nickwilliams

Many thanks for the diagram, Western. I may now (finally!) have the right one for my vehicle! Can anyone confirm if this is correct, or did I imagine it? Nick.

Western is certainly correct - this is the headlight relay. I'm not sure what it is supposed to do, but having got the battery connected again today I have proven that the headlights don't work without it. Am I right in recalling that the headlights are supposed to go out when you crank the engine? If so, that's probably what this relay does (but my vehicle no long seems to have this function so it looks like I have got something wired up wrong). Where does that wiring diagram come from, Western? I'd like to get a copy of it if I can. Nick.

God, I wish that were true - I'd have finished my re-build months ago if that's all there was to it! Nick.

So what is the 'headlight relay' for then? There is no component with this name on the wiring diagram! The switched wire colours are plain blue, but one has a pink sleeve and one has a black sleeve (shown in the picture). The wires are not the dip circuit colours. Still confused! Nick.

Does anyone know what the purpose of this relay is: The rear view shows that is switches two blue wires (one with a pink sleeve, one with a black sleeve) and the coil wires are white and black: I think it is something to do with the lights, but I can't find it on the wiring diagram anywhere. The vehicle is a 1990 Defender. It has dim dip but (according to the manual at least) this does not rely on a relay. Any ideas?

I don't believe that DVLA track engine numbers so they won't ever notice that the engine number is stolen. Even if they do, they will surely identify from their records that you were the owner of that engine at the time it was recorded as stolen, so they are hardly likely to try to do anything about it, except possibly give you a minor wrap on the knuckles for failing to notify them of the change of engine number. They certainly can't accuse you of stealing an engine which you clearly owned. If it were me, I'd swap the engine and send in the V5 with the new number on and not say anything more - it's easily the simplest way of regularising your position even if the route by which you got there is slightly less than perfect. Nick.

I've been looking in to this in the last couple of days as well. So far as I can tell, if you want to have a properly functioning trailer tell-tale with LED indicator lamps, you have to fit ballast resistors or be prepared to fit a second fasher relay for the trailer. Flasher relays come with one of two possible options for the trailer and normal indicator tell-tales. These are designated 'C' and 'C2'. C is the connection for a normal indicator tell-tale, C2 is the tell-tale connection for the trailer circuit. I have yet to find a relay which has both C and C2 terminals, but even if I could, the standard Defender relay (at least as far as the TD5) is a four pole unit with a C2 terminal and no C terminal. The indicator tell-tale in the standard configuration relies on the fact that the indicator lamp on the dash board is sufficiently low wattage that it can be earthed via the opposite side indicator lamps, so it is simply connected between the two circuits (left and right). If you fit all your indicators (including the wing repeaters) with LED lights then the indicator tell-tale can no longer get an earth and it will stop working. The instructions provided by RiverRunners and Mobilecentre conveniently gloss over the fact that their relay has a C terminal rather than a C2 terminal. If you use one of their relays installed the way they recommend then you will find that the trailer tell-tale flashes whether or not there is a trailer connected. The normal indicator tell-tale will continue to flash only if you leave a filament bulb in one of the indicator holders on each side (in the wing repeaters is enough) unless you fit a ballast resistor. I want a working trailer tell-tale (in fact I think it is a legal requirement when towing although I can't say I have ever heard of anyone being done for not having one) so I've just bought two 3.3 ohm 50w metal clad resistors and intend to install them up in the front wings behind the headlights where I will mount them on a small piece of plate held by one of the bolts which holds the wing sections together. I will then put the original flasher relay back in place behind the fusebox. Anyone want to buy a Mobilecentre flasher relay? Nick.

Autosparks

Err, I may be missing the point here, but it's supposed to do that. If you are getting main and dip beam when the ignition switch is on, but not when it's off then it's working correctly. Nick.

I did consider this, but since I was doing the job with the radiator out (it would be difficult to see any leak clearly with it in place) I was worried that I'd start emptying the sump out through the oil cooler connections. Nick.

I think I'm losing my marbles! When I posted earlier I had completely forgotten about the 'o' ring which seals between the timing belt sprocket and the crank shaft. There wasn't one when I took it to pieces and this probably accounts for the leak. The 'o' ring sits inside the rear of the sprocket, far enough back that it's beyond the end of the key way. It can easily be stretched over the key with a little care. Nick.

I do, for one. Nick.

