Disco 2 TD5 Auto, reversing lamps not working

Hi, Does anyone know where the reversing light switch is on my auto disco td5?, I have been told its not in the xyz switch, all the gears work properly and there are no warning lights on, I have looked but cannot locate where the switch is for the reversing lamps ||

The reversing lights contact is within the XYZ switch but as long as it drives in reverse i doubt it's that, check for voltage in the clusters and make sure that the bulbs are OK first of all...i presume the brake lamps are working aren't they?

Hi, many thanks for your reply, it drives in reverse no problem, both reversing lamp bulbs have been changed, but there is no voltage going to them, but where, and what are the clusters?

Start the front wiper and select reverse... is the rear wiper starting then? ... you need to download a RAVE and i'll tell you where to measure cos it seems a wiring issue, i'm asking again the brake lamps are working?

While you are in there looking at the wiring diagram, wire in a small relay to drive the reversing lamps.Doing that will take the current load off the WXYZ switch and give it a fighting chance of lasting a while...

eightinavee said:

While you are in there looking at the wiring diagram, wire in a small relay to drive the reversing lamps.Doing that will take the current load off the WXYZ switch and give it a fighting chance of lasting a while...

Click to expand...

This can be a crysis solution but in this case you dont even need a relay only a simple on/off toggle switch , or i like this one http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/On-Off-Lo...211305?hash=item3ac08789e9:g:lW4AAOSwwpdW~Du8

For the cost of a small relay and a fuse/holder, I think the 1/2 hour spent in wiring in a relay so the reverse lamps work normally is well spent. Taking the current load off the WXYZ switch will help to prolong the life of a very expensive part that has not been uprated to cope with the work it has to do. I repair these switches when possible and fit a relay as part of the job.Its what LR should have done in the first place...

I thought you are speaking about triggering a relay as alternative to the non working reverse circuit not to inset one on a working circuit that's why i told about the switch... in this thread is about missing reverse light signal for some reason so where did you think to wire that relay then? ...or did you think to rewire the whole reverse lamps circuit and taking the signal from the BCU to save the XYZ switch from a 42W(less than 4A) load? ... seems a futile complication to me

Watching with interest. I've the same issue and gave up after tracing the fault back to xyz switch although it goes into reverse and display is working ok.
Would be less bothered if I didn't have parking sensors that also don't work and I'm sure it's linked to reverse lights not going on.

sierrafery said:

I thought you are speaking about triggering a relay as alternative to the non working reverse circuit not to inset one on a working circuit that's why i told about the switch... in this thread is about missing reverse light signal for some reason so where did you think to wire that relay then? ...or did you think to rewire the whole reverse lamps circuit and taking the signal from the BCU to save the XYZ switch from a 42W(less than 4A) load? ... seems a futile complication to me

Click to expand...

No, not as an alternative,just an upgrade to take the load off the WXYZ switch contacts. 42w may not be much, but I have a box of over 20 of these,all with burnt out reverse switch contacts,and they are not all the ones I have done. Those switches are expensive as I'm sure you know,so for very little cost and time you can give them a chance to survive. I'm sure you are also aware that in most cases you can make up one good switch from two burnt ones,the little contact pairs swop over nicely.

I understand now.... i didnt dissasemble one myself, can you confirm that it's only one ''channel' on the reverse contact or the lights and gearchange circuits are separate

OK the red and blue wires are the two that tell the BCU, PDC ecu,(If fitted) and power the reversing lamps. In the picture the angled probe shows the contact which causes the problem,its always the wiper contact that touches that one that is most damaged. As you can see the contacts are in two pairs, so if you are lucky you can make one good one from two damaged ones.If you look carefully you can see that there are raised runners either side of the track that drop the contact down to make the switch, when they are burnt they often don't have enough springiness left to make good contact,bending them is often only a temporary cure.The other pair of contacts which only carry signal loads retain their springiness and also a good,undamaged surface. I put the switch back together with stainless steel nuts and bolts

OK thanks for that explanation, so as long as it changes gear to reverse + the rear wiper is working on auto mode when front wipers are on and reverse is selected but only the lights are not working the switch is ruled out as the cause of the problem isn't it? ... for your solution of relay for reverse lights you can trigger the relay with the feed for the selector illumination then and use the original wiring for lights from under the console when the output from the XYZ switch is coming

Just trying to get my head around this as I have no rear lights or wiper when reverse selected so suspect XYZ switch.

Is it possible to raise the contact by adding solder? I haven’t been inside the switch yet to have a look but just preparing myself. If that won’t work how do I make a Good switch out of the two?