td5defender

Gudday Paul, I have a Td5 110 with LR 7J 16x33 alloys. I have been running the terra firma 30mm alloy spacers for last 4.5 years, heavy loads, a lot of motorway travelling and plenty of light off road use. I have not had any issues as such with them and I would recommend. The vehicle looks better IMO, they improve handling on the motorway, and assist with the turning circle. only negative I have noticed is I occasionally get some steering shudder if I do a slow tight turn at a specific radius. that is rare I cannot quite pick when its going to occur so a very small price to pay for the benefits. I have not had issues with bearings/stub axles etc though I suggest it would be good practice to check the spacer retaining bolts. time again? if you can find a rim you like with the offset that works for you that might be a simpler approach as one less thing to check. photos below showing wheel fitted with spacer and without to give comparison.

Hi there, thanks for the posts. 👍 Thank you! Unfortunately, I did not see the last couple of entries before I sent the Landy off to a LR specialist. It would have been good to check these items first.... I will let you know what happens... hopefully I have missed something straight forward and its an easy fix??? mmm not so confident on that one but let's see...! thanks to everyone for their help and support 👍👍👍

Thanks for the idea - good call but I tried the EKA code a couple of times but with no luck...

Hi again, and thank you for the comments. I think we are on the right track with diagnosing the problem. It makes the most sense to me given the symptoms. My only nagging doubt is that these units worked in another vehicle... but what we are seeing in my Td5 does seem to point to one of these two units... If we take it that there is a problem with the alarm ECU and/or immobilisation function of the engine ECU, then that raises the question of how do I best resolve this issue? At the moment I have a 2 tonne piece of fine art work stuck in the garage! On the starter relay - Yes I did swap over the starter relay with a new one but it made no difference. It is not "clicking" when I try a start which I believe will be because the immobiliser is stopping it going to ground so the circuit is not being completed? On this note, I can hear a relay clicking under the driver seat when I turn the key to position III. Any ideas on how to resolve this probable ECU issue would be much appreciated. Thanks for the support with this! Cheers Scott

Hi all, i am yet to be convinced there is a problem with the starter solenoid or starter at this stage. If i bypass the starter circuit by applying 12V directly to the blade terminal on the side of the solenoid the starter fires normally. The engine either fires momentarily or not all in this case. The issue is that I am not getting 12V at the solenoid blade terminal wire (the main feed to the starter solenoid is geting permanent 12V as normal). The fault that is stopping 12V getting to the blade terminal is also interfering with the engine running. Possible alarm ECU fault or issue in the starter circuit? Given the ECUs worked fine in another vehicle maybe points to a starter circuit issue? I would be happy to pull the starter out and inspect the starter solenoid, but cant see the point at this stage when signs pointing elsewhere? Sure worth it given it works perfect if i throw 12V at the solenoid blade terminal? Just to respond to a few suggestions directly: yes tried locking/unlocking a few times, will find out if any ECU codes came up when tested, no flashing red light on speedo cluster - get steady red light, then light goes off and stays off when unlock car with key fob plus flash of hazards, have not touched fuel filter / fuel system, checked ecu earth and earth straps under vehicle all cleaned and reinstalled, crank sensor wires confirmed connected. Referred to Haines manual 5.7 Section 8. I haven't seen the red light on the speedo flashing recently but remember it used too? I'm going to have to get this towed to a pro unless anyone has any final ideas I can try?

hi all, ECU's back in and still same problem (not suprised!). turn key to psition II and everything normal - dash lights up, fuel pump primes system etc. Turn to position III nothing happens... will have a look at ideas above. but to confirm - no crank. cheers!

Thanks for the suggestions, very much appreciated. First plan is to reinstall the ECU's, show Defender big hammer so it knows what's coming if it misbehaves, and then try for a start. if this does not work I will run through this troubleshooting and report back.... might take a bottle of scotch with me tomorrow, looks like i will need it 🤣

hi all, quick update - the alarm and engine ecu + key fob went up to a qualified adult for diagnosis and some stern words / reprogram. Of course, they arrived, were fitted to a donor vehicle..... and worked perfectly...! 🤬 The issue could not be replicated. So they are on their way back to me for a reinstall in the Landy. If they don't work I will be giving the Defender a right telling off. I will keep you posted... Cheers Scotty

I went with the Hard Korr XD120 which is excellent - only thing I would look at changing is having one each side rather than just the one in the middle. I have wired up to a carling switch on dash so operates independently of reverse lights. https://hardkorrlighting.com/en-nz/product/xd-series-18w-slimline-driving-light-xd120/

\ Thank you for the comment/offer much appreciated - parts are on the way north so I will see how this goes. I did try the manual immobilise override procedure before I sent the parts off as a last ditch effort to get her going. This is using the key to enter a code whilst opening the door in between each entry - convoluted process but thought it could be worth a try. It didn't. Immediately removed both ECUs in disgust and sent them off. I will advise how things go...

Hi everyone, Thank you all for your comments. "OK,a bit more sober now" ha ha ha i like the "a bit more" part! I have been off air for a couple of days and still out of town, I will be back to the landy on Friday. I will definitely try locking/unlocking a few times and see if that does the trick. The new battery in the key fob did not make any difference - long shot but I was hopeful this might be an easy fix! It's looking like this issue is down to this passive immobiliser interfering with the ecu for some reason. I have a plan... for now. Talking to an independent land rover pro in the north island he is recommending I remove the engine ecu / alarm ecu and send those up to him with the key fob and he will check them out and reprogramme them via another vehicle. I will give that a go and hopefully, that works. May end up losing the passive immobiliser function (not ideal) but will see how it goes. If that doesn't work.... well i'll be putting the thing on a truck and sending him the whole vehicle. Figure the ecu's and a key fob is a bit easier to move 600+kms north at this stage than 2+ tonne of some very fine automotive engineering... I will keep you posted on how I get on. Big thank you to everyone who has posted comments for me. very much appreciate the support. thank you! BR Scott

Thanks for the comments - checked inertia switch - thought that might be it. I expect its the passive immobiliser being an interfering so and so... Im going to try new battery in the key fob. possibly a long shot but easy fix. I can't think of anything I mucked around with during oil change/inspection that could have caused this problem. I did not change the diesel filter this time around. Very weird why it suddenly freaked out on me. Thank you for the comments - ill keep you posted.

North - Landy is in Wellington at the moment...

Thanks eightpot and western for your comments/advice. Very much appreciated. It was driving OK prior to the oil change. no unusual noises etc. Very occasionally it didn't want to get into gear - I forget which one as it happened so rarely. I'll check an oil sample and find out what parts could be wearing. Thanks again 👍

Thank you cackshifter for your comments. I don't know what is causing this issue so I will seek out some professional help and look at stealing a car in the meantime! 👍 Cheers!