Land Rover Defender light failure

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Aug 4, 2005
361
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Sunny South Wales.
havingagiraffe said:
Make sure you get an extended warranty on anything with a green oval badge. Enough said. :rolleyes:

havingagiraffe said:
The Tdi's the one to go for. 12J and 19J diesels are underpowered, and the complex TD5 has reliability issues.

Or you could be sensible and go Japanese..... :eek:

Ignoring my own advice, I've bought a Defender Td5 pick up as seen from a trade auction. A few days ago the sidelights, dipped beam, main beam, headlamp flasher, tail lights and horn stopped working at the same time. I've tried the obvious things - fuses and both light switches - but without success.

Please does anyone know where I can get a wiring diagram?

Better still, has anyone else cured a similar fault? Is there some magic relay that I've missed?
 

wingstoo

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
May 12, 2005
2,274
40
South Marches
Are all those items on the same stalk in a Defender?

I have a 110 and had a series3 before that, on the series the stalk needed changing.

LS
 
Aug 4, 2005
361
4
47
Sunny South Wales.
ludlowsurvivors said:
Are all those items on the same stalk in a Defender?

I have a 110 and had a series3 before that, on the series the stalk needed changing.

LS

Thanks for your thoughts. Much appreciated. :You_Rock_

The stalk with main beam/dipped beam/horn was the first thing I changed. I'm starting to wonder if the one I replaced it with was also faulty. :dunno:

I think I'm going to have to get a wiring diagram and a test lamp so I can investigate this one properly. :thinkerg:

Do the brass 12v test lamps (about £10) last any longer than the plastic 12v test lamps (about £2)? :confused:
 

wingstoo

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
May 12, 2005
2,274
40
South Marches
I would also get a meter to check wiring end to end, and also some temporary test leads made from croc clips and some wire to link out the switches, this may help trace what it is that's causing the problem.

Have you checked the fuse holder, make sure all the fuses are making proper contacts, I have had this problem with the 110, also make sure the fuse holder is located properly.

I take it all other electrics are functioning properly?

LS
 

Rob

Need to contact Admin...
I love Land Rover electrical problems (not).

Assuming that things are the same on a TD5. The first place I would look is the earthing points inside the front wings. They should be up near the headlights inside the engine bay - about as far up into the corner as you can reach. You will be amazed what runs through here - i certainly was. Undo the screw and give the area a bit of a christmas.

Hope that helps.
 

davef

Forager
Mar 6, 2006
104
0
49
North Lancashire
it could also be the dreaded spider unit - landrover run most of the electrical connection through a huge junction box (in the disco the box is by the accelerator pedal)

its great
all the leads going in and out are helpfully colour coded - BLACK cos the alarm/imobiliser also runs through there. Its famous for generating strange electrical faults.

Wiring diagram - Try this link
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1855206986/202-4638001-9139008
bit expensive tho...
 
Aug 4, 2005
361
4
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Sunny South Wales.
Thanks Dave F and Elma.

I think the lighting circuit's pretty much the same as post 1994 Tdi Defenders.

I think (hope) the worrying number of black boxes under the driver's seat just control the pump. There's also a black box attached to the accelerator pedal for the electronic fly by wire throttle. I think the boffins at Land Rover must have accepted bribes from Toyota when designing these bits - why else would you have these fragile parts in the first places to get wet when crossing deep water or hosing out the interior? The Td5's a lot faster and more civilised than the Tdi but I'm not sure if all of the complexity justifies the extra performance and refinement. The Santana 110 with 2.8 litre Iveco power or the South American 2.8 version of the 300Tdi would probably be just as powerful but a lot simpler. I think the Td5's electronics have more to do with keeping emissions down than anything else.

I've ordered a moody workshop manual CD with wiring diagram from eBay. Are we allowed to say moody CD on BCUK? I should say legitimate back up disc shouldn't I? :cop: :deal: :ban:
 
Aug 4, 2005
361
4
47
Sunny South Wales.
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Not many people know that Land Rovers attempted to market a computer. Why did they stop? They could not find a way to get it to leak oil!

A Land Rover doesn´t leak oil, it marks it´s territory.

Did you hear about the man whose Land Rover didn't leak oil? The factory took it back and worked on it until it did.

Did you hear the one about the guy that peeked into a Land Rover and asked the owner "How can you tell one switch from another at night? They all look the same. " - "He replied, "It does not matter which one you use, nothing happens !"

The Lucas motto: "Get home before dark."

Lucas is the patent holder for the short circuit.

