ThreePointFive

I ordered it at about 10:00 yesterday, it arrived by 10:00 this morning as standard 1st class Royal Mail. Not bad. I'm trying to make this... Into this: One of the problems is that there are several identical wires, for example link 4 and link 5. I know their length is different, but I'm not taking the whole loom apart to get a tape measure in there... I've got a bag of 9.5mm spade connectors which are perfect for the larger 'link' pins down the centre of the fusebox, so I've been crimping those onto the ones going to the passenger fusebox/relays. I am missing the relays that go with the under-seat fusebox, so these are harder to work out for now. The wiring diagrams only show the connections from the fusebox, so does anyone have any photos of how the wiring goes from there to the relays? That would really help me make sense of the wiring diagrams.

Paul, yet again I owe you, I was looking at £120 for exactly the same thing... https://www.advancedfactors.co.uk/lr021818-box---fuse-987630-p.asp Immediately purchased the £10 version and I am returning the 300TDi box, no need for it now. This should be a good opportunity to try out the new toy that arrived from Japan a day ago, thanks to your recommendation: I would be interested in buying a bracket if you're offering... P.S. please read your PMs! Mo - As my loom has been cut around anyway, I don't mind modifying it even further to make an engine bay fusebox work. if that wasn't the case, I would probably put it in the battery box but it's getting very busy in there and I haven't even fitted the batteries yet. We'll see, plans often change with this car...

This question has been asked before, but not for these reasons and I can't get the information I need. I have bought a 300TDi-style fuse box (AMR1637) in the hope of converting the wiring from my main 2002MY harness from an under-seat arrangement to under-bonnet. All of the research I did suggested that AMR1637 had a lot of the same connections/relays as LR021818, which is the under-seat version. This is not correct, so I don't think it will meet my needs. It has arrived with none of the fittings, so I need to see how one looks fully assembled to really make up my mind: Can someone with a 300TDi post a picture of the inside layout of their underbonnet/engine bay fuse box? If it won't work for me, I will look at putting an under-seat one in the engine bay instead (I can't put it under-seat due to the fuel tank). Do they require any special connectors, or is it all fairly standard stuff? I have seen conflicting information on this. I appreciate this is a bit of an unclear request, so any attempts to help would be gratefully received....

Keeley, thank you - I've just placed my order. Really happy with the prices, can't believe it only amounted to a tenner for a couple of plugs and shipping!

Good point well made, it is, but I should have said for the UK market where pickups are a small share of overall sales. Besides a few premium exceptions, there seems to be a market cap on how much an average pickup will cost, which may be shifting over time. However, LR don't have the finances nor facilities to take a risk producing a vehicle that doesn't sell by making very expensive utility vehicles and need to cater for markets that exist now, hence they have played it safe... and in so doing have produced five (?) that are all competing for the same market share.

We have all made a conscious choice to use our time to hold a discussion on the internet about a car (of all things) that none of us will likely own. For 84 pages. There might be far bigger reasons why LR are avoiding us as a customer base.

But all of the vehicles that are given above have had several all-new platforms during their time and (to a lesser extent some jeep models) are a far shout from their original forms. The problem is we're far more forgiving of updating and modernising for other brands as it's a recognised necessity to stay competitive. For the majority of examples in this thread, the only commonality these vehicles kept with their predecessors are the badges. Were they really any more successful in keeping the "spirit" of their family tree, or is it just a case that we expect this evolution from other brands less constrained by their history? For the last 30 years Land Rover haven't been permitted any significant platform changes for the Defender and what little they have done has been treated like the beginning of the end. LR are finally doing what everyone else has been for decades, and we wonder why they're still a comparatively small manufacturer. If we actually look at the market for pickups and utilities, we all know it is tiny. Look at how many manufacturers deem the segment so important that they take an L200 and replace the badges. Mercedes are doing this right now and not because the L200 is anywhere near a good platform, the margins just don't support the R&D for a new model. But I'm not arguing for the new Defender, either.

I realised this was my favourite photo of the new car because of how it is mostly hidden. Oh dear. While I normally find the big-revs-splashy-splashy stuff a faux offroading cliche, in this case it's really doing the thing. Impressive. Still can't work out the design of the RAI though.

