L series faults

Symptom: Engine mangagment light illuminates and car runs poorly.
Cause: Chafed wring to number 1 injector or chafed wiring to fuel pump. Otherwise faulty sensor.

Symptom: Poor cold starting. Does not improve if priming bulb is pumped till it goes hard before attempting to start
Cause: Faulty glow plug relay – check voltage is getting to the glow plugs, defective glow plugs – replace as necessary, incorrect fuel pump timing – re-adjust.

Symptom: Poor cold starting. Improves if priming bulb is pumped till it goes hard before attempting to start
Cause: Air leak into fuel system – common areas are pipes to and from fuel filter and the priming bulb itself

Symptom: Engine hesitant/jerky on light throttle openings, black smoke.
Cause: Faulty or sticking EGR valve.

Symptom: Engine revs to 1200rpm and will not respond to throttle pedal
Cause: Faulty throttle position sensor, or ECU thinks that the brake pedal has been pressed, via a faulty switch, someone installing the incorrect stop/tail bulb, or a wiring fault (200/25 wiring in the boot hinge area is a common one).

Symptom: Poor hot or cold starting following a cambelt or fuel pump belt change
Cause: Incorrect belt change proceedure has resulted in incorrect fuel pump belt timing giving poor starting. Re-adjust as necessary.

Symptom: Engine takes a long time to warm up (over 5 miles), or temperature gauge drops when driving at speed
Cause: Faulty thermostat – Replace. Landrover freelander unit is often the cheapest unit.

Symptom: Engine fails to turn over, no loud click, no dimming of the dash lights
Cause: Spade connector on the top of the starter motor making a poor connection. clean up/repair/replace.

Symptom: Floppy gearstick with lots of play in it
Cause: Worn spring pin that connects the linkage to the gearbox, or worn linkage or bushes. I’ll try and write a how to…. article on this when I get time.