1980 Land Rover Lightweight V8

[andyborris]

Tried to think of a suitable pun for this instalment:

“ And let there be light”, is ever so slightly blasphemous, so no.

“At last, I can shed some light on the rewire”, simply not funny, again it’s a no.

So I’ll stick with the factual.



Tried the side lights and they work, “which was nice”. Sorry, it’s a Fast Show quip and I can’t help myself!



Anyway, they turn on & off, however the rear lights aren’t wired in correctly. At the moment I haven’t any way of joining the loom for the rear of the car to the front, because the 7 core trailer wire that’s been used in the rear has much thicker individual wires than the Lucas style bullets can cope with.

I did order bullets for thicker wire, but was sent the wrong size…...didn’t realise at first, which is why I couldn’t get them to crimp properly!

The other minor problem that stops me declaring the sidelight circuit finished is that most of the Land Rovers body is made from Birmabright, which is a magnesium and aluminium alloy and as far as I can tell, it’s not really working as an earth return on the sidelight circuit.

I’m not sure why this is, Aluminium 5251, which is the same as Birmabright (so I believe, Birmabright being a brand name) has pretty good conductivity, well, according to Wikipedia anyway.

Might be the paint….. anyway easily solved one way or other, if I have to run a couple of earth loops under the bonnet to the chassis or battery, it’s not really a problem.

No such issues inside the cabin, bulkhead and dash are steel.

A good couple of hours work today, moments like this bring a sense of euphoria, makes the cold fingers, frustration and set-backs fade into memory.

Well, until the next time it goes tits up!

[andyborris]

3 degrees or less, occasional freezing rain showers today.

So a good time to check the wipers work.....

2 speeds and they park!

Headlights, (only O/S is wired), the N/S light is just a spur from the O/S. Wire is in place just not connected.



Dip.



Main.

The battery is a bit low, only just 12V, needs a charge.

The heater (both speeds) and the horns also tested and working.

Very pleased.

However, the task I'm very nervous of is fast approaching, wrapping the loom.

Gonna need some help with this, mainly because I've never done a loom in expanded braid, so any suggestions to make the process go smoothly are very welcome.

[andyborris]

How do I get a video to appear? I'm sure you all want to see the wipers wiping!

Anyway, off to the pub now. Cheers.

[andyborris]

Knew it was too good to last, that happy sense of euphoria.

Tackled the indicators today, all went well. Both sides working, the EBay adjustable 3 pin flasher relay adjusted as it should. Fitted this in case I decide to fit LED's, no more cost than a normal relay, so easy decision.

So far so good, but when I add the single dash warning lamp into the circuit, I get a flashing warning light and that "ticking" noise even when the indicators are cancelled.
And when the sidelights are switched on, one indicator side is flashing bright, as it should be, the other has that dodgy earth glow!

So re-wire changing the circuit slightly, no better, now the dash warning light acts as a sidelight warning light too.

Then I google and it seems that correct way to wire the relays earth wire via the dash light, I try this and this is the result.




Surprising how the cabin fills very quickly with that famous Lucas smoke!

I'm unsure what's happened, I was doing this with jumper test leads, did I allow one to touch something it shouldn't touch? I was too busy getting the earth lead off the battery to observe what was making the smoke!

Or is that simply the wrong way to wire the warning light with that type of relay? Anyway, it's an easily replaced bit of wiring, being the 2 dial illumination lights, hasn't affected the side light circuit, luckily.

The dash only has the one warning light for the indicators, but I guess I can convert to 2 warning lights, one for each side. That's pretty easy to do.

All in all, an interesting morning and a saltatory warning as well.

[welshpug]

had this problem with an early Pre defender 110, baffled us for months, only happens because you get voltage feeding back through the lamp to the other wise of the relay for some reason due to the particularly low current draw of LED's.

you need to wire up individual telltales for left and right, or not have one.

[gtviva]

You need a particular type of flasher unit when you only have 1 telltale on the dash, you cant use a standard flasher unit, they are widely available as most older vehicles had them

[andyborris]

Thanks everyone.

