ChrisB

I've decided that I have enough on my plate, so it's up for sale :-(

I do have a DBW 46 preheater all plumbed in to both water and diesel circuits. Unfortunately I can't get it to fire and run reliably - it's always been on the list of things to try and fix :-( Given the water plumbing is there, I could try and circulate through a heated bucket of water to warm things up a bit. Given the quantity of engine oil and diesel all over the engine bay, I suspect that the camping stove option will likely result in a visit from the fire service!

The jelly was caused by a reaction between oil types/additives. I don't believe that any water was involved, as it's a true black colour. I am not aware of any overheating, and the cooling circuit seems well filled and nothing untoward there. I've had the sump off for a good lean out - there was a significant quantity in there. I've refilled with regular engine oil + 2x engine flush bottles. The intention was to get it running for a while on that and then drain / refill, but there doesn't seem much point progressing while there is oil being ejected from the rocker cover.

OK, so, I know that it's most likely my own fault for causing this mess, but now I'm trying to work my way out of it. My 300Tdi (Disco, EDC) engine oil turned to a thick jelly-like mess, with a large quantity going into the rocker cover, through the cyclone, into the air intake and blocking the whole air intake pre-turbo. I've cleaned all that muck out, dropped and cleaned out the sump and changed the oil filter. Currently the air intake hose is disconnected from the intercooler to exclude anything air-related in my troubleshooting. Filling the engine with oil took a very long time as the rocker cover was slow to drain. Now, after about a minute of starting the engine, the rocker cover fills up and oil is ejected from the filler fairly rapidly. I guess that the path from rocker cover down through the engine is blocked, or partially blocked, but I'm not clear on the path, and where I should go next to try and fix it. Any assistance much appreciated!

Can also be useful as a safety / security cut off with removeable key - Connect a loop of wire between two contacts of one connector and put the other connector inline with the negative wire to the battery.

So I took the siren unit out and opened it up. The inside is potted with black silicone. The two NiCd cells were both leaking, one to the point where the whole cell fell apart in the middle when I was digging around in the silicone. The whole thing has now gone in the bin. It would be nice to have some kind of sounder on the alarm. I can wire in something to the existing connector, but does anyone know the pinout?

Thanks teabag. Do you know if they are repairable? I'll also keep an eye out for a replacement.

Thanks Iain. Reading some posts on here, I thought that the EDC-equipped vehicles don't have a spider though? Is this correct? Not 100% sure what you mean by keyless entry, but the two-button fob works fine, and the vehicle starts and drives with no problem, even if the siren is sounding.

I wonder if anyone has any ideas? My alarm siren is sounding continuously for no apparent reason. It first happened whilst driving down the road, and I unplugged it to silence. A week later, plugged it back in and all is well again. Fast forward 2 years to last week and Disco is on the drive and alarm siren starts sounding. No indicators flashing or anything else to show the alarm has been activated, just the siren. No amount of locking or unlocking with the fob stopped it. I unplugged it again. Today tried to plug it back in again, but it sounded instantly, so it's currently unplugged. I've done lots of forum searching and can't find anyone describing a similar fault. The disco is a 98 300Tdi Auto (EDC). Cheers Chris

Simon's alternator is in my garage :-) Simon sold it to me with half the mounting bracket attached, but it would be easy to make the other half again. I never got round to installing it on my 200Tdi - good job really as it rolled on the M20 at 65mph! The 300tdi has A/C, so options are limited, apart from a mighty power bulge in the bonnet and a sturdy frame to mount the alternator on top of the engine. I can't ditch the A/C as the WAF is borderline already. I occasionally wonder about powering it from a PTO hydraulic drive, but never get further than a thought. I need to empty the garage so it can be rebuilt with bedrooms on top, so I guess it's for sale too. Chris

Often also used for rear window demisting so it's only on when the engine is running and battery is not low.

No harmony. CB likely won't work very well, possibility of damage to CB. "Music" Radio will almost certainly be damaged the first time you transmit with the CB.

