I saw your PM on here.. and sorry I haven't got back to your email yet... Away working again and my schedule has been hectic.

Today is a long day, but I'll look into it more thoroughly as soon as I can, but it does look like it could be an issue in the BECM on at least the power board. Which luckily it's easy enough to check and replace if needed...

I'll be in touch/reply to your email as soon as I can.

As Sloth mentions... I've got the T-Max setup in mine.

I've fitted the battery on the RHR side of the loadspace and made a cover for it. I've got I think Twin 25mm2 cable running back to front, with the positive fused at 250A at each end through a mega fuse.

The digital T-Max setup will link the solenoid for charging both batteries when the engine is running and charging voltage is detected. It automatically disconnects the 2 batteries about 30s after engine switch off.

I have an Anderson connector in the boot for my jumper cables, and I run the rear accessory socket from the auxiliary battery too so it's permanent 12v. Good for charging phone etc when I've camped in the RR as no need to have the ignition on.

When I had 2 EAS compressors I ran the second one from the auxiliary battery too, with a trigger wire from the main one. Meant if I wanted to run a compressor for testing EAS etc with the engine off, I could unplug the one in the EAS box and run the second one off the other battery without draining down the main battery.

Sometimes if I'm doing a load of electrical work in the RR and have the radio on etc, I'll manually link the batteries so I don't run the main one down.

Once I've got my A into G and bought a winch to fit in the factory winch tray, then having the second battery will hopefully help with the oomph for that.

I managed to fit the twin cable in the RH sill with the other cable looms and through the firewall, under the fuse box and to the solenoid which is mounted on the back of the battery tray/ECU box.

That 'sealed unit' of rubber is actually the supposedly water proof cover for the GPS receiver connector

The ABS ECU on the P38 spits out road speed at 8000 pulses per mile - so the frequency of this signal will change in relation to road speed (IE how quickly the miles are being eaten up!)

A bit of maths would tell us (I might be wrong and have miscalculated....)

Say you're doing 60mph (as it works nicely with minutes/seconds)... so 60mph is 1 mile per minute or 60s... so there would be 8000 pulses every 60 seconds, or 133.333333 pulses per second, or 133hz would be the frequency of the square wave signal to signify 60mph.

That in theory is scalable... 30mph, would be about 66hz, 15mph 33hz etc etc etc.

I am pretty sure you could make something to fudge that data as an output, depending on what the ECU requires - OR take that input, read it, and translate it to whatever CAN format is required.

The GPS receiver is under the scuttle panel, yes. It goes through a connector there, and then runs through to the navigation drive in the loadspace.

I had a similar issue on my P38 nav drive when I bought it that it always defaulted to somewhere I wasn't, and I believe it was a fault in the drive itself. (I never managed to get it repaired). But it could be that you've just lost the GPS reception, and it's not the drive after all. There is a connector in a rubber housing from the GPS antenna, under the scuttle panel, so maybe this has gotten water in it, and is causing it to give issues....

If you have issues with the tailgate aswell, then that points towards the RHF latch as the motor grounds through there.

Dancing door latches can only be triggered by the CDL switch (central door locking). They are only fitted to the front latches, and it's the one used for tailgate aswell. The other switches (in every latch) is the Door Ajar switch to tell if the door is open/closed, and in the driver's latch there is a third, key switch to tell if the key has been turned in the lock.

I wrote the latch test sheet originally, and whilst it will tell you instantly if there's a failed microswitch, it's intermittent then it might show up as working some of the time. As well as continuity on the CDL switch, I would check it on resistance as sometimes it will show up as having continuity but as a high resistance, which causes issues too. Also it's worth when checking it, moving the sill locking button and seeing if the switch changes state before the mechanical part of the latch does. If it shows it's locked or unlocked before the mechanical clunk in the latch happens, then that causes the jumping.

The older vehicles were prone to burning out door latches, which was generally due to RF interference confusing the BECM it would then constantly lock the front doors and that would burn the motor out. That wouldn't show up as a dancing lock issue, but more the latch not operating with the rest off the remote or key in the door/LH sill button (in your case)

My bet is it's the RHF latch.

I get there feeling there's a real extended workshop weekend in the making... :)

I'll obviously help (especially electrically) anywhere I can... you have my views on a few of the things... I wouldn't be surprised if the M57 ECU and the P38 Auto-slush-box ECU's become best friends, as the other swaps I believe I've read about are all to do with either from a GEMS or M51 in the first place, that talks to the Gearbox ECU's over individual wires, whereas BMW changed that on the Motronic system - the Gearbox ECU is actually a different part number for them and all.

