My 00 Disco has the metal brush guard with the Hella 3000 aux lights. They do not work at all, so I spent a bit of time chasing down the wires. The OEM switch looks fine, and it is wired correct so they can only be used with the high beams. The wiring goes under the dash, and out the firewall to a box near the fuses under the hood. Going into the box is an 8 pin plug. Looks like 2X wires for each light, ground, positive and then the blue and red wires that come from the switch under the dash. Found the red wire from that was pulled out. I plugged it in, and it worked. Woo-hoo! Then it went off...
I turned the lights/ignition off, and got them to fire a couple more times and each time after about 10 seconds I would hear the click from under the hood and they would go off. Now they don't fire at all.
Anyone have any similar issues with the relay? At this point I'm assuming it is the relay that is the issue. Is there a bypass to this or an aftermarket replacement? It doesn't look like a Hella relay, and looks like it was specifically designed for the Rover by how it is bolted in. Not much luck so far searching around here and elsewhere.

 

If it is a black plastic box thing that's bolted to the fuse box, it is OEM. On the RAVE manual, there is an accessory fitting instruction section. You might look at the installation manual there to see where all of the wires plug in, and see if any of yours are loose or corroded. I remember there is a ground wire near the under hood fuse box, as well as a wire that taps into the fuse/relay box (under hood). I thought I might have a part number for the relay assembly, but the kit came in a plastic bag, with no part numbers, other than the kit itself.

 

Cool, thanks. Yes, it does look OEM. Being it has the factory switch too I figured they should all be about the same. I know where all the wires go, it is just inside that box (relay I suppose) that I believe is fried. Having a hard time finding anything new or used. I assume any relay will work from Hella. Might stop at a place that sells the lights tomorrow and see if they know.

 

If you can;t find another one, if you have a basic understanding of relays, you could always take it apart, make a electrical diagram, then take your diagram to a parts house and ask to see their relay catalogs.

 

Before you go out and purchase "just any relay", be certain that you know the estimated current draw of the lights. Most "accessory relays" sold for generic fog / driving lights are rated for approx. 15 amps (that's the rating of the contacts. Sounds like your Hella's may be drawing more than that; so upgrading your relay selection may not be a bad idea.

Having said that, the contacts rating would have nothing to do with the problem that you describe. It sounds like the coil of the relay is weak, or otherwise defective. This may be due to a bad GROUND on the relay wiring. Check ALL wiring connections for even the slightest indication of looseness or corrosion.


Good luck . . .
Cal

 

Thanks. I do need to play around with it a bit more. The ground is OK, and is the closest connection so easy to check/see. It is just turning off for some reason. After some more research, it looks like they have many relay types that will work for this set up, but I might have to change out the plug as well. I would rather plug and play with a direct replacement, but I will dig a bit further!