Oil in the wires/ECU

[adonuff]

Hi all I just had a look at the plugs on the offending harnesses and good news no oil, (Discovery 2 TD5 built Mid 2002 120,000 klm). Have looked at all the threads I can find here on the subject and found one that suggested stripping the insulation off the wires before the plugs, then soldering a small part of the wire and redoing the insulation.?

Wondering has anyone tried this and did it work?
Am I lucky and Land Rover have fixed this on the 2002 model?? (knowing my luck this will be a NO! ??)
Or
Is this something to look forward to?
Is a quick clean up of the plugs going to get me home?
Is the ECU sealed so that the oil cant get in?
Worst case senario would be ??? $$$$
Andrew

[Blknight.aus]

by then it should have had at least one replacement injector harness.

if its had a replacement harness it should have had a modded on fitted that means in theory it shouldnt leak again.

its a relatively cheap part and is all of an hours work to replace.

That Im aware of the oil doesnt get into the ECU but falls out at the plug.

[adonuff]

Thanks Dave will keep my fingers crossed and hope it stays the same, We are going to be dragging a Van around the country soon and I'm just trying to do the preventative maintainance.

We will buy you a beer when we get up your way

Andrew

[Blknight.aus]

dont panic on the oil in the harness fault for the trip, its not an engine stopper.

spend the money on a coolant alarm/engine saver (see one of the flyby adds up the top)

If Im about you're welcome to pitch up at my place for an overnighter on the way up.

[adonuff]

Will do when we get up your way. Fitted the coolant alarm yesterday (The one advertised on this site) and it does all it promised to do, got a discount for mentioning where I saw the ad, easy to fit arrived within a few days of placing the order. Used to have simular when I owned a truck and the alarm saved serious damage a few times.

Now all I have to do is check the oil pump Bolt!

Andrew

[johnclv]

I got one - brand new - never used. You can purchase cheap if you want. PM me

I was going to replace mine but ended up selling my Disco instead

[adonuff]

Hi new to this and not sure how to PM so give me a call on 0419567460

Andrew

[CraigE]

Do a search on the site, there is plenty of information on this issue and how to deal with it.

[discodancer]

Or
Is this something to look forward to?
Is a quick clean up of the plugs going to get me home?
Is the ECU sealed so that the oil cant get in?
Worst case senario would be ??? $$$$
Andrew

Won't hurt to carry a pressure can of ( non-residual) electrical contact cleaner ( ex Jaycar or Electronics store etc)
If it starts to run rough ..like it is on 4 cyls... and wont "pull the skin off a rice custard" then oil in the harness is an obvious check.
Spray the plugs clean and things will probably improve until it clags up again.

Once oil travels down the copper wire inside the plastic shielding .. a loom replacement is the "only" option....ask me how I know.

Cheers
Bob

[CraigE]

Won't hurt to carry a pressure can of ( non-residual) electrical contact cleaner ( ex Jaycar or Electronics store etc)
If it starts to run rough ..like it is on 4 cyls... and wont "pull the skin off a rice custard" then oil in the harness is an obvious check.
Spray the plugs clean and things will probably improve until it clags up again.

Once oil travels down the copper wire inside the plastic shielding .. a loom replacement is the "only" option....ask me how I know.

Cheers
Bob
Bob,
Sorry but that is absolute rubbish and similar to a dealer sentiment, not criticising you as there are many that have been told the same. There are plenty of us on here that have had oil in the injector harness, into the main loom and through to the ECU plug and have not had to replace the whole loom. Generally the reason we replace the injector harnes is it is relativelly cheap and an easy task. The main loom is however an expensive item and time consuming to replace. There are several post on how this has been done, but basically you set up a container on top of the female lower plug near the head. Disconnect the ECU plug from the ECU and place a container underneath to catch the residue. A small plastic coke bottle is a possible use as it will push or thread in. Some good gaffer tape around it to seal. Then either cut a hole in the botle and pour in non destructive contact cleaner or even metho and allow to gravity feed through to the ECU plug overnight or put a bike car valve in the bottle, by removing the valve you can 1/4 or 1/2 fill the bottle through the valve, replace the valve and apply low pressure from a compressor or bike pump. Only very low pressure or you can create a missile. Once flushed clear liquid will be coming out at the ECU plug. You can allow it all to drain but contact cleaner is non conductive so should not be an issue so it can be run straight away. I just cleaned any residual every couple of days for a week and then checked it weekly until there was absolutelly no residue. Have not replaced the main loom and it has not missed a beat. Replaced the injector harness with a new one and cleaned up the old one as a spare (yes they do clean up and work), just need some new O rings and I will have a good spare if it happens again.
Beware a lot of dealers or ill informed service departments will tell you it needs a new loom and if it is under warranty is not an issue, but if it is out of your pocket it can be a big expense that is not needed.