I forsee the issues coming in with things like the tacho and road speed. The tacho can probably be fudged pretty easily, it will be a case of working out the pulses per revolution between the M57 and what the P38 BECM expects, and either build or buy and adapter box to adjust the required pulses. I remember recommending one to LLT on the .net for his LS Swap, when he asked me about the tacho for that as he was trying to use a trigger wheel, but I found a tacho pulse adjuster which would take the output from the LS PCM and adjust it to what the P38 BECM wanted. So that's probably easy enough...

Road speed might be the fun one, depending on what the M57 ECU uses if for - if it needs the ACTUAL speed, then depending on what it's expecting/what the WABCO ECU spits out - there could be fun happening there, but it might also be a case that the engine ECU just wants it to know the vehicle is moving (rather than revving it whilst parked for example) and feeding it the pulse from the ABS ECU would appease it enough.

I think the mechanical side of it will be the testing bit, especially mating to the HP24 box/Thor bell housing, but then electrical bits don't scare me... trying to fabricate something to join together lumps of metal that spin fast is a bit more outside my remit...

Dibs on you're old V8 when it comes out though :P... it could be the start of a 5.8L project V8....

Holy thread revival batman.... that one was last replied to in 2011!

The foot is nearly healed now, and I've since put just under 70 miles on the RR. Took it on the dual carriageway up to 70mph the other evening, and whilst it was slightly nerve wracking - eye on the temp gauge the whole time, and left foot out of the way of potential 'splah zones', she seems to be running OK

I think it will be awhile before I'm ready to crack out on a long trip again - once bitten, twice shy and all that... but for the moment, seems to be OK... mpg is back into double figures aswell now which is good... on the way home from the MOT I saw 4.3mpg!

Works are underway on replacing the nav unit - this time with a bigger widescreen system, and some extra goodies... I might do a separate thread on that once the unit actually arrives from China...

Hope the eye is OK, Morat... I shudder just at the thought of anyone coming near my eye with a needle!

The switching of the lights in the dash, goes to the logic board of the BECM - to trigger it and tell it the switch is turned on. It then internally triggers the appropriate MOSFETs for the lamps that have been turned on side/tail lights, dipped beam,main beam etc.

As Sloth mentions, the easiest way to disable lights is to put a relay in the common ground feed to the sidelight switch, so that when ignition is off, lights get cut automatically.

The MOSFETs in the BECM are grounded internally in the BECM. The headlamp units themselves are grounded in the engine bay.

WOW = has it really been 3 weeks since I last wrote anything in here?? I guess it must have been - work and trying to do some other things around the house has kept me busy!

So, after Nick had been up to give me a hand, I spent a bit of time getting all the ducting resealed with aluminium foil tape (time will tell seeing how this holds up vs the gaffer tape I used last time) and the dash back together. I then had a few other bits to do for other people, and a rear caliper to look at because it wasn't grabbing the disc properly and then headed away for work for a week.

Whilst away, I booked the MOT for Monday just gone, and figured that it will tell me a bit more if there are any issues...

It passed MOT, with 3 advisories - a rear hub oil seal, that I know about and have already replaced once, and both lower front shock mounts - again which I had noticed, but not in time to order shocks to do them pre-MOT.

So I'm happy that she passed - the emissions are pretty low aswell, which is great, and they tested it properly on LPG the first time. I got home and had a look under the bonnet and saw that the top hose had been leaking a bit on the metal spout (we had removed it to fill the coolant from the top of the engine) and upon a bit more inspection, found that the constant tension clamp was squeezable by hand. A couple of new Mikalor bolt clamps were ordered up (I measured the hose on the spot at 40mm and typically they did 37-40mm and 40-40mm sizes!) and I fitted one of the larger ones on Wednesday. Took it out to the supermarket and got back home to find drips on the ground... nope not from the AC drains, but coolant. WTF?!? still dripping off the steering damper too!

Opened the bonnet and found it hissing and squirting out from the bottom of the hose... grabbed to ratchet and cranked the clamp down as tight as it will go, and it stopped... finally...
Went out today and got back to find only a very slight weep down one side of the hose/spout - so I think I might look at swapping the clamp for the smaller one, just to be sure.

But overall, it's all back together, seems to be running OK, and I guess time will tell on the rest. I've ordered a new all singing/dancing navigation unit, so watch this space (well, probably the electrickery section) as I'm going somewhat all out - and will post up some pictures once it's done... will be at least a month or 2 I would imagine as I've got bits of work going on and the unit is coming from China, as it was about £50 cheaper than buying from their German office.

Fingers crossed no more niggly issues lurking under the bonnet though!

