New Landy just bought... A couple of quick questions please...

Hi folks...

Back with my 2nd Land Rover (90), al;though this one slightly newer... My last one was a Pplate and have opted to go newer this time with an 11 plate, due to the need for it to be slightly more reliable....

So, a couple of questions based around my journey home for collecting it...

1. I put £50 in the tank to fill it up and got around 135 miles in half tank... I was averaging 80mph (in 6th gear)... Is this right...? Was expectign to get slight more than 200 on half a tank...
2. The wagon has just had new BF Goodrich All terrain All terrain T/A KO tyres upon it... On full lock they rub under the arch... Is this an issue, in that will it do damage to the strut is rubbing on... and is it right that this will go once the tyres wear a little...?????
3. Can you get Defender wing mirror that actually move, as opposed to once position or the other (which is unusable)...? The passage side mirror I currently cannot use as it is too far out...
4. The vehicle has Crystal upgraded headlights and the driving lights in the bumper... When driving home, they seemed 'very' bright and had a couple of people ask me to turn my full beam off, when I didn't have them on... I can turn the driving lights off as they re wired in to be on when the side lights are on...??? Thoughts and suggestions would be great... Can you dip the lights at all...?
5. The 'new' rear door lock seems broken in that the barrel fell out when I went to lock it last night and the exterior handle is wedged in the recess section so is difficult to use... Can you a) by them with smaller exterior handles and b) can you get the barrels separately to fit, or will it be a new unit???

Sorry if these are numpty questions folks but apprentice any feedback... Thx in advance...

Your doing 80mph in a 2 tonne brick. You want better mpg cruise at 60 - 65.

Try adjusting the stop locks, if that fails you may need wheel spacers.

Mirrors have two positions on the arm and the mirror itself moves in almost any direction. There is no changing this, however there are larger mirrors, blindsport mirrors etc...

Check the lights are adjusted properly, maby guides over the web about it. Also check if it has headlamp adjusters.

That said Defenders ride high with rather old style lights, often makes it look like they are on highbeam when they arnt.

If you want better mpg, slow down and put some tarmac tyres on, bfg's are great tyres for off road, but drag on tarmac. Mike

Slow down....not just for economy reasons, but also 70 is the limit in the UK

The mirror has no doubt been over tightened....it pivots on a ball and socket joint and there is a clamp to adjust the compression on the socket....this could be too tight.

Remember, if it was meant to go fast, it wouldn't be shaped like a brick!

haha... ok folks... I get the message... slow down... I was just asking but I have officially been slapped

Re the mirrors, they have been overtightened then as the arm moves but the mirrors do not move at all

I'll look into the stop locks...

Thx again all... invaluable help... and YES... I'll slow down

It does take a while to get the mirrors right, part through laziness it has taken me about 2 years to get them perfect lol

Watch out for rear door lock/ barrel, this is a minefield. Speak to someone like craddock or paddock, or even other reputable suppliers. Does it have central locking for instance?
I would advise against these things from eBay.

Thx for this... I am trying to speak to Craddock but getting them to respond is proving easier said than done... I have sent them the list of 'bits' the previous owner installed and just want them to tell me what I need to make it all 'fit' and work...

RE the headlights... The guy installed the new, crystal, headlights but appears to be not wired up to the dimmer switch on the central console... Ive done a quick internet search and can't find anything that jumps out at me to say this is possible or how you do it... Is it possible to reconnect them up to this...? They are very high currently...

Thx again folks... and apologies...

Anything other than stock lamps power rating could damage the dim/dip system/relay....so this maybe why it hasn't been wired through this.

Have you tried the likes of Island4x4 or Paddocks, as they may be able to help you search for parts too....

EDIT: Just re-read your post.....I now assume you are referring to the headlamp aim adjustment dial not the dim/dip headlamp system.....in that case I have no idea.....

The Aim adjust using small motors and an adjustment drive screw....how it is connected up, no idea.

Have a read of this : http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic26097.html?highlight=landreiziger

You may have to take out the lights and refit OE type ... depends what the previous owner did ...

Get the headlight alignment checked they may just be not aimed right, also are they RHD vehicle lights, as the wrong one could be fitted

That'll be checked at MOT, did the OP say when that happened ?

Dippypud said:

That'll be checked at MOT, did the OP say when that happened ?

Click to expand...

Doesn't mean they are right now, plenty of people do stuff to get a ticket then swap bits out after. They may not even be 'E' marked lights

They're def pointing int the right direction as they light up the left of the road, as opposed to flooding the opposite carriageway... I think they just need dipping... The lights were put in by the previous owner and unfortunately I don't have the dates for this...

The main headlights may just need adjusting downwards slightly. There's a fairly accurate way of doing this using a handy wall and a tape measure, or the slightly less technical approach of parking on an empty road and adjusting them until they look right. The bumper-mounted lights are most likely intended as day running lights, in which case they're incorrectly wired. They should switch on with the engine running, and turn off or dim when you turn on the parking lights or headlights as they're too bright for night use.

FlyingPete said:

The bumper-mounted lights are most likely intended as day running lights, in which case they're incorrectly wired. They should switch on with the engine running, and turn off or dim when you turn on the parking lights or headlights as they're too bright for night use.

Click to expand...

OK... this perhaps is the issue... The current set up is that the bumper lights are on when side lights are put on and then obviously still on with main lights as well... Thus being like Blackpool illuminations... So the bumper lights should not be on at the same as headlights, but can they be worried so you can opt to put them on with headlights at all...??? so could be used with full beam for example, when you need illumination...?

SqueezeMe said:

OK... this perhaps is the issue... The current set up is that the bumper lights are on when side lights are put on and then obviously still on with main lights as well... Thus being like Blackpool illuminations... So the bumper lights should not be on at the same as headlights, but can they be worried so you can opt to put them on with headlights at all...??? so could be used with full beam for example, when you need illumination...?

Click to expand...

It depends on what they're supposed to do. You can have extra headlights which come on with the main beams for extra visibility, but these must be wired to switch off when you go to dipped beams- easily done by switching them with a relay triggered by the high beam connection. DRLs on the other hand must dim or switch off when you turn any other lights on. Usually lights fitted in the front bumper are this type.

FlyingPete said:

It depends on what they're supposed to do. You can have extra headlights which come on with the main beams for extra visibility, but these must be wired to switch off when you go to dipped beams- easily done by switching them with a relay triggered by the high beam connection. DRLs on the other hand must dim or switch off when you turn any other lights on. Usually lights fitted in the front bumper are this type.

Click to expand...

Thx for this... They are driving lights, however mine have two circular lights on each side... I'll look into getting them re-wired for sides only and not main beam... Thx for the advice...

SqueezeMe said:

Thx for this... They are driving lights, however mine have two circular lights on each side... I'll look into getting them re-wired for sides only and not main beam... Thx for the advice...

Click to expand...

By driving lights, do you mean DRLs? In that case, they should be wired to go off when you turn any other lights on. Daytime running lights are too bright for night use and may dazzle oncoming drivers. Here's the circuit you need:

This will switch your DRLs on when the engine is running, unless you also have the parking lights (sidelights) or headlights on, in which case the DRLs will be switched off. I did something similar here:
https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/how-i-installed-drls.296337/
In your case, you'll need to wire pin 87a of the second relay to your running lights- mine were dual-filament bulbs in the front marker lights so are slightly different.

If they are high-beam headlights, they need to be wired differently, such that they're only switched on when the standard high beams are on. You can have a switch to turn them off entirely if you want.

You may of course have two of each!