The key blank is the same as the E39 BMW - I have a few sets of Silca non-remote blank keys and have cut one set for our other RR.

I have some spare - I'll get the Silca code off it this evening.

As already said... the pressure should equalise when the compressor stops. I guess the guy presumed there was nothing in it, connected the gauges up and saw the falling pressure hopefully before he put any nitrogen in. Still doesn't sound like they knew what they were doing.

The P38 system does remove a huge amount of humidity, though both my BMWs have still been better at actually cooling at idle. The P38 definitely likes the engine revving a bit higher, and a lot of airflow over the condenser. That's been my only issue going to an electric fan - on a hot day from start up, I'll often get the two front fans going at high speed for a bit.

If you find the pressure isn't stupidly high (it can't be too bad or the trinary switch would kill it off), I'd clean any leftover traces of oil/dye on the pipework and see if it reappears. As and when it stops working, I'd get a specialist to do a decent nitrogen test on it. I really should sort my regulator out... of course I won't remember to before I next have a problem myself!

There are certainly differences in them.

Several years back now, Marty and I found a casting fault in the one on my RR that was blocking most of the heater return, and all we had to hand was a Britpart one new in box. Turns out it's an 82c stat Vs the 95 odd of a proper LR one. I know what rave says about the opening temps, but two personal examples both with brand new LR stats only let a decent amount of flow through when it's up at 95-6.

I much prefer my lower temp unit along with the custom electric fan setup. Cycles nicely.

On a brand new engine... I don't know. I want to try and source some more 82c units to have some spare.

Changing the pressure switch would be the simplest thing to try first I think - if it still flickers at idle... then its probably indicative of actual low pressure.... which can't be a good thing :(

Seen a couple of anecdotal posts on the facebook groups of others that have had a faulty pressure switch cause the flicker. Fingers crossed that's all it is!

George is indeed Henry's brother :) Spray extraction rather than just a wet vac (which would be Charles, another sibling).

The carpet got a going over with George, but the foam ideally needs a rinse out - coolant will pretty much never dry out fully otherwise as you've found.

What I've done with the ones I've sorted in the past is cut the foam out from underneath, soak it in soapy water and then squeeze as much out as I can before letting it air dry for as long as possible.

Can you take a picture of the pulley on the broken PS pump? I forgot to take one yesterday.

There is a crack in it that appears to have been present for some time, as its got visible rusting in it. It runs up from the centre where it has come free from the centre / bit still bolted to the pump shaft. My guess is it cracked a while ago and decided it no longer wanted to hold on any longer when it failed.

One has to ask... what comes first? The leak requiring topping off, or potential damage from limescale causing blockage>overheating>pushing coolant out.

I doubt it though as others have said. It's a LR product, it will by nature start leaking at some point in its life no matter what sacrifices or pleas to deities you make.

Main thing is to not forego coolant, as straight water will rust steel parts internally quickly.

We'll have it going again and see what's up :)

Henry's mate George is coming along too to give the carpets a bit of a de-coolanting.

An already hot engine is going to spike when the water pump stops under load - and as its a pressurised system, with nowhere to go as the pressure and temp shoot up, inevitably something has to let go. Think of heat soak when you turn off the engine - if mine is hot and I turn the ignition back on (but don't start the engine), the electric fan will usually come on after because the temp has actually gone up before it starts to cool off.

Regardless - as I said to Marty last night, stopping on a dual carriageway in a live lane with no lay-by at any time, especially at night when others aren't likely to be paying as much attention, is definitely not what you want to be doing. Not worth the risk... get to safety and worry about the car later.

Our red RR, that already had a top hat block, was properly cooked errr a year or two back now - I put a thread up about it when I found the rocker pedestal that had split following the roasting. Driver only noticed when it started running lumpy and making funny noises, it got that hot with absolutely no coolant in it... Rebuilt the top end and it has been find ever since.

I'll probably come along with Marty - I'm in Southampton but unfortunately my nanocom is only unlocked for the two V8 engines, no diesel.

Yeah - where are you and what variety of P38 is it? Diesel or petrol? If petrol what kind - GEMS (square inlet that says 4.0 or 4.6 on it) or Bosch/Thor?

