300 rear lights

[davyd8899]

this all came about when changing a brake bulb, the top light cluster has an indicator lens in it,also has a twin phase stop and tail light at the top (not sure what that type is actually called but i think you get what i mean), however the plug in the back of the cluster only carries wires for the fog, reverse and blake lights.

my old disco that i sold rececently was the same year (94) had different lenses, they didnt have the indecator lenses in, am i right in saying they were introduced on later models and the lenses i have now are retro fit??

also is it just a case of taking a feed off the bumper lights for the tail lights as i would like to wire them up. The indecators would be trickier though because in my mind if i pick up a feed from the bumper indecators, then wouldnt the green trailer dash light/buzzer operate if i did this?

I am really not electrically minded, i do own and know how to use a multimeter, and can wire up simple circuits but thats about my electrical know how!! sosilple terminology please!!

Any thoughts and ideas gratefully recieved

[western]

indicator & tail lights were moved to bumper mounted lights so they were visible to traffic apporching from the rear when the rear tail door was open, all to satisfy EU regs for visiblity as the spare could hide the body mounted lights.

LR actually fitted a full set of body mounted lights to some Discovery models, early 300tdi range IIRC, no reason why you con't do it, 2nd set of indicators might need to be operated via a relay, so the trailer ind warning light doesn't keep operating when ind's are in use. tail/brake lights can be connected direct to existing lights

[Nigelw]

You are right there Ralph, on my MOT certificate it descriptively says "This vehicle MUST use a warning triangle when loading and unloading from the rear as the rear lights are not clearly visible when the rear door is open", and my truck is a 1992 Discovery 1.

I would like to do the same as you though Davyd in fitting the old 300Tdi rear bumper with the lights in to get out of having to put the triangle out every time I open the back door!

[western]

on my 110 I added hi up rear lights, I'll dig out my wiring info & redraw& post the relay wiring for extra indicators tomorrow.

[teabag]

To answer your question, yes on some 95 MY discos and all 96 & 97MY.

It appears that you may have retro fitted lenses from the above models, if so when wired correctly the only relay required will be the flasher relay to suit the increased load.

As for feeds they may already be in the wiring harnes, if not then u will have to pick up the supplies from the existing lamps.

[davyd8899]

Thank you western, do I take it right that i can get a relay and just wire in the indicators in through the said relay of the bumper as normal? like i say i am somewhat a novice at electrics!!

and dieseldog, not fitted anything, i bought it like it is, thought bulbs were the problem, however, i own a LR so nothing is quite so simple as it seems!!

[western]

relay will need a 12v feed & earth, then existing L & R indicators to relay signal input & relay output to new indicators, you'll need 2 relays one per side, otherwise it won't work correctly.

diagram will appear in morning.

[western]

here's the relay diagram for additional rear indicators as promised.

[davyd8899]

Thats great thankyou western, where can i find a 12V feed in the back or do i need to patch a wire from the ignition, and run it with an in line 5A fuse?

[western]

There maybe a permanent live on a plain purple wire within the loom like there is in 90/110's, I haven't got a decent Disco 300tdi wiring diagram or a plain green wire which is ign controlled for rear wiper feed, you could take a feed from that.

[Nigelw]

I am not sure if they all had the DIN socket in the back but that is a permanent live too!

[asteksonus]

To my mind the sidelights in the bumper only on Disco 1997 model is under-illuminated. Also I was stopped at a péage in France when trailing a boat and was told by the police to put the fog lights on on as the sidle lights are not visible over the trailer.

Since then I worked out this little modification which reactivates the filaments in the existing top stop/tail in the cluster.

l can confirm all the wiring is in place in the 6 pole socket - it is just a matter of making a jumper from the socket - I made mine with a strip of copper and jointed to the tab on the lamp holder with half a spade connector soldered in place.

[Nigelw]

Copied and pasted from my http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=79562'>build thread

For those that don't know, if you intend on running the extra lamps on an earlier 200Tdi and don't want the trailer lamp and/or buzzer going off every time you indicate you need to wire them in with a relay for each indicator lamp, this is how I did mine.

