Land Rover Repair: not starting, spark plug wires, coil wire

Question
thanks for offering this service. i have a 95 discovery that used to stall out and then completely quit. the mechanic replace the fuel pump and charged me 900 bucks. afterwards it would not stall anymore but it was very difficult to start, as if there was no spark because i would wiggle or even pull out the coil wire and put it back on and then the car would start. or i would have my husband do this. this lasted for a few weeks. now it doesnt start at all. the compression is very high, the fuel is soaking the spark plugs so i know  it works, and the coil shocked the devil out of my ex husband so there was obvious spark. i dont have a clue why this truck wont start. it tries to start if i hold the gas peddal down but it falls flat after i quit turning the ignition.  

Answer
Hi Chaikirah,

its obvious that you're not getting enough spark AT THE COIL.  Its very dangerous to touch the HT lead wire on the coil...seriously.  

IF your getting current from your coil but the plugs are 'wet', something between the coil and plugs is not working properly.  

There are the spark plugs themselves.  Make sure they are gapped correctly.  032 to 038 for our '95 3.9l engine is common.

Replace the spark plug wires if they are more than 3 years old.

Change the rotor and distributor cap if its more than 5 years old. Some change it every 3 or 4 years.  I last changed mine 5 years ago.

Check the ignition timing.  Very important here.  If the timing is off, you'll always have hard starts.  

Best of luck,

JohnMc