Disco 2 front spots

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New Disco 2 owner

New Disco 2 owner

New Member
Posts
5
Location
Essex
Hi, first venture into the forum having bought a 03 Disco 2 this week - which I'm pretty much in love with already.

It has two front spots on the bumper which aren't working, checked both bulbs which are fine. Tried to check fuse but can't work out which one it is? I don't know if they are factory fit or after market, the switch in the cab is just below the fog light switches and seems original?

Any thoughts on which fuse it would be or other common issues?

Thanks
 
The front fog lights, they are fog lights not spot lights, on the disco 2 are controlled by the BCU. It senses what lights you have already switched on before you can turn them on. You have to have the dipped headlights on first.
They will automatically cancel when you turn the headlights off.
The rear fog lights work in a similar fashion.
If you don't have an Owner's Handbook, it can be downloaded along with the workshop manual from:-
http://www.myrangerover.co.uk/rave-workshop-manual/
 
Thanks for quick response - the fog lights in the bumper are working, it's the spots mounted on the bull bar... I'll try and post a photo...
 
Does the switch you're talking about have a figure "2" on it? Second question, does the switch latch when you press it or does it just feel like a push-button? It should be the third switch down on the left of the binnacle. If so there's a good chance that it is a factory fit or an official LR aftermarket fit, although I have used that switch to operate a bit of my own electronical jiggery-pokery for my spot lights.
Spot lights, or driving lights as they're sometimes known are normally arranged to only illuminate when the main beam headlights are on, try pressing the switch when they are on to see what happens. I believe that the switch is used to turn the spot lights on and off, but only when the main beam headlights are on.
The main trouble with the factory fit of spot lights is that the controller unit is notoriously unreliable and expensive to replace. The controller, if it is fitted should be fastened to the back end of the engine compartment fuse board and the fuse should be somewhere around there too.
If they've been fitted by a previous owner then you're going to have to trace things out yourself or just start over re-installing them to your own spec.
 
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It is third down on the left, does have a 2 on it and is a push button (no latch). I've tried with the high beams on and still nothing.... Thanks for your help - I'll have a look where you've suggested see how I get on ...
 
New Disco 2 owner said:
It is third down on the left, does have a 2 on it and is a push button (no latch). I've tried with the high beams on and still nothing.... Thanks for your help - I'll have a look where you've suggested see how I get on ...
Click to expand...
If you do have a factory fitted spot light set up, then this attachment might be of use to you:-
 

Attachments

  • Spotlight wiring - official method.pdf
    1.5 MB · Views: 368
You may have to look in another direction like I had to do.
My 2000 Series 2 V8, which apart from a few months from new, is practically a one owner car has the same spots fitted by a main agent when he bought it off them.
They didn't work when I got it last September, fuse blown but I put it down to having 100watt bulbs fitted. But after new bulbs and fuse still didn't work.
Looking at the bill for supply and fitting I see a bill for £226.72 just for wiring kit so I assumed it had the correct control unit. Total bill for spots, wiring kit and mounting bar was £549.62
It only has a normal latching switch without the number 2 on it. Spent ages looking for the control unit but gave up then I found a £1.50 relay up by the bulk head which had burnt out. That was the 'control' unit on this car. The original owner tells me it hasn't been repaired or had anything changed, he's no reason to say different cos I'm happy with the car.
But in your case it could have been replaced by just using a relay sited somewhere in the engine compartment. You're going to have to follow the wires in your car and see what's been done.
Good luck in finding the problem. But me, I'd not use this main agent at all, complete rip off in this case.
 
Maurand said:
You may have to look in another direction like I had to do.
My 2000 Series 2 V8, which apart from a few months from new, is practically a one owner car has the same spots fitted by a main agent when he bought it off them.
They didn't work when I got it last September, fuse blown but I put it down to having 100watt bulbs fitted. But after new bulbs and fuse still didn't work.
Looking at the bill for supply and fitting I see a bill for £226.72 just for wiring kit so I assumed it had the correct control unit. Total bill for spots, wiring kit and mounting bar was £549.62
It only has a normal latching switch without the number 2 on it. Spent ages looking for the control unit but gave up then I found a £1.50 relay up by the bulk head which had burnt out. That was the 'control' unit on this car. The original owner tells me it hasn't been repaired or had anything changed, he's no reason to say different cos I'm happy with the car.
But in your case it could have been replaced by just using a relay sited somewhere in the engine compartment. You're going to have to follow the wires in your car and see what's been done.
Good luck in finding the problem. But me, I'd not use this main agent at all, complete rip off in this case.
Click to expand...

This is why I asked about the switch, whether it had the number 2 on it and if it was a latching type or not. The official LR spot light kit would have had these and not a latching switch. The OP has confirmed that the switch is a non-latching type with the number 2.
You have quoted 226 quid for the kit which I would have thought was way too little for the official kit, the control unit alone is over a hundred quid and the switch well over thirty.
The method you've talked of is a "standard" DIY installation using a relay and a switch, many owners have used a modified latching switch to accomplish a method of control over their spot lights.
 
Thanks for clarifying that Brian. I just thought that for £200 odd quid the fitting would have been an original one. Still seems a lot though for a bit of wire and a relay.
But certainly not concerned as they work as they should and they help a lot on unlit roads round here.
Thanks again.
 
Maurand said:
Thanks for clarifying that Brian. I just thought that for £200 odd quid the fitting would have been an original one. Still seems a lot though for a bit of wire and a relay.
But certainly not concerned as they work as they should and they help a lot on unlit roads round here.
Thanks again.
Click to expand...

A relay triggered off the headlight main beam feed was what I used at first on my Disco 2, but then I started to get a bit 'clever' and I built my own version of the LR controller with a small box of relays which altogether cost me about twenty quid and then I bought the official switch which for what it is was a tad expensive. The action of the relay box is what's known in electronic circles as a 'flip-flop' and it converts the push button action of the switch to a latching or toggle action.
Seeing as I used small relays with a low current switching capability, I wired them to control the spotlight relay rather than the lights themselves, this also leaves me with the option of just changing a small wire link to revert to just the relay should my control unit develop a fault.
I wouldn't recommend using this sort of circuit unless you have at least some knowledge of circuits using multiple relays. Electronic flip-flop circuits can be sourced on the internet which might also work in this kind of duty.
 
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