So Ive started going along fixing small issues (and then finding 3 more along the way lol) so I wanted to check why the rear windscreen heater and also the wiper wasnt working - must be a issue with the loom somewhere - So as I start to strip the back door down I look up and find the black cable to rear windscreen heater has been chopped! I presume they will be 2/3 wires inside the black sheath and I can strip it back and just resolder them together?

Now look under neath the car towards the rear axle there is another black rubber cable with a spade connector on tied up underneath the car :/ could this be for the rear windscreen motor? All rear lights are working and there is a new reverse light above the back door - so not sure if maybe this was disconnected from the original reverse light and the new one has been wired up along with rear cab back to the dash etc.
More investigation needed I think!

Yes, and then cover the joint with heat shrinking tube to suit. Simples

Sounds too easy for a Defender repair......lol
Nice one

All the lighting cables go from the OS lamps to the NS lamps above the rear cross member roughly. Wiper motor wiring is all inside. Black is earth.
I also have a spare wire poking out between body and cross member but I forget the colour.

Turn the rear demister and the rear wiper on and check your random cable for a voltage. There's not a lot of wires back there so it should be easy to sort

karlp606 said:

Sounds too easy for a Defender repair......lol
Nice one

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It does doesn’t it, on any Land Rover of a certain age a one off job ‘can’ lead to another small job, which must be done at the same time. One hour job so allow four.

discool said:

It does doesn’t it, on any Land Rover of any age a one off job ‘can’ lead to any number of jobs, which must be done at the same time. One hour job so allow some years.

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Edited for accuracy!

karlp606 said:

So Ive started going along fixing small issues (and then finding 3 more along the way lol) so I wanted to check why the rear windscreen heater and also the wiper wasnt working - must be a issue with the loom somewhere - So as I start to strip the back door down I look up and find the black cable to rear windscreen heater has been chopped! I presume they will be 2/3 wires inside the black sheath and I can strip it back and just resolder them together?

Click to expand...

The rear windscreen heater only has 1 wire (live) going to it, the return (ground) is the door frame itself.

karlp606 said:

Now look under neath the car towards the rear axle there is another black rubber cable with a spade connector on tied up underneath the car :/ could this be for the rear windscreen motor?

Click to expand...

The wiring to the rear winscreen wiper is quite complex with a live feed and a switched feed and return. 3 or 4 wires I recall. More likely to be for a fog or reversing light...