1990 defender 90 200tdi. I want to rewire the whole truck is it worth it? There is a tangle in the back and it's a mess to sort out. Should I rewire or replace all the lights?? I am not an electrical guru so any advice and help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Rewire or replace?
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bluedog333
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You can buy ready made looms and there are some good electrical diagrams out there, so it is perfectly feasible to replace the electrics. That's not to say it won't be tricky though! If everything electrical works properly I'd be tempted to leave it as it is, depends on how bad the mess is and how much it bothers you.
Most older Landies ( especially those that have been tdi converted ) have their own electrical mess going on and for a lot of the time ( definitely not all though! ) they chug along quite happily with everything working.
Post a couple of pics up if you can, we can all compare electrical messes!
Most older Landies ( especially those that have been tdi converted ) have their own electrical mess going on and for a lot of the time ( definitely not all though! ) they chug along quite happily with everything working.
Post a couple of pics up if you can, we can all compare electrical messes!
bluedog333
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Just seen your other post about brake lights. If it's just the rear lights giving you grief then I'd recommend trying to sort it out.
Get yourself some new connectors, decent wire strippers/crimpers, some insulation tape and heat-shrink tubing, get a decent copy of a wiring diagram - Haynes manual has them, but I think you can find a clearer, colour version on the Internet - and get to it !
Post some pics if you can, we can see what you're up against.
Get yourself some new connectors, decent wire strippers/crimpers, some insulation tape and heat-shrink tubing, get a decent copy of a wiring diagram - Haynes manual has them, but I think you can find a clearer, colour version on the Internet - and get to it !
Post some pics if you can, we can see what you're up against.
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Just a thought - is the mess in the back a birds nest of redundant tow bar and accessory electrics? If so clearing them out might tidy the who;e thing up (or at least be a starting point).
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I reckon you're right lynall. IIRC my harness had 3 sockets on the end to connect to the front harness in the engine bay. Very easy to swap out. Having said that, I have a bunch of cable ends in the back(birds nest) which are the tow bar connections. That's the next Job to sort. OP maybe looking at those, as wimblower suggests.
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Sorry, dodgy connection caused repeat of that post.
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Gentlemen just put rdx lights on. My brake lights still don't work. Found that the ground wire to the harness from the lights was fried and I replaced them. Nothing still. The switch infront is replaced and new. What am I missing? Is there another ground point that I may be overlooking? Could the main ground be the problem If those ones going into the lights were black? Should I place them on the back bypassing the main ground all together? Please help.
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By 'fuse' do you mean the flasher control unit? Or relay as some people call it? Those adjustable ones that are supposed to be compatible with LED lights are usually pretty good. If multiple items are coming on at once this usually suggests that the earth path back to the battery is poor, so that the current creeps back through other accessories. This may be particularly pronounced with LED lights which only require a tiny current to illuminate them. I'd be going round with my circuit tester and meter seeing whether they're getting 12v when they're supposed to be on and looking at the resistance of the earth path to begin with.
When I fitted LEDs on mine I discovered that some of the Land Rover wiring was 'reversed', so that the earth on, say, the offiside brake light was the live on the other, just to add to the complications.
With the brake light switch, I'd just buy a new one and try that if I were you.
When I fitted LEDs on mine I discovered that some of the Land Rover wiring was 'reversed', so that the earth on, say, the offiside brake light was the live on the other, just to add to the complications.
With the brake light switch, I'd just buy a new one and try that if I were you.
zeaphod
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The brake switch may just need adjusting. If it's screwed in a bit too far it will be on with the brakes off. As for the indicators, if this issue has only happened since fitting the LEDs, it may be current leakage through the dash tell tale. Take the bulb out (or just unplug the whole warning light unit) and try it again. If this solves the problem, you have a common LED problem and need to fit a couple of diodes to the telltale circuit. There are a couple of threads on here about it.
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