DB880 Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 Hi all, new here, so please don't shoot me down.... have a 1999 defender td5 which worked perfectly this morning, however when just after lunch today fired it up to tow a trailer back, found had no speedo reading, LED lights up in mileage indicator but also no mileage clicking up... so i was guessing on transducer in the box.? However i also then noticed that the interior light was dimly glowing, and also i had 3/4 of a tank of fuel, however when going round a corner i could make it to full tank or half tank depending on which way i was turning. usually fuel gauge is pretty well behaved. (apart from it goes down quicker than id like!) Rightly or wrongly I am leaning towards and earthing issue, for safety's sake I have disconnected the battery for tonight. has anyone ever come across this before or got any pointers in the right direction? many thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Souster Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 Sounds like it could be earth faults. Start by cleaning up the one on the transfer box and chassis. Then bulkhead etc. All earth points can be found at the bottom of the page in this link. https://www.lrworkshop.com/electrics/defender-1999/fuse-boxes-earths-and-headers Hope that helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DB880 Posted December 31, 2020 Author Share Posted December 31, 2020 36 minutes ago, Souster said: Sounds like it could be earth faults. Start by cleaning up the one on the transfer box and chassis. Then bulkhead etc. All earth points can be found at the bottom of the page in this link. https://www.lrworkshop.com/electrics/defender-1999/fuse-boxes-earths-and-headers Hope that helps Thanks for this. It’s a really useful link. I will aim to get these checked out over the weekend. Wife might shoot me if I play with landrover wiring on New Year’s Day!! 😂 let you know what I find! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo Murphy Posted January 1, 2021 Share Posted January 1, 2021 Try and find another speedo to swap and try. The speedo electronics also control fuel level gauge stabilisation so I'd be inclined to suspect failure of something in the speedo. Try unplugging and plugging the 2 connectors on the back to start with. Mo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DB880 Posted January 1, 2021 Author Share Posted January 1, 2021 5 hours ago, Mo Murphy said: Try and find another speedo to swap and try. The speedo electronics also control fuel level gauge stabilisation so I'd be inclined to suspect failure of something in the speedo. Try unplugging and plugging the 2 connectors on the back to start with. Mo ill get the dash apart tomorrow and check these connections on the rear of the speedo too. i don't have a spare speedo to try at the moment, everyone shot me down for buying a TD5, so might struggle to get one to try unless i bite the bullet and buy a new one... can you explain a little more the link between the speedo and the fuel gauge. in the wiring plan that I have here i cant see a link between the two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DB880 Posted January 2, 2021 Author Share Posted January 2, 2021 Well I’ve had a play, I have continuity from the signal wire of the transducer to the back of the Speedo. I also have good power and earth down to the transducer. Have also checked plugs on back of Speedo, see nothing wrong here. if I disconnected the Speedo then fuel gauge drops to 0. So got to be related. I think the next course of action is to find a loaner Speedo before I order one. unless anyone else has any other good pointers first? thanks all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DB880 Posted January 7, 2021 Author Share Posted January 7, 2021 well just an update incase anyone is interested, have tried another speedo clock, didn't make any difference still have the same issues. going to find someone local next i think that can read the ecu input data and see if i am actually getting a speed from the transducer? not many other ideas at the moment,,, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo Murphy Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 DB880, did you clean the earths on the bulkhead earth stud behind the expansion tank ? Mo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 Try another known good transducer, green body YBE100530, the black body one's don't work in Defenders Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Souster Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 With other faults such as interior lights diming and your fuel gauge.... my limited knowledge would say look closer into earth issues. Make sure the bulkhead earth is clean, and also the one next to the ECU. Most important one is the chassis to transfer box earth. I had all sorts of issues in the past from bad earths. Lighting and what i thought was over heating. All sorted with good earth's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DB880 Posted January 8, 2021 Author Share Posted January 8, 2021 (edited) Morning all, i will go back through all the earths this weekend should the weather allow, i have visually checked they are all still connected and tight. i did not remove and clean them as yet though. however i did check the bulkhead one and even added an extra one under the drivers seat direct to the battery to be sure. i will however remove them all clean and triple check. the interior light issue has gone away all on its own, cant be sure if thats a good thing or a bad thing! Edited January 8, 2021 by DB880 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 I (personally) would change the way the earths to the vehicle are connected! I run a heavy (>= 35 sqmm) cable from one of the starter motor mounting bolts directly to the battery -ve. The starter is the thing that needs the most current - and it's not helped by going through the chassis via two braided connections! Run a similar cable from battery -Ve to the chassis Stud. These in themselves may not fix your problem - but at least will rule out the braided connections which are prone to corrosion and too thin for my liking anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DB880 Posted February 20, 2021 Author Share Posted February 20, 2021 Hi guys, sorry for the slow reply. Managed to get myself a dose of Covid.... #notideal! anyways had a play with landrover. Tested this checked that, many times over until I bit the bullet and pulled the sensor out. Low and behold the square drive had sheared off... new sensor required. Ordered a genuine sensor green one as that’s what was in it. However the square was slightly too big, had to file a little bit of plastic off, but got it fitted and now have a working Speedo again, hopefully now it’s giving a signal to the Speedo my fuel gauge will behave. many thanks for all your replies. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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