[discodancer]

Bob,
Sorry but that is absolute rubbish and similar to a dealer sentiment, not criticising you as there are many that have been told the same. There are plenty of us on here that have had oil in the injector harness, into the main loom and through to the ECU plug and have not had to replace the whole loom. .....................Beware a lot of dealers or ill informed service departments will tell you it needs a new loom and if it is under warranty is not an issue, but if it is out of your pocket it can be a big expense that is not needed.

Craig, glad to hear it. I was obviously conned..... but in in about 2003 or earlier ( and out of warranty) my "new" 2000 model suffered the symptoms and back then I did not find any posts about flushing the loom.
Perhaps I missed them?
I refused to pay the dealer cost and purchased the looms via one of Aulro sponsors for a self-fix. Fairly easy job an not a problem since.
Hence my comment about.... "only" option..ask me how I know.

Is the above "fix" process now easy to find in the Good Oil or similar?..so that others don't get stitched up.

Cheers
Bob

[scott oz]

I’ve read all the threads on the oil in the loom problem which I’ve now discovered “I have”. What a S**T

Am I correct in that the oil is penetrating the “wire” and running down the wire core between the core and the plastic inner casing? As opposed to running down the outside the wire case within the wire looms?

While I haven’t taken my rocker cover or engine cover off “yet” is the “plug” on the main harness where it connects to the short injector harness a sealed plug?

I’ve looked at the plug end on the ECU end and it looks like with the correct tools or small screw driver you could takeout the connectors?

My thinking is that perhaps you could “make up” a new separate harness picking up from the injector harness and then attach new connectors at the ECU end and reinsert into the ECU plug? This makes the existing wiring in the loom obsolete.

Then you only need replace/clean the injector harness if needed and if you need to replace to the ECU loom a lot easier to either clean or replace again?

[CraigE]

Craig, glad to hear it. I was obviously conned..... but in in about 2003 or earlier ( and out of warranty) my "new" 2000 model suffered the symptoms and back then I did not find any posts about flushing the loom.
Perhaps I missed them?
I refused to pay the dealer cost and purchased the looms via one of Aulro sponsors for a self-fix. Fairly easy job an not a problem since.
Hence my comment about.... "only" option..ask me how I know.

Is the above "fix" process now easy to find in the Good Oil or similar?..so that others don't get stitched up.

Cheers
Bob
Bob,
Not sure if it has been placed in good oil, but if you do a general search for say oil ecu you should get heaps of results.
Glad you did not get stung for fitting as well.
In good oil http://www.aulro.com/afvb/good-oil/27131-td5-oil-harness.html (http://www.aulro.com/afvb/good-oil/27131-td5-oil-harness.html)
Craig

[CraigE]

I’ve read all the threads on the oil in the loom problem which I’ve now discovered “I have”. What a S**T

Am I correct in that the oil is penetrating the “wire” and running down the wire core between the core and the plastic inner casing? As opposed to running down the outside the wire case within the wire looms?

While I haven’t taken my rocker cover or engine cover off “yet” is the “plug” on the main harness where it connects to the short injector harness a sealed plug?

I’ve looked at the plug end on the ECU end and it looks like with the correct tools or small screw driver you could takeout the connectors?

My thinking is that perhaps you could “make up” a new separate harness picking up from the injector harness and then attach new connectors at the ECU end and reinsert into the ECU plug? This makes the existing wiring in the loom obsolete.

Then you only need replace/clean the injector harness if needed and if you need to replace to the ECU loom a lot easier to either clean or replace again?

Scott,
It usually runs down the inside of the wires via cappilary action and this is why you end up with oil in the plug. If you look at the connector you can see why. The top connector is male. The oil can either get into the connector cup via internals of the wire capillary action or even from the external and if the o rings are worn can pass into the cup. The bottom connector cup is a female cup and when oil pools in here it enters the core of the wire. When it gets to the ecu connector the problem raises its head as oil is conductive, scattering the electrical pulses from the ecu.
Replacing either loom is not actually difficult, but the main loom can be time consuming and is significantly dearer than the injector harness and with dealer service charges can be a rather large cost. Bypassing the main harness is problematic itself as there is not much room to pass it through grommets where required.
As said search the site and there are detailed instructions on how to clean. Mine has been fine for 4 years now.
The plug connector is not a sealed plug.
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/good-oil/27131-td5-oil-harness.html
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/technical-chatter/37775-yes-another-oil-harness-thread-4.html some pics here