I meant to post a follow up to this but I've been travelling a lot... I stripped the front end down and it looks like the problem was that I'd damaged the crank seal when I fitted it. I replaced both the front crankshaft seals (the one in the block and the one in the timing case cover) with genuine parts. This appears to have cured the leak from the front, but there is now a (much smaller) leak coming out of the bell housing drain. Bugger. I think I'm just going to live with that one for the present. I looked at changing the tensioner bolt seal but could not face the major strip down that taking the rear timing cover off entails (it requires removing the sump pan, inter alia). There was no sign of a leak coming from the tensioner bolt and I had not disturbed it so I decided to leave it. Having looked at it, I'd also be surprised if the tensioner bolt goes through into the crank case - it seems to me more likely that the washer is simply intended to seal the timing case to the block to prevent water getting in when wading. But I don't know for certain. Nick.

Check the connections to and the operation of the hazards lights switch. Nick.

I've spent some time looking into this in more depth today, and it would appear that the information I gave here was wrong. So far as I can see, there is no legislation which prevents a trailer with any rated capacity being towed by any vehicle so long as the actual mass of the trailer (including its load) is less than or equal to the maximum permitted trailer mass defined by the towing vehicle manufacturer, and the driver has the appropriate categories on their licence. If anyone can provide definitive evidence to the contrary (i.e. a direct link to the relevant part of the relevant piece of legislation) I would be delighted to hear from them! Another point which is likely to be of significance to some members of this forum is the Whole Vehicle Type Approval regime introduced by EC Directive 2007/46/EC. There is some more information about this on the DfT site but to cut a long story short, from 29 October 2010 all new trailers, including home made ones, will need to be approved before they can be first used on the road. There's more information on the VCA web site. Nick.

is a good demonstration of how to sharpen a metal cutting drill bit by hand. The crucial thing about drill sharpening is to realise that the end of a drill bit is not conical. The leading (cutting) edge of the drill bit has to be proud of the trailing edge or the drill will just rub on the work piece instead of cutting into it. If you simply rotate the drill while holding it in the same position on the grinding rest you will grind the end of the drill to form a cone and then the cutting edge cannot bite into the workpiece. If you watch the guy in the video, he moves the end of the drill which is in contact with the grinding wheel upwards slightly at the same time as rotating the drill against the wheel. This has the effect of taking slightly more material off the trailing edge of the bit so the cutting edge is always the first part to contact the workpiece. Nick.

Why did you feel the need to get a new chassis number? Isn't the whole reason for the points system to provide an objective basis on which to determine whether or not a new chassis number is required? The chassis number is not a serial number for the metal work of the chassis, it's a unique identifier for the complete vehicle. Replacing the chassis with a like-for-like part does not alter the vehicle identity. You don't say what age the vehicle is, but my understanding (from what I have read, not as a result of any direct contact with them) is that unless you are trying to claim tax exempt status DVLA don't actually care too much. Nick.

The front springs can't fall off if they get over extended 'cos the shock absorbers go up the middle. Without the clip holding them to the axle the back ones have nothing to hold them in place once the spring is fully extended. Nick

Cheap Chinese sourced vehicle lifts are a known 'issue' for HSE enforcement. This link has some information about safe use of two post lifts. (There are some perfectly good Chinese lifts about as well, I should add.) Nick.

I've got a three phase supply at home. Per kWh, it's the same cost as the single phase supply I have in the office. Nick.

Assuming that the wiring on your vehicle is the same as on my 1990 90, the wire to the diff lock warning lamp switch is black with a blue trace and it runs from the bulkhead down under the driver's feet along the top of the chassis rail. It's tied to, but not part of, the main loom. It's got a black sleeve over the top for most of its length so you can only see the wire and tracer colour at the ends. Nick.

You could always put the cables inside a length of this. Nick.

Much though I agree with you that this is a sensible way to proceed, neither the supermarket nor the plod would be happy with you driving an uninsured vehicle round in a supermarket car park if they catch you. So far as the road traffic rules on tax and insurance are concerned, supermarket car parks are public highways. DEFRA guidance is that even fields which are open access land under CROW are public places where any vehicle used should be insured for third party risks. Nick. (P.S.: I'm not sure that allowing the learner to drive without being insured was what you were recommending, but in the context of earlier posts in this thread it seems worthwhile making the point.)

Next time you do this job then, tell us what the old and the new shims were.

I don't agree. If all you do is change the bearings and you find the shims need to be changed then either the gears are worn to the point where they need to be replaced or you have not got the parts together properly.