So a new category on LGL… 110 Defender. I’d been thinking about adding some content as I do, on occasion do things to / with the Defender.

Wednesday next week sees Christmas vacation start and I noticed last night that the nearside rear stop / tail light was not working along with the nearside front side light. Two new bulbs required then. I have spares, so no problem. Not wanting to do the job in the cold and dark, I had a look this morning.

The front side light just needed a spare bulb and nothing more. The stop tail lights, needed a little more work.

The light assembly is help in place by two screws easily accessed from the rear of the vehicle. These were removed and the unit pulled out and the connector socket unplugged. Hmm lots of rusty water in there. Not a good sign.

The bulb holder unscrews 16th of a turn out of the red lens. I’d estimate the lens was 3/4 full of more rust coloured water. Not good either.

In my head, the next task would be to remove the bulb, dry everything out, clean the contacts, refit and test. Nope…

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Both stop tail bulb holders. The left holder should have 2 spring terminals. The missing terminal are the rusty shards below. The right holder has its 2 bulb spring terminals but…

 

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(flipped over) … is missing the 3rd terminal (RH) in the socket end. Both units are shot then.

 

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Technically, the 3rd terminal in the socket wasn’t missing, it’s seized into the socket. You can just see it in the left hand opening. So this part is also scrap.

 

So, knowing that there are no decent automotive parts hereabouts where I can walk in on a Saturday and say “‘Morning, I need these parts please” and walk out with them, I needed a quick reliable solution. The parts are all non serviceable.

Fortunately, I had a set of rear stop lamps I bought to fit LGL but in the end went with the military fittings.

I had to cut off the original 3 pin plugs and make off the ends of the cables with new bullet connector. On the drivers side, I had to make 3 tails as the original loom is way too short, fit the rubber boots, drill new holes and fit the glass and retaining ring.

A quick trip to the shops for some new bulbs and everything works again but a bit annoyed it happened. The vehicle is still brand new (by Land Rover standards) and ironically, the warranty expired last week. Can you believe that?…

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Lucas lights on my 2015 Defender

 

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Incase anyone wanted to see all the parts side by side. The lenses look more “red” in real life

I checked (very carefully) the rear indicator units as well. These are fine. No water ingress, no corrosion. This is very odd as the back of these are actual open to the weather. The rear of the stop tail lights are behind the speaker housing on the inside of the vehicle. I can only assume water has leaked in through the screw holes in the lenses… but why not in the indicator units. It doesn’t help all the terminals are made of steel.

But I’m happy the Defender has rear lights again and we can go on holiday next week. When I’m back, I think I’ll check all of the wiring to the lights, replace the stop tail lights with the correct units and switch everything over to LED 🙂