Disco 1 300TDI new issue

Hi Guys before anyone says it i have been searching this issue for days so i'll apologize now for the posting and let you know its a fairly long one as i will list what i have tried so far.

ok so the issue my 300tdi disco one started having flickering headlights (main beam only on both sides). A few days back they went off and never came back on. At that point it sounded like it was having trouble firing up also so i went and got the battery checked and yep it was sure enough on its way out so i put that down to the issue.

now what i've done since to try sort this out with no luck yet.
New battery fitted - Enduroline CXV-X 1000Amp (found that recommended here)
New relay behind passenger footwell - old and new one can be heard clicking as you turn the light stalk on/off
Checked for loose/broken connections on back of both lights and checked for loose earth's all tight and looking good.
All fuses related to lights and otherwise taken out checked and replaced.

the one thing i haven't found but have read about on here is the dim/dip in the ending bay and im also not sure what it looks like to try and find it. any help on what that looks like would be great and pics would be a good send.

sidelights seem to be fine and high beam also seems fine i can flash or keep them up on full just no headlights.
I can get called out any time day or night so really need to deal with this asap been at it for 2 days and at this point i cant find any loose or broken connections. I'll be going back out shortly with a multi meter to get readings from anywhere i can on continuity and on voltage. All help welcomed guys I know one of you landy guru's will have the answer to this.

quick side note how do i remove the wiper and indicator stalks i can get to the wires but cant remove the stalks and have intermittent intermittent wipers also.(don't care too much about the wiper rite now but i assume they will be removed in a similar way to the indicator stalk)

If anyone needs me to take pics of anything to help know what is being dealt with I can get them on request.

Thanks again guys this has to be the best forum I've been on in terms of help and knowledge said it before and i'll say it again i would have been left stumped many times without you guys helping and again all help welcomed

Hiya ,

Just in case do you have the rave manual? if not then it can be downloaded here. About the above issue, I would be the same as you , belling it out and seeing what is broken.

one of the rave files has the workshop manual including electrickery for the 300tdi Disco.

http://www.green-oval.com/data/lr/

Good luck.

Cheers

neilly said:

Hiya ,

Just in case do you have the rave manual? if not then it can be downloaded here. About the above issue, I would be the same as you , belling it out and seeing what is broken.

Cheers

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thanks neilly for the quick reply i have the rave disc's from a previous fight with the disco lol, however im not the best at reading the darn things. Spent hours and hours looking but not normally finding what i need. still the fun go's on i really want to try stay on top of things as best i can as i want to try and get my disco back up to working (standard) before i start looking into putting what money i can into it in terms of guards,racks,lights etc.. I love the way it drives on road and off and its the first time i've had something big enough to handle all the things i need to carry around with me so really want to make this work.

I had a similar problem a couple of years ago the problem turned out to be the plastic connector the headlights plug into had melted. I cut them off and replaced with ceramic (I think I got these off ebay). Problem solved. May be worth a look at the connectors before stripping out wiring.

new update: checked the connectors on the back of the lights there whole and no signs of damage. put a multi meter on there i get 14v on the full beam (engine running) 0v on the main beam same both sides. next i removed the battery and got to continuity testing here's where it got interesting. i can get a reading from ALL 6 pins (3 each side) to the neg battery terminal. also traced back as much as i can to the point the wires go into the car put a little split in the wire to get a tester probe in and im getting continuity from the main beam pin of both headlights back to there. not sure what to look at next or if i should be getting a reading from all pins to the neg lead of the battery. i have a quick test in mind but would like advice on it first.

the thought to test
cut off the connector for the light and put female connectors directly on the wire to the bulb to see if it lights up, im assuming in the long run this would cause a problem but would it work to test. as im thinking if they light up from there it has to be the connectors. however like i said they look good and also give readings on the multi meter.

Is it possible to attach female connectors to spare pieces of wire, plug these onto the headlight, then use these to test the headlight plug connections? Saves cutting any wires before you know the fault.

Fizzer said:

Is it possible to attach female connectors to spare pieces of wire, plug these onto the headlight, then use these to test the headlight plug connections? Saves cutting any wires before you know the fault.

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im back and forth to the car rite now and im not sure what you mean by using a spare wire to test the connections. i have already put a multi meter into the connectors and i don't get a voltage from the main beam either side of the car. so my thought was to bypass the connector for the light and come from the wire before it. haven't cut anything yet and hoping not to have too but i have tried taking the stalk off the steering and after undoing the 4 screws i can find im still not getting any luck taking it off so im not sure what im missing.