100% You don't staff a process for a minority of customers the same way you would for 95% of others. Especially not when you have all of 50p and a workforce of three people as a resource for government departments these days. What does annoy me is that people think this is usually the police instigating these cases, when actually it is DVLA evidence gathering. The average copper has about as much interest in vehicle tax as most of us do in Love Island and this isn't another case of the innocent motorist being under attack.* My sympathy to OP and I'm certain this will all get straightened out. *Those same "innocent" motorists driving without insurance at 40 in a 20 outside a school while on the phone also genuinely believe it's all about revenue collecting and not a direct consequence of their own actions, but let's not go down that metaphorical road.

Hi All, Can anyone clear up if there is a part number for the male counterpart to the C0056 heater plug connector for Defenders? I have the female on my TD5 harness but need to convert wiring to match. Also if anyone has a suggested supplier for TD5 connectors (and the contacts to go in them) that would be immensely helpful. I know PaulMC is a guru on here but I'm trying not to rely on him unfairly!

100% opposite experience to me. I buy direct from Bearmach as there's always a sale on (14% right now) so you end up spending less than through any third party seller. Never had a faulty item, never had any problems my orders, they have even sorted MY errors extremely quickly and offered additional discount codes even though it was my mistake. I've never had a good item from the other company now I think about it. There's always something; paint finish, rust, fitting issues, missing parts, wrong item for the part number. All inexcusable but people make do because it's cheap. It's nonsense because they will continue to take over other brands until there's nothing left to force them to pick up their game (as low a bar as that is). What's the point in paying three quarters less when you end up buying 3 times as many for the lifetime of one Bearmach part, all the while propping up a company with ethics that match their products' quality. Boils my piddle.

It looks like a 1980's version of the 2002MY dash, which is in keeping with everything around it - especially the steering wheel.

This sums up the year perfectly for me on the forum, I might have been registered a while but I've really had to lean on people's knowledge this year as the build gets more progress but also more complicated. The spirit of cooperation and knowledge sharing is unlike anywhere else. Merry Christmas to everyone.

I'm avoiding anything comical/novelty on the car (stickers, bright paint, faux-off road items etc) so the idea of a ridiculous horn (that no one will see) on an otherwise straight-faced car appeals even more. Especially as you can't really 'tell someone off' for the quality of their driving (as I am sure we are all tempted to do occasionally) if you'll sound ridiculous doing it, just accept it and get on with your day. Are these a legit horn for the purposes of MOTs?

Of course you are right, I just wanted to be dramatic. 😤 This is the least ideal outcome but it's where we are. I have some very old zinc paint that I have used on other parts, I just hate the idea of applying it to cover a break in a freshly galvanized surface. That said, with the cappings on and painted I don't really have a choice now. I'll look up ZG-90 as if I'm doing it, I want to know it's right. Just need reference photos for the fittings and to do some part number hunting now.

Thanks oneandtwo, looks like I have to drill a hole into my cappings no matter what, making galvanising them pointless. Great. If you do get a chance to take closeup photos of the fixings, that would be very useful and much appreciated as I want to ensure I'm correct if I am going to be drilling holes.

"Holy thread revival, Batman!" Now we've got that out of the way, I've posted in this thread as there's no point in creating multiple conversations on the same issue when a lot of good information has already been collected. I asked the same question in back in 2015, I am no further towards an answer but having painted the tub (and cappings) I am much deeper into the problem. Looking at this information, it seems that LR changed the design but it was still intended to fit side panels. So, this leads to the obvious question - how did they change the design of the side panels/fixings to match these changes? Better yet, do we have any part numbers suddenly appearing for the sides' fixings when these cappings came into the catalogue? @western I'm kind of thinking this might be something you'd be interested in!

It shames me to admit that I find this idea so good I will be buying one. I think it encourages non-aggressive horn-age and will generally brighten the lives of those that hear it.

This might be another one of "those" questions from me... I don't suppose anyone has (or could take) photos of the wiring from the battery box to the starter? Preferably showing the route the wiring takes and how it is secured. I have lost these photos and while I could work out a route myself, I want to do it as close to factory as possible. Preferably for a V8 if that's different from Diesel, but will take anything anyone can offer. I have of course tried Google before coming here cap in hand!

That old Defender has those w*nk Khan faux armoured panels that may be making it look more different than it actually is, so I think your point is a good one. In my view the new Defender is the exact middle between the old model and a Disco 3 (onwards), for better or worse. I change opinion on liking it or not with each new photo.

