Lomenech

Assuming we can overcome our various more essential electrical issues, can anyone tell me exactly how difficult it would be to install a radio in my ex MOD '97 300 Tdi 110? It looks like the MOD had about 35 radios plugged in before judging by the spaghetti spilling into the passenger footwell. Vincent said he would do it when I bought the car but I can't see one anywhere. I thought it would be simple, but then I forgot about antenna, drilling through the roof (?) and all those other things, because I am a girl and I just want to listen to the radio on a long road trip in 2 weeks time! I would be very happy with any old radio, if there are second hand places I can go but it's the installation I hear conflicting things about. Thanks!

Thank you! Can I please double check that? (I hasten to add I am following this on the diagram, and NOT by taking the looms apart!): 1. Switch column (in the steering wheel?) S123 goes via C36-4, turns a corner onto C36-3 to 2. Switch Hazard (S121) then turns back onto C96-3 and C287-11 to 3. Header Joint & the 3 indicator circuits C287-12/13 & 14 then back onto 4. C287-11 then down to the instrument pack J100 Sorry, I have probably got that all wrong, I know it is not like a map, but that's the closest I can get by following the green and red on my diagram. C287-9 does not site on a green and red route, and I cannot work out where in all of that the circuit passes through the fusebox, and therefore where the short might be occurring. Now you will see why I am not doing the wiring myself! Thank you for your patience. Olivia

I know most garages don;t want to touch electrics which is why we took it to someone who is meant to be very good, but unfortunately this has happened somehow. There is no way we could do the wiring ourselves, well, not as things stand, but I AM trying to learn more through experience. In answer to your query, they re-taped the loom on top of the chassis. They have agreed to take the car back (so I won;t start taking the loom apart, and apart from that we need it in one piece for now), but I thought it is better if I at least know what to look for, as they have insisted from the outset that it can't be to do with the repair... What do you want pictures of? The mud casing on the bottom of the car? I will try and take some anyway when it comes back later. Thanks, Olivia

Further to last postings, am reporting continued problems with electrics, obviously not cured by the new trailer socket as I had hoped. However, after an 800 mile trip of 15 blown fuses and hand signalling the length of the A1 I have narrowed it down to the LH indicator! A brief re-cap for anyone still awake: post garage repair to the rear loom over a month ago we have, since the car came back experienced consistent blowing of the same fuse, Indicator/Hazards and Rear washer (3rd one along from top L for anyone with the same model/fuseboard as our 300tdi). This one also services the fuel & temp gauges too of course. I thought it might be something to do with the fact that after the rear loom repair the trailer electrics had been temporarily disconnected whilst we waited to put a new X member on. We had the car off the road for nearly a month but though we did get through the MOT, we soon discovered that the problem is still occurring. I have downloaded the diagrams Western kindly sent through and the LR one someone else sent with all the coloured circuits (Fig. 44.1 Defender 97 Model year). I REALLY have tried to make sense of them I promise, but I can;t seem to get a grasp of of what wires go where on the actual car and where in the circuit the fuse-board comes in. Can anyone help me understand this so I can diagnose where in the circuit the problem is most likely occurring? 1. The wire starts at the indicator lever 2. travels to/through the HAZARDS SWITCH (?) 3. OR through the HEADER JOINT first(?) 4. Then to the FUSEBOX passenger compartment What is the instrument pack? - this seems to contain the indicators circuit and the trailer lamp. What is the LAMP-SIDE REPEATER FRONT LH (A121)? Are the wires I need to look at the LAMP DIRECTION INDICATOR HAZARD WARNING FRONT & REAR LH (A117 & A118)? (bearing in mind, our fuse is only blowing when indicating on the LH side). The fuse doesn't blow every time you indicate, but on a long journey the fuse seems to blow much more quickly after the car has been running for a couple of hours, to the extent a replacement fuse will blow every time you indicate and I wondered if it affected by things heating up? If anyone can help me get a better idea about this I would be very grateful. Thanks, Olivia

Hello again, I posted a previous reply and said I would report back re. our fuse problem which sounds like it was similar to yours. Hopefully you have got it fixed by now but I am very pleased to say that since we had our new X member put on and NEW trailer socket fitted, we haven't had any further problem with shorting/fuses blowing. One other thing that might be of help - someone else mentioned this too I think - check for loose fitting lamp covers, as ours had water in them after the car came back from the garage who I think had checked the rear lights and not screwed covers back on properly. And if Western is reading this, then thank you for all your help, we have our car back after a month of being on foot, and everything seems to be working. I might even get a photo done! Bye.

