I did the brake job this weekend. It went well. The bearings and bearing surfaces are excellent. They must use good steel. Once I had everything back together again, I had a neighbor pump the brake pedal and we went around to all 4 calipers to bleed the brakes. I'm surprised they used a solid brake line that mounts to the calipers. It makes changing the rotors that much more difficult.

Then I fitted the plastic front piece on the front bumper. Now it looks more original. Then I fixed the right-rear window switch that sits in the front center console. That window didn't go up and down from the front. The switch in back worked, but not the front. I pulled the switch out and took it apart. Cleaned all the contacts and put it back together. Now it works better than all the others. I didn't know that would be so easy because most things have been harder. For example, replacing the tranny filter will be a huge task because of the Y-pipe and cross-brace.

 

Next job was an attempt to remove the engine 'whine' from the stereo. The PO put in a new Sony DSX S310BTX so he could use Bluetooth. Not an easy job.

When the engine is off, music sounds good and clear. When the engine is on, the alternator creates a 'buzz' or 'whine' in the stereo. Grounding the RCAs on the back of the stereo did not work. Grounding the stereo with a second ground did not work. The PO tried a ground-loop-interupter. That did not work.

My research showed I needed an LOC. Line Output Converter. I bought the PAC LP7-4 (see pic below). Initially, I tried using the RCAs out the Sony deck but I later learned from the Sony specs that RCAs only give the RCA jacks 4 volts. The whine is now gone but so is 70% of the volume.

After calling PAC, I should use the speaker wires from the Sony wire harness because they give more power. That is next thing to try when I get time. The other thing I could try is wiring directly to the speaker down by the amp. 2 things to try...

 

Wire the speakers from the Sony through the OEM amp, bypass the amp input by splicing into the amps output connector. Gets rid of the whine. Been there done that...... The amp is under the front passenger footwell kick panel and in a wonderful place to squeeze yourself into a pretzel.

 

Thanks. I don't get off work until later so I'm stuck just doing research until I get home.
One expert warned me that I might damage my head-unit doing that but I guess not?

I've removed that cover and glove box to get the idea. I've even decoded the colors just in case I go this route.
My plan is to wire the speakers directly to the unusual colors of Land Rover for each speaker at the amp connector. Does this make sense?
at the factory amp...
white to white
brown to white stripe
pink to grey
red to grey stripe
orange to green
yellow to green stripe
green to purple
blue to purple stripe

 

LR used a different way of grounding the audio which is why you hear the the alternator and have low volume unless you use the amp. It's been 8 years since I replaced mine and my memory of what was what is not exact but you get the idea. I remember the amp being the problem. I believe I also tapped the head units ground to the vehicles sheet steel in the radio bay. I upgraded the stock speakers and used a larger output amp for the subs and again used the stock wiring to do so. Rattled the door skins it worked so well.. Post up your results.

 

It worked! The PAC LP7-4 worked when using the speaker wires (not RCAs) from the new Sony deck. Then the RCAs from the LP7-4 to the footwell amp via the RCA plugs. I've got full volume and clear radio with no alternator whine for $26 Amazon Prime for the LP7-4. Packing all that stuff behind the stereo was not easy.

Then I moved on to another problem. The battery dies if left for a couple weeks. I measured a .44 amp draw from the negative battery cable to the negative battery post. Typically, 50mAh or less is acceptable but 440mAh is NOT good. I'd prefer 0.0mAh but there are a lot of funky systems on these cars anymore. The wife watched the amp meter as I pulled all the fuses next to the battery and all the fuses in the left-side footwell panel. No noticeable drop when pulling any fuse.

I need to refine my methods. The driver door and hood both have 'open' switches. I'll watch some more YouTube videos in the meantime.

Finding a parasitic draw
1 - check the battery (i have an inductance tester for this) 3-5 milliohms. over 5 is bad.
2 - keep the key out of the ignition so you aren't tempted to turn it and fry your meter for the next steps
3 - remove the negative terminal on the battery and measure the amp draw with a meter (find a good way to get the leads to stay connected)
4 - pinch the hood switch (left side) and the left door switch (because the fuse panel is in there)
5 - lock the car with the alarm
6 - let the car sit a while (an hour?) and hope everything went to sleep
7 - use a 2nd multimeter to measure the millivolts on each fuse and write it down (use this link)
http://cdn2.hubspot.net/hub/232160/f...=1498581203243

don't forget the alternator can be a draw too. it has a diode that can go wrong and electricity can flow to the alternator by mistake.

 

Well... I found the parasitic draw. The alternator.

I did the test where you use 2 meters. An ammeter on the battery negative and a mV meter while touching each fuse. Well... the mV testing showed nothing. Go figure. I pinged my buddies and they said to start chucking each fuse over my shoulder. One at a time. Also, set the ammeter on the 'continuity buzzer' setting. I took pictures and then started pulling fuses until the sound goes away. Ha! It works.

Upon trying to remove the alternator to take a closer look, the small, middle post snapped off. Great! A bad diode and a broken post/lead. I can probably fix the lead but now I need to find a new rectifier assembly or a whole alternator. New alternators at Oreilly's or PepBoys are ~$170. A used one would be cheaper but it could have the same diode problem. No guarantees. Finding a new rectifier is proving to be harder. Online orders only.

Anyone know where I can find a used one in a day or 2?

 

cant help with the timeline but I had to order a new alternator a few weeks back -

Advanced auto had Denso's for about $115 new.

 

What? It's $191 + $20 tax around here.
That puts it at $211 here in California. I called these guys:
AutoZone - 191
PepBoys - 191
Oreillys - 191
AdvancedAuto/CarQuest - 251

 

Try the NAPA in Redwood City