Switching my switches, compressor and locker in Land Rover 109

Yuuup! I've been busy since coming back from Nevada, it was a good shakedown cruise.
   On day 3 when I really hit the dirt roads my Garmin GPS rotated on it's mount I had made. I stopped to tighten the knurled nuts on the back of the mount.
Here's my GPs;

And a look at the back, note that I am pointing to the ARB compressor switch;

While tightening the nuts on the back I didn't notice that I had turned the compressor switch on, the engine was idling and I didn't hear the compressor kick on either.

    So what happened was that every time I turned on the ignition the compressor would kick on. This caused a loud vibration type noise right behind the dash. I knew that I didn't have anything vibratory there and is scared me as to what was falling apart now. I checked on the firewall for any loose wires that could be jumping ground or what ever. This vibration lasted most of the day off and on with the key, sometimes when idling I could hear it vibrate.

    Then one time(at band camp) it happened and a light went off in my head and I looked at the switches and sure enough the compressor was on.........

    Now these switches are nice, on/off, lit when the dash lights are on, simple rocker switches. I didn't really like them because I couldn't tell which way was on and which way was off. I always had to mess with the compressor switch to see if it was on or off by hearing the compressor run.

     So I figured out my distressing vibration noise. And I didn't want it to happen again as it was too easy to bump the switches on, then possibly wreck the Ashcroft locker by driving at speed or too long.

What to do?...

    I decided on getting those safety switches you see in the movies, the one where the villain is about to set off the missile and flips the red cover off the toggle switch.

   Gooooooooooooooooooooooogle found me these; Fastronix switches, on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BJ4LXPG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I got 2 and they came in a couple of days. There are cheaper ones, but they had some bad reviews, so I threw the dice and got these.

If you go back up and look at my dash I had used a perforated alli plate to make my dash extension, mainly because I wanted the air to blow thru when the vents are open. I wasn't fond of the look however.

     Well the new switched forced me to change it as they have 1/2" round bodies while the ARB switches need these god-awful huge rectangular things. One thing I had to do was check the wiring and see if I could use the new switches. I did this by checking the ARB wiring diagram that came with the compressor. I figured that red and red/yellow were the control wires. I connected and extra switch and  re-connected the battery and turned it on...sure enough the compressor came on! Good to go!

Here's a look at the back of the switches in the dash. 

Crap load of wiring also for the on/off and lites and grounds for the lites.

I removed everything from the extension and clamped it to a donor piece then I spent some time marking and drilling all the necessary holes. Cutting the excess off.

For the 1/2" switch holes I drill an 1/8" pilot hole and then use a 1/2" speedbore bit, more commonly used for wood, in alli it goes fast and makes a nice hole. Just make sure everything is clamped down!

Putting the switches in was fiddly, I know I don't need them but I wanted to have the on/off tags on. Well the tag is too tall and I had to file the top of it off to fit under the switch hinge. You can see the difference in the pics, had to file all the way down to the letters.

Once the switch panel was done and the switches in I had to do the wiring.  The ARB used spade connectors and the Fastronix use ring terminals with screws. 2 sets of adapters needed to be made. I got some red and some yellow wire and put a spade on one end and a ring on the other.

Plugged the spade end in to the ARB wiring harness and screwed the terminals on.

Ya know a cordless drill with a screwdriver bit really helps this go soooo much faster. The dash was re-installed, the battery re-connected and the compressor and locker turned on. With the ARB setup the compressor has to be energized before the locker switch gets power. It all worked and no smoke!

To prevent the GPS from vibrating loose again I made a brace from the mount to the demister. I drilled and tapped the end of the mount, then drilled one end of a piece of 1/8" x 1/2" flat bar to fit the screw for the demister and through a series of bends brought the other end to the mount where I marked it and drilled it for the 1/4" bolt. cleaned and painted and installed!

Rock solid!

From above;

Finally a pic of the new switches and dash panel

200TDI starter replacement in Series Rover 109

So almost as soon as I came home from Nevada things started to go wrong. First was the loose bolt I found when I got home, second was my starter began acting up.

At first it would just go clunk and not start, much like a low battery, but after a few tries it would suddenly start.?? So after a couple of days of this I charged up my battery(it didn't take much) and then the starter would spin but not engage. So I figured the solenoid had gone kaput.

    One morning before it got too hot I set out to check the starter, LR # NAD510210. I disconnected the battery leads and the + one from the battery to the solenoid. These take a 13mm or 1/2" wrench.
    My starter is held in with metric fittings so a 17mm socket and combo are needed to unbolt it. I can reach the upper bolts from the top and the lower nut from underneath. First from underneath I wiped all the oil I could that had escaped from the loose bolt.
    Thinking that I might sneak the starter out thru the bottom past the exhaust down pipe I didn't disconnect that. Upon trying that showed another issue that I didn't know I would have.
    That was that the flange on the starter was too wide to allow it to fit between the engine/ladder frame/oil pan and the chassis frame. I did not have this issue with the 19J 2.5DT engine.
In the pic below you can see the space needed between the engine and frame.

