Electrics this time!!

I had so many problems like this when I first got my old 90.

Something I would also try, is to eliminate it being anything to do with any of the other lights, looms, earths, etc. around the vehicle. disconnect them all, not just the indicators. Start back at zero basically, and connect the affected indicator first, and solve that 1 problem alone, then add everything back in.

Doing this helped me discover some horrific wiring mistakes from my landy's past. At one point, I had a messed up earth for one set of lights, killing off the indicators on the opposite side! I would never had worked it out without just going back to basics.

Your multimeter isn't helping you. It doesn't draw much current when measuring voltage, and doesn't load the circuit up. It will have you running round in circles.

Far better to use a spare bulb holder, and make a test lamp using a 12V 21W bulb. Put a crocodile clip on one wire to clamp to earth, and solder a needle onto the live wire of your test lamp. Check your test lamp across the battery before you start testing.

Then, working from the switch towards the back, at each connection in turn [each side of each connection] , backprobe using the needle onto the green/red wire. Don't open the connectors up unless you find a problem.

What you should find is at the switch, your test lamp will light up like an indicator, and the flashing rate will slow back to normal. When you reach a connector where your test lamp stops working, you're just down stream of the bad connection.

Had a few issues with my n/s rear light & indicator..

Mine was rodent related for the brake n rear light. ( joys of fatm living i guess)

I would put a wire in and create a new earth for a starter, if not tbem I would move to cleaning towbar socket with ele trical cleaner. Possibly even disconnect it.

But of you want a quck dirty fix for mot run a new live from front indicator to rear.

Then investigate it properly after mot

Good luck

HeywoodFloyd said:

I had so many problems like this when I first got my old 90.

Something I would also try, is to eliminate it being anything to do with any of the other lights, looms, earths, etc. around the vehicle. disconnect them all, not just the indicators. Start back at zero basically, and connect the affected indicator first, and solve that 1 problem alone, then add everything back in.

Doing this helped me discover some horrific wiring mistakes from my landy's past. At one point, I had a messed up earth for one set of lights, killing off the indicators on the opposite side! I would never had worked it out without just going back to basics.

Click to expand...

Yup, still same symptoms- just won’t work

Cavey_P38 said:

Had a few issues with my n/s rear light & indicator..

Mine was rodent related for the brake n rear light. ( joys of fatm living i guess)

I would put a wire in and create a new earth for a starter, if not tbem I would move to cleaning towbar socket with ele trical cleaner. Possibly even disconnect it.

But of you want a quck dirty fix for mot run a new live from front indicator to rear.

Then investigate it properly after mot

Good luck

Click to expand...

Had to postpone MOT for tomorrow. 100% out of ideas. Runing a new cable from front indicator should work as a quick fix??

Landyfox said:

100% out of ideas.

Click to expand...

Have you tried the suggestion of using a test lamp instead of a multimeter?

As mentioned earlier in the thread, it's very likely to be a bad connection anywhere between the switch and the back of the vehicle - look on the wiring diagram to identify the connectors.

Tall Ratbag said:

Have you tried the suggestion of using a test lamp instead of a multimeter?

As mentioned earlier in the thread, it's very likely to be a bad connection anywhere between the switch and the back of the vehicle - look on the wiring diagram to identify the connectors.

Click to expand...

Yeah I referred to that earlier on in the thread. I’m just stumped

Landyfox said:

Yeah I referred to that earlier on in the thread. I’m just stumped

Click to expand...

Where in the north east are you? I can lend a hand this weekend if your still struggling? I’m just outside of Bishop Auckland.

From what you have said, 7V isn’t enough to light the bulb. That’s only around 0.3A at 12V for a 21W indicator. Stick your voltmeter across your battery and confirm your meter is good and your getting a decent solid reading before going any further. Wiggle the wires while they are stuck on the battery terminals and make sure the leads aren’t broken. The voltage on the meter shouldn’t change while doing all this.

Drop me a PM if you want a hand. My Defender is off the road at the minute, so you would need to drive to me, but I don’t mind helping.

And the solution was ........... ?

I'm a fan of using a test lamp
Mine is a simple brass probe and earth wire with a crocodile clip. I clip on the earth and push the pin through the wire insulation until the light come on. Simples.

Try a feed from your 7 pin plug but connect a trailer or similar first to see if it is working.

Landyfox said:

Had to postpone MOT for tomorrow. 100% out of ideas. Runing a new cable from front indicator should work as a quick fix??

Click to expand...

Absolutely that will work, I think someone suggested that earlier.

Landyfox said:

Yup, still same symptoms- just won’t work

Click to expand...

Right that pretty much says it's the direct feed between the switch and the light then. You'll need to replace it.

Land Rover lovers,

having a similar issue. I really hope someone can point me in the right direction.
Issue!!! My left and sometimes right don’t indicate. My right goes on more often then the left. They are LED upgrades on my 1990 Defender 90. I put three new switches on and still same issue. I have the upgrades for the LEDs but these lights are inconsistent. I throw the hazards on and they work just fine after. But then it’s hit or miss after that. I thought it was due to the switch on the steering wheel that clicks it off when turning and I have messed with that. I feel the switch itself sometimes doesn’t make contact and I have to slam it sometimes. Sometimes I have to be sweet and sing it a lullaby.


Would it be one of the main earths? If so. Where are they all so I can check them. Any help now would be great as I’m out of ideas. Thanks in advance.

Recently I found that I had corrosion in my fuse box, the fuses were all OK, but I started to get intermittent faults on things like indicators, etc.

Took a while to identify the issue, and some contact cleaner and wire brushing on the fuse contacts solved the problem.

As part of the investigation I checked a lot of the wiring and stalks etc. I'm not sure telling you where my earths are, is going to help you much, this poor old girl has has some very suspect wiring jobs done on her by previous owners.

HeywoodFloyd said:

Recently I found that I had corrosion in my fuse box, the fuses were all OK, but I started to get intermittent faults on things like indicators, etc.
Took a while to identify the issue, and some contact cleaner and wire brushing on the fuse contacts solved the problem.

As part of the investigation I checked a lot of the wiring and stalks etc. I'm not sure telling you where my earths are, is going to help you much, this poor old girl has has some very suspect wiring jobs done on her by previous owners.

Click to expand...

I appreciate the advice. I’ll get started on that to see if that may be the issue. Replaced the hazards switch and things are running smoother but still no horn. I’ll get started with the cleaning and move from there. Thanks again!!!