As Western knows, we have been experiencing similarly annoying problems on our 110, with the indicator/rear washer fuse blowing continuously (when indicators activated) since we had a repair to the rear loom done as an apparent remedy for severe malfunctioning of lights, indicators, dashboard etc. It was only when the car came back from the garage that the problems with the fuses began. Maybe you have a problem with the rear loom/towbar electrics? We thought we had cured the fuse problem by fiddling around with the fuseboard, but it came back again. However the trailer socket electrics had been disconnected and coiled up behind the X member, following loom repair, as we were due for a new X member. Now the latter has been done and trailer socket renewed and reconnected I will see if we still have the fuse problem (only got the car back tonight) and report back...if that's of any help at all?!...

just to let you know I have just ordered new calipers for my LR, same model and year, and with new pads as well the bill comes to 350, (same amount for new ones as trading in old ones for reconditioned), so if you don;t need to change the calipers then all the better! Olivia

I know, so would I! but even if I could work out how to paste photos (bearing in mind my website is about 5 years behind for the same reason) I would be too ashamed to show it. It's not parked in the Sahara, or partaking in any off road championships, and I haven't even fitted a roof-rack let alone extra lights or a snorkel....So much for girls on the forum! But I will try and do a photo-shoot soon...

hello, sorry I am making a habit of hijacking, but i was talking about etching primer this evening as we have patches of white corrosion on our hinges coming through the paintwork too, both on door hinges and the vents on the bulkhead, the latter particularly bad. Am I right in thinking most of the framework is steel, but that the hinges and door panels are aluminium? Would it help to put rubber/foam gaskets underneath the hinges, to prevent contact with steel body parts, as well as etching and re-painting? Or would wax oyle be as good? Thank you and sorry to interrupt! Olivia

Thank you for those Western! All lights working at present, expensive MOT coming up, but hopefully we will get everything worked out eventually. Compared to everyone else's cars in the photos ours is positively neglected, but I hope we will get it looking better soon! Olivia

probably not much use but seeing as I am NOT making my own X member I phoned around for prices. The Bearmach one with extensions is in fact £160+VAT, the one I was originally quoted for was a 'Hadrian' and priced at 230+VAT. I have now chosen one which is meant to be a genuine part - whatever that is, as someone said LR don;t make them anymore!? Olivia

Sorry I am hijacking again but I would love to know the supplier you are getting your Bearmach one from, and how the Bearmach compares with other market parts as I have been quoted 230 for a new X member (can't remember the make!)from the local (& cheapest) supplier! Thanks, Olivia

Hello, I would like to think I have some useful advice to offer as I am about to replace my X member on a 110. However I think I am hijacking the topic! I have ordered one with extensions, as I understand that you have to cut away some of the rear chassis ends when replacing the X member. However mine is costing £230 + 1-2 days fitting in the garage, and it's not a LR part either! Someone did say that you need to remove the fuel tank when doing the work, but I am not sure about this either. I hope you gets yours sorted out...Olivia

Thanks, that's what I had understood, but my grasp of electrics, mechanics and everything is so basic I thought I had got confused again...the diagram is great - can I ask where it is from as I would love to get a copy (I work better with pictures!). At the moment our trailer socket is disconnected as we knew we have to replace the X member so wiring is all tied up behind at the moment. I am just about to buy a new rear X member, brakes calipers & pads, drop arm ball joint and new belt for the alternator to get the rest of the repairs done before MOT in 2 weeks. I hope one day I'll have learnt enough to be able to do more DIY. Thanks for the help, Olivia

