no reverse lights

Hi All
Can anyone help with my reversing lights problem, at first the lights would only come on if you held the gearstick back with your hand, the dealer fixed it under warranty but its happened again this time the light comes on and then fades out as im holding engage the gear stick,
is it a simple switch set up as on vans etc or maybe something more complex like electronics, the disco is a TDI-S 1996

As its under warranty it will go back to the dealer but its nice to have an idea of a few answers in advance.

Many thanks

jay kay

My 300tdi suffers from exactly the same problem, although the lights do still stay on when I hold the gearstick back, so you've got me all worried they will stop completely now!

Hopefully someone may have a solution?

Yes hopfully one on the landy experts will jump back in with a few things to look at, i cant see it being anything more the a switch or sensor or poss a loose wire / connection

Fingers crossed

jay kay

My 300Tdi did the same thing, there is a little wire coming out of your gearbox which is for a sensor, basically a switch that, when you put the car into reverse activates the lights, if it's not turned in enough it won't stay on for the lights, slacken off the locknut on it and screw it in A LITTLE AT A TIME and keep checking to make sure it's set just right. Took me about 25 minutes of going under the car, checking, going back to turn it in a little more to do it right but it's sorted now. Don't worry, it's summat and nowt, though you *may* fail an MOT depending on how much of a gimp the MOT station mechanic is..

i had same problem on 1997 tdi.was under 3month warranty and sorted then.its failled again.is there a permanent sollution to this problem or is it something that has to be redone more than once a year in my case.surely there must be a better sollution.i currently use a local non landrover garage so could do with good information to pass on to mechanics.many thanks,jumbo

jumbo said:

i had same problem on 1997 tdi.was under 3month warranty and sorted then.its failled again.is there a permanent sollution to this problem or is it something that has to be redone more than once a year in my case.surely there must be a better sollution.i currently use a local non landrover garage so could do with good information to pass on to mechanics.many thanks,jumbo

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Remove the reverse switch from the gearbox housing, spray it with duck oil or 3 in 1 oil (Don't use WD40, it leaves a salty residue that can stick after a while) and then refit using a light duty loctite thread sealer. Shouldn't give problems again

Sorry to revive an old thread but I've got this reverse light problem on my 300tdi.

Can someone please let me know where abouts this switch it is, how do I get to it to fix it?

Thanks

hey ! the answers simple
just drive forwards only !
then u ant got to worry about them !!!!!!!!!

That's what I've been doing for a month or so now, as they gradually stopped working.

Problem is it's MOT day on friday - suspect no reverse light may cause a slight problem!

correct me if im wrong but i dont think they check your reverseing lights on a mot

Seriousley?
I've only ever put one other car through an MOT and it passed straight away so to be honest I've very little idea of what will be checked.

I'm just crossing my fingers and hoping as it's been too wet to do any serious car work since about December.

I would still ike them to work though

robint said:

correct me if im wrong but i dont think they check your reverseing lights on a mot

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correct.not motable same as yer rear washie wipey thing

Fantastic!

Well thats one problem mostly sorted then! Thanks for the info any on fixing it would still be appreciated.

Gonna go search for a disco MOT thread.

never had em on mine, simple thng first, check bulbs, revers light switch, if they fail then wiring. personally i just fooked mine orf!!

Well I think I'll fook them orf till summer then.

If there's not a problem on the disco then I'll be very suprised, still it's run well and started fine for 6 months so there's hope.

My Disco was MOT'd recently, and I sat and watched him doing it . . apart from having a dicky fit when they did the rev up smoke test 3 times (my poor engine) they def did NOT check the reverse lights
(I suppose this dosen't mean it's not part of the test, just my tester didn't do it)

teshu said:

Can someone please let me know where abouts this switch it is, how do I get to it to fix it?

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It's on top of the gearbox near the gear lever. I saw it recently when I changed the 3rd / 4th syncroniser plate and springs.
Not sure if you have to remove the console etc and get to it from the top as the local specialist did when they replaced switch on my first disco, or if you can get to it from underneath....

Well it passed with no reverse lights .

I think I'll wait a bit and see if I can get some spare time to get under the center console, thanks for the help mike.

MOT was fine only problem was a rusty rear indicator mount and something similar on the rear number plate light.

Pleasingly he said the chasis was fine and as it was OK the rusting away boot floor didn't stop it passing or cause any problems. Although not really ideal.

£80 for the whole lot, a far cheaper trip to the garage than I'd be fearing.

Cheers for the advice everyone

Does any peeps know what are the common MOT failures on Discos ??

rust probably