Where does this belong?

[pizzapete]

Hi all new to the forum and land rovers so looking for a little help.
I recently purchased an early 97 model Disco with engine removed from vehicle. It came with a replacement engine. I shouldnt have too many dramas installing the engine. What does worry me is while looking over the vehicle, behind the dash where I assume the ecu sits I found a disconnected wire which to me looks factory and shouldnt be disconnected. My question is does anyone know what it is for and could it have anything to do with intermittent starting problems that the previous owner had.

[pizzapete]

Will add a pic when I work out how to :oops2:

[zwitter]

Hi
Like most cars they have a standard loom which caters for many if not all the options and variants, so lots of connectors going nowhere hidden behind panels throughout the car.

Probably best to buy RAVE disks from "Daves interesting Things" on this forum and look up the wire colour codes and that will tell you what it is for.

I would doubt it would cause intermittent starting though.

Cheers

James

[pizzapete]

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2012/06/297.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/81019390@N06/7422853736/)
loose wire (http://www.flickr.com/photos/81019390@N06/7422853736/) by pizzapete2012 (http://www.flickr.com/people/81019390@N06/), on Flickr

It is almost like a thin coax type of cable.

[pizzapete]

I will look into those rave discs thanks zwitter. The wire looks like it has come off something though and may have caused intermittent problems if touching somewhere.

[Landover]

That's not the engine ECU. The engine ECU is down behind the drivers side kick panel above the relays. Not sure what that one is without looking it up.

[pizzapete]

Cool. Thanks Landover. So hopefully that wire isnt too important then.

[PhilipA]

This is a guess.
RRCs in UK had a radio antenna in the rear glass.
In Australia they fitted a normal antenna and most probably just cut off the UK one. (although I have never found mine)
Probably the same for Disco..
Regards Philip A

[Pierre]

97 Disco would have used antenna in rear right hand window glass. So it could be antenna cable. PP, can you pinpoint what this photo is looking at? Where's it taken from?

Cheers

Pete

[Nomad9]

Hi Pizzapete,
Intermittent starting could be the spider behind the radio, its a plick of a thing to get to but hey its a security device so it should be. There are loads of threads about this, I've even got one floating around somewhere. I bypassed mine and since then never missed a start.
As for the wire, HGFC, sorry. Just keep on trying things until something doesn't work, could it be a heater control vent cable? Just a wild stab in the dark, if its coax and the radio works it isn't the radio one........

[pizzapete]

Wow. few options to check out. The pic is taken in the passenger side footwell looking up under the glove box.
Spider?? Is this a little box for immobilisation? Was told that when the old engine didn't fire up it sounded like it had no compression but ran perfectly when it did start. The no/low compression was the reason for engine removal.

[Nomad9]

Hi Pete,
As far as starting and running fine, yeap thats what mine did when it started. The spider immobilised the starter so the key was dead basically never turned over at all. If the engine turns over on the key and won't start I suspect this could be something else.
I would have thought it a good idea to verify the status of the compression before removing the engine, that is unless you were committed to taking it out anyway.
My spider problem raised its head after I had rebuilt the engine and installed a new starter motor, the starter was what I thought the problem was. Having rebuilt the engine and quite keen to hear the engine run the last thing I wanted to be doing was ripping the dashboard apart, very demoralising, in the end thought the minute I turned the key and the engine fired the minute all the grief was forgotten.

[loanrangie]

My guess is it had a CB/UHF fitted and previous owner didnt want to retrace the coax to remove so just cut it.

[pizzapete]

Hi Nomad. I bought the car with engine already removed and a replacement came with the car but needs installing. I was given a run down on things so hopefully the immobiliser wasnt the problem :o.

Cb radio. Now thats something I didnt even think of.
Cheers