Thread: Defender Td5 Lighting issues

Hi mate , I also have a 2000 td5 ,and have had my share of light problems , did you know there is a light Relay behind your dash , it's fixed to the fire wall way down the back , It's hard to see but It's there . It's Pink it will pull up it slides on a spade . now this Rely is for high/low beam , it also turns you headlights off with your ignition even when the switch is on the on position . This Realy has 7 pins ,you can try a normal 5 pin, I hope this helps ,let us know how you go .cheers jimr1

We had a look see at this relay and all the internals seemed okay. When we powered on there was no power to it other than a light wire other than ignition signal. For it to relay power I expected it to have heavy power supply live. There was none so assumed problem further upstream so to speak but thanks it might still be a culprit. It may be I am chasing multiple problems all interrelated. Not looking forward to fixing this one.....

I am on the road with a reasonable supply of tools but it seems the wiring has been made non standard before me and no diag. I am reasonably confident I know what it should be ie power from fusible link under the seat to the switch is solid brown wire but supply seems intermittent even watching the current with headlights on and engine running is fluctuating a little yet no flickers in lights or cabin light. Deduce the supply is going through something else ie that 7 pin relay.

Might try to use 5 pin relay and wire to switch as suggested.

As a follow up for others in similar predicament, after a little ring around on Saturday morning I spoke to good old Triumph Rover Spares and had 5 mins with Danny in the workshop. Apparently there is a branch in the power feed to the light switch by which I mean one power wire joins (spliced) into several to go to different functions and these are taped into the main loom (ie hidden). I have experienced this in other products, its like building a network. However, there is this particular splice joint in the loom behind the radio, you know the place, where the main loom is just visible through a small hole in the sheet metal of the rear of the dash/ firewall after you pull out the aux switch panel and radio. Wires get pulled and pushed as more accessories get added. Head light / side light wiring is quite a few amps (10 or so and continuous) so guess what, the spliced joint can start an intermittent continuity fault. Sounds familiar and it is very difficult to find the offending joint, get at the offending wires and re solder or patch. Not for me, on the side of the road, on a rainy SA afternoon.
I have not sighted the wires, the description by Danny is good enough for me. I shall attempt to bring power on a fuse from a different source up to the switch and go from there. The other additions ie Telstra requirement for light on at ignition, were a distraction but hope to be back on the road in a few days and safe ie trailer lights working.
My thanks to TR Spares and the auto electrician Wayne Mortimer in Dartmouth St., Port Augusta who, without his patience, I would not be this far with the problem.
If you need a sparkie in Port Augusta try Wayne on 08 8642 2409. A thorough gentleman, logical in diagnosing, and very fair in his charging. Good with alternators, he still rebuilds them. Most I find now adopt the try and replace method which works up to a point but is expensive when chasing intermittent wiring fault.

He may curse me as a result of this if too many Land Rovers drive in on Friday lunch time but that's always the way with these things.

All that remains now is to do the fix, after the rain stops. Might do the washing instead we have a pile to do.

Hope this is of some benefit to others.

Cheers Old Rangie.

Thanks for your reply ,Old Rangie I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help . Tracking a wireing problem would have to be one of the most frustraiting jobs , my son downloaded the td5 lighting wireing diagram ,that was a great help , just to help with colours . I've got it here but I don't know how to get it to you .You sound as though you will be able to get your lights working one way or other even if it is only a temp. fix . I do know at the end of this you will know just about all there is to know about your lights . All the best for now , keep us up to date .jimr1 !!...

Hi jimr1, I hot wired 6 mm cable from the fusible link under the seat under floor and back in through bulkhead behind dash using convenient flex cable cover existing for safety.
Solder onto brown/blue wire before the connector onto the switch loom so when the switch goes I can use the standard loom switch again. Just lazy, I can't be bothered with splicing into 6 mm cable very often it is painful, glad I have butane soldering iron.
So now the headlights stay on and power goes the pink 7 pin relay as required.
But still can't turn off park lights. They are getting power from some other circuit, presumably the insulation has melted or worn through somewhere adjacent to power cable. I heat to think what will happen if the park lights pull massive current ie short cct. I was lucky to have a master switch on starting battery and then on auxiliaries. I have two in caravan and one aux on Fender. Could make lots of heat so also have a couple of 2kg extinguishers.
My suspicion is Telstra had several subcontractors do accessories in Darwin and the mods may not have survived the 13 years of punishment. Cheers old Rangie.