This is basically the bottom back of the looms from my old 300 series V8, you need the wiring and plugs for the lamps and a bit of spare cable.

http://s1186.photobucket.com/user/dieseldog69/media/Rusty130913001_zps6eef4493.jpg.html'>

The relay needs a live feed from the battery and an earth, I chose to run a cable direct from the battery under the body and entering the rear at the light units, this feed will have a 10A inline fuse in it too.

http://s1186.photobucket.com/user/dieseldog69/media/Rusty130913005_zpsf60bcdfa.jpg.html'>

Next you have to find the wires from the multi plug on the back of the light cluster, easy really as they are the same as the colored cables in the lower loom, green with white stripe for the indicators and red with an orange stripe for the side lights, and the black wires are earths, I chose to pluck the terminals out and bare the wires back and solder in the connecting wire for the side light and the trigger wire for the relay, small wrap of tape to insulate them a little.

http://s1186.photobucket.com/user/dieseldog69/media/Rusty130913004_zps23a9b9e1.jpg.html'>

http://s1186.photobucket.com/user/dieseldog69/media/Rusty130913006_zpsc7b15a74.jpg.html'>

The earths are mounted to the body via one of the old M8 bolt holes that would have been used for the dickie seats in the rear.

http://s1186.photobucket.com/user/dieseldog69/media/Rusty130913007_zps7a120172.jpg.html'>

I had loads of the old relay holders from the 300series and used one her with a small strip of tin riveted to the body with a smear of silicone to seal it and job done, you can see the small inline fuse at the bottom, the cable from the battery will go into a new fuse box when I rebuild the inner wing that side and will have further protection there.

http://s1186.photobucket.com/user/dieseldog69/media/Rusty130913009_zpsc7efbbad.jpg.html'>

And all working as it should, and no trailer light warning lamp to be seen.

http://s1186.photobucket.com/user/dieseldog69/media/Rusty130913010_zpse484765e.jpg.html'>

The connections for the relay goes as follows

30= 12V live

86= earth

85= trigger wire from existing L/R indicator

87= supply wire to new indicator

I would like to thank Western for the very good diagram that can be found http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?app=core&module=attach&section=attach&attach_rel_module=post&attach_id=46097'>HERE it was an enormous help when I needed it.

[cactus]

Rather than the relays just use LED Bulbs in the Bumper lights!

So much easier! !!

[SPendrey]

2 hours ago, cactus said:

Rather than the relays just use LED Bulbs in the Bumper lights!

So much easier! !!

But is it?  My bumper lights are wired such that the "pin" is the ground and the outer case is 12V, therefore standard LED's don't work.  Possibly not the case for all vehicles, but true of mine.

[Range Rover Blues]

On 19/03/2017 at 5:19 PM, SPendrey said:

But is it?  My bumper lights are wired such that the "pin" is the ground and the outer case is 12V, therefore standard LED's don't work.  Possibly not the case for all vehicles, but true of mine.

I found the same on my wife's Fiesta.  Anyway, there's a guy on E-Bay trades as LEDs for Classic Cars, based in Bristol.. He sells positive earth bulbs for old cars.  They are more expensive than Chinese parts, but you get what you pay for, every bulb I've had form him has been, well brilliant really and the stop/tail bulbs have a good difference between the 2 unlike some others I've had.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-x-POSITIVE-EARTH-BA15S-21W-LED-4014-30-SMD-REVERSING-BACK-UP-LIGHT-BULBS-P21W-/181780495444?hash=item2a52f63c54:g:udQAAOSwPCVX-sTW

 

Some types he sells are even brighter, but they work fine in place of normal Tungsten bulbs.  I've fitted them to our RRC and the tail light is now as bright as the stop light was, the stop light obviously much better.  Also as some are coloured LEDs you get very RED lights, or very orange if that's what you fit.