Coil supply, screen washers & other electrical questions

[darrenmidd]

G'day,

I'm an absolute novice mechanic and a worse auto-electrician. So, having got that out of the way, where are people taking their (ignition-fed) 12v power for the coil? (note that my coil has been relocated). And where is the control (on the instrument panel) for the water jets that spray the window?

Also, when testing the new motor, will gravity-fed fuel be okay for the carb instead of the fuel tank? I haven't sprayed the tub and don't want to install it and put fuel in the tank until after that. So, I was thinking of a 2-litre bottle feeding the fuel line (after manually priming the fuel pump).

[diffwhine]

Your ignition coil should be fed by a white wire straight off your fuse box on the unfused side of the fuse box. The other side of that fuse is the green fused feeds to gauges, wiper motors, lights and so on.

Washer jets - remember that for many markets during the Series 2 / 2A era, screen wash systems were not mandatory, so were often a dealer fit or DIY fit option. A retrospective law here in the 1960s made it mandatory for all vehicles to have a screen wash system, so it could have been fitted anywhere. Mine, on my 1965 SW is fitted as a switch in the side of the instrument panel housing near the steering column.

[darrenmidd]

Thanks, that's just the confirmation I needed. Thanks very much. 

[Theshed]

My washer jet is 'powered' by a plunger, to the left of the ignition switch under the speedo'.

[Wittsend]

Your 12V supply to the coil should be easy to sort/trace. One wire from the coil goes to the distributor, to other to the aforementioned unfused side of the fuse box.

Your washer "switch" could be anywhere 

Look to see if you can find the washer pump at or near the fluid reservoir. You can trace the wire back to the dash. The PO could have placed the switch anywhere    Could be a conventional toggle switch or a push button. Look for a switch with no obvious function. The driver's handbook shows the original dash layout.

It's also possible the PO has fitted a combined wiper/wash switch

Else look for the manual "water pistol" plunger. Many cars used these - inc. Minis.
They were a quick/cheap fix after the "washer" law came in.

Some manual washer plungers can look quite good ....

[darrenmidd]

Thanks all; when I got it, so much was missing as it has never been registered for the road - farmer fixes everywhere. Thanks for the replies.

[Wittsend]

Legislation and road use rules will have been/be different in Oz.

It's quite possible that washers were never fitted if the vehicle was used off the public roads.

The tell-tale clue will be if it has washer jets fitted
If so, and the plastic pipes are in place, you can trace back to the washer reservoir and see if there is a washer pump there. Then trace the wire back to the dash switch

[darrenmidd]

There was washers and pump etc, but the wiring was largely destroyed. I'll just run my own lines and put a simple switch on. 

[Exile]

G'day,

I'm an absolute novice mechanic and a worse auto-electrician.

You won't own your Land Rover for very long before you become an expert at both.

[darrenmidd]

Well, I've realised my wiring is incorrect.

What I know is correct is the following:
The brown wires from the starter solenoid run up to the dash area and feed the amp gauge, and then that power runs via the Brown/blue wire to the fuse box and the A position on the ignition. I understand how the S&T posts feed the accessories and ignition (red wires and white) and the H post is for the headlights (blue wire).

Here's where I'm confused.
The white wire should get its power from the ignition post, but that's taken up with the two red wires - so do I just add the white wire there?

If so, does that go directly to the coil?

I'm also a little confused about what should be attached to the fuse block.
At the moment, the only power coming to the fuse box is the brown and blue on the top post unfused.
Should the white wire in the picture be attached below that on the unfused side so that power comes out of the fused side only at ignition?

I hope this makes sense... my learning is slow and painful, but the picture is slowly starting to clear.

[diffwhine]

What year is your Land Rover?
First of all, your brown / blue wire off the ignition switch A  terminal should be going to the fuse box A1. On the other side of that fuse your purple wire should connect to A2 and that feeds an interior light only.

Your white wires on the fuse box should feed terminal A3 and the ignition fused green wires should come off the other side of the fuse at A4.

In the member's section of the website, we have all these wiring diagrams in a clear format which would help you immensely I think.

On the ignition switch, there should be two brown/blue wires. One comes off terminal A of the voltage regulator and connects to terminal A on the back of your ignition / lighting switch. The other runs from terminal A on your ignition / lighting switch to the fuse box as above.

Your red wires are all panel lights and side lights and all connect to the S terminal on the switch. Your blue wire is the headlight feed and connects to the H terminal on the switch. That should leave your Ign terminal which takes your white wires.

If you are a club member, please let Wittsend know on here so he can upgrade your access. If you are not yet a LRS2C member, it would be a good move to join us as that gives you access to all this information and also substantial club discounts from suppliers etc.

Let us know how you get on. What I would suggest, while you are playing around with electrics and not being too familiar with them, is to fit either a fuse or a bulb between the negative battery terminal and the negative cable. That way, if something is a dead short by mistake, all that will happen is the bulb will glow or the fuse will pop and not take out your whole harness. Given the lack of fusing in the standard circuit (only one fuse!), it is a significant risk.

[darrenmidd]

It's a 1963. I'll go through ask this methodically tomorrow.
Thanks, this is all very helpful. 

[darrenmidd]

Can I just start by reiterating my thankfulness for all your comments and patience, especially diffwhine. Electrical numpties like me can never learn without the patience and help of others; on another site in my own country, I'd get ripped to shreds for such naive questions. So again, thanks.

The good news is that despite blowing 4-5 fuses on the earth (thanks for that advice), I think I have managed to get everything sorted except a few things.
Regarding the two generator wires (D&F), there are two spade terminals on the rear of the generator (see pic). The top one is larger than the one at the bottom. I thought the yellow went to the larger spade connection and the yellow/green to the smaller, but I'm questioning if that is right. I know D is yellow to the regulator; I'm just not sure if it connects to the larger spade terminal on the generator or not.

My other questions relate to the oil warning light and the charge light—should they glow when the ignition is on - i.e. how do I know they are working correctly?

Also, my coil gets hot; I'm not sure what is normal on a Series?

[Wittsend]

The small dynamo terminal connects with the thinner wire to the control box terminal "D".
This is the ignition warning light. The other wire from "D" on the control box goes to the ignition warning light on the dash. After 60 years the wire colours can be hard to make out.
The thicker/heavier wire from the dynamo carries the output (amps) to the vehicle and goes to "F" on the control box.

It is not unusual for the ignition/charge warning light to flicker slightly at low engine revs (when idling).
Anything worse could be a fault with he dynamo brushes or the control box.

The oil pressure warning light should not be flickering. It will be on "full" when you turn the key and remain on for a few seconds after the engine starts until oil pressure builds up. Then it goes out.

Any "flickering" could also be due to poor connections to the warning light(s).

[darrenmidd]

Thanks this reply and the helpful diagrams.  Cheers.