4 Wheel Drive Light on Dash

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Discovery 1 300Tdi. The 4 wheel drive seems to be working fine but the Light does not come on Dash when it is engaged.
The ECU has been bypassed by one of the PO s as the central locking does not work, light in top right corner flashing all the time. A separate button has to be pressed before you can start engine.
not sure if its something to do with that , or is it a common problem ??
 
border said:
Will try and get a look at switch on Gearbox, Not sure how to get to it. I Think on my last Defender you could see it from removing the lid from under drivers seat. but not so easy on Disco
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It's on the top of the TB front output housing - shown in RAVE - bit of a g*t to get to from underneath .... but it's harder still on the auto .....:)
 
Disco1BFG said:
I know ;);) - mine isn't though, so you guess how I know this :mad::mad::mad: - SWMBO's is a manual, so I know it's easier on the R380 - just some fool put a bl@@dy propshaft in the way :rolleyes:

:D
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Is there a w ay to get to it by removing rubber gator on the gear stick ?, Might do this anyway and get everything in there Greased up .
 
You can reach it from below with a bit of contorsionism... from above you have to remove the whole console and the gear lever cover plate which is riveted there, see where the arrow poits to have an ideea
CDL switch.jpg
 
Found the switch, well Felt It :) Anyway when I put the two connectors in to blade fuse the light came on dash straight away. Cleaned them up and reconnected but no light on dash as before.
I tried the test by jacking one wheel up, now the wheel spun with difflock In and Out which should say that Difflock is not working, but then drove down on to the field to try it and I could defiantly feel the Difflock working. So cant figure it out.
Sometimes the lever is quite hard to move, and others it just goes straight in.
Any Ideas Now ?? Thanks for help so far.
 
If it is anything like the D1 then when moving the lever into Difflock you may have to move the vehicle forward a tiny bit to allow it to slip in. If you can feel the lever moving to the left at all it should signify that engagement is possible. You said that it went in when driving on the farmer's field. Why not do it again, and once engaged, jack up a wheel and see if the wheel is immobilised? If so, the only problem is electrical. I think I'd be asking my self if I could live with the light not working. Especially as you seem to be aware when it is engaged. The only worry would be driving off onto tarmac with it still engaged. Maybe sticking something in front of the dash to remind you everytime you put it on? Or else just follow all the wires and get it sorted.
 
sierrafery said:
You should replace the switch to be ruled out
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Yes Think I will give it a g try, But would a faulty switch make mine fail the jacked up wheel test ? as I tried it on my Defender rebuild and when engaged the wheel would not turn, so will borrow the switch from that to try as Rebuild it is on hold till after the new year.
 
border said:
Found the switch, well Felt It :) Anyway when I put the two connectors in to blade fuse the light came on dash straight away. Cleaned them up and reconnected but no light on dash as before.
I tried the test by jacking one wheel up, now the wheel spun with difflock In and Out which should say that Difflock is not working, but then drove down on to the field to try it and I could defiantly feel the Difflock working. So cant figure it out.
Sometimes the lever is quite hard to move, and others it just goes straight in.
Any Ideas Now ?? Thanks for help so far.
Click to expand...

Ok you don’t need to find a field to test your diff lock, it can be stationary or when moving at any road speed “however with the vehicle is in motion but then it’s essential to be travelling on firm ground, in a straight line and without wheel slip” to quote Land Rover.
Selecting diff lock stationary you may have to move the vehicle forward a metre or so for it to engage an the confirmation lamp to illuminate, then after disengagement it may also stay illuminated for a couple of metres.

I’ve only used diff lock once in 32 years, that was in the thick snow years ago and the discos diff lock worked as above, I was in and out of diff lock a 20-25mph engaging only when I approach a steep hill I was the only vehicle on the road at the time, it also stopped me drifting on roundabouts which was safer but drifting was fun.
 
I have used diff lock loads of times. In fact, according to Ashcroft in one of their videos, if driving a D1 offroad you should always put difflock on as if you don't and one wheel spins even for not very long, it'll fubar the central diff.
And if they have supplied it, this isn't covered in their warranty.
" If you are off road on snow or ice and you get wheelspin from one front wheel, what will happen is the rear prop will not be moving, the front will thus be going double speed, this means the small centre diff gears will be spinning like fury and after a matter of only a few seconds the plant gears will friction weld to the cross pins and the gears will fail etc, the result of this is that the diff will then behave as if it is locked as it is jammed with gear debris. This can happen if the driver forgets to lock the centre diff on a low traction surface or due to incorrect linkage adjustment, Please note this failure is not covered under warranty as we deem this driver error, the diff will never fail for any other reason other than excessive spinning, in which case the diff should have been locked by the driver." from the following. https://www.ashcroft-transmissions.co.uk/frequently-asked-questions/lt230-faq-s.html
 
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