Discovery S2 2003 Face lift headlights

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SteveG4TRA

SteveG4TRA

Active Member
Posts
203
Bit of a long shot I know, but has anyone a pair of facelift headlights for sale? Mine attract condensation and fill up with water, so after ten or so years of living with it I have decided they need replacement.
Failing that can anyone suggest a supplier of new ones that doesn't require me to remortgage the house.
Thanks
Steve
 
Stevehh said:
Bit of a long shot I know, but has anyone a pair of facelift headlights for sale? Mine attract condensation and fill up with water, so after ten or so years of living with it I have decided they need replacement.
Failing that can anyone suggest a supplier of new ones that doesn't require me to remortgage the house.
Thanks
Steve
Click to expand...
Longshot this too, but have you tried taking them off and clearing the drainholes at the bottom if there are any, or drilling lickle ones if there aren't?;)
 
Stanleysteamer said:
Longshot this too, but have you tried taking them off and clearing the drainholes at the bottom if there are any, or drilling lickle ones if there aren't?;)
Click to expand...
Hi SS,

Yes on many occasions I have had these lights off, stripped them down as far as you can. Drilled drain holes at bottom, and ones at the top for venting, fiddled about with the vents at the rear, dried them out, but still over time they fill with condensation again.
I don't seem to be able to implement a repair that stops the dreaded condensation full stop.
Any advice as to solving this problem would be gratefully received.
 
20200720_152954.jpg
will this do, pm me for price
 
Stevehh said:
Hi SS,

Yes on many occasions I have had these lights off, stripped them down as far as you can. Drilled drain holes at bottom, and ones at the top for venting, fiddled about with the vents at the rear, dried them out, but still over time they fill with condensation again.
I don't seem to be able to implement a repair that stops the dreaded condensation full stop.
Any advice as to solving this problem would be gratefully received.
Click to expand...

As a last resort, I'd strip it down and fill it with water to check if there's a broken seal or even a cracked surface.
 
The other question I am being asked by suppliers is are the headlamps level adjustable. There's a headlight level adjuster on the dash next to the mirror adjuster, but it does not seem to make any difference to the beam. When I have had the headlights apart previously there was no sign of a motor. Plus the fact that the S2 air suspension keeps the vehicle level at all times regarding of loading it would seem a bit pointless to have headlight adjustment as well. Maybe the headlight adjustor is a hang over from the S1 rear coil sprung models.
It's a bit like it has locking diff decals on the transmission tunnel, but the diff locker is not fitted to my model.
 
sierrafery said:
That's a fair question cos there are some with motors and others without depends on the vehicle's spec. Click on + near 1 here https://parts.jaguarlandroverclassic.com/parts/index/part/id/L5.L5D.L5D08.L5D08025/brand/land-rover/
Click to expand...
Interesting , that link is for a non levelling headlight.
I think first step is to take the Pt No from the headlights in the vehicle and also re-check if headlight levelling motors are fitted. As I understand it on the facelift headlights they are built in and non replaceable. Following that I will probe the multi pin connector to see if the adjuster on the dash even gets down to the headlights.
Then, based upon the silly prices I am receiving from suppliers (only genuine LR parts available) I will pull the headlights, strip them, dry and clean (best I can) and try to reseal them.
 
On both my D1 and my D2 the headlight adjuster is a motor external to the headlight which adjusts the normal adjuster, if that makes sense, but I have heard that facelift ones have the adjuster internal which is a massive shame. :(
If you have confidence that it'll pass an MOT then I'd tell them "non-adjustable", if they are cheaper.
you can always adjust them for the MOT anyway can't you?
Maybe not.
Not having a facelift myself.;):eek:
 
sierrafery said:
Try these https://www.emtuning.co.uk/product/5476/ i dont have a facelift but a friend of mine used such things(different brand available locally) on his and he is pleased ... anyway, if you drill holes in the lamps and dont want plugs dont let the holes empty, use this kind of patches https://www.emtuning.co.uk/product/3m-goretex-breather-patches/
Click to expand...

These patches look good! I think when you run non-original globes the problem is exacerbated. My issue seems to have gone (removed assemblies, cleaned and dried with a hair dryer) - might keep these patches in mind!
 
Intestinalworm said:
These patches look good! I think when you run non-original globes the problem is exacerbated. My issue seems to have gone (removed assemblies, cleaned and dried with a hair dryer) - might keep these patches in mind!
Click to expand...

I removed the assemblies today and stripped them on the bench.

The lenses are sealed with one single small drain hole at the base of the bottom reflector in each.

After cleaning the outside of the headlights it was apparent that the issue is condensation caused possibly by poor sealing of the Main and Dip access O rings, There is a fair amount of water flow in this area off the wing upper water channels it would seem, so when I restore the plugs I will ensure that the O rings are well seated and have a smear of Vaseline around them. Also I may extend the upper wing drainage channels too.

I dried out the inner headlight cavity with a low heat gun and managed to get a duster in there and twirl it around to clean the majority of the inner front of the headlight and also some of the reflector too.

Now on to the headlight cover screws. I had been removing the headlight assemblies complete with top covers due to the steel screws having welded themselves into the brass inserts, noting where the headlight cover sat on the front top cross member, so as to keep the beam alignment the same when I reassembled them. This, I should imagine is a common problem due to the poor design selection of dissimilar metals for the inserts and screws. One would be tempted to just leave them and like I have done just remove the headlight and cover as one item, but the knackered Philips heads just got to me. So I cut the inserts and screws off with a multi tool, drilled out the remnants and screwed in new 6mm inserts with a bit of Aroldite. New brass 6mm screws and Copperslip completed the job. Watch out for the clips when doing this job.

As I suspected these headlights do not have self levelling motors fitted, just a mechanical adjustment at the rear for seemingly just the dip unit. The multi pin connector is fitted and as I mentioned before the dashboard adjuster too, so I guess adjustable levelling headlamp assemblies could be retrofitted if one wanted too (bit like overdrive).

The Pt/No on the assemblies are XBC000811 LH and XBC000801 RH which as others have noted doesn't seem to line up with any of the Pt/No for these headlight assemblies available from suppliers, Rimmers quote them as XBC501490 and XBC501500 respectively.

I'll put them back in tomorrow and see how long it takes for them to fill up with water again. All in all a somewhat cheaper exercise than £800-900 suppliers are quoting for a pair of new ones.
 
I thought that might be the case. I was a bit too worried about it when I put Project Disco through the first MOT after the rebuild.
 
Seems that even this humble thread has attracted scammers. I received this a few days ago:

Stevehh, pexter started a new personal conversation with you at LandyZone - Land Rover Forum.

Discovery S2 2003 Headlights

armamentech would be a good option,contact him via liberty7all@ gmail.com .He has a Discovery S2 2003 Headlights he wants to part with.
View This Conversation View All Your Conversations

Unfortunately pexter or armamentech does not seem to exist here and whilst the links take you to the LandyZone site the chat does not exist either.

So I got in touch with [email protected] who actually sent pictures of S2 facelift lights at a reasonable price, however he was reluctant to put a name to himself and would not divulge his address in Grimsby or indeed any info as to why the lights we being sold.

Eventually after further requests for information the communications broke down and I can only conclude that this is a scam maybe already known to other contributors here. Anyone offering spares without a name and address is bound to be a scammer in my opinion.

My recommendation that if offered spares through LandyZone personal conversations, then check that the other party exists and their credibility through posts and threads here.
 
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