Raumer

Yipee, it now switches off! Took out the extra wire with a resistor on it and it worked perfectly! Did a quick check to see if all the lights were working and ...... 2 hours later and lots of rewiring and finding lots of bodges the lights all work as well! Many thanks for everyones suggestions and information. Ed

It's taken a while but I got some new parts and tried a few of the options. New ignition switch - nothing Horrible wiring mess in dash - lots of temporary tidying, nothing New alternator (second time round!) - nothing New small wire to alternator - nothing Part of the wiring mess was 8 wires stripped and twisted together and then taped together! This has temporarily been replaced by a choc block. One of the wires from here goes to the alternator and if you disconnect this it behaves perfectly. Tracking bits of it tonight has left me very confused! I'll try a brief description of what we have found. The choc block is feed by a wire from the ignition, ignition on and it has power. One wire from here goes through a 100 ohm fuse and then splits in two. One wire going to the alternator and one (a brown and yellow one) goes onto the dash panel. There is then also an ammeter, this has one wire going to earth and the other wire going to the choc block. Now for the questions! Where should the wire from the alternator go? Does it need to go through a resistor? There are a couple of electrical connections on the back of the alternator, one being a little black box with a grey and white wire coming off it and going nowhere. I assume that this is the wire for a rev counter, is this correct? Any help much appreciated! Ed

Thanks for all the helpful replies. I had a look last night at rotating the casing. If I do that I've also got to drill out a threaded hole at the front of the casing (the one that normally goes onto the tensioner). I've decided to bite the bullet and order a discovery one for it. The defender one will fit one of the other cars so it's no real loss. More frustrating because of not getting the landie back up and working as quickly as I want! Thanks again Ed

Thanks for the quick reply. Was thinking about using two short bolts but was worried that the weight then hanging might break the casing. However doesn't sound like thats a problem! Was just thinking that I might be able to rotate the end casing. Does anyone know if this can be done without too much hassle? I'm guessing that it's undo the 3 bolts, pull them clear of the back casing and then rotate. But are there any wires that might get in the way? Many thanks Ed

Hi, Ordered a new alternator for the landrover as the old was playing up. The engine fitted is a disco 200 tdi, ordered a defender 200 tdi alternator as don't need the higher power of the discovery one. Came to fit it tonight and 1 minor issue & 1 major. Minor issue was different electrical connectors but that was easily changed. Major issue is that when I put the long bolt in place the second hole that should go onto the arm is miles out. Have I been sent the wrong alternator or does the defender one need a different arm? On the old one the arm comes from underneath and is very short. Effectively the bolt holes on the alternator are almost in a line vertically. Any help greatly appreciated. Thanks Ed

Hi All, I have finally got to the bottom of the problem with my landrover not wanting to switch off. After dismantling the dash and remove quite a bit of atrocious wiring it looks the like the fault is with the alternator. Now for what I hope is a simple question. The engine is a discovery 200 tdi, can I fit a Defender 200 tdi alternator instead? I think the only difference is that the discovery one is 65 amp and the defender one is 45 amp but just wanted to check first! Thanks Ed

Had another go at fixing it and trying out some of the suggestions. There is a heavy duty earth wire going from the chassis to the engine so that should eliminate that one. We have worked out that the pressing of the brake pedal worked by the brake lights coming on, putting the wipers on or the washers does the same thing. And just to double check we took the fuse out of the brake light circuit and then the brake pedal doesn't stop the engine! Tried taking out each of the fuses to see if we could track down the circuit that was supplying the voltage. No luck. We then tried running a wire straight from the battery via a switch to the stop solenoid. This worked! So at the moment I have just ordered a new ignition switch and if that doesn't work it will be time to trace the positive feed from the battery and see if we can find a fault along the way. Longer term we are going to rewire it as it is a mess! Thanks Ed

Thanks for the replies. Should have made it bit clearer - if I pull the lead off the stop solenoid the engine stops. So the solenoid is working, it just must be getting a voltage from somewhere! For the switched supply I tried off the back of the ignition switch and then tried off the feed to the washer jet (note: this has been wired in to a separate switch by one of the previous owners!). Using this as a feed the engine only stops when I disconnect the wire or when I turned the washer jets on! I assume that the extra load from the washer jets is enough to kill it. HTH Ed

Hi all, I've got a 110 fitted with a discovery 200 tdi engine. We had a problem a while ago in that the engine would not switch off. Had to stall it each time to make it stop. I fitted a new stop switch on the pump and all was well for a few weeks. Then the problem reappeared. Now with a new twist, turn the ignition off and the engine stays running, depress the brake pedal slightly and it then turns off! I've just spent a happy half hour trying to fix it - not helped by whoever wired it shouldn't be let near electrics ever again! In the end I tried a new wire from the stop switch and then piggy backed off a switched 12V source. Tried it and now it will start up, run, but when you turn the ignition off it stays running! Any ideas anybody?????? Thanks Ed

Thanks Steve. Can't see any SD1 boxes on ebay at the moment but hopefully one will turn up! The vehicle is indeed rear engined. Apparently it used to run with a modified bedford CF box - seemed an unusual choice to me. My brother is going to do the work on it. Needs a refresh of paint, new seats fitting etc.... Will tell him to use captive engine mounts. Will post photos once I've picked it up. Ed

