Landrover Discovery stalling - any ideas?

[Jon]

We have a T reg V8i auto disco with about 45k miles on the clock which has developed an intermittent stalling problem.

We were originally told by the main dealer that this would "definitely" be because of the alarm spider solder cracking and that would be the princely sum of £500ish plus VAT. We compromised and had the existing one resoldered and yet there continue to be problems - just cuts out randomly as you're driving along. The engine will restart after a "rest" of about 10-15 minutes.

Then they said that it must "almost definitely" be to do with an exhaust vacuum hose split and that having mended that it would be OK - it cut out on me on the way home from the garage!

They had it back for four days and couldn't replicate the problem at all but pulled apart all the electrics behind the dashboard and reseated it all. It was fine for a week and then started doing it again. We thought it could be a fuel pick-up issue with the tank running low but it happened again to me last night with a full tank (that hurt!).

If anyone has any ideas (apart from running it off a cliff) about what this could be down to I would be grateful for any advice.

It's too random to even consider towing the boat at present!

Anyway, off to run the rush hour with an intermittent fault!

[codprawn]

Find an independant expert who knows what he is on about - no faith at all in MAIN dealers - no matter what make they support!!!

Is your an auto? It could be a problem caused by the gearbox controller.

The Rover V8 is a great engine but of course they can never leave well alone and they have put more and more elctronics onto it.

It could well be an ECU fault or an immobiliser fault - the list is endless as they are so "sophisticated" these days!!! Still drinks loads of fuel though!!!

Try asking this bloke

http://www.v8engines.com/homepage.htm

Speak to Chris Crane poersonally - he knows V8s better than anyone!!!

also ask on

alt.fan.landrover - loads of help on there!!!

[Hugh Jardon]

maybe try the guy at safari engineering near sandhurst, they have always been very helpful for me in the past. they are all on the web, cheap for spares too

http://www.safari-engineering.co.uk/

that is a really annoying problem you have and i hate it when garages take the approach yours has, it is costly and wastes time and tries your patience.

as codders says try the landrover forum as like here they may have some good experts there too

regards

chris

[gavin]

Can you describe the fault a little more, do you lose display lighting, can you bypass the alarm immobliser relay, check for earth straps which may be lose, loose connectors, open connectors under the engine bay spray wd 40 into anything suspicous, check for loose fuses and all relays are securley plugged in.

Alternativly we will spin across from Ireland and throw you a long line ,
i reckon our opti would pull a disco off a cliff no problem, to help you get over the shock I will personally undertake to drive you around all the Jap dealers and help you pick one Good Luck

[codprawn]

Of course NO other modern cars suffer from electrical gremlins!!!

[Hugh Jardon]

Originally Posted by codprawn

Of course NO other modern cars suffer from electrical gremlins!!!

I am sure Jon will feel much better knowing that, very helpful!!

[Mark Halliday]

Jon

I have just bought a P plate V8i ES with 59k on the clock.
One thing that is bothering me is the fact that there seems to be a very small or no breather on the fuel tank. Hence the notice in the filler hatch about slowly letting the air in before opening. Mine is making a loud humming from around the filler after the engine is turned off.

Could it be that the vent (there must be something) is blocked and you are pulling a vacuum in the tank which is too much for the fuel pump? Waiting a while (10-15 mins) may let air in to relieve the vacuum.
Try opening the filler cap when it next happens, and see if it will start when the hissing stops.

I don't have a manual for the beast yet, so this is just a guess from my observations.

[codprawn]

Could be that or a blocked fuel filter - on mine I had an intermittent cutting out that happened only under load - thought it was electrics at first - I would stop - spray WD40 around - then the engine would start ok - replaced the leads and coil and still the same - I looked inside the fuel filter and found it was full of mud!!!

The bloke who had it before me had used a piece of garden hose as a tank breather - it had split and with my constant offroading loads of mud and water got into the tank - suprised it ran at all......

[Hugh Jardon]

Originally Posted by Mark Halliday

I don't have a manual for the beast yet, so this is just a guess from my observations.

I have the electronic manuals for the disco that the lr garage use if that helps, pm me your address and i would be happy to send a copy over.

if Jon wants a copy too then just say, never know it might help you understand the thing more

chris

[Stuart M]

I had a similiar problem with a Range Rover classic. It turned out to be the fuel pump wiring, the wiring ran under the near side passanger carpet and had a connector joining it. This was a loose connection and when it got hot the fuel pump stopped and so did the engine. Leave it 10 mins and it was fine.

Brilliant design eh?, When on earth would running a cable with a connector under a carpet where people tread be a good idea, but then what can you expect from a vehicle that had allegro door handles 20 years later?

Main agent couldn't find the problem on four occassion (but then they were useless!) - It was the AA that sussed it out.

Sold the car after 1 year - great offroader - it was off the road 4 times in 1 year - in the bloody garage!

Since then the last 9 years have been trouble free motoring (in Jap and non LR vehicles!) - although I did change a battery once!