Edit: i have male and female connectors to make any test wires suggested or needed

ok so i just put the old battery back on so i can turn things on and not kill the new battery, i've traced a Blue wire with black stripe from the lights back to where it go's into the bulk. stripped a little to get some copper and put a tester on it with ignition and lights on 0v from it. so im guessing/assuming my problem has to be inside the car somewhere. anyone know where the wires run from/too when they enter the bulk! i do however get a steady voltage from the blue/black wire if i touch the positive on battery lights on or off. this is really confusing me but only thing i can think is somewhere the feed is touching an earth

Edit: not cut any wires (yet) but now i have just noticed drivers side sidelight now no longer works either, getting close to putting a match to it all now starting to stress me out more i look to fix it more it seems to get worse.

Could be your fuse board, have known them to be the problem

not sure about the fuse board under the bonnet but i've had the one out from under the steering wheel to change the MFU and it looks like its been changed recently ALL the connections for the cables and fuses look like new copper no corrosion and all nice and shiny. at this point im willing to try just about anything including removing all wiring related and just rewiring the lot if it means getting it working. i really love the disco but rite now i've got a lot going on and cant afford to keep a vehicle that's only of use to me in the day. im not the best at sorting these things and don't know exactly what im doing but at the same time i cant afford to pay someone else to look for me you guys are my best chance of getting through this and keeping the disco. love working on it but not when its something keeping me off the road. like i say i've tried all fuses changed relays, tested wires and only thing i have noticed is they all seem to earth. things i don't understand why only the main beam has gone (and now the 1 side light bulb has been tested and is working). additional question though. can the stalk switch be the problem even though i can use it to turn on side lights and i hear the relay click when i turn it to main lights.

Perhaps it's a good idea to get yourself a Haynes manual and follow the simple wiring diagram for side, tail and headlights, you will then find that the blue-black wire that u was cutting into feeds the left hand dip beam from fuse 11.
A common issue with head lighting has been known to point to a faulty lighting switch.
For info on dim-dip you say u have replaced the relay but u still have the existing lighting issue, if u wish to keep that function leave the relay in place, you will find the resistor by the side of your windscreen washer bottle, that info I assumes you have a 1996MY D1 or onwards as u don't say.

if i could afford a haynes i would have one already and as for the blue-black wire i traced that from the light and cut into it to test continuity. it was covered back up before the battery went back on. also i should clarify by cut into i mean i took off about 3mm of the outter casing i didnt cut any copper just got a little hole to pot the tester into. the disco is a disco 1 300tdi 1998. and yes the relay has been changed not removed out of the circuit. i read the info on the resistor by the side of the washer bottle, but i cant see anything that even looks like it could be a resistor near there hence me asking for a pic.

side note: how do i add my disco info to the bottom of my posts like some of you guys have done

Hi ceffyn
the fuse box next to your header tank has fuse for lights in it !

Steve

Magicgrotto said:

Hi ceffyn
the fuse box next to your header tank has fuse for lights in it !

Steve

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yeah i checked that one 30amp screw in fuse. its the resistor i cant find and dont know what it looks like

Like this !

Steve

yep checked that fuse box and the one under the dash but i've read and been told lots bout some resistor by the washer bottle thats the one im having trouble finding. if you can get a piccy of that i would be most grateful. way this is going im gonna need all you guys paypal info's to send you cash for a pint each lol shame your too far away for me to come buy you guys a pint in person hehe

ceffyn
NOT sayin your daft ! BUT have you checked the bulbs are ok ??

Steve

Magicgrotto said:

ceffyn
NOT sayin your daft ! BUT have you checked the bulbs are ok ??

Steve

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lol i can be daft i'll admit that but yes the bulbs have been tested and are working, they light up well from direct battery sauce (i used a 6v lamp battery so they were dim but worked) didnt want to blow them by testing direct from the main battery. also the 1 sidelight thats not working i swapped the bulb over to the other side and it works there. the fuses i also changed around as well as checking. and like wise with the relay however i notice loads of people saying about the relay being pink but the one that clicks with my switch is yellow ybw10027 and there are others with the same code around the footwell so i took out the clicking one tested no longer any clicks, then changed it for one of the others in the footwell and tried and the swapped out one clicks now and nothing else stopped working so i assumed the relay we alive and working.

you got owt like this on bulk head near washer bottle ?

Steve

not too sure but i have to go out to pick up some things so i'll check while im out and report back as soon as i get home, hoping it will be within an hour but my luck it will prob be closer to 2 hours.