starting issues, not immobilizer?

[enjoi1968]

Alright so I have a 98 Disco that is acting up on me, had the battery replaced 4/07 and just today I stopped at a friends house and not but 5 minutes later attempted to turn her back on and she wouldn't start, slight power enough to light up dash and then lost when key turned for starter. Clicking coming from relay (?) under glovebox or passenger right side footwell. Tried jumping with a friends car to no anvil, finally had AAA come and after hooking a boost box and the flatbeds lines up to the battery it cranked but didn't start.

About 15 minutes later (assuming maybe due to constant lines being hooked up) she started up slowly, but my fuse for my cigar lighter and vanity lights had blown (20 amp on main fuse panel below steering column). Replaced that with a new fuse, and started to drive, RPMs were about 700xmin below normal and seemed like she wanted to die at every stop sign.

After playing around with my setup for cigar lighter while driving I took the plug for my splitter (3-way cigar plug splitter) out and proceeded to plug in solely my radar detector and BAM RPMs dropped from 3000xmin to almost 500xmin while driving but instantly went back up, heard the fuse blow and checked it when I got home, it was the same one. Replaced it again and left the truck running for about 30minutes. Came out crossed my fingers and turned off the ignition. Went to turn it back on and NO DICE. Waited about 30 more minutes and tried again, nothing. Wondering if anyone has had this problem before, I'm gonna have AAA install a new battery (under warranty) tomorrow if I can't figure anything else out. See what happens there..

[JohnMc64]

I had a similar problem with my Disco and it turned out to be combination of the starter motor and a corroded, oil ingressed main lead wire to starter. Rebuilt the starter, installed a new lead to the starter and problem was solved.

The lead wire was soaked in oil and road grime. My guess is this corrosion complicated the starter problem even more - not enough amps. As for the starter, water had managed to leak into this and it was filthy in there. I soldered new brushes and cleaned up the mess as best as I could. Bought a VW Jetta solenoid (new) for $60 at the local VW dealer as it is almost perfect fit. Total repair was about $100 and a few hours of my time.

Could be your problem too.

JohnMc