TD5 Dead Binnacle

Driving on the motorway today all the intruments went dead on my TD5... flickering into life occasionally going over bumps.

Yet another thing to have to fix, I'm hoping it's just a multiplug that's vibrated loose...

Anyone else had this problem??

battenberg said:

Driving on the motorway today all the intruments went dead on my TD5... flickering into life occasionally going over bumps.

Yet another thing to have to fix, I'm hoping it's just a multiplug that's vibrated loose...

Anyone else had this problem??

Click to expand...

Yep . . recently fitted spots to the front, which involved fitting the aux 'wiring kit' had to remove the binnacle to get access to pass the wiring up to the new switch etc, re fitted, started up - nothing, no rev counter or fuel guage etc

Took apart again, and I had not quite pushed the main multi plugs fully on

So yours may have 'worked loose' . . worth a check

If it ain't that, haven't got a clue mate

I figured that was possibly the case... not had time to pull it appart though yet

you know how you get used to the sounds of your car?.. i had a vibration/buzzing coming from the binnacle over the last couple of days...

That's really weird, since new mine has made a noise akin to that made by a old type mechanical speedo - but it's fully electronic (as far as I know)

now i'm Bol***xed..

Took the instrument panel out...the multi plugs are all home and the instruments fire up on ignition and die once the engine is running.

any idea anyone what controls the instruments? is it the BCU?

Oooo it's much more complex than that ....

It has some 33 connections (grouped in at least 2 large multi plugs) feeding in from just about everything in th car . . inc the BCU, ECU, EMC, so its a mine field.

Acording to Dr Haynes, it's powered 'mostly' from F27 & F35 (both 10A) in the passenger fuse compartment. These in turn are fed via the ign switch. Also there is a direct feed from F14 (15A) in the Engine bay fusebox !!

I find it hard to think all these various inputs would fail at once, check the ign feed to the passenger fuse box (yellow wire) because that supplies the feed to F27 & F35, also check the main cluster eathing point, which is E4 (under the pedals) it's where the two all black wires from one of the multi plugs are grounded. (you'll have to push the seat right back, and lay on your back astronaut style with your head where your feet would usually be with a small torch)

Apart from that I'm a bit stuck to be honest !!

thanks for your input Steve... it's got me totally flumuxed..!

I've spent the night looking at the wiring diagrams in the Rave CD's.. figure it has to be a bad earth which is vibrating loose when the engine is running, It's quite a complicated setup running through the BCU and the 'IDM' module which is an electrical data component of the Fusebox...controlled by a serial bus so we're now delving into the realms of data transfer...!!

I just hate the though of it going into Land Rover for them to change everything, charge me a grand, only for it to be a nut shook loose on a chassis earth..!!

the search will continue in the daylight at the weekend.
what rubs salt in the wound is that my 300 is off the road while I fix up the brakes and so is my other car... so I'm relying on the TD5 as my wheels..

I would def check E4 earth terminal, all it says is it's 'above the pedals' . . .

The other trick you could try, is to run a temp earth (just a length of wire type jobby) from the back of the cluster to the chassis and see if it solves anything . .

I know wiring is a real nightmare, I swear mine is more complicated than the space shuttle . . as I said earlier I fitted the OEM aux wiring loom the other day . . what a joke THAT was !!!!

Trouble is, although it's a pain, I LOVE working on me motor, always have, always will (but all this electronic gadetry is a pain)

Hope you sort it !!!