weird fuse box problem p38

Depends which side of the fuse is showing earth in theory but in practice, if the supply side of the fuses was earthed, the thing would probably be on fire by now as there's no 'main' fuse as it were in the line from the battery to the fuse box. At the very least, you'd have a burnt supply cable and a very flat battery. So, if you have an earth on the output side of the fuses, it could either be in the fusebox itself or in the circuits external to the fuse box. The only way of finding out is to disconnect and remove the fusebox for testing with nothing connmected or plugged into it. From all that have done it on here, it would seem to be a pretty simple job. I can't have a look at mine at the moment as I'm not at home.

battery does go flat very quickly, i put test lamp on both sides of fuse slot whilst clampon live terminal of battery and both sides light up but one side more than the other, so i put a live wire straight from battery to weaker earth side if you understand and you hear relays click and slow 35mph not flashing now but still saying eas and abs fault and no glow plug symbol so still wont fire, thanks for all info, sorry to be a pain just dont wanna fork out lots of money on wrong things

Ok but I still think you have to take your fusebox out to test it. All the plugs are on the underside so you have to 90% remove it to get at these anyway. It's the only sure way you'll find out. It may well be obvious when you remove it anyway.
Good luck.

but you can only see half the board cause it folds over and is soldered together, can they be split open?

Yes it can be split, pig of a job, have a look on here under fusebox repairs to get an idea of whats involved Range Rovers
There is no way the fuses are in the ground circuit only on the positive or + side.

I've only ever seen this problem once before.

The fuse box managed to reverse the poles.

It was tracked down to one relay, but i was never told what one.

The poor chap went through two rebuilt becm's before it was finally sorted.

diagram of 96 Generic Engine Management System relays located under bonnet fuse box

Irishrover said:

Yes it can be split, pig of a job, have a look on here under fusebox repairs to get an idea of whats involved Range Rovers
There is no way the fuses are in the ground circuit only on the positive or + side.

Click to expand...

so what would make it ground? any ideas?

Ok, humble pie time. Grovelling apologies to Mystery. Of course there is an ign relay. If I'd have engaged brain and checked the Rave diagrams on the power distribution section, it would have been bleedin' obvious! Not only does the Ign relay RL15 feed fuses 23 & 24, it also puts an earth on these circuits (amongst others) when it's off (via pin 2 of connector C172) Doh!!!
So Gooner49, you may not have a fuse box problem after all. As Mystery suggested earlier on, it maybe just the Ign relay.
What can I say! I don't think I'll give up my day job just yet. Apologies again Mystery.

so is that the black relay in fusebox?would be nice if thats all problem is, would that also control the the glow plugs? as the light doesnt come on dash for pre warm?

not that, pulled out rl15 of another rangie and put it in mine and no difference plus the other range still had pre warm light etc come on with rl15 removed, time for can of petrol and box matches i think

Double check your fuse located on the SIDE of the EDC module between battery & fuse box.

Hhhmmmm..........no immediate knee jerk answer this time gooner. Going to go away and have a little think. At least we know why you have an earth on fuses 23 & 24 anyway but not what's stopping it starting or stopping the glow plug light coming on. Probably one and the same thing as without heat, it aint gonna start if it's cold. One test I haven't done myself mechanically wise is to try and start it with eazi-start. If it starts and stays running using that, you know then that the fuel side is OK.
TBC

update, went out to car today to check the lives on the rl15 relay, put test light on earth of battery and checked each slot with relay pulled out and on one it clicked so put relay back in with enough room to get test light onto said prong of relay and no faults, glow plug light comes on and car started, as soon as i pull test light away it all dies again, seem to be getting there slowly, any help on this would be great

ok put an earth to relay from battery an all started lovely, removed earth and still working, turned on and off and starts fine everytime, still obviously a fault somewhere i need to find

There are a couple of diodes on the fuse box PCB which are in the starting relay circuit. Check if they are ok.

thanks, can they be got at without splitting fuse box pcb? also i notice that there is a loud click that seems to be coming from drivers side footwell area when ignition switched to 2, are there any relays etc under there?

Yes, they are accessible. Not sure about the click.

thanks will check at weekend