Help desperately needed with 90 wiring

Hi

Hopefully posted in correct forum

Bit of background -

I bought a Q plated 90 van a couple of years ago which was supposed to be ex-military ( turned out not to be ), with a Disco engine transplant. Anyway i wanted to convert from the van to a cab/pick-up which has been done along with completely treating the chasis with rust converter and a two part paint job which looks the business.

I have also tried to get everything as "standard" as possible for parts and to give me a base from which to start withe the new stuff etc which has resulted in two new axles fitted with ARBs which i have yet to plumb in.

I am currently having two main problems, wiring in and plumbing the new gear but first and foremost is the older wiring. The original as purchased wiring system had a weird split charge system fitted in the rear and a winch, the wiring of which would not have looked out of place with Bolognese sauce on it and to cap it off the installer had used mainly green & yellow household earth cable for everything!!!!!

The chassis loom was riddled with twisted together wires and earth problems so this was removed and replaced with a new ( later date landrover issue one ) which hopefully will work as it appears to match the older one but with slightly heavier duty wires of same colour.

My problem now is where the engine loom joins the bulkhead and into the dash panel ( which also does not appear to be a standard panel ).

There is also a mud stuff type centre console where the winch was wired and a clock fitted again all with earth type cabling so a complete bitch to trace etc

Is there any one in the Portsmouth area who is knowledgeable with regards to the landrover electrics that can possible spare some time to help or give some pointers on how to tidy up and get the wiring back to some semblance of normality. i just want to get the vehicle running for an MOT, the rest of things like the winch, split charge and ARB compressor will be done at leisure later.

I have photos which may help in showing what i am up against.

As you can see there is the glow plug timer on the bulkhead and what i believe is the starter relay to the left. As no "standard" colouring wire was used i am struggling to sort out what goes where etc.

Any help or advice greatly appreciated with beer tokens to actual assist!!!

Cheers
Kev

That's a mess mate !! Get a auto electrician to rewire it!!
Buy a loom !! Get a wiring diagram replace wires with correct colour wires !!
Good luck!!

Preaching to the converted here mate.

Thought i would try to find a member that knows about this stuff first ( ie interested in Landys ).

Don't mind paying but want it done right first time and there are a lot of cowboys about down here and i need someone who knows what they are doing rather than someone who wants to do the easiest thing for them etc.!!

cheers
Kev

Wise decision !! Give it time, someone close to you may offer help !!
There's some very clever people on here !!
Try to gain there interest by offering cakes, beer, whatever it takes !!
Also giving yourself a girls username seems to realy help!! Ha ha!!
Good luck

Just as a thought, does anyone recognise the dash unit so i can marry up a new loom if needed? ie is it standard 90 200tdi or td5 etc

cheers

dash parts look right however its had a plate fitted ,the lights and speedo look right.
get a meter and work it out or rewire it so you know where your at..

There is nothing to 90 wiring, the standard cabling look nasty anyway,with lots of unused cables and sockets, depending on the spec of vehicle.sure you could sort it out yourself , work back from the component making good as you go

Made progress today on front lights, horn, washer pump and heater fan.
Still got to work out rear lights and engine side of things but more optimistic than before!!
Will be running earths back to battery for as much as possible to negate old loom issues.
Might be looking for some help with the engine wiring later.
Cheers guys

these may be of help

cheers mate

will check against what is fitted tomorrow

rgds
Kev

thought it was all going too well !!!


Had made the mistake of checking (using a light bulb ) all the rear connectors on the chassis harness individually.

Started plugging new led light fittings in and the bloody indicators all go at the same time regardless of what command is given on the switch !!!

Gave up at that point
Got the correct relay as it came with the RDX LED lights etc.
will be contacting them later today if I can't find any other problems

Things just took a turn for the worse!!!



Just seemed to get it all working so put dash back together and plugged the glow plug timer back in, turned on the key and heard the timer buzzing and a whiff of smoke from engine bay!!!!



Long story shortened i disconnected or unplugged literally everything except the ignition switch, the battery and the glow plugs ( although removed the timer relay ) turned the key and saw a whisp of smoke again from the engine but this time saw where it was comming from.......the accelerator cable where it attaches to the throttle block!!!!! The engine has11.8v to ground, this being through the throttle cable!!!!!!



unplugged everything now even the dash. the warning lights and steering column switches ,,,,,,,still the engine block seems live.



do you think this could be caused by glow plugs even with the timer removed from its' base???

you need to earth the engine and the chassis

check voltage from the battery negative firstly to the chassis and then to the engine, which ever gives 12v requires a negative from the battery, a hefty one

Seen a handbrake cable do the same sort of thing. As said, you need decent earth cables from the bulkhead to the chassis, engine to chassis, gearbox to chassis and then all back to the negative terminal on the battery.

G

Cheers guys

will check later today

Any ideas what point the engine should normally be earthed from?

best rgds

Another thing after a few replies on this and other forums.
The consensus of opinions seem to put ground strap at the front of the list.
The only question I would ask is should there be a 11.7v reading on the engine to ground anyway?
Surely this would mean something is shorting and installing an earth cable would create a closed circuit and result in that something frying itself.
Any thoughts??

subseauk said:

Another thing after a few replies on this and other forums.
The consensus of opinions seem to put ground strap at the front of the list.
The only question I would ask is should there be a 11.7v reading on the engine to ground anyway?
Surely this would mean something is shorting and installing an earth cable would create a closed circuit and result in that something frying itself.
Any thoughts??

Click to expand...

normally battery has an earth cable running to chassis then on to transfer box ,extra earths can be fitted at any convenient postion on engine or box

Thanks James

Still a bit concerned about where the 11.7v is "leaking" from or is this a normal land rover thing,,??

Update.....
Removed the complete bulkhead/dash loom.
With engine harness disconnected no voltage on engine but starter motor solenoid and alternator had direct 12v feed from battery positive as per most drawings.
Two brown wires going to engine harness plug from alternator also live.
Connect engine harness plug to bulkhead plug and zero volts on engine.
Turn key to 1st position and engine still 0volts
Turn key to 2nd position an 11.7volts on engine!!
Disconnect starter solenoid and motor from battery but leaving cable connectors clamped together an same result.
Disconnect alternator large brown cables but leave cables clamped together and same result.
Disconnect the small cable from the alternator, which goes to the dash warning lamps via a diode and resistor, and voltage to engine block disappears !!!
I am now thinking the alternator might have gown down or at least the rectifier part.
Any thoughts on this and how to test and/or cure if possible without replacing alternator with new one. Or any recommendations for a replacement etc if easier?
Cheers
Kev