Lights and ignition

Morning,

New to landy's so have a question that you may be able to help me with, I've searched the forum but can't find the answer..

Right...picked up my 1997 300tdi yesterday, drove home and turned the key to switch off the engine but it kept running even when I'd take the key out !!! I then turned the lights off which stopped the engine !! is this a design feature or fault...ta

aston108 said:

Morning,

New to landy's so have a question that you may be able to help me with, I've searched the forum but can't find the answer..

Right...picked up my 1997 300tdi yesterday, drove home and turned the key to switch off the engine but it kept running even when I'd take the key out !!! I then turned the lights off which stopped the engine !! is this a design feature or fault...ta

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It's a fault

Will the engine start and run with the lights off?

Ratty, having never owned a doosul, educate me. When you turn the ignition off, what stops the engine - is it just power removed to the fuel pump or is there a fuel cut-off valve or something? Looking forward to this thread cus I know nothing about the heavy-fuel section but am thinking of converting in the future.

mysteryman said:

Ratty, having never owned a doosul, educate me. When you turn the ignition off, what stops the engine - is it just power removed to the fuel pump or is there a fuel cut-off valve or something? Looking forward to this thread cus I know nothing about the heavy-fuel section but am thinking of converting in the future.

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It depends on what vehicle it is.

On the 300tdi there is a fuel stop solonoid located on the fuel pump. I was wondering if the ignition feed had been lost so it had been wired to the light switch instead, hence my question. It is not unknown for the solonoids to stick open or closed preventing the engine either being started or stopped.

On most newer vehicles it is switched via the ecu.

On some older vehicles the key is turned off and then a lever is pulled or button pushed that operates a butterfly valve that restricts the exhaust and causes the engine to stall due to strangulation.

Just remembered - I lied to you - I had a JCB and that had a lever to pull to stop it. Who in their right mind would wire the solenoid to the light supply tho?

Hi, yeah it runs...starts..stops with the lights off

mysteryman said:

Just remembered - I lied to you - I had a JCB and that had a lever to pull to stop it. Who in their right mind would wire the solenoid to the light supply tho?

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someone like me.

If I go out to a broken down vehicle on the roadside with a fuel pump feed lost or solonoid wire lost it can take a long time to trace. If I run a new cable straight to the battery it's a pain in the arse to pop the bonnet and pull connectors on and off to stop or start your vehicle. A light switch is often used as it enables the vehicle to be turned on and off from within the car.

aston108 said:

Hi, yeah it runs...starts..stops with the lights off

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It sounds like your fuel solonoid is sticking then mate. You can either clean it up or fit a new one. They're not expensive.

Cheers Ratty.. I guess I could just leave it to couldn't I as its not doing any damage

aston108 said:

Cheers Ratty.. I guess I could just leave it to couldn't I as its not doing any damage

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It could be that the wire for the solonoid has chaffed with one for the headlights. It might be worth having a check. If it is the solonoid at fault it will get progresively worse.

Time for me to get a haynes manual methinks just got rid of a pajero that I knew like the back of my hand, best start to get to know me landy...thanks for the advice Ratty

cheers Ratty..time to but a manual and get to know me landy then

aston108 said:

Time for me to get a haynes manual methinks just got rid of a pajero that I knew like the back of my hand, best start to get to know me landy...thanks for the advice Ratty

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No probs. Keep us updated with what you find.

The plot thickens, I noticed that one of the brake bulbs had gone so I replaced that this morning. This afternoon I noticed that when I brake the headlights come on ( dipped ) and the problem on the car running when you took the key out, if the headlights are on has disappeared.. any more ideas on where I should start to look and what I'm looking for..cheers

Ratty, or anyone else could the Electric socket on the tow bar cause this ? just that the cover for its was gone when I bought the car so I gave it a good dose of WD40 I wondered if I could have made the prob worser...cheers

aston108 said:

Ratty, or anyone else could the Electric socket on the tow bar cause this ? just that the cover for its was gone when I bought the car so I gave it a good dose of WD40 I wondered if I could have made the prob worser...cheers

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Don't know, but it's an option. WD40 shouldn't make it any worse though as it doesn't conduct.

I've been looking on the defender section and it looks odds on that all this has been caused by the wrong brakelight bulb in the rear cluster.. I'm off to buy a new one at 8..I'll post the results

aston108 said:

I've been looking on the defender section and it looks odds on that all this has been caused by the wrong brakelight bulb in the rear cluster.. I'm off to buy a new one at 8..I'll post the results

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It may be an incorrect bulb. It may also be the bulb is fitted the wrong way around. should it be a single filament bulb or a twin filament bulb? My guess is that it's a twin filament and needs rotating 180 degrees.

Right... I assumed that the blown brake light bulb was the right one.... wrong!! changed it to the correct twin filament one and the problems cured

aston108 said:

Right... I assumed that the blown brake light bulb was the right one.... wrong!! changed it to the correct twin filament one and the problems cured

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cheap and simple fixes are always the best.