There has been a lot of discussion about the intermittent starter problem (only clicks when attempting to start despite full battery,works after repeated attempts, ok for a week or then happens again)
There seems to be more than one cause foor this ,but it seems it is frequently caused by the contacts in the starter solenoid becoming worn and pitted and becoming a bit hit and miss in operation.
This Nippon Denso unit is used on quite a few other vehicles.It sesm it is a very robust unit but has this "Achilles Heel".

Instead of an expensive replacement starter, threr is acheapre solution.
There is an enterprising firm called Repairkit UK who supply the parts and instructions needed to overhaul it for about £16 and supply a lot of helpful information.
I have tried it:
The kit arrived in the next post and the instuctions are clear.it takes about 10-15 minutes to overhaul.
The only snag is taking the starter off the car and putting it back on again.This took me a long time trying to get to the 3 bolts holding it in place as access is very tight.(It was quite a struggle for me -others may find it easy I was spoilt by Triumphs Spitfieres Anglias etc!)
It works fine.

Don't forgert to disconnect the battery before beginning this job- the Pos lead to the starter could give a dramatic short ..

Last edited by vanadium23 on 4th Feb 2014 1:49 pm. Edited 1 time in total

I have used these kits before and they are great. It is always the contacts that fail first when there is usually nothing else wrong with the rest of the starter. John
07 HSE Narvick Black
Land Rover Series One
Triumph Rocket 111 (sadly gone!)

Fitted one of the repair kits supplied by RepairkitsUK. Highly recommended. Not an easy job, but worthwhile as my Land Rover garage had absolutely no idea why my Freelander2 would not start. Will be taking my business elsewhere.

Last edited by GSauto07 on 21st Feb 2014 9:28 am. Edited 1 time in total

Well done!
Satisfying isn't it?
The "dealer diagnosis" was clearly not good.


Perhaps because vehicles are more complicated now ,there is tendency to think that if something goes wrong then the cause must also be something complicated , probably related to mysterious " software"- and invaribly expensive.
All vehicles have their own known problem areas -a good forum becomes a distillation of acquired experience and knowleldge and threrby incredibly useful.

I am pleased to say my starter is absolutely fine since the solenoid repair.

Dealer diagnosis for his problem is definitely not good. My local 'Landrover specialist' spent 3 hours of chargeable time diagnosing the fault as a battery problem. Once the battery was changed a 2nd visit resulted in 'new electronic starter button module' - another £400 incl labour. After the car let me down again with exactly the same issue, finally they agreed with me that it was the starter motor, and they even had the cheek to insist on charging me for fitting it - another £340.

I have learned 2 lessons:
1. These so called specialists are useless, better to trust your own judgement and what you can find out on the 'net.
2. Never visit HBH Landrovers Caerphilly.

That must have been really annoying as well as expensive.
It seems to becoming clear tht this is not a rare or weird and wondeful problem so why are dealers so unaware of it- isn't there some sort of bulletin / update that goes around dealers to high light problems?

6 years ago I reported using a Repairkits Uk solenoid repair kit.and was delighted with the result.

For some years now I have had a different Freelander.
After a trouble-free 101,000 miles, the other week there was the very first hint that the starter might be going to give trouble- It needed two attempts to start - it clicked a couple of times with each attempt before starting.
Although this didn’t recur, the symptoms were so characteristic I got another repair kit from RepairKits UK. - for about the same price, even- £13 or so quid plus p&p.

With the starter motor off* it was clear that the contacts were quite worn down and perhaps at some time soon were going to give more problems .
The bits are easy to change and come with photographic instructions - it takes a few minutes

*What takes a lot longer is removing and replacing the starter.It’s a fiddly job.
Tackle from above.
To make things a little easier I suggest detaching the electrical plug to the gearbox and then the small bolt that holds the wiring harness to the front of the gearbox.This allows the harness to be moved out of the way a bit to get access to the lowest of the three securing bolts.

Thank you vanadium23,
that's worth bearing in mind.
Dave DAVE.
I.A.M. F1rst Driver.
Gone 2003 Discovery TD5 Auto,
Gone 1986 Defender 90 Station Wagon
Gone 1984 Range Rover 3.5 Vogue Manual.
Gone 1970 Series 11A/3 SWB 3.5 V8 Hybrid
Gone 1964 Series 11A LWB Van
Gone 1966 Series 11A SWB Van
Gone 1964 Series 11A LWB Station Wagon,

Common issue on Td5 Discovery and Defenders too, simple cheap contact kit solves it. Landrover - turning owners into mechanics since 1948

2014 Orkney grey Freelander SD4 GS.
2004 Zambezi silver Discovery 2 Td5 (Gone)
1963 Surf blue Morris Mini Minor Super de Luxe (my little toy)