monkie

Our big problem is that we can't stop burning stuff. Even at night when there is lowest demand we are still burning a lot of carbon, more than just keeping plants ticking over. It would be good if nuclear could take up much much more of that base load. As it stands, if there was an extra demand placed on the grid through electric cars for example; you are right that most of the time we have more than enough capacity to easily cope, but at times we simply don't. And when we don't we have to fire up coal stations to fill the gap. When that happens the carbon credentials of electric cars really start to drop dramatically. This is an excellent 14 minute TED talk by Michael Shellenberger on the issues of power production, worth listening to (I think I have posted a link to this before). He cites an interesting study on battery storage with some surprising figures.

This is a good site if you want to see current demand for electricity in almost real time. We have a massive problem - we just can't stop burning stuff even at night. Arguably made worse by wind and solar. I don't charge my company car at home as I won't pay for a charging point to monitor my use and the company pay a fixed rate for electricity rather than what I am billed for by my supplier. The technology is moving on, but I think we have a long way to go.

This is the odd thing, I thought exactly that but it does seem to work. I think there is more none sense in the main loom. But I do want to try and source the correct resistor but I haven't found one yet. My engine starts and stops when it should and everything else appears to be working fine.

Thank you. There weren't that many wires in the engine loom. The time consuming part was taking measurements from the old loom without getting filthy. My original one also had a lot of cracked insulation, worn out terminals and odd bits spliced in, so I thought it was time for a new one, it made it to 30 years though.

An update. I have solved the problem and fitted a new engine wiring loom that I made. The issue was with the resistor. With the resistor in place the engine continues to run with the key removed. With the resistor removed the engine stops. I can only assume the resistor is allowing too much flow back into the stop solenoid circuit from the alternator keeping the solenoid open. I have not sourced a new resistor of the correct type (I understand it to be a 5W 100 Ohm metal film resistor), but instead I have replaced the resistor with a diode. (Many thanks to both Western and Puffernutter for kindly posting me some diodes). Secondly the engine wiring loom was in bad condition. I purchased new wires of correct colour code, tape, terminals and wrap from Autosparks. I am pleased with the result which cost me half of the price for an off the shelf item. Thank you to all who gave input to this thread and help in getting this frustrating problem sorted out, once again proving what a great forum this is. Here is my DIY wiring loom I made (I cut the terminal block off the old loom and soldered it onto the new one after this picture was taken)

I couldn't agree more based on recent experience. I changed my company car to a Mitsubish Outlander PHEV (okay, it also has a petrol engine in it) purely to lower my tax code. The claims about this car were amazing, reality is exactly as described by FridgeFreezer. You hardly get any real range on all electric, it costs quite a bit to plug it in for just 25 miles range, takes ages to charge up but no time at all to drain. I would not buy one untill battery technology significantly improves.

The engine number is the best identifier, but if you were just going by pictures in an advert for example for a land rover diesel engine pre Td5 vintage in a 90/110/Defender... No turbo = 12J 2.5NA High mounted turbo straight into engine, no intercooler = 19J 2.5DT A turbo with intercooler = one of 4 versions of Tdi .... Defender 200 Tdi has high mounted turbo (like 19J) and an intercooler, and has at least 2 belts, one for PAS and the other for the water pump. ... Discovery 200 Tdi (like yours) has low mounted turbo, intercooler and belts as above ....Defender 300Tdi has low mounted turbo, intercooler, single serpentine belt and cylindrical air filter on the injector pump side of engine. ....Discovery 300Tdi is as Defender 300Tdi except it has a square air filter on the manifold side of engine.

What do you get at the connection from the battery positive to the starter motor terminal?

A Google search has suggested that it may be 5W 100 Ohm metal film resistor. I measured 92.4 Ohm to be exact. No idea if this is near enough or if it is not working as it should be.