I doubt it needs an actuator. I wouldn't be surprised if Tom takes one look at it and can figure out the problem quicker than they have charged you for a water pump and labour that might or might not be required - you only had their word on it, and from what it sounds like, didn't authorise the work on it anyway.

At least it's out of their clutches and off to someone who can actually sort it out. I wish my P38 had been up and running and I could have gotten over to Portsmouth to take a look.

The adaptation fault definitely corresponds to the FIP, and as mentioned a few times before - if they have had it apart to replace the seals and haven't set it up again properly, then that will throw the fuelling out, and more than likely cause the issue you currently have. Again, I don't see how they can charge you for mis-diagnosing the in tank pump etc.

I would pay the bill and then get advice from someone like Trading Standards, once Tom has had a look at it, and what has been done. Hopefully he can give you a write up of what he finds, and what remedial action is needed. I'd then write down/log down conversations with Powerdrive, dates, times, roughly what's been said etc and then seek some advice, as it seems to me that they've charged you a sh*tload of money for having done next to nothing... certainly not fixing a problem, that if it is in the FIP, which they last had apart, should in theory be under warranty?

Really silly question.... if you put 20W50 in it and the light then goes out, AND you're planning on pulling it apart yourself, then is it worth taking it in to get the bearings checked?

Chances are they'll charge you a pretty penny to check them, and probably say they'll need doing etc etc etc along with the sharp intake of breath that garages usually do...

If I were you... save the money of taking it to the garage to start with, take the RR off the road when the Mazda arrives, and pull the front cover and check the oil pump gears first. You're planning on doing the timing chain and sprockets anyway, along with other things, so surely it's at least worth pulling the front cover to look at it first and see if it is a simple thing. I can't imagine the bearings are THAT worn, and besides... you have to take the sump off to pull the front cover, so you can always take one of the bearing caps off yourself to have a look, and post the pics up here for a free assessment...

Is the flange off the VC?

If so, then you can get it out without removing the crossmember - it IS a wiggle, and you have to rotate it in a couple of different ways to get it past heat shields etc, but I did it here on the side of the road the day before my PS pump went pop.

I don't think it will come out with the flange still on, but without it, it's possible. There will be cursing involved though... typically it took me 10-15mins of cursing and getting dirt in my eyes to orient it in the right way to get it out, but when I went to put it back it, it just popped back in first orientation I tried.

I thought to nitrogen test it, they first had to suck out the refrigerant from the system, so they could fill the entire system with nitrogen?

I've just had a look at my licence, as it was converted from a NZ one after I moved here.

I have BE on mine, which is nice.... They couldn't convert my truck licence (I believe as the weight categories are different - there is no 'like for like') but I'm not too bothered about that! I was able to drive the equivalent of an 18T truck in NZ, but given the roads and a lot of drivers over here, I'm really not losing sleep over it!

But handy to know I could legally tow a P38 on a proper car trailer, with a P38.

I believe it's 19mm x 1.5mm, from memory.... I will have a look in my parts sheet from when I did my engine a few years ago to see if I made a note of it...

If not, then I might still have a spare or old one in a bag kicking around in the garage that I can measure... but I do recall it being a slightly strange size

I don't seem to have any issues posting over on RR.net at the moment.... I'm not on there much anyway, but replied to a couple of threads this afternoon and the replies have shown up straight away

I'm in no rush for it back... I wouldn't know what to do with it in the current state anyway!

My mind was just jogged about it when I saw the diesel lump sitting at the workshop the other week when I was rummaging around for my old power steering pump!

Let us know what you find with your steering etc. Hopefully it's something simple :)

Sounds more like an issue with one of the brakes than anything in the steering box...

I have brand new calipers on my RR, and one of the rear ones I've found catches on the caliper carrier once it's all bolted up... looking at it more, it appears that the mounting holes are out of center - and it's causing it to not sit properly... not the most impressed...

If you're getting shimmying, then I'd first check the brake discs to make sure they aren't warped, or that one of them isn't... and that none of the calipers/slide pins are seized. Again on mine (the reason for new calipers/carriers/slide pins/pads all round) was that when I went to do the rear pads, I found a seized slide pin on both LHR/RHR carriers, and the LHR caliper was seized. I had random feelings of a brake dragging/pulling when the brake pedal was pressed - but it also wasn't all the time, or always one corner. When I changed the fronts over, again I found at least one seized slide pin.

The rubber boots on them never seem to last very long - I'm sure I've replaced mine a couple of times in the period I've owned the RR - but this time they'd obviously gone bad before I'd noticed and been able to service them again.

Hope this helps...
Marty

P.S. I have meant to send you a message... did you ever get time to look at that Diesel FIP?