Let there be light …QT pod dilema

Hi guys and gals, been a while since I’ve popped by put I have a Q? To put before the Landyzone oracle

My old 98 300tdi is a FUGLY old workhorse but time has come to show her some lovin …she starts up daily with no fuss, bother or fluid leaks and even just passed
MOT without the usual homework sheet 1st

Previous owner fitted a QT pod rally style light pod to the bonnet. I have to say initially I really hated it but as I drive around the roads & fields illuminated like mercury himself has arrived I have learned to live with it. In fact it really adds to the character of the old gal

I would like to freshen her up a bit now as reward for a fuss free MOT. I want to convert to coloured LEDs as I want to retain a classic 110 aesthetic and I also plan to update the headlamps for LED units. I want to keep the QT light Pod as it’s part of her character but has anyone found round flush fitting led spots to fit one?.. think it would be a great marriage of old school meets new school

Waste of time fitting LED's. Yes the indicators are a bit more 'instant' but you'll have all sorts of earth issues/electrical gremlins with the dash light and hazards.
On a positive note your side lights will be OK and the rear/brake combo will probably work both sides, or not ...
Then in the winter your headlights will get dimmer and dimmer and you'll have to step out and brush of the icy snow that sticks to them as they don't get warm like the old filament bulbs.

But it will give it a cool/modern look ...

That’s one angle. The other angle is that your wiring loom struggles to service the loads it needs anyway because they’re not great when new, let alone after 30 or more years of moisture and corrosion in both the loom and all the bulb fittings. So it really is a pros and cons each way answer.

If it’s a pre td5 vehicle, there is a likely extra step required to make your dash indicator work. Everyone has varying sort of witchcraft solutions, but the simple, easy and reliable solution is when you do the lights, add a pair of 20W 20ohm ceramic resistors in to the indicator circuit. You mount them both in the OS rear lights areas, and then everything works well. I don’t know why this isn’t written up as the “standard” method for pre TD5 LED indicators, it’s cheap, easy and reliable.

TheCornishman said:

Hi guys and gals, been a while since I’ve popped by put I have a Q? To put before the Landyzone oracle

My old 98 300tdi is a FUGLY old workhorse but time has come to show her some lovin …she starts up daily with no fuss, bother or fluid leaks and even just passed
MOT without the usual homework sheet 1st

Previous owner fitted a QT pod rally style light pod to the bonnet. I have to say initially I really hated it but as I drive around the roads & fields illuminated like mercury himself has arrived I have learned to live with it. In fact it really adds to the character of the old gal

I would like to freshen her up a bit now as reward for a fuss free MOT. I want to convert to coloured LEDs as I want to retain a classic 110 aesthetic and I also plan to update the headlamps for LED units. I want to keep the QT light Pod as it’s part of her character but has anyone found round flush fitting led spots to fit one?.. think it would be a great marriage of old school meets new school

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I am in the process of fitting LD's as part of my rebuild. I have the RDX rear (link) and bearmach LED foglights (link). I decided against LED indicators at this point for the reasons stated above and the endless troubles people seem to have with them but I may fit them in future after some more research. I have not done the front end yet but will be fitting most likely the RDX side lights and I am looking at these LED headlights (link). I also want to retain as much of the classic look as possible so do not want halos that most seem to be. My reasoning for fitting LED's is to unload the electrical circuit as much as possible, I have all new looms fitted but still do not want excessive current going through if I do not need to.

With the RDX lights they come with an econoseal plug fitted (later 300tdi onwards style connector), I have converted a set of these to the old bullet connectors by soldering on additional lengths of wire and fitting lucas bullets to fit to my series so with a little work it is easy enough to get them to fit an older style wiring loom if that is required. I cannot attest to the longevity as I have not had them fitted long and other than a quick test the fog light have not been used yet as the rebuild is not complete but it seemed like a reasonable unit and they were a direct fit with no modification needed.

I would agree with @miktdish about the snow build up but unless you are in Scotland as he is or another northern country it is not really an issue.

If you find some classic looking LED headlights I would certainly be interested if you could share, But unfortunately I cannot help with the light pod.

I have done all this to mine recently.
I have the trucklite headlight and they look decent and pretty close to the old ones. Not cheap though, but I like them. And the difference in what you can see fantastic, but with a nice clear pattern and illumination cut off. My MOT tweaked the adjustment on them a little for me - he actually raised them up slighlty higher than my "guessed" setting.

I also did LED repeaters, but with a 20 watt 20 ohm resistor (cheap and easy to get) in each circuit, hidden in the rear RHS wiring panel, everything works perfectly. I don’t want to say “I promise”, but I dunno why so many people are struggling to make full LED work - it was easy once you bodyswerve the BS and snakeoil, to be honest.

MattYorke said:

I also did LED repeaters, but with a 20 watt 20 ohm resistor (cheap and easy to get) in each circuit, hidden in the rear RHS wiring panel, everything works perfectly. I don’t want to say “I promise”, but I dunno why so many people are struggling to make full LED work - it was easy once you bodyswerve the BS and snakeoil, to be honest.

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What is the advantage of fitting leds if you the have to add 20watts to the circuits? Surely that doesn't achieve the main purpose which is reduce current flow for the same output?

Hey all, thanks for the input thus far…what I am really looking for though is recommendations of flush fit led spotlights that will fit the QT Pod on my landy

I appreciate that wiring less is always a faff but I will be farming that to a tamed sparky

TheCornishman said:

Hey all, thanks for the input thus far…what I am really looking for though is recommendations of flush fit led spotlights that will fit the QT Pod on my landy

I appreciate that wiring less is always a faff but I will be farming that to a tamed sparky

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ive got @ pod to fit i will be ch@nging them to leds ive no ide@ wot m@ke the pod is, b@ck soon
with @ pic. ive got @ led light on my t@ble in front of me, with @lsorts of l@ndy bits so the misses
is well ple@sed.

That’s not how resistors work. It’s is a 20W resistor which describes how much power it can handle. However, V=IR and P=IV, so P=v^2/R which works out as 7.2 watts.

Why did I fit LED repeaters? Because my old ones were shot and I wanted to.

Ho did this pan out?….any pics or info on which lights you used on the pod?

TheCornishman said:

Ho did this pan out?….any pics or info on which lights you used on the pod?

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My landy has been abandoned most year as I had a bit of cancer to deal with, Ive only fitted polyethene ball joint
covers last week & removed the injection pump last night. Lights are on the list as ive got 2 head lights to get working
& wire in a relay for the spots. (after the fuel pump) Trying to do wee bits after work as I want it on the road soon.

All he very best with the road to recovery

If you fit a https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/272665874287 your flasher will work, fitted one to my series 1 so I could use the front side light unit for both indicator and side light with dual amber and white LED's and holder to suit and it works with no undue load and heat through resistors and the flash rate is adjustable

That landy's showing some patina ...

trouble is I vacuumed most of the patina on the chassis and bulkhead up

Holy moly ... that'll take some polishing