Hey all and Merry Christmas.
Disco has been giving me some trouble over the past two days. First, I was unable to shift into reverse after starting the car the other day. Quick bit of investigating revealed a blown brake light fuse (the 15A one under the steering wheel). Did a quick check for possible short on the rear windscreen brake/defrost lines, refreshed the fuse, and good to go. A few starts later and the fuse blew again. Clearly I had a short somewhere. After a bunch of investigating, I discovered a SMALL gap in the rear brake lamp ground line on the back glass. I dropped a bit of solder to bridge the connection, threw a new brake lamp switch on for good measure, and hey presto it worked! Until... I was driving home from my friend's house where I had done the work when my ABS light popped on. I did the paper clip blink test, and found a 2-3 code. As far as I can tell, the 2-3 code points to either a faulty warning light relay or a faulty pump relay. There have been some conflicting reports on the forums though.

Have any of you guys run into the 2-3 ABS blink code? Curious how this might be connected to the brake lamp/switch problem I'm having. Surely it isn't coincidental timing... As always any advice is welcome. Thank you all!

Oh, and it's a 1996 Discovery SE7 NAS

 

Fortunately that's one I haven't run into on the D1. Dang...that's not the kind of issue you want to deal with over the holidays. Probably not your issue, but I would check the ABS fuse, and unhook/re-hook the ABS connector. Ensure the brake switch is still adjusted properly. But I'm guessing you've already done this.

Hopefully someone who's been through this issue will chime in.

 

First thing is to check ALL the fuses involved.

Main:
F1 - 15A
F14 - 10A

Sat 1:
F4 - 5A

Sat2:
F3 - 10A

Engine bay:
MF6 - 40A
F5 - 30A

Then on to the relays:
K101 - load
K102 - pump
K103 - warning

code 2-3 suggests a fault concerning the pump. Could be fuse, relay, or connector.

 

Thanks guys. Yeah I've already looked at each of these fuses, so that hopefully leaves just the pump relay as the last piece of the puzzle. I'll report back.

 

Problem solved! Checked over all associated fuses once again - all good. Next, went to the relays. Checked K101 (ABS load relay) and K103 (ABS warning relay), both good. Moved on to K102 (ABS pump relay) DEAD. Quick trip to the auto parts store, new relay in place, cleared the ABS code with paper clip method, and the ABS light stays off after reaching 5mph. PHEW! Thank you all for the help! Hope this helps someone down the line with the mysterious 2-3 code.

 

Well I may have spoken too soon... ABS problem is still fixed, no issue there. My brake light/gear selector problem has resurfaced though. The Disco is chewing through 15A indicator/brake lamp fuses like nobody's business. I've tested my brake lamp switch with a multimeter - all good. I've done my very best to check for any other obvious points where there might be a short (indicator bulbs, housings, connectors, etc.) and can't seem to find anything. Any ideas? This is getting to be pretty crazy.

 

Alright, some final closure for anyone following- After chasing my tail trying to find the short in the brake light circuit, I finally gave up and decided to take it to my local Rover electrical wizard (Abel De La Torre in Burbank, CA for anyone who needs a rec). After 16 hours of diagnosis and troubleshooting, Abel managed to locate the short somewhere between the brake light switch and the ABS module. Rather than disassemble the dash and risk cracking the 30 year old plastic, Abel ran some new wire through the footwells and center console area. We also deleted the gear selector lock solenoid, god forbid the issue resurfaces again, I can at least move the truck. A week and some serious off-roading later and all is well! What an absolute saga.

 

a bad rear defroster switch can cause the 15a fuse to blow and knock out the brake lights and turn signals

 

Chasing diagrams with a multimeter is a tedious, but generally reliable way to find a short. Good on Able de la Torre!

 

Be careful about the gear lock, I swapped out my ignition lock for a manual trans one, (much less expensive and was available) so now I can shut off the key without the trans being in park... Not the best idea as it can roll away if it isn't in park with the engine not running. But then sometimes my D1 will roll away in park (with a clicking noise) May be just an adjustment, but I use the parking brake and that seems to do the job.