Hello Tinkerer, Thank you for the helpful advice. Haven't yet carried it out and am hoping this is something the garage can do (coward that I am !). When you say 'main loom that runs front to back' does that mean the rear loom? If this as you suggest, and as someone else also commented, is the source of the problem would it be better to get a new loom replacement made up and installed by way of eradicating further problems and any doubt? This is what I had hoped the garage would do last time round though they said you can't get new looms, though Autosparks will replicate one, as I discovered after help from the forum! Any thoughts gratefully received. Thanks, Olivia

Hello JBS, prior to the repair we didn't have any problems with fuses/shorting, just the lights playing up on the dash and then the front side and rear lights stopped working along with indicators and hazards, and though I don;t know what was going on with the fuses at the time (I wasn't using the car, Vincent was!) the garage diagnosed the problem with the rear loom where 6 or so wires had worn through and fused together. Ever since though it has been exclusively the indicator and hazards circuits that were affected and everything else seems to work fine. Having said that, Vincent fiddled with the fuseboard the other night after I passed on the previous advice re. fuseboard and insulation. He doesn't think there was any way shorting could have occurred through contact with the bulkhead as all the wires are bunched up in between the board and the bulkhead itself but since he 'had a look' the fuse has been fine. Of course this is good news, but as the car is booked to go back in tomorrow I am not sure whether to send it or not, I am worried it might happen again anytime and would like to get a proper diagnosis. Is LR wiring always this random? Thanks, Olivia

thank you, and yes that is has crossed my mind, because I know previously when we had problems with immobiliser we examined the fuseboard and found that it is jammed up against the bulkhead. I thought we had got it fixed but I don;t think there is any insulation so will check and maybe try what you suggest. Will let you know what happens...hopefully we will find an answer other than waving our arms out of the window every time the indicators blow! When we last had it in the garage I am sure they said they had checked the fuseboard, but I wonder if something got moved to cause this new shorting problem. A bientot! Olivia

Thank you for the advice. In fact it was an ex-LR mechanic who suggested the bigger fuse! But for the record the 20A only lasted as long as the 15A, so I hope meltdown was avoided. Your thoughts re. the rear loom are interesting though how I am going to take that up with the garage I don't know, certainly something has changed since the repair, but they said at the time that no-one can guarantee wiring, even if you repair one bit, "anything else can go wrong", Great!! thank you though, will let you know what happens....

hello Aragorn - my favourite character in Tolkein by the way! Thanks for the tips. O.K. we won't use any more larger fuses. When you say 'short to ground'...what does that mean? (sorry I am a girl!). And when you say 'loom' do you mean the rear chassis harness/loom that the repair was done on rather than the main or engine ones? I am hoping we can get a reasonably quick diagnosis with whatever the garage are going to do. Will keep in touch on the forum! Thank you.

hello! thanks for the reply, and no our location label is NOT the same. If you turned your round 90 degrees anti-CW, and imagine a vertical column format with the hazards first on top left then that would start to resemble ours. I will try and send a photo if that would help? In answer to your second query, we have the plastic blade type fuses. I did by the way try to update my profile details, though I can see they are not showing up on the post!

It's me back again! yes you guessed it, we have ongoing wiring issues on the 110. Last post referred to our previous problems with lights playing up, but after repairs to the rear chassis loom we have now got other problems. Something is causing fuses to blow, the first and third from top left of the fuseboard, namely the Hazard lights and the indicators/rear washer/fuel gauge (combined). These have blown 5-6 times in last 3 days and we have just replaced the fuses with a slightly higher amp in case there was some sort of overload problem, but even a 20Amp fuse blows too, when the indicators are operated. I just wanted to ask if anyone else out there has experience of this sort of thing? Could this new problem be a result of the dash being examined and/or the rear loom repair? We have to take the car back to the garage next week, and they say it won;t be anything to do with the repair to the rear chassis harness, but when the fuses in question both relate to the rear of the car (ie: hazards, rear washer and indicators) I can;t help thinking it is related. MOT and tax due in 2 weeks. We have got some (relatively straightforward) mechanical stuff to do too, but the electrics are what worry me as it seems like it could be an bottomless can of worms...Help! Thanks very much, Olivia.