I am in the process of buying a landrover based safari style racer. It is based on a range rover chassis then with the normal roll cage etc.... and it's mid engined. It used to run with a 375hp turbocharged cosworth engine and gearbox then into a remote transfer box. The engine and gearbox were sold separately. I have got a 3.5 V8 to try in it initially. The only issue is what gearbox to bolt the engine to that will then be suitable for a propshaft take off to the remote transfer box. Preferably I'd like to run an autobox and a cheap one! Plan is to fit a different engine later on so this is only for trial. Any suggestions? Thanks Ed

The landrover 90 that my Dad's company uses for test work was stolen monday night. Vehicle was stored in a locked container behind the company building in Camberley. Details are: Reg. No. B676 FCF. White with blue stripe on sides, company Logo and trials support vehicle on both sides. Chequer plate roof with ladder, approx 6 inch hole on roof with cover plate. Sliver scoop behind drivers door, back kitted out wiyh work surface, split charger and mains converter. Engine is the original 2.5 NA diesel and the vehicle has low mileage. The company name is Vistar and the vehicle is normally used for night vision trials with camera mounted through the hole in the roof. Thanks Ed

Engine wise it is going to have to have a load of electronics on it to be able to pass the upcoming emissions legislation. It will also probably have common rail. If it was going for a complete money no object etc.... then the option I would go for is to get one of the truck companies to build a small diesel. A 4 or 5 litre engine from the likes of DAF or Volvo would really suit the landrover. Lots of torque everywhere and built to last without performance or emissions changing. The existing truck engines have a life of 1,000,000 miles and the new ones now have to hold a certain level of performance at the end of that. I am biased as I do development work on the new fuel injection systems for trucks!

Is this for testing common rail injectors? The TD5 injectors need a rig with cam drive and rockers. And they have to run at reasonable pressures. Might have to pick up a copy. Ed

The 5 injections per cycle on car engines is more a marketing feature than a performance one. The vast majority of the time they are running with one or two injections per cycle. Trucks are still running with one injection almost everywhere although the systems are capable of a lot more! They do run much higher pressure though. I was wondering whether the likes of Volvo or DAF's 13 litre truck lump could be bolted in and then miss out the gearbox! Ed

Hi all, Looking under my landie last night I noticed that the front springs and dampers are absolutely shot! I knew they were going to need replacing but looks like it is going to have to be very soon. The vehicle is a 1983 110 CSW converted to crew cab and fitted with a 200 tdi disco engine and gearbox, fitted with 31" Kumho tyres, no suspension lift. All done by the previous owner. The vehicle is mainly used for towing and off-road wise it only ever has to do muddy fields. I also have a PTO winch to fit to it. What would be the most suitable front springs and dampers to fit? I have a new set of police spec range rover springs, would these be any good? Plan will be to change the rear springs and dampers as well in the near future. Thanks Ed

The 6x6 landie based on a series 3 and with scammell style suspension has been listed on ebay. Reading the ad the guy who bought it has lost storage and needs to sell it to a good home quickly. It was originally built by one of the forum members (apologies can't remember username or name! ). http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=320301370463 Ed

One set for me please.

And he has a second one in his yard. Very nice and useful toy. Although I think it has a better ground anchor than the challange trucks! Ed

Mot'd our landrover last week with only the drivers seat fitted. MOT tester didn't even comment. HTH Ed

We had similar problems with my parents 12 seater series 3. The insurance companies weren't keen on insuring it due to the 12 seats. After a few problems one of the brokers suggested that if we removed the seats so that it could only carry 6 people it was then perfectly legal and acceptable to insure it as a 6 seater. The only problem was that if we wanted to take it to France the french were insisting on a tacho being fitted and would only accept that it wasn't a 12 seater if we got the logbook/registration changed to officially make it a 6 seater. HTH Ed

Probably your best bet is to look for either an overfinch or lichfield. I know that Lichfield did a couple of defenders. Fitting a TVR V8 and uprated suspension etc.... You can get defenders to be quick but as has been said above a sportscar will always be quicker and better handling. An Overfinch Range Rover will be quick in a straight line and they are reasonably priced. There is a landrover in the vehicles section being fitted with a V12 Jag engine. That is probably a good starting point to see what sort of thing can be done and how to do it. First thing though is to find out what you are legally allowed to do. HTH Ec

Thanks guys, will have ago this weekend. Maybe spray it with lots of WD40 first. Thanks Ed

My 110 defender was fitted with wider tyres (33x10.5's iirc) by the previous owner and the fronts touch on full lock. Is there a steering stop that I can adjust and if there is where abouts is it. The landie's mot is coming up and I know from past experience that it will fail on this point. Regards Ed

I've also had the one of why can't we put the lathe and mill in the living room! And a friend has recently got a Diamond T (world war 2 american tank transporter) and I've said for a long while that I would like a Scammell. My esteemed other half's comment is that I am allowed pretty much whatever I want so long as she has a big toy as well! Although she prefers steam power to diesel. Although I do have to say that she is far better at welding than me! And she refuses to let me anywhere near a vehicle with a paint brush. I am very good at making a flat panel into an artex work of art with only a tin of paint! It's nice having a significant other that likes oily things but it does mean that you have to share garage space. Have decided that for our next house we really need an aircraft hanger and maybe a little bungalow or just a kitchen & bathroom in one corner! Ed