97 Disco Won't Start

[#8trx450r]

Hello everyone, nice site you have here I only wish i were visiting on better terms.

Here is the deal, Bought the wife a 1997 Discovery last night, Bought it cheap as I caught it as a Trade In ( $2,000 ), really good condition, she likes it so all is good right? Nope this morning after taking our son to school and then going to leave again the thing will not start!!!!!

She had apparently tripped the alarm as it did go off until she hit the button to deactivate it but no start, the Fob will unlock and lock it, everything can be turned on but the Motor, I have read all over the net today and even called a few dealers with no luck as of yet. Tried the 4 digit code on the Drivers door ( 1515 ) and I do not even think it recognized that at all, I have unhooked the battery for up to an hour and still no luck.

The light on the Radio blinks showing to be Armed I'm guessing but the one on the Instrument Cluster never lights up like the Owners Manual says it should, Another thing I notice is that when I hit the "Arm" button on the Fob the doors lock and unlock a few times on their own before staying Locked.

When I turn the key to the "Start" position I hear a "Click" on the Passenger side of the car under the dash area.

We have a 5 year old that was recently diagnosed with Diabetes and we are in a tough part of it right now with trying to keep it regulated and a "Low" could come at any time so we NEED a dependable vehicle to be able to get to where he is or to get him to the Hospital and can not be dealing with a stubborn car So if anyone has any idea on how to fix this thing or to just remove the Alarm for good Please Please help me out.

I also talked with the previous owner and she had never had any problem of this type the entire time she owned it.


Thanks, Corey

[2DISCO7]

sorry to be ignorant, but, reliable car & Land Rover don't go hand in hand. I've never had that problem with my disco, but it seems pretty serious! Do you get any lights on the dash??

[stolenheron]

is it the factory alarm or an aftermarket alarm system?

[kellijo]

I had the exact thing happen to mine, and it ended up being a bad battery connection.


Starter maybe?



At any rate, good luck. I hope it's something minor for you.

[antichrist]

Originally Posted by #8trx450r

When I turn the key to the "Start" position I hear a "Click" on the Passenger side of the car under the dash area.

Sounds like the starter solenoid is energizing but not the starter bendix. It could be as simple as a loose/corroded connection at the starter (from the battery), at the battery, or bad ground at the battery, battery-to-frame connection or starter to engine connection.
Or it could be the starter is shot. Or the battery. If the battery is more than 3 or 4 years old, replace it. It could still be shot if it's more recent, if it was allowed to go dead a lot.
You can often tell the state of the battery and cables by turning on the headlights and seeing how bright they are. But since the car is new to you, unless they are really dim, you haven't any history to compare them to.

[Elemental]

Stick a testlight on the starter and make sure the solenoid is getting power. If it is, throw a starter at it.

Dont overthink the car. A no crank concern is Auto Repair 101 regardless of the brand.


First TOOL you need is this... Order it today.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/083...Fencoding=UTF8

[flunkster]

sounds more like alarm gremlins to me.

did you get it fixed? baah! we will probably never see this guy again....

[brdean1]

Hi I had similar problems with my 97 disco I changed starter motor, ignition switch module, battery , wiring and had fobs repogrammed all with varying success. Sometimes it worked and other times not. In the end I would have to hold down the door open button on the fob whilst turning ignition key at the same time for it to work at all. I am sure it is alarm / PATS related.
I resolved this by connecting a fused live wire from the battery to a remote starter button into the dashboard then from this to the starter solenoid terminal . Turn on ignition to pos II (no further - if you do then you will have to turn off ignition and shut and open doors again with fob) then press remote button and hey presto no more problems. PATS still works - it must send a signal from reading fob.

PS bonus is the wife thinks the button is quite sexy

[Dragunov]

I just replaced the starter in my wifes DII for exactly the same thing and it fixed the problem. That "clack" you here on the passengers side is the bendix engaging the flywheel but not turning it. Pull the starter and hook it to a battery, if you get a LARGE amount of sparks as you connect it, the brushes are worn out and pulling too much power from the battery. A starter for the DII was $91.00 w/a $95.00 core charge at autozone. After replacing the starter, all the alarm "gremlins" went away too. If you can find the brush kit for it, fix it for yourself. just follow the instructions. I couldn't find brushes for mine so I bought the starter.