Thank you very much. I have never been in saltwater, but the roads at this time of year are not going to be good are they so I might try and schedule in a Spring WD40 & greasing clean when we take it along to our friend who has got a lift. I will also get my co-driver to check oils and fluids too. I was just worried that my aquatics might have been responsible for the latest expensive repairs, but a break in the rear chassis harness doesn't fit with what you descibe, so it is most liekly to be wear and tear on the underneath I guess? Hope to be back soon. thank you, Olivia

hello, it's Olivia again, though I have a feeling I am writing this in the wrong place as 'Thank you' is not a 'topic'. I am trying to update my profile as suggested, but am finding it a bit confusing as I have never joined a forum before, so sorry for my initial ineptitude, I look forward to becoming an aficienado... So, taking great care with my punctuation and paragraph alignment, can I say thank you for all the suggestions and links which I have downloaded and will follow up. Western is right, and I have two months to get the mechanical things fixed before the MOT is due, and anyway a delivery to Devon at beginning of May means I want to get the car sorted asap anyway! My location, as David/Old Hand guessed correctly (!?) is in north Northumberland, and thank you for the suggestion re. deliveries which I had never thought of before! In fact, I don't think there re any deliveries round here, but I did find some beetroot we had forgotten about which we dug up last night! I jest somewhat, as we are near a small town and there is a Co-op, but recent icy conditions, a big hill, a very heavy toddler, a 4 yr old and a bike with no gears make it seem very far away! For future reference, we are near Wooler, NE71 with tea, coffee and jaffacakes all in abundance!! In answer to FridgeFreezer's query re the immobiliser, the one in question is an original LR fitted one, which I was also surprised to find out. We never use it, in fact I never even lock the car, so it was a complete pain when it decided to go awol! that seems to have settled down now though after we went through the things you pointed to - the battery wasn't well earthed, cables were not secure, and the whole fuseboard was apparently squashed up against the bulkhead which was running the risk of shortcircuiting things (I think?). My current position is that the garage may finish with the car tonight though I am getting mixed messages as to how much time they have spent and what they have actually done, since I have not been able to get there and see them (they live in Wooler and kindly drove it down to Morpeth where the garage is, the fact it is near to Newcastle is I guess what makes it so expensive). When I spoke to them yesterday they said they had located a break in 6 or so of the 20 (?) cables that run along to the back. They have it sounds like done what FridgeFreezer mentioned and mended the broken section with some special 'bits' (sorry) of the correct voltage...I feel I am the classic example of 'woman who knows nothing about her car' which would be fine if we had enough money to pay for whatever a garage says needs doing, but we don't! When I bought the car, my biggest ever investment, the deal with my husband was that he would get his head under the bonnet every so often. Well that hasn't happened, so here I am on the forum. To be fair though, he like me is self-employed and with 2 small children, no garage, and zero pervious mechanical experience, and it is difficult to make time to lavish the attention I/we would like on the beast of burden (that would be the Defender!). I am going to call Autosparks to find out roughly the price of a new loom or half/whatever it is the garage says they have made up, but it sounds like they will have made up at least a day of labour on the job, and that with the 'making up' of the loom is what I am dreading. I have yesterday spoken to someone we know who is a time served landrover mechanic and will work on the car to do the mechanical stuff (he has use of a lift-thing and he can weld because he used to do that for a local garage), at nights, for 12 per/hr. I do feel like I should be doing the work ourselves, but I guess it is just not our forte and certainly not in time for an MOT. If anyone wants pictures or paper restoration done, then that we can do! Sorry this has got very long again, hope to be back soon though with news...Olivia

I do have one more question I forgot yesterday. Can electrical issues arise from driving through water? I am confused about this, because (not that I was trying to imitate them I hasten to add!) all the pictures of Defenders have them driving through rivers quite happily. Once or twice in the last 6 months we have driven through water, up to the footplates, just flooding on the road. Once though in the dark when I couldn't see the water at all, I did accidentally drive too fast through what must have been 1-2 foot of water which came over the car like a wall, luckily we didn;t crash, but I wondered if this could have caused problems electrically speaking? I notice water does come out of the cover of the fusebox, or has in the past, in very wet conditions, which I guess is not good, but how do you waterproof the fusebox? Thank you to everyone who replied yesterday by the way, I am posting a separate note about that but possibly in the wrong place - still learning to negotiate the site, but thank you very much! Olivia