Spearos Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 Hoping someone can help, give me some pointers/checks to carry out? Pretty please Since July the speedo on my 2003 Disco TD5 has started to play up. At first I noticed the speedo needle would occasionally 'shake', then it would temporally stick. The last week or so the odometer has started to blank out as well, along with the fuel/temp gauges not registering. Initially these faults would last for 10-30 seconds at a time, however recently it will play up for anything between 10 seconds and 15 minutes. I did notice today though that a hard bump in the road 'brought it back to life'. I did have the windscreen replaced and it does leak slightly - recently I noticed a water mark on the inside of the screen. The head lining has always got slightly wet since I got the car so this weekend I took out the head lining out to see if it was sunroof, windscreen or both. I suspect the old windscreen leaked as well as the new one as the sunroof is fine. The issue does appear to be more common when it has been raining or is raining. So I'm thinking the issue could be down to water and electrics mixing? I have checked the SLABs ECU connections and the connections to the binnicle and they all appear dry and ok. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sierrafery Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 It seems that you'll need an instrument pack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spearos Posted October 3, 2017 Author Share Posted October 3, 2017 Thank you sierrafery. Incidentally I've read a lot of stuff written by you, and not just on here - certainly know your stuff. It just seems funny that the fault is more persistent after or during rain I'm sure I have read somewhere that changing the instrument pack isn't straight forward, especially if you get a second hand unit with a lower mileage on it. Looks like I have some searching/reading to do... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sierrafery Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 If the IP(instrument pack) is with lower mileage you are OK cos you can sync' it with the BCU using a tester as to adopt the real mileage, problem is if the IP has higher mileage cos then you are stuck with that no way to go backwards to the real one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ally V8 Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 I think I'd be looking at the fusebox below the steering wheel for water ingress before condemning the instrument pack. All the water ingress problems I've dealt with over the years have had problems in there or the BCU.Stopping the water should be high on the list of repair priority, otherwise you will end up with niggling faults for the rest of the cars life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sierrafery Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 IMO a fusebox/IDM fault would affect ALL the instruments not just speedo, odometer and fuel, temp gauges cos all it does is to provide the feed for it... though nothing is certain when it come to such odd defects Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spearos Posted October 4, 2017 Author Share Posted October 4, 2017 22 hours ago, sierrafery said: If the IP(instrument pack) is with lower mileage you are OK cos you can sync' it with the BCU using a tester as to adopt the real mileage, problem is if the IP has higher mileage cos then you are stuck with that no way to go backwards to the real one Thanks for the info - saved me from time spent on google! 8 hours ago, Ally V8 said: I think I'd be looking at the fusebox below the steering wheel for water ingress before condemning the instrument pack. All the water ingress problems I've dealt with over the years have had problems in there or the BCU.Stopping the water should be high on the list of repair priority, otherwise you will end up with niggling faults for the rest of the cars life. The interior fuse box isnt something that I've looked at (other than checking fuse). Will be taking a good look at it once I get chance. Thanks. Just to add to the strangeness, the IP did something different today - the speedo, rev, LCD were fine however the temp gauge warning light came on and the temp needle very slowly went all the way to the max before dropping back to min and moving back to max again (probably 5 seconds from min to max). It did this many, many times before suddenly behaving again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spearos Posted October 7, 2017 Author Share Posted October 7, 2017 So, I may have got to the bottom of this. Possibly... Other than the single temp gauge malfunction, the IP has been behaving and I have a theory - When the head lining was fitted and it rained, the top left hand corner would get very wet (it didn't before the windscreen was fitted and of course I didn't have this issue before the windscreen was fitted). Also when I removed head lining it was stuck to the excess windscreen sealant along the top of the screen. When I removed the headlining and checked for leaks, it was leaking in the middle of the screen. Now, what I'm thinking is that the water was coming in at the top of the screen and with the lining being stuck to the windsreen sealant it was diverting most of the water to the top of the nearside A post. Here the water was running down the A post and into the side of the footwell (inside of the lower wing). There are connectors here (behind the plastic trim) that I understand are connected to the SLABS/BCU. I removed said plastic trim today and although it is dry behind it, there is evidence of water being there such as scale on the earth point that behind the connectors. Is my theory feasable? Could water interfering with these connections cause the IP to act up? - Since the headlining was removed the water is no longer being diverted down the A post to these connections hence no recent occurrences of the speedo going on one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spearos Posted July 3, 2018 Author Share Posted July 3, 2018 So after many trouble free months, out of the blue the whole thing went crazy - all needles frantically bounced all over the place, the speaker was bonging rapidly and all warning lights were blinking/flashing! After 5 seconds or so it settled down only to leave me without the odometer display, and the green M and S light illuminated. Everything else appears ok - speedo and tacho work, as does the partial odometer. The M and S lights are now out too and haven't come back on. It hasn't rained for weeks here so that rules out water ingress, I guess. Anyone have any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.