Melted wiring :-O

Hi folks,

I'm completely new to the Land Rover scene having just bought a 2013 Defender 110 last week.
The brake lights weren't working so I had a look and saw there was no fuse. I put a fuse in and it blew. I then noticed the wiring next to the brake pedal switch was melted. I found the wiring at the back door of vehicle was also melted.
The 110 has a tow bar fitted with the appropriate electrical socket, albeit it is damaged. It previously had a winch until someone stole it. The wiring was cut but is still visible beneath the front bumper.
In addition to the brake light not working, the wipers aren't working.

Can anyone suggest a good order for sorting these issues and what parts I'll need to buy (I currently have no wiring supplies, fuses or switches).

Many thanks

First disconnect anything you find that is to do with the missing winch and messed up trailer socket , just not needed any more.
Check all fuse's are the correct rating for their job.
Before powering up again make good all earth's including the dash one are good.
It does look like an earth problem where the return flow [ basic explanation ] of electricity tries to find its way back to the battery via other routes.
You will need new wiring, not hard to make up yourself or you can get loom sections from "Autosparks" but not cheap. Good luck.

That wiring to the rear door will be your blowing fuse issue.
Remove the cover inside the body where them wires go and see what damage you have in there.

I can recommend vehicle wiring products to get wiring from if you make your own loom

flat said:

I can recommend vehicle wiring products to get wiring from if you make your own loom

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Easier than you think ...

Thanks for the replies. It looks like the damaged wires at the back are on the door side of things. Here’s a couple of pics:

Wires at door


Wires in back right corner loadspace of 110

I'm happy to have a go at replacing the wires myself. The back door wires are easily accessible and I assume I would replace the whole section (is loom the word I'm looking for?). The melted wires at the dashboard are less accessible and I have no idea where they run or how far they are damaged. Is there a particular place I should be looking in order to disconnect them and swap out the whole section? Any recommendations on suppliers of fuses, wires etc. would be most welcome. Thanks

defsperate said:

Thanks for the replies. It looks like the damaged wires at the back are on the door side of things. Here’s a couple of pics:

Wires at door
View attachment 223188

Wires in back right corner loadspace of 110
View attachment 223189

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Could be something as boring as a rear light filled with water and a dodgy earth ...

After a while the nice shiny copper wire goes all green and the electrickery won't play proper ...

Start by looking at the plug and working your way back to whatever the wires go to ...

One fitting at a time ...

Get the relevant RAVE electrical sheets for your vehicle in case some numpty previous owner has made bad choices ...

defsperate said:

I'm happy to have a go at replacing the wires myself. The back door wires are easily accessible and I assume I would replace the whole section (is loom the word I'm looking for?). The melted wires at the dashboard are less accessible and I have no idea where they run or how far they are damaged. Is there a particular place I should be looking in order to disconnect them and swap out the whole section? Any recommendations on suppliers of fuses, wires etc. would be most welcome. Thanks

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Make lots of notes, take photos and mark plugs etc with masking tape labels, when you do it ...

Cos you WILL forget what goes where ...

Cut out the bad bits and see if fuses etc are still popping. Replace bad bits with new wire and graft it in.
Beats the massive job you are planning.

Gmacz said:

Cut out the bad bits and see if fuses etc are still popping. Replace bad bits with new wire and graft it in.
Beats the massive job you are planning.

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See how much is left after cutting out the bad bits, sometimes it's a coin-toss call ...

Thanks for the advise. I’ll make an attempt to do the work myself. Are there any particular connectors for joining wire together and type/ gauge/ power rating of wire I should buy? Sorry for all of the questions, I’ve not done this type of repair before but I’m keen to learn.

thanks

One thing I would check is the bulb holders, I have brought several pattern parts britpart/ all makes / unknown brand
And they had two things in common, Cheap and shorted out when a bulb was put in, good lesson learnt! Pay three times the price for genuine ones and don’t compromise / burn your wiring

defsperate said:

Thanks for the advise. I’ll make an attempt to do the work myself. Are there any particular connectors for joining wire together and type/ gauge/ power rating of wire I should buy? Sorry for all of the questions, I’ve not done this type of repair before but I’m keen to learn.

thanks

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solder all connections and sleeve with heat shrink

mick the builder said:

solder all connections and sleeve with heat shrink

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just this

raisingveg said:

just this

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Yeah, if you even THINK about using Scotch-Locks we will find you ...

BTW op i had a small burn out behind the dash and had to chase it into the engine bay but my Haynes manual was a godsend for identifying wire coding too it was slow as you go and as fast ans necessarily
mine burnt(frazzled) almost to the starter solenoid
good luck m8

Thanks for all of your help. I’ll continue the hunt for damaged wires tomorrow.

I had smoke from the dash on a drive home. Was pretty bad. Turned out the side light fuses were way overrated (I am an idiot for not checking the rating of what was in, I think they were 20amp or something wild). Melted wiring behind the instrument panel and affected many circuits. The cause was a fault in the chassis loom.

If you are looking to 100% DIY repair then you shouldn't expect it to be cheap. I stripped my loom down to only the components I need, and repaired connections behind the dash. The diy chassis loom was very easy, however a good crimping tool is expensive.

Once you assess the damage you will be able to work out if a new loom is worth it. I would've loved to buy a new loom for mine but it's 1989 and I only want DTM connectors. With your vehicle age it's probably worth a new loom.