ES9000 on the rear of my old Disco failed spectacularly going round the Chineham Roundabout: ring at the top parted company with the chromed piston! The other side somehow suffered a large dent that the MOT man noticed. Worth avoiding IMO.

Similarly, my favourite is to use Google Chrome Browser, and set the automatic translation option, so it detects the language and translates each page automagically. Chris

I've been experimenting with my SGC-237 autotuner and a long fibreglass pole with a bit of wire taped to the side. Pole bolted to the spare wheel carrier of my disco (without the wheel!). Tuner mounted inside the carrier. Reasonable success. but definitely needs a permanent solution. Next move is to try a piece of ali bolted to a roofrack crossbar with the ATU underneath. Pole bolted to crossbar. Theory says this should be much better! Earthing by braid to existing antenna mount on roof. The ATU will load up anything, ideally 9ft long, but I have used it on higher bands with 6ft. Problem is, importing a 9ft whip from the US is expensive, unless you buy bulk, or a two-piece which I think is too stiff for our use. Looking forward to the X-Ant! Chris

I'm working a long day tomorrow, and 40m in intensive care doesn't go down too well with some bits of kit...... Enjoy, and post up to share how it goes! Chris

40m probably best from here Simon - don't really have enough wire up to be very efficient on 80. Why don't you pick a freq and start something off? Chris M0TVA

Another vote for Paul, Lucy & the team at Challenger 4x4.

Well... experience this evening has been "suboptimal". Chain failure! The bracket holding the adjuster chain to the end of the stiff plastic-covered steel bit has bust. They were Ex-MOD RUD-matic chains too, brand new when I got them about 2 years and 200 miles ago. I won't ask which wheel to fit the remaining chain to - it's currently hanging over the spare on the back door......

They're KL71s, so neither winter or summer really, much more suited to mud. The cornering test was a standing start with just enough throttle to overcome the hill I was turning onto, so speed wasn't the issue, lack of grip on front tyres was. If I did more than 5 miles each way to work, I'd definately put winter tyres on, but it's really not worth it when we have the C4 for daily driving (except getting me to work). The other car, a Citroen C4 GP, has winter tyres and is better than my Disco, the problem with that is the EGS gearbox does not allow fine enough control of power delivery, so wheelspinning is very diffcult to avoid if trying a standing start uphill, or any sort of bump in the road surface/snow. I took it to Val Thorens in December with 2m of snow, brilliant on the ice/hard snow, but useless where others had churned it up a bit. I'm not arguing with anyone, or taking any offence, merely explaining my experience this morning and in previous years. BW Chris

Ok. Did an experiment this morning. I live on a slight hill and drive a 300tdi auto disco with 235/85 KL71s. Moderate amount of tread left. No chains - cornering out onto uphill slope with no difflock = lots of slipping of 1 rear wheel and resultant zero drive. With difflock = no problem, but braking caused mega slide. Slowing down by forcing 1st gear - slide. Rear chains - useless without difflock as front wheel spun. With difflock - drive ok in a straight line, totally unpredictable when trying to corner. Front chains - Fine for forward motion and braking in a straight line with difflock on. Cornering - fine as long as you go slowly enough, ie slow down before cornering. Applying a little throttle going through the corner is fun, but not recommended whilst passing children or parked cars! So: My choice is front with difflock in on any surface that will allow the rear tyres to slip appropriately for turning corners. Chris

I've found lots of problems with fluorescent lights running on non sine wave inverters. Never been successful so far with four different inverters and lots of lamps. They fail to start usually, It won't damage anything by trying though. Mains LED should be fine!

This ebay search shows some prebuilt modules which will almost certainly be fine. I use a 5v version for in-car ipad charging (with additional resistors to provide the control voltages) and another for my pi.

Austin allegro choke cable worked perfectly on my 200tdi Disco - there's even a hole in the throttle lever to attach it to

I think there's a date code on the battery which might give it away, but realistically, if it won't hold a charge and >4 years old, its probably dead. I took a recent one in with no receipt and they changed it, but then the date code proved it was <1yr old. Give it a go - you've little to lose!