I went through the normal starting procedure the other day and the engine cranked over for about 4 seconds, but showed no sign of starting. Whilst cranking, it didn't sound as it normally does and I could feel the car shaking. I took my foot off the brake pedal and it stopped cranking. I then tried again and it started on the first crank. I saw it threw up an error message for about a second and I'm sure it read "FORCED....".

Any ideas what that might be?? The car is gonig into the dealers next week for work on the diff and I've asked them to run a diagnostic. Any ideas / experiences of this?? Gone - TD4 XS Auto, Sumatra Black, Mud flaps and side strips, clear indicators, private plate, privacy glass

Happened again today. I got chance to read the message before it dissapeared. It displayed, "REDUCED ENGINE PERFORMANCE". I thought, no s t, as it wouldn't start at all

Engine cranked over and over, without firing. I restarted the start procedure again, three times and it eventually fired. The engine coughed and spluttered about for a few seconds and all was fine. Dealers have run a diagnostic and it hasn't reported any errors, which is odd.

Engine only does it on cold start, so I'm thinking glow plugs?? Gone - TD4 XS Auto, Sumatra Black, Mud flaps and side strips, clear indicators, private plate, privacy glass

I think the glow plugs would give a fault code? I would check fuel and filter for contamination (water?). i think the "FORCED" code is due to the starter being used for too long.

Ghyllie oo! Shiney!
____________________________________________
55 Nissan Navara SE Black - My Toy.
08 Freelander 2 XS Santorini Black - Her Majesty's Toy.

I would of said it could be the crankshaft sensor, Ive had problems with these before and it does not always through up a fault code. Its low down on the engine and more prone to the eliments.

I had the crankshaft sensor changed last year, but that gave different issues, with the engine cutting out when cold, as opposed to not wanting to start. I guess, it could be fuel filter contamination, but I would've hoped the dealers would consider that

In my view, the glowplugs are most likely, but the dealer reckons they're not the issue, but have no idea what does it. They started itthis morning from cold and it was fine. Its a mystery, but I cant live with a car that starts when it wants. I'm fast losing faith in the dealers. They dont seem able to solve any problems  Gone - TD4 XS Auto, Sumatra Black, Mud flaps and side strips, clear indicators, private plate, privacy glass

Just got the car back, after being at the dealers for 2 days. They've had no issues starting it from cold They've also got no idea at all as to what it could be. They're stating they've never replaced the glow plugs on a FL2. I find that hard to believe, but judging by the lack of responses to this thread, I guess I'm the lucky one with the car that starts when it wants to. F g cars. It seems the more you look after your car, the less reliable is becomes. My mate treats his like piece of s t, never services or cleans it and it never lets him down  Gone - TD4 XS Auto, Sumatra Black, Mud flaps and side strips, clear indicators, private plate, privacy glass

are you using the same dealer for the repair work ? and if so do you have faith in their diagnosis/competency ?

maybe time to use another dealer ?

Iain

After I replaced my glow plugs, it was still hard to start - so I changed the battery and everything works A-OK.
So maybe it's time to change battery? Same symptoms.... It's never too late to learn something new...

+1 on what bbjoca said. Modern cars have so many electronic systems that you really do need the full whack from the battery and cold start time is when any chinks in battery condition will show up. The starter takes so many amps out of the battery that there is not sufficient juice left to run the systems properly. Odd warning messages are a sure sign of this.

So, my advice would be to get a proper drop test done on the battery. I fitted a 800 CCA 85AH battery which resulted in instant cold starts and an end to silly fault messages. John
07 HSE Narvick Black
Land Rover Series One
Triumph Rocket 111 (sadly gone!)

The battery is only 17 months old and has a five year warranty. I know that doesn't mean a thing, but the engine cranks over perfectly. Having done a bit of research into glow plug failure, it appears the symptoms are not consitent with this. There's no white smoke and misfiring on start up and the last time it struggled to start, the outside temperature was 9 celcius. So far as i'm aware, the glowplugs would not work at that temperature

I've used the same dealer for the past 5 years, but I think they're losing the edge recently. I find it difficult to believe the diagnostics would not throw up some error code, as the message appeared on the display. I thought this stored any faults. The strange thing is, the engine cranks over, but shows no signs of life. After a couple of resets, it started. I'm thinking it has to be a sensor of some form on the way out. My crankshaft sensor did the same thing, where it only caused issues periodically, but was picked up on the diagnostics.

I think I'm gonna have to get a second opinion and get the battery tested.  Gone - TD4 XS Auto, Sumatra Black, Mud flaps and side strips, clear indicators, private plate, privacy glass

hi phil try guy salmon in maidstone 07my Freelander 2 HSE TD4 Baltic Blue,Privacy Glass,Ebony black leather,Land rover detachable towbar,S/S Side bars,Climair wind deflectors,Bramble Rash,

rover60 wrote:

hi phil try guy salmon in maidstone

I hadn't thought of going there. How have you found them with dealing with problems??  Gone - TD4 XS Auto, Sumatra Black, Mud flaps and side strips, clear indicators, private plate, privacy glass

Sorry hav'nt been there but they cant be any worse than b========ts 07my Freelander 2 HSE TD4 Baltic Blue,Privacy Glass,Ebony black leather,Land rover detachable towbar,S/S Side bars,Climair wind deflectors,Bramble Rash,

rover60 wrote:

Sorry hav'nt been there but they cant be any worse than b========ts

Well...they certainly can't be any more expensive. I'll give them a go. Also tempted, now the car is 5 yo, to give one of the specialists a go. Who knows, they may be okay  Gone - TD4 XS Auto, Sumatra Black, Mud flaps and side strips, clear indicators, private plate, privacy glass