I saw that also. If I had a DeLorean I would go back in time to find a better price than £7.50

Found it on the diagram. A black wire with a slate trace is hard to spot, just looked black to me! Its part of the wiring for the heated rear window from the relay:

Glad we are in agreement Any ideas what it should be conected to? It was just hanging there off a black wire on the opposite side of the dash to the brown/yellow ignition light circuit.

A quick update; I removed the engine wiring harness at the weekend and I have ordered the parts to make my own (£40 rather than £75), so I'll see how I get on as a practice for a full re-wire at some point this year! I have also had a dig around the wiring behind the dash panel and I have found the resistor (encapsulated in a white plastic holder) between a brown/yellow wire and a white wire (as per the circuit diagram. (see pic) I have measure 93 Ohms on this resistor - can anyone confirm if this is a correct reading or has it failed? I can't see anything printed on the side of this resistor to tell me what it should be. I also found what looks to me like a diode not connected to anything and was hanging off a black wire (presumed to be an earth) see other picture. Any ideas what this is for as I can't locate it on the circuit diagram. It says "PEKTRON A75-294" printed on the side. *EDIT* Not connected to the same cicuit, so this isn't the diode as fitted to 200Tdi and later Defenders. Also I have been sent a few diodes in the post from Puffernutter - a very big thank you for those.

True, but it makes later fault finding a nightmare if the circuit diagram is describing a wire that is green and blue and you can't remember what colour wires went where or worse still they are all the same colour!

Not done anything today in terms of problem solving. I have removed the engine wiring loom to take measurements and notes to allow me to source all of the parts to make my own new one as a warm up for a complete re-wire. The insulation and tape on the original loom are in bad shape with bits spliced in from previous owners in none standard coloured wires. I will use standard colour scheme.

I think you have to buy any Land Rover knowing full well you are buying a 3D puzzel you can sit in and will probably never completely solve!

Wiring was the first issue I had when I first got my 110. It took all of 48 hours of getting it home to show it self

I see what you mean regarding the alternator as my understanding is that the diodes on that are there to rectify AC from the alternator to DC for the circuits. However I will test the theory of current straying via the dash lamp by removing this connection to see if that has any effect. I'm quite sure I do have the resistor though as I have seen it. I will of course double check to be sure. It is shown on the wiring diagram.

I agree. If I were to just fit one and do nothing else I would consider it a sticking plaster. That interesting thread from the past does however give me something to go on and describes my problem exactly. Could it be a sign the alternator has seen better days or maybe the resistor I mentioned in the wiring diagram failed? However when I do find the problem I think fiting the diode is a sensible modification given Land Rover must have recognised this in the 200Tdi era.

Thank you for the kind offer. I do not have a diode so I would gratefully recieve one.👍 PM sent.

Perfect - thank you. I clearly need to improve my searching skills. I did look, honest! It even mentions 2 volts holding the solenoid open (exactly what I am measuring) and a diode as mentioned by Red90.

That's a shame. Never mind, I'll just have to use a different type of connector.

I think so in terms of something wrong with the wiring - I have (like many LR owners) had earth faults that appear from no where, this might be similar. I will follow the voltage along the wires and hope I find the problem. For now, stopping the engine with a blip on the throttle is more satisfactory than the other methods. This has given me the inspiration to make my own wiring loom. I will start with the engine loom. I've seen the correct wires are available from autosparks and vehicle wiring products. I have sourced a new Lucas alternator 3-pin plug, anyone know where I can find a new connector like the one on the right hand side of the picture below (from autosparks' website)

This was my first thought as it is a cheap ignition switch (genuine ones were about £80 when I last looked). I pulled the wires from the back of the switch and the engine kept running. This is why I think the alternator might be supplying enough feed to keep the solenoid open?

I was wondering if the 2v was just enough to hold it partially open to allow the supply of fuel for tickover, I'm sure it is no where near enough to open it from closed. Your theory of the blip causing enough draw on the pump to shut the plunger (or maybe take more fuel than the pump can supply via the partially closed plunger) sounds plausible to me. I wonder if it could also be a weak or broken spring inside the solenoid - I will check in the daylight.