Hi all,

I bought my LR2 about a month ago and have been doing my best to remedy the years of the neglect this vehicle seems to have undergone (my air filter was from 2014!!)

So I have a new battery, starter (+ ground wire) and air filter, and mostly "new" (second-hand) fuses and relays. Everything seems fine (I'm getting around 19-21 MPG, mostly highway) and yet, the vehicle still hesitates to start on cold mornings. It can turn over for anywhere from 2 to 10 seconds. I could just ignore this, but..

Replacing the air filter has made things slightly better, and I think I'll move away from 5W30 to 0W30 next year to give the starter an easier time.

In the meantime, I'd like to troubleshoot this from all possible angles. I've read that a lack of pressure in the fuel rail can cause long crank times. If that's my issue, should I expect that putting the key in and getting the vehicle into "run" mode (which briefly causes the fuel pump to run) should help alleviate the issue?

Any other thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

Last edited by Marcus97 on 11th Feb 2025 8:22 pm. Edited 1 time in total

Two pumps on the FL2. An electrical pump in the tank to transfer fuel over the transmission tunnel which splits the lower tank in half. A combined mechanical lift pump and high pressure pump driven by a camshaft to suck fuel up from the tank through the filter and push it into the fuel rail to the injectors.
So leaving the car turned on just gives ecu’s and the abs pump time to spin up.
The glow plugs do benefit from the slight delay, they always come on even if it isn’t cold enough for the warning light to show and stay on for a while as the engine warms.

Thanks Bob, this is however a gas 3.2L engine - sorry I didn't specify that. Is what you said also true the 3.2L?

BossBobb…….& Marcus 97……

Is this the same Marcus97 with the same FL2 3.2 V6 that had the long- running thread about non-starting from December 24…….?
Asked for advice but didn’t take it….? Lots of posts….! FL2 SD4 HSE Lux Auto MY 2012— current
D2 TD5 HSE Man MY 1999 470kmls….gone 2014 ….lovely engine..chassis rotten
D1 300TDI Man MY 1996 56kmls….gone 1999…D2 much better
Wife’s FL1 1.8P MY 2001 32kmls …gone 2007…has Mini since.

Thanks for the constructive comment.
There was/is a lot of advice coming my way, and I'm not always able to tell the wheat from the chaff. I have nearly 0 mechanical knowledge so I'm learning on the fly..

This is the previous Thread (hopefully should help us with history and provide continuity)

https://www.freel2.com/forum/topic40526.html FL2 XS SD4 Auto 2010 2012-2017 (21k - 91k miles) (MY2011)
FL2 Metropolis SD4 Auto 2014 2017- (16k - 79k+ miles) (MY2015)
Metro in its 11th Year of (Extended) LR Warranty / Full LR Service History
(Expensive, but Trouble/Worry free - hopefully?)

After a few more hours of surfing the web, I'm fairly certain I'm dealing with the same problem faced by gasman:
https://www.freel2.com/forum/topic37673-120.html

The 4 AWG cables just aren't sufficient for a 1.7kw starter motor, especially not if they're a bit corroded and powering a starter that's up against an older engine at -10c. I'll try switch to a 2 AWG or even a 1 AWG cable for both the positive and ground cables...stay tuned.

My kyoritsu 2046 clamp meter says my 2.0L petrol engine uses 238 amps.

Neighbours Audi Q5 Diesel 6 cylinder needed 344 amps to start. Ambient temperature was 14°C. Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

Those are massive amperages!
My starter motor is supposedly 1.7kw, so I'd imagine it should only draw around 150amps.

I wonder what gauge cable your neighbors Audi is using that can handle 344amps..

The CCA on my SD4's battery is 800amps

These batteries can deliver huge current for a few seconds, but only if the circuit resistance is low as its only 12V max (obviously). Hence the need for good electrical connections. Jules

Right, but only a fraction of that could get to the starter without damaging a 4 gauge cable, I'd think.

Voltage drop =

Cable length total of + & -
x Current in amps
x 0.0164 (copper resistance)
divided by cross sectional area in mm².


Let's say you have 1 metre total + & -
280 amps (2.2L diesel)
x 0.0164
/ 21.151 mm² (4awg)

= 0.217 voltage drop over the total length of both + & -

So if you have 2 metres it's twice the voltage drop.

If you had 1 awg (42.4 mm²) it would be half the voltage drop over 1 metre.


Not to forget resistance for each connection.


You are probably better off with additional earth connections.

No harm in piggybacking another 4 awg or 2 awg cable, & if you can earth it somewhere else all the better. Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

Very interesting, Lightwater. Thanks for explaining that.

The 280 amps in your scenario represents the draw of the starter, or the total draw on the battery?

I'm mostly confused by the fact that 4 AWG cables, which are supposed to have a capacity of 90A at 90c are being used to power the my starter that draws 142A (1700kw at 12v). What am I missing?

The amps I am talking about is everything being sucked out of the battery to get the car going.

The actual starter motor will be less, but the car needs a lot of amps for the key things while it is starting, to get the engine running.


I can't remember the exact figure, but about 20 seconds after the car started it was putting about 50 amps back into the battery. Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

IIRC
The CCA criteria is the current that can be delivered for 30 secs at -18C before the voltage drops to 7.5V. Its a comparator used to rate batteries not what actually is delivered.

Its a bit like official fuel consumption figures - used to compare MPG between vehicles but often not what you really get. Jules