Help needed

so I just got in my landrover defender 90 and it struggled to start a little bit then smoke came from under the passenger seat but it was only a little bit, so I got home turned the ignition off and tried to start it again and it’s just filled with smoke, it’s the first time it’s dond it ! Any ideas what it could be ??

Exhaust?

Has the cable sheath melted in the bottom right of that photo?

bluedog333 said:

Has the cable sheath melted in the bottom right of that photo?

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I believe that’s tape over that from what I’ve seen, ive only had the defender a week, but when I tried turning it over again the smoke looked as if it was coming from across the bar that holds the battery down

JordanTeanby123 said:

I believe that’s tape over that from what I’ve seen, ive only had the defender a week, but when I tried turning it over again the smoke looked as if it was coming from across the bar that holds the battery down

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Ok, are those twin live wires that dangle over the left side of that black box connected to anything? Can’t make out from the photo.

id check the battery earth were it joins chassis/transmision

bluedog333 said:

Ok, are those twin live wires that dangle over the left side of that black box connected to anything? Can’t make out from the photo.

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No they’re not, I’m not sure what they’re for to be fair I’ve onky owned the 90 for a week

jamesmartin said:

id check the battery earth were it joins chassis/transmision

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jamesmartin said:

id check the battery earth were it joins chassis/transmision

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I’ll give it a look when I get in, would I be able to follow the cable from the battery and trace it to the chassis to see if it’s knackered ??

JordanTeanby123 said:

No they’re not, I’m not sure what they’re for to be fair I’ve onky owned the 90 for a week

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Make sure there’s no exposed connector from the unused wires touching any other metal work and make sure all nuts you can see are fully tight and well connected.

bluedog333 said:

Make sure there’s no exposed connector from the unused wires touching any other metal work and make sure all nuts you can see are fully tight and well connected.

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Thankyou for your help I’ll have a good look tomorrow and post how I get on

jamesmartin said:

id check the battery earth were it joins chassis/transmision

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I’ve checked all the earths that I can see and they all seem fine ??

jamesmartin said:

id check the battery earth were it joins chassis/transmision

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When I tried to start it this wire started to near enough glow at either end

JordanTeanby123 said:

When I tried to start it this wire started to near enough glow at either end

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replace it then ,transmission ,chassis and body need good earth cables between them and to battery

I wonder if it’s been an ongoing issue, the previous owner seems to have added an extra earth from the negative terminal to the clamping bar.

jamesmartin said:

replace it then ,transmission ,chassis and body need good earth cables between them and to battery

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Replace it with a bigger gauge cable ?? Or locate it somewhere else? I don’t understand why that cable is there ?? And I checked the earth to body and that’s good, the earth chassis to trans looks all good just a bit rusty on the chassis end!

bluedog333 said:

I wonder if it’s been an ongoing issue, the previous owner seems to have added an extra earth from the negative terminal to the clamping bar.

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Hmmm I’m not sure as like I say I’ve only owned it a week, would there be a solution to resolve this problem ??

JordanTeanby123 said:

Replace it with a bigger gauge cable ?? Or locate it somewhere else? I don’t understand why that cable is there ?? And I checked the earth to body and that’s good, the earth chassis to trans looks all good just a bit rusty on the chassis end!

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earths cant be good if that much power is trying to earth through those little earths on battery clamp

jamesmartin said:

earths cant be good if that much power is trying to earth through those little earths on battery clamp

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Ok that’s a good point, I’ll remove them all tomorrow give them a clean and try again

JordanTeanby123 said:

Hmmm I’m not sure as like I say I’ve only owned it a week, would there be a solution to resolve this problem ??

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Do as James said and replace the battery-chassis earth cable ( the main one ). Get a chunky high-quality one, see how you get on. The battery looks like a good quality Bosch, but don’t rule out that it could be faulty.

The main earth wire from the battery goes to the gearbox not the chassis. An earth runs from chassis to engine by the near side engine mount mount. It is a good idea to have an extra body to chassis connection.