Electric blues
When the speedo clicked past the 99,999 mile mark, an opportunity came up. With a spring-like break in the weather I thought it might be the time to chip away at the ‘iceberg’ of issues that my Range Rover collects when I spend more time driving it than working on it; in particular the longstanding list of instrument problems. Removing the dashboard panels is simple in general, but you must be methodical because the vast array of different fixings all need to be catalogued. I also took the opportunity to have a good hoover of the ventilation ducts because they seemed to have accumulated large amounts of dust and disintegrated foam.
I’d known for a while that the electrics needed a bit of overhauling. It was time to upgrade the terminals to good quality brass compression spade connectors – and to compliment the upgrade a proper crimping tool was needed.
I’d spent too long with a pair of dodgy pliers and a box of various coloured terminals.
I also took the opportunity to order some two-coloured wire to match the original loom. Who is going to see this stuff? At least I will know. Still, no scrimping on crimping.
When I found out that my trusty Gunsons multimeter was on the blink, it seemed time to upgrade that also. I might have gone a bit over-the-top with its replacement – not sure whether
I’m going to be testing a diode anytime soon...
With all the basic rewiring done and shiny connectors in place, it was time to tackle the less straightforward problems. The oil temperature gauge has had a preference (when warmed up) of reading off the scale when driving along normally. A test of bravery when you’ve had expensive engine work done, and because it sat on the left (where the clock should go) it’s always the gauge unwitting passengers notice for you! I’ve only had the water temperature gauge and my sense of smell to go on. I traced that it was being fed by 12 volts of electricity, which seems logical until you find out that these particular breed of Smiths gauges prefer a slightly lower 10-volt supply.
This would normally come from a stabiliser hidden behind the speedo, but strangely not in my case. I’ve now fitted one from a Mini behind the gauge itself and moved it to the other side of the dash where it’s supposed to live, swapping it with the clock, which finally keeps time. All in sparkling order, with a clean-up of the glass and some new green bulbs, it’s hard to keep my eyes on the road.