Murphy and Lucas: Related?

[Captain Spalding]

New Defender owner here. Either the Land Rover engineers are totally psycho, or my truck was rewired by a dyslexic monkey. I don't have an owner's manual (yet), but I'm pretty sure things are not as they should be, electrically speaking. Here's the rundown:

What it does / What I think it should do.


Headlight switch (the short stalk on the left side of the steering column):

Position 0: No lights. Position 2: Low beams and driving lights (on the brush guard). Position 3: High beams and driving lights. / Position 0: no lights. Position 1: marker lights. Position 2: headlights. The way I understand it, driving lights should come on only with the low-beams, and by a separate switch.

3 position rocker switch (looks like an upside-down dome light switch), lower left side, next to the instrument light switch:
With headlights on: turns headlights and driving lights off when toggled up or down from center. With head lights off: turns on only the driving lights when toggled up or down from center. / I have no idea what this switch should do.

Turn signal switch:
Left or right turn signal: works as expected, but the "trailer" light in the idiot light cluster comes on for the first flash, and then turns off. / I'm not sure about that trailer light.

Same switch:
Push forward: nothing happens. Pull back: front and rear dome lights come on. / Push forward, toggle from low beam to high beam. Pull back: flash high beams.

Press the horn button:
Front and rear dome lights come on / horn makes some sort of noise. Am I close?

So, I've ordered a shop manual, which I hope has the wiring schematics. I guess I'm not asking a specific question here, but rather preparing my fellow Defender owners for the onslaught of what would otherwise seem to be stupid questions that I'm certain will follow. Who knows what I'll find when I pull that instrument panel apart. :eek: Time to heat up that soldering iron . . .

[flippedrover]

yep I'd say a dyslexic monkey rewired your truck. You are right about the head light switch. It should be off,markerlights,headlights. Upside down rocker switch should control the driving lights. The trailer light does the same thing on mine. No worries about it. Push forward highbeams pull back flash to pass. Horn should be the only thing working when you push it.

[Captain Spalding]

Thanks for that validation. The toggle switch is the mind-blower. If someone asked me to wire a switch to do what that one does, I don't think I could figure out how to do it!

- Spalding

[tkavan01]

Thanks for that validation. The toggle switch is the mind-blower. If someone asked me to wire a switch to do what that one does, I don't think I could figure out how to do it!

- Spalding

I think i have the same problem with a toggle switch on mine, I sat in the driveway for 25 minutes trying to figure out, but never managed to see it make a difference

[smenzel]

It's amazing what some people will do to wiring.

Reminds me of a home inspector I once hired. He explained that 'engineers' (living in the Seattle area, he was most likely referring Boeing engineers) are the worst -- they think they know what they're doing and end up making a real mess of things. :)

[Hans]

Sounds to me like a hack job wiring of the fog/driving lights. My guess is that somebody wired them in using that 3-position toggle switch and totally goofed it up. To be honest, I've never bought a truck with foglights that had them wired correctly.... you would be surprised how badly I've seen wiring done. I'd start tracing the wiring back from that switch and the driving lights, giving special attention to any wiring that doesn't look factory. I am worried about why the horn and lights are functioning together, though I have also seen that before as well in other vehicles. Usually not a big deal, just a mis-use of the same power or ground for two non-related circuits.

You are correct how the headlights SHOULD work, same with the horn and turn signals. However, the trailer light thing is functioning properly. So I would ignore the turn signal circuit.

-Hans

[COSteve]

I get the "trailer" light on the first flash, then it goes away....
I thought they all did that......

[Ragland]

Can't say I can help you on the wiring, but I will say this much. If my newly bought truck had some prior owner do that bad of job on the wiring, I would immediately have the vehicle run through a complete service. Who knows what could be in the transmission and axles. Perhaps you might even have run analysis on the major fluids, as well. With Rovers, routine maintenance goes a long way.

[Hans]

I NEVER trust the work of previous owners, no matter how good they actually are. Heck, I barely trust mechanics!

As an example, I've been fighting an oil pressure issue in my CJ-7. I finally decided to try a new pump, as a last attempt before a full engine rebuild. Today, as I was working on it, I found that a previous mechanic that had possibly swapped the engine at some point forgot to put the gasket between the oil pump and the engine block. No competent mechanic would have done this, nor have used a tube and a half of silicone all around the oil pan.

-Hans

[Captain Spalding]

Whenever I buy a used vehicle I always give it a thorough going over. Brake system, new fluids and filters everywhere, take care of all oil leaks, make sure engine and tranny mounts are okay, and with offroad vehicles I pay particular attention to the driveline and suspension.

I'm sure that to have a shop do the rehab on the wiring will take many (expensive) hours. It will probably take me three times as many, but I know if I do it, it will be a sanitary job with no corners cut. I've read on the Expedition Exchange site that there are no relays (http://www.expeditionexchange.com/xcart/customer/product.php?productid=18515&cat=&page=1&xid=4d7b44c86b1f8abc05f2084e5f5b10b2) in the lighting circuits. I suppose that when I do the work, I'll add them as a precaution, and so I can add higher wattage bulbs with impunity in the future. I'll also do pre-wiring for a compressor, locker switches, and a winch at the same time.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and sympathies.

Spalding

[Ragland]

Good luck with the new Rover and welcome to the board, by the way.

Hope the first swill of the Kool-Aid went down real nice!

[Captain Spalding]

Good luck with the new Rover and welcome to the board, by the way.

Hope the first swill of the Kool-Aid went down real nice!

Kool Aid - yum! I'm already on second pitcher full. Aside from the aforementioned electrical issues, I have a strange clunk in the steering. Mostly only felt when turning the wheel with the engine off. Tie rod and pitman arm look okay. Maybe its the universal joint in the steering column, but it really feels like its inside the passenger compartment just behind the firewall. Haven't taken anything apart to look at it though.

Also present is the somewhat ubiquitous Check Engine light/P1317 error code problem. I've done some reading on that and will try cleaning the wheel sensors first. Luckily I have an OBD program on my Palm handheld which allows me to read codes and reset the computer.

If only there were an in-dash error code reader with a reset button, I'd be set. :grin

Thanks for the welcome.