I took a look at it properly for the first time. I can see exactly where the fault lies. I've cut the arches to size so it's now fitting reasonably, except there's no edge formed into the mat so it hangs unsatisfactorily over the sides. Cutting the slope of the wheelarch fronts was easier than expected, in fairness. The problem is the main floor mat isn't cut straight. At all. I could have done a better job taking a run at it with a stanley knife in the dark. This is the one part that is meant to be a fixed size, and it wouldn't fit any vehicle (unless they had wavy wheelarch sides....). See pictures below, pick a line of chequer plate and compare it with the edge! Top quality from Exmoor Trim, I am honestly surprised as I thought they were better than this.

That'll teach me - the link I supplied isn't the one I bought it from (Rimmers live up to their name on price..) so didn't see that information. I maintain that trimming of the wheel arch sections could be referring to the fuel filler though. The fact they've put in metal trims shows the problem in my view. Perhaps I am unrealistic in my expectations, but the product should be tailored to each vehicle, not sold for multiple applications. That only benefits the manufacturer, it has nothing to do with giving the customer what they need and it still doesn't explain why the mats are not just shaped incorrectly but also too wide/deep for any of the vehicles they're for. I am inevitably going to end up with one edge on all three mats that I need to hide. Like I say, perhaps this is just me and my expectations, no point in whinging about it so I will just post up a how-to when I get a minute.

I've done some cursory searching and cannot find anything, so posting here. I bought EXT00914 - you can find details here but the short version is a 3-peice mat, top layer of rubber with a bottom layer of foam. It's meant to do the job of sound deadening and a mat in one which is why I bought it. There are three things you need to know if you are considering this: 1. It was not cheap 2. It does not come cut to size 3. It flipping STINKS. I left it in my house in the box for a couple of days and the smell lingered for a good while after - I hope it's going to vent off before I put the roof on the car... One of these facts should mean the other two are not a problem I have to deal with, hence this post. I cannot believe a product that costs £170 doesn't come cut to size. For a start, the main bed area mat is too wide, the wheel arch mats are too long AND need to be cut at an angle to butt up against the wheel arch ends as they come as just plain rectangles. To be fair, some of the sites that sell it do mention cutting is required, but only for the TD5 fuel filler position! I was glad this was the case as I didn't want to buy one with a slot I don't need, but didn't realise I would be finishing off the basic manufacturing process. From what I read, this is so that the mat can fit 110 and 90 wheel arches but that doesn't excuse it being wrong in the fixed dimensions for all models - the width. So before I start cutting, does anyone have any experience with these mats? It's the long edges that I now have to cut that really concern me as it's impossible to get a perfect line on a surface that has lumps moulded into it. Pictures to follow...

I agree on both counts, but could it be argued that the shape has been copied by those other makes because it was instantly "right" and iconic out of the box? This is similar to what has happened with big brands that got it right first time; Hoover being a generic term for a vacuum, Google when searching on the internet regardless of search engine being used. Brands have legally lost the ability to protect their copyright under these kinds of situations, it might be LR are just too late. I know that there are probably 50 pages of argument to be had over that as the LR is in itself a copy of the Jeep (as much as it might pain us to admit). Even the "iconic" Range Rover owes many design cues to the Bronco, so it's probably best LR don't lean too much on this sort of reasoning. The Jimny manages to look like all of the serious 4x4s in one shape, G Wagen, Jeep, Defender, even a bit of Land Cruiser.... I hate to say it, but I do want one. I hear they're rubbish on road, which only strengthens my yearning.

Reading the Sunday Times, JLR have lost the right to copyright the Defender shape in court this week. Reasons given were that it is not "iconic" enough, and only 20-40% of people could recognise the shape as being a Defender. So this leaves the door wide open for Ineos, but also anyone else to create a near-identical vehicle. In an odd way, this does strengthen JLR's argument for the new Defender. If what they've been making is not iconic, they are not ruining their heritage by changing it. Their lawyers are going to chase this one for all it's worth though, so I doubt they see it that way. I am not someone interested in the "investment" potential of the vehicle as so many who jumped on them in the last few years have been (and are now rapidly having their expectations readjusted by market forces) but if Ineos is can make a product that is to all intents and purposes a Defender with improvements, that has to have an impact on both the old and new vehicles.