Thread: Oil in the harness :(

Can someone give me a quick run down on the problem. Is the jist of it that somehow engine oil gets forced along the loom and ends up pooling at the ecu until it gets into the important bits?

I had a look under the front of my D2 TD5 the other day to see oil "mess" (haven't looked under in a while) in the FR wheel arch, I thought the ACE must have been leeking as it was the only oil source in the area. After reading this, it looks more likely to be coming from the battery/ecu box.

Hi Sequel
Unfortunately you have joined the club.
Remove the ECU,easy peasy,remove the orange connector and look at the mess.
The new injector harness inside the head,need to remove the rocker cover is an easy job for anybody who considers themselves a backyard mechanic.Karcraft in Sidaney www.karcraft.com are a good source of a new one,but others who advertise here will also be able to get one cheaper than a stealer.
When you check yours remove the orange sealing gromet from the connector to allow the oil to drain freely,and when you refit the ECU put the orange connector lowermost for the same reason.Brake cleaner in the spray can is the go for cleaning the oil out,works perfect.When you fit the new harness leave that orange grommet out of the connector until the oil is finished flowing,MAKE SURE YOU REFIT IF DOING ANY SWIMING,its there for a reason.
Best of luck mate.
Andrew

Thanks Andrew (I Think!?). I am not sure what others have told you, but crochet and cross stitch are not my thing (maybe www.karcraft.com.AU).

Looks like I need to do a search for "oil" & "harness".

Originally Posted by barney

has this disco ever been serviced at a dealer? there was a service bulletin sent around to fix it and should have been done when it went in for a service free of charge.
when they go in, the dealer pumps the VIN into the computer and it checks the whole land rover database to see what factory upgrades it has missed out on.
if you can remove enough oil, you may be able to inject some hot-melt glue into the harness, this will fill all the vacant spots and seal the harness, preventing any more oill getting thru.
the other thing you can do is connect an air line from a compressor to your ecu box. you wont need much pressure, just a few psi will prevent any oil coming down the harness and also preven any water getting into the ECU in the case of accidental submersion.

Oil does not get into the ecu itself, just into the connector harness. The ecu is sealed water and air tight and the pins on the ecu side of the connector are male and sealed. the oil pools in the harness and causes a minor electrical interuption acroos the pins causing incorrect injector sequencing.

I have replaced two of these now they last about 80k as said in previous replies I now carry brake cleaner & inspect the connectors regularly.One theory of mine---------could it be synthetic oil??? Ive always used it.Anyhow between all of us im sure we can solve this---IADAS keep us informed please---roly

Assuming when I try and find where the oil is coming from, and when I pull the ECU out, the harness is full off oil, should I disconnect the battery before I start to clean the harness? I have a radio code, but the person I bought the car off said he is not sure if it is the right one, as the radio was replaced 3 times under warranty.

Hi Sequal
I watched my mechanic do mine without disconnecting the battery,nothing went wrong.Ive done mine without causing any problems but have only undone the 1 orange connector.When I totaly disconnect I do the battery first.
Leave that orange sealing grommet out till the problem is fixed,just dont forget to replace it later.
MAKE SURE THE IGNITION IS OFF AND KEY REMOVED,it could well make a difference if its in the slot!!!!!
Andrew

No fair!!!!!!

So whens mine going to leak?????