Series III (burned) rebuild

Hi all,

We've been plugging away with detail, such as fitting a tow bar, refitting the fuel tanks, getting the brake and clutch lines connected, tracing all the wires and labelling them in readiness for replacement and/or reconnection, rebuilding the carburettor, painting the engine, replacing the various hoses (vacuum, heater, etc.) and generally doing all the jobs which take loads of time and don't show much progress externally. :)

However, last night we did turn the key and the starter engaged correctly and turned the motor over easily and sweetly. Very nice! We also got the brakes, tail lights, indicators, headlights (low and high beam) working perfectly, including the dash indicator lights. Very, very, nice!

However, a couple of questions for those who know please.

1. The "side lamps" front and rear. I assumed the front ones were parking lights and the rears reversing lights, but there is no reverse light switch on the gear shift and the front side lamps don't come on with the headlight switch. Can anybody please say what these respective lights are meant to be and how they operate?

2. The key barrel has four terminals. #1 is power from the battery, #2 is power when the key is on (ignition, I presume), #3 is power to the starter solenoid (activates it), and #4 shows no sign of being connected to anything in the Haynes wiring diagram. I would have thought it was "accessories" but the key only seems to have three positions - off, on, and start. Anybody?

3. This engine bay was burned and I have no experience with Landys at all, so I am not clear on the ignition wiring and the Haynes diagram's not that helpful. I have fitted a GT40 coil (not a GT40R). Do I need a "ballast resistor" and if so, any advice on specs etc?

Thanks for any help!

Regards,
Lane.

Hi Lane,

I have a pdf document which is the original blue Leyland workshop manual for the series 3. In a couple of areas it has been different to the Haynes manual. I could send you the section with the wiring diagrams if you like to see if that is better than what you have. That bit is only 3.5mb. I found it online through one of the American forums.

PM me with an e-mail address if you want it.

TimJ

Actually just had a look at the diagram and it shows nothing on position 4 of the ignition switch as well. I also had a look at the diagram in the original owners manual and it appears to be identical to the one in the Leyland blue book so I think there isn't anything there.

Tim.

the reverse light switch is on the gear lever base that bolts to the gear box. Its similar to a brake switch. when the lever is in reverse position it pushes in the button and allows power through. I'll post a pic and measurements so you can drill a hole and fit a switch if yours doesn't have it:D

Thanks Wozza. Mine doesn't have one, the Haynes wiring diagram doesn't show one, and there isn't any obvious wiring for one either. :)

I fitted a rectangular "flood" type light under the rear cross-member to give loads of light when I can work out how to get power to it. ;)

What about those clear lights, front and rear?

Well, the front clear lights - the "side lamps" as the manuals call them - are parking lights and were not working because the globes weren't connecting properly. So that's that sorted. However the clear ones on the rear are still a mystery. Wozza, are they meant to be reversing lights, and if so, why is there no sign of them in the wiring diagrams? Were they added as an ADR compliance measure, but Haynes etc. didn't know about them?

If that's the case, it would explain why on both chassis we found an extra green wire running to the back outside the main harness, almost like an after-market addition, but running inside the chassis with the main harness. I'm guessing that's the reversing light feed. How it is switched is a mystery, however, since it seems to go back to fuses, nowhere near the gear shift...

Any ideas?

Thanks Tim. Funny you called one of yours "Queen Mary" - we had named ours "King George". :)

It's possible that those lights are actually the "rear fog lamps" that are no 51 and 52 on the diagrams I have. I will have to see if I have reversing lights as I have never actually checked. Maybe they came in with a particular year?

We named the D3 "Queen Mary" because it is a big luxury boat rather than the royalty thing :).

Tim.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Timj

It's possible that those lights are actually the "rear fog lamps" that are no 51 and 52 on the diagrams I have. I will have to see if I have reversing lights as I have never actually checked. Maybe they came in with a particular year?

We named the D3 "Queen Mary" because it is a big luxury boat rather than the royalty thing :).

Tim.

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I've just had a look at the photos of your rear Lane, if you are talking about the two clear lenses on the inside of the other lights, yes, they are definately reversing lights. We have 3 Series 3's that all have them mounted in the same postion and they are wired up to a switch on the mount for the gearstick. It looks as though yours is missing the switch?

Be careful with those lenses, they are worth $80 to replace! We have purchased new front clear park lights (a different holder and lense) to replace the rear reverse lights as we couldn't justify the cost of getting the originals new.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TJWA

I've just had a look at the photos of your rear Lane, if you are talking about the two clear lenses on the inside of the other lights, yes, they are definately reversing lights. We have 3 Series 3's that all have them mounted in the same postion and they are wired up to a switch on the mount for the gearstick. It looks as though yours is missing the switch?

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Yes, those are the two lenses I'm talking about. OK, that's good -they are definitely reversing lights. I think my theory about the ADR compliance is likely to be right, given the absence of any sign of those in the wiring diagrams, and the additional wire running inside the chassis to the rear. Also, those lights are positioned like add-ons.

My switch is missing, but also there is no wiring running down to there, which makes it hard to work out how it was set up. What colour is the wire to the switch, and what's its route, if you can see?

Also, while you're at it, what route did the speedo cable take through the engine bay? Does it run under the sump, forward of the sump, or over the water pump or something like that?