Lucas - Inventor of the first intermittent wiper.

Lucas - Inventor of the self-dimming headlamp.

The three position Lucas switch - Dim, Flicker and Off.

The Original Anti-Theft Device - Lucas Electrics.

"I have had a Lucas pacemaker for years and have never had any trou..."

If Lucas made guns, wars would not start.

A friend of mine told everybody he never had any electric problems with his Lucas equipment. Today he lives in the countryside, in a large manor with lots of friendly servants around him an an occasional ice cold shower...

Back in the 70's, Lucas decided to diversify its product line and began manufacturing vacuum cleaners. It was the only product they offered which did not suck.

Q: Why do the British drink warm beer? A: Because Lucas makes their refrigerators

Alexander Graham Bell invented the Telephone.Thomas Edison invented the Light Bulb. Joseph Lucas invented the Short Circuit.

Recommended procedure before taking on a repair of Lucas equipment: Check the position of the stars,kill a chicken and walk three times clockwise around your car chanting:" Oh mighty Prince of Darkness protect your unworthy servant.."

Positive ground depends upon proper circuit functioning, which is the transmission of negative ions by retention of the visible spectral manifestation known as "smoke". Smoke is the thing that makes electrical circuits work; we know this to be true because every time one lets the smoke out of the electrical system, it stops working. This can be verified repeatedly through empirical testing.

When, for example, the smoke escapes from an electrical component (like, say, a Lucas voltage regulator), it will be observed that the component stops working. The function of the wire harness is to carry the smoke from one device to another; when the wire harness "springs a leak." And lets all the smoke out of the system, nothing works afterwards. Starter motors were frowned upon in British motorcycles for some time, largely because they consume large quantities of smoke, requiring very large wires.

It has been noted that Lucas components are possibly more prone to electrical leakage than Bosch or generic Japanese electrics. Experts point out that this is because Lucas is British and all things British leak. British engines leak oil, shock absorbers and hydraulic forks and disk brakes leak fluid, British tyres leak air, and the British defence establishment leaks secrets... so, naturally, British electrics leak smoke.

From the basic concept of electrical transmission of energy in the form of smoke, a better understanding of the mysteries of electrical components - - especially those of Lucas manufacture - - is gained by the casual user.

http://www.yoxio.com/images.php?id=20200
:-D


[/img]
__________________
Of all the things I've lost.. I miss my mind the most !
The Rev 'Mighty Oak' Mad Dave of the Bushcrafti
 
Aug 4, 2005
361
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47
Sunny South Wales.
EdS said:
everybody know that land rover electrics run on smoke, when this smoke escapes everything stops working.

I had smoke from the wiper motor of my first 110 because the linkage seized on the same day the wiper switch decided to stick in the "on" position, smoke from the starter motor of my Series IIA (wafted into the cab through the holes around the hi-lo lever...), and the battery on my Ninety CSW began smoking then literally exploded when the fitter was messing about with the starter motor.

Please can someone tell me why I bother? :rolleyes:
 
Aug 4, 2005
361
4
47
Sunny South Wales.
ludlowsurvivors said:
Have you checked the fuse holder, make sure all the fuses are making proper contacts, I have had this problem with the 110, also make sure the fuse holder is located properly.

LS

Still no sign of my workshop manual with wiring diagram being delivered :( , so I took the Landy to a plant fitter friend of mine for him to have a look. He revealed that Td5 Defenders have two extra fuse boxes hidden in a locker under the driver's seat. I hadn't checked these. :eek: One of the big 30amp fuses had blown. As well as lots of normal euro blade type fuses, there are a few physically large fuses which are attatched to the fusebox with brass screws. I'm going to get a spare set of these from the Main dealer just in case one blows in the middle of nowhere as I've never seen them for sale in an accessory shop. Replacing the blown fuse got the running lights working but not the horn or headlamp flasher. Further investigation revealed a loose wire which seemed to provide power to the horn and headlamp flasher which was shorting out on the steering column, and a defective horn push. This is as far as we got before it went dark last night. I've booked him for an hour on Saturday afternoon so he can get to the bottom of it - he's much better than me at this sort of thing. :eek: .
 
Aug 4, 2005
361
4
47
Sunny South Wales.
All sorted :drive: - wire had fallen off the horn push and shorted out intermittently on the steering column, blowing various fuses hidden in the locker under the driver's seat whilst leaving the fuses visible in the main fuse box on the bulkhead intact. No big mystery. Simple as that. :eek:

Thanks for the advice chaps. :You_Rock_
 

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