation off all 3 wires and on both ends of this pigtail (for lack of a better word) I didn't think and still don't that there's any correlation between these but in all my years, I've been wrong. A LOT! Has anyone ever seen this before? Can anyone steer me in the right direction? All information is greatly appreciated. See ya on the trails! I hope Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie64 Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 check the earth strap from the rectifier I think its on the p/s wing just infront of the air intake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 The only thing you haven't replaced is the amplifier, and this is classic amplifier failure mode! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4x4life Posted April 5, 2016 Author Share Posted April 5, 2016 Thanks guys. First, I assume you're talking about the strap that the coil mounting bolt slips through. Yeah, checked ground from just about everywhere. It seems solid. Well...the new distributor came with a new amplifier. Is this a part that has frequent failure straight out of the box? Is there any way to check the resistance through it? I did check between the pins and the grounding plate. Nothing. I have 3 of the amplifiers and the resistance varies between them so I have no idea whether 1 or any of them are good. I cant seem to find much info on this vehicle. ie. wiring diagram, svc. info. Does any exist? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teabag Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 Hi and WELCOME to the Forum. You should alway test, not guess by replacing parts that perhaps aren't faulty therefore saving that expense. Where abouts in the world are u? As you have a symptom similar to a uk spec D1 fitted with a 'spider' immobiliser. But from you say you have tested the voltages at the coil which u say are ok, that would rule out u having a spider as that provides the the voltage to the coil but only when remobilise. The insulation on exposed wires from the TPS do get a bit chard looking only due the engine heat, if the insulation isn't breaking up leave alone. I assume you can crank the engine but it doesn't fire.. In the event u do have the spider try placing a link from the vehicles battery+ to the coil + and see if u get a spark when cranking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4x4life Posted April 5, 2016 Author Share Posted April 5, 2016 Also, I will not deny the fact that I do not (yet) understand this vehicle, but I did replace all the seals, bearings, races and gaskets from the swivel ball gaskets out and I have to question the integrity of the parts I received. Can anyone recommend a supplier that has consistently provided good quality parts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 Ah, didn't realise you had replaced distrubutor, I missed it in your shotgun list of parts Assuming you are POSITIVE you have no spark, immobiliser sounds a likely culprit then. Get a copy of RAVE, and you will have just about anything you need for your truck. There is also a D1 service manual here, in PDF form: http://www.landroverresource.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teabag Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 There's no resistance to test, the unit is a switching amplifier hence the name and is tested with an oscilloscope so keep the multimeter away to avoid possible damage to the transistor or integrated circuit inside. Google ignition amplifier if u wish to find out more about this item. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4x4life Posted April 5, 2016 Author Share Posted April 5, 2016 Hey Old Hand. Thanks. First, I'm in Texas (no jokes and please don't hold it against me) I replaced the distributor because I've been told that the Lucas dist. has been known to cause a lot of issues and as difficult as it can be to get parts quickly, I thought it wouldn't hurt to have some extra things in a box. On the TPS, I understand what you say about chard wires. They are 20 years old and sitting in a hot environment but these were melted. Soft and peeled away exposing clean copper strands. And yes. I did run a wire from the Battery + to the Coil + to no avail. I like the way you guy's think though. I feel good that with all of your help, I'll be enjoying my D1 soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4x4life Posted April 5, 2016 Author Share Posted April 5, 2016 Thanks Bowie69. I did find the RAVE and went through section 86, except for having 12 volts at the coil - with the key off and no increasing voltage at the same location while turning the motor over, I'm good. But, the RAVE kind of leaves you hanging at that point. I'll look at the link you sent. Also, not being familiar with the immobilizer, I suspect it would either break the voltage between the ignition switch and the coil or between the ignition switch and the starter. Is one of these assumptions correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballcock Posted April 8, 2016 Share Posted April 8, 2016 Have you tried turning the engine over with the king lead close to the block to see if the coil is generating a spark? Some rotor arms and caps have been known not to distribute the spark to plugs. Have you tried some easy start to ensure it is not a fuel problem? The V8's ignition system is fairly basic where as the injection system has to cope with Lucas's interference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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