   My solution was to go get some goggles as I would be working over my face and grab a file and file down the sides of the flange. Not as hard as it could have been since the flange is aluminum. I was careful to take equal amounts off each side until the starter passed between the frame and engine.

    Of course that's when I found out the downpipe was in the way....... It takes a 7/16" at the top and 10mm at the flange under the seat base to get it loose and then a LOT of huffing and pulling to get it out of the way. But it comes and then the starter is FREE!

   I had the intention of putting in the starter from the 19J since it worked but it too was having issues. Then I figured maybe I could fix the issue with the 200 starter. So I started trouble shooting. What I found was that the lower stud on the solenoid, LR part # STC1245, had something wrong with the threads and the nut would not tighten down on the terminal to energize the starter. The stud actually wiggled back and forth and there was maybe a 1/16 of an inch for the terminal to move in. I don't know how it worked for so long.

Wow I found the video I took of the connection!

    This was a used starter when I got the engine, a PO had tried to waterproof it with RTV in all the cracks. So he must have buggered the stud.

    Not knowing I could fix it I ordered a new one online, the best deal I found was from Robert Davis, around $200 shipped! But it was going to be a week and a half...... I got surprised though it was here in 3 days, a week ahead of time!!! In his Ebay ad Robert says they are remaned starters but the box says new from Israel. Robert also sells a higher output starter, mine is the 2.2KW model.

     First thing I did was file down the flange. I knew from the one I took out that it had to be about a 32nd less than 5" across.

I kept working at it until it fit, You can see here where I filed circled in red;

Then it was a matter of setting it up from the bottom and using the lower stud and nut to hold it on. And then I could put the 2 upper bolts in. 

1 is into a threaded hole and the other is a bolt/nut combo. It takes some socket extensions and a combo wrench to get the job done and tight! With those on and tight I hooked up the power and alternator and ignition wires. The battery would be later.

Then the bottom can be tightened and the downpipe shoved back up and clamped. I find that a bottle jack under the downpipe helps to push it that last little bit instead of beating my hands to death slamming it up. The flange donut has to get put back in and the fitting connection tightened and then the clamp on the turbo. Hook up the battery and Bob is an ex-neighbor. No really, he moved to Idaho.

It starts SOooo fast now!

Today I took apart the old starter and tried to find a new solenoid for it. They are available online from LR part suppliers from around $35 in the UK to twice that in the States. I'll get one next time I make a UK order.

    For now though I did a deep cleaning/lubing of the 200 starter and ran a die down the threads and had to file the last few for a nut to go all the way down. Then put it back together and in my spares pile.

    I also took apart the 19J starter which has a LR part # of PRC5109 and fits the 2.5NA and DT. I cleaned it and lubed it and put it in my for sale pile.

Lots of work just glad I wasn't doing it in the hot desert.............

LED head lights for 109 Land Rover

I don't know if you watched my video in the Roaming Nevada blog, but if you did you saw how pitiful my headlights have been.
I've wanted LED ones for a number of years but the high price kept me from purchasing them. Coming back from that Nevada trip sent me over the edge and I looked around and found some that while pricey were less than half of the cost of the high priced spread.
    I ordered some Sylvania ZEVO LED headlights.
https://www.sylvania-automotive.com/products/other-lighting/zevo-led/index.jsp

I thought that they looked more stock than others like the JW Speakers, but when I got them I found I was mistaken.

One reason I bought these is that they are a sealed beam and therefore should hold up under water crossings.
I ordered mine from walmart;
https://www.walmart.com/ip/SYLVANIA-ZEVO-L6024-7IN-Round-LED-Sealed-Beam-Contains-1-Bulb/55631365

The old headlights;

The trim ring comes off by removing a screw on the bottom and then prying it off the bottom first. Next are holddown rings that have 3 screws holding the lamp in.

The back of the old headlights;

The front of the new followed by the back;

Plug and play!

The same holddown rings are used. This is when I realized the new ones were going to stick out like a bugeye.

Something old and something new;

Both done, and then I left the trim rings off so I could adjust them.

Here is the low beam;

Hi beam;

Here is the low beam before picture;

Quite a difference, now I feel safer driving at night, I can see!
Low beam at night;

Hi beam;

Just for comparison, my light bar;

The only concern I have is that my driverside headlight has a blue tinge to it on the lowbeam portion when seen from the side. Don't know what it means.

All in all easy swap and much better light to drive by.

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Update; Aug 14, 2019.
    I emailed Sylvania about the blue tinge to the light and over the course of a few emails they wanted the lamp back. So they sent a prepaid shipping label and I pulled the lamp and sent it back to them. Once they get it they will send me a replacement. I asked to be included when they find out what the cause is, we'll see. In the mean time I re-installed one of the old lamps. With the engine off I am getting 11.7v to the lamp.