Both red lights come on as normal on the first turn of the key, but the orange choke/glow plug light doesn't follow. Car will turn over but not fire. Was fine yesterday, the bugger.

Advise much appreciated, thanks loads.

Fuse or relay for glow plug circuit perhaps

Thanks for the reply, we were thinking (in our Landy novice brains) it might be glow plug related. Would that stop the light on the dash from lighting too? Also there's a brown wire that looks like it has detached from the battery. Could that somehow be related? (Wishful thinking!)

If the glow plugs have disconnected themselves it won't help starting but you would probably be getting something. It wouldn't be completely dead. What year is it/what engine do you have?

Engine type?
Brown wires are positive wires so are quite important!

1990, 2.5 NA. The positive and negative connectors are all attached, there is a fuse block connected by wires between the terminals with a small 15A fuse in it. The brown wire was just by the battery not attached. Wasn't sure what is does or where to re-attach it.
The engine will turn over but it won't attempt to fire.

Thanks for all your help, very much appreciated.

Have you got a multimeter? You could switch the ignition on and check from one of the heater plug connections and to earth to see if you are getting power to them. A 12v bulb and some wire would also do.

Or a can of damp start.... Have you checked that the stop solenoid on the injection pump is working?

The orange 'choke' light on the dash had been coming on fine. Wait 15 seconds turn the key further and ignition no problem. Then no orange light and no ignition. This after a particularly bumpy journey. So our suspicion is that something has worked loose. In the battery compartment a brown wire from the engine bay just lying there, unconnected. So our question is; does the glow plug relay attach directly to the battery (or can it be arranged so to do)? If the likelihood is that this brown wire goes to the glow plug relay then we need to know how to reconnect it. Do we attach it to the positive terminal of the battery or do we attach it to the additional circuit that someone has created by running a wire from the pos bat terminal and a wire from the neg bat terminal into a little plastic junction protected by a 15 amp fuse? (And if not, why is that there?!)

2.5 na doesn't have a relay, glows work directly off the ign switch.
Thick wire with large terminal on rear of ign switch goes to number 4 glowplug.all this from memory BTW
Edit to say- I think a bit more memory is returning.... There are 2 thick wires with larger terminals on the rear of the ign switch, one will have 12v the other will not UNTIL you turn the ign key to the glow position when the other thick cable will be joined to it (internally of the switch, you can't see it!) and send the 12v to number 4 glowplug. glowplugs are a heavy electrical load and the wiring/ switch do suffer and fail. you can join the 2 thick cables together to get the glows working as a test to see if the switch is faulty if you don't have test equipment but don't let them cables arc on any metal! you can buy the ign switch terminal block on its own, quite cheap as well iirc, its held on with 2 I think, little screws.
take the coloum shrouds off to acess the rear of the switch maybe the clocks too can't remember.
the Gubbins in the battery box are not standard so could be anything.
mine has the same glowplug circuit as yours BUT I've fitted a relay to take the strain off the switch, that could have been done to yours? Who knows what a previous owner has done..
First test is for 12v at number 4 glow, then work from there.