Thread: M and S lights – replaced xyz switch and problem is back – other possible causes?

Yes they do die , as all things do, But just thinking if it was not a cal or a little old the start up surge would not be as well handled . After doing the penny saving trick in my younger days of " yeah it will last a bit longer! " and then sitting in the cold at 12am waiting for a jumpstart thingy! I tend to swap the old into a farm vehicle at 2yo and get a newie for the deefer/Disco. Easier to walk 3ks home than 50!

An old lead acid battery in a D2 is not good anyway due to the higher charging voltage.

Using calcuim batteries in older cars can be a problem as they're hard to fully charge with the lower voltages the older alternators put out.

I'm swaying towards a battery problem - it flashes the M&S lights when ignition is turned to position II the first time but not the second time in a row (if all the ECU's have energised by then it would make sense) and then they sometimes come on when manoeuvring about. Just gotta wait 'til I get it hooked up to a diagnostic tool to confirm.
Seems to drive alright if we can get it moving without flashing lights.

I got curious yesterday and as it was raining and I was confined to the shed , I put an older battery in the D2 and ran some rough tests. I lowered the charge state gradually while checking the voltage and found that my M&S lights start flashing at about 11.6 volts. The battery still starts the the motor quite well at that voltage and the lights go out as soon as the voltage has risen above 12.6.
Just some trivia for us to mull over
Cheers
Scott

Just had mine hooked up to a computer and its indicating a switch reading error, so it's either the switch (which I rebuilt not too long ago) or a loom error. It showed a open/closed variation on a position when the car was static so does the collective knowledge say strip the switch again or check the loom? Another afternoon lying on the driveway coming up!

Rich

Can I test the switch at the connector without taking it apart? I've found the RAVE switch voltage outputs chart but can't find a pinout for the plug.

Just need to eliminate the chance that it's the loom before I strip the switch as the code that's thrown up on mine is definitely a selector switch position issue.

Cheers

Rich

Originally Posted by Marmoset

Can I test the switch at the connector without taking it apart? I've found the RAVE switch voltage outputs chart but can't find a pinout for the plug.

Just need to eliminate the chance that it's the loom before I strip the switch as the code that's thrown up on mine is definitely a selector switch position issue.

Cheers

Rich

Assuming you have the RAVE cd, use the wiring diagram to locate the connector number for the xyz switch, then look up the connector view in the electrical library PDF. The connector view has the pin out.

Thanks off track, I stripped the switch again and it's had it, there has been a lot of water inside and it has corroded the spring contacts to the extent that they could not hold contact with the track, one snapped when some tension was introduced. The water was actually getting in from road spray etc and through the seals around the shaft rather than the the outer seal.

Currently looking a reasonably priced replacement it's like trying to find an honest politician, you'd like to think they exist but it's all in vain..