I think the flasher relay I have will only work with 2 warning lamps, I've got an unused hole in the dash, so that's what I'm going to do.

[kevins]

I think you could use what you have with a couple of diodes, the anodes connected to each indicator circuit and the cathodes both joined and feeding the warning light. (assuming negative earth).

[jimi]

To overheat a wire like that you must have created a dead short from live to earth (+ve to -ve or vice versa) through the wire, your lucky it didn't go up in flames.
When your testing stuff like that stick a temporary fuse (2A/5A) inline, that way a mistake in wiring (like a short) will blow the fuse and protect the wiring etc.
You can get inline fuse holders (car type) with a few inches of wire either side for peanuts on Amazon/eBay, I use one with croc clips on either end for fault finding circuits that are causing problems, I adjust the fuse size to suit the circuit.

[andyborris]

Jan 16, 2024 20:05:34 GMT jimi said:

To overheat a wire like that you must have created a dead short from live to earth (+ve to -ve or vice versa) through the wire, your lucky it didn't go up in flames.
When your testing stuff like that stick a temporary fuse (2A/5A) inline, that way a mistake in wiring (like a short) will blow the fuse and protect the wiring etc.
You can get inline fuse holders (car type) with a few inches of wire either side for peanuts on Amazon/eBay, I use one with croc clips on either end for fault finding circuits that are causing problems, I adjust the fuse size to suit the circuit.

That's a good idea, I'll do that.

The test leads I'm using are very thin and melt very quickly. But, you're right about it going up in flames. What I don't understand is why it's only the couple of wires that were for the 2 lights for the dash gauges.

And why didn't it travel through the combined bullet (4 way) connector to the sidelights or the lighting switch, which is connected to the sidelights.

I think I may have allowed something to touch where it shouldn't touch, a consequence of not having everything screwed down and in it's right place.

Referring back to that thread about common neurodevelopmental disorders and how they impact upon mental health, (esp. in a hobby like ours), my particular issue means I have a bit of a butterfly mind.

I realise I need to sort one area at a time, start and not leave till it's done. I.E. do the dash wiring and don't start anything else till it's finished, even if I'm waiting for parts before finishing.

Focus on one thing at a time.

[andyborris]

Jan 16, 2024 20:39:09 GMT andyborris said:

I realise I need to sort one area at a time, start and not leave till it's done. I.E. do the dash wiring and don't start anything else till it's finished, even if I'm waiting for parts before finishing.

Focus on one thing at a time.

And of course I won't, it's a neurodevelopmental disorder, not a habit

[andyborris]

Advice please.

Would like to add a cooling fan over-ride switch, would this circuit work?

Any problems you can see, or is there a better way to do this? The fan is switched by a relay.

[kevins]

yes that would work.

I would also add a warning light between the dotted line and earth, it will also come on with the thermo switch which I like, if you don't the dotted wire will need a diode.

[jimi]

That will work, the bypass can come off the same feed.
Run a new fused 12v supply direct from the battery to supply the fan via the relay, that way there's no real increase in load on your existing wiring. 👍

[jimi]

Jan 20, 2024 13:11:06 GMT kevins said:

yes that would work.

I would also add a warning light between the dotted line and earth, it will also come on with the thermo switch which I like, if you don't the dotted wire will need a diode.

Good idea, could also use a switch with a built in warning light 👍 (will need a diode as well)

[andyborris]

Jan 20, 2024 13:11:06 GMT kevins said:

yes that would work.

I would also add a warning light between the dotted line and earth, it will also come on with the thermo switch which I like, if you don't the dotted wire will need a diode.

Got me a switch with a LED in the levers end (very whizzy!), will that do and why would I need to insert a diode if I don't have a warning light?

[andyborris]

OK, which diode and why?

[andyborris]

Like this? link

[andyborris]

Or is there another way to wire it?

Perhaps just using the switch as a jumper to connect each side of the thermo switch? Not really worried about a warning light, the noise and vibration when all 4 fans are running, won't let you forget there're on!

[andyborris]

Like this?