Ctek chargers are expensive but I'd trust them more than a cheapie left connected unattended - for exactly that reason. Mine is the MXS 5.0 - middle of the road model I think. What's nice is it can be used to (slowly) charge a dead 130ah battery, or small 7ah SLA battery without causing it to swell by using the 'motorbike' ie low current setting. It has brought a couple of dead dead SLAs back to life.

I have the 50amp anderson connector in the load space of my P38 that is used for the Waeco fridge - so I made up a Ctek to anderson adapter, and then sit the charger in the load space and run an extension lead in through the tailgate seal, which can close on the cable without crushing it or preventing the upper tailgate from closing properly.

So long as I don't forget about it and drive off....

Solar isn't likely to do anything here without a big panel and a proper controller.

I've had various power supplies connected to mine without problem, including a cheapish ring 25amp noisy thing. Could hear the 50hz hum through the stereo but the car wasn't bothered. That said I prefer using a nicer supply, and often have mine connected to my Ctek when I know it'll be sat for a long time. Despite no RF interference problems. I don't leave either of my cars without the ctek if they're going to be left a long time :)

Hmmm, are you sure that actually, its not just the left hand fan running full pelt the whole time (likely due to a failed speed controller onboard), and the right hand fan IS actually adjusting, but it just doesn't sound like it over the noise of the other one? That seems much more likely to me.

Press A/C off and turn the speed all the way down - I would expect the left one to keep going as usual and the right one to slow down and stop (it might be blown around by the airflow from the other one as above). I can't remember if on a P38 the blowers are still visible from the pollen cover aperture when recirc is on or not - but if they are that would stop the air being blown out through the stopped blower and confirm/raise more questions about what I'm suggesting above.

I have to say... I really like the quality of sound in mine - but it has door amps from factory. Marty's DSP amp replacement using door amps (I'm guessing what you've done Rutland) should sound just as good if the wiring is up to it.

I'm feeding mine with antennuator circuits from between the speaker level outputs of my Pioneer head unit and the door amps. For the sub though I've binned the original setup, put a Pioneer amplifier in the space where a DSP amp would be, and then have a 10 or 12" sub in a box that sits in the load space, connected with a speakon connector. That way I can quickly unplug it and take it out should I need the space to really fit the car up with stuff.

But the original speakers are matched well to the door amps. I've had to replace a few that were seized likely due to corrosion when I got this P38, and if others fail in the future I'll get used replacements again.

Plastic headlights ideally need buffing back to clear with a rotary polisher - I've been doing my E60 BMW lights recently. Even with a rotary machine its a ballache. What doesn't help as it appears they've got a cloudy layer on the inside, so even though one of them has polished quite well on the outside and I've removed most of the pitting... it still looks a bit shit :(

I'd be inclined to paint the AC pipes rather than cover them with something, as inevitably water etc will get between the covering (be it rubber pipe or tape or whatever) and the pipe and sit there corroding away. That's what happens to the discharge line (big pipe) on a P38 along the firewall foam. It sweats in operation, the condensate is absorbed by the foam, and it then sits there corroding out the back of the pipe resulting in pin holes so small it takes a nitrogen test+soapy water to find them. And of course as Richard says - the condenser that 100% of the time rots out the top corner thanks to the block of foam LR put on it. Gets wet from rain etc through the grille, rots out condenser.

It'll still corrode through if covered in shite. My metallurgy couldn't say about the zinc/alu reaction though, someone a bit more clued up will hopefully know!

The condenser fans can be pretty much ignored - the viscous fan moves so much air even when the coupling is unlocked and its 'free spinning' that the pressure in the high side of the system is kept in check. The fans are controlled by the pressure switches - the single pressure switch when shorted (reaching 12 bar or something like that) turns them on at low speed. At 15-17 bar, part of the trinary switch will change them to high speed. At 30 bar, it cuts the compressor off to stop kaboom occurring.

The usual culprits would be the fan speed control transistors and blend motors... though if the speed control, blend flap adjustment and displayed temperature have all failed at the same time... it might be an issue with the HEVAC itself. Maybe...

Is the chequebook making itself known on the display?

Sorry I missed this, if its working though that's great :)

Might be worth coating the pipe in something to prevent corrosion in the future - thick oily goop maybe? Something that won't wash off too easily but keeps it protected. Sounds like a pain to get replacements for!