At the moment I am using the windscreen suction mount to secure the Carplay device. I didn't want to glue anything permanent until I was absolutely sure of the location. I could just remove the rubber mat from the top of the dashboard & stick it there. I have order a couple of rolls of the magic sumo strip referenced upthread that looks very nifty & could be the solution.
Before I bought my Carplay device I used TomTom on my iPhone as my satnav. The iPhone is secured in a Brodit holder that fits over the air vents. It would be neat if I could use this Brodit holder but I think that it may be too low for the dashcam to get a decent view. I shall experiment.
Once I have fixed the device I still need to discretely run the wires so they are out of sight. I have replaced the supplied power cord that plugs in the cigar lighter with another adapter that gives me 2 x USB 3.0 & 1 x USB-C so I can still charge a phone at the same time. The Carplay device only works with the 3A USB-C supply not the 2.4A from the USB 3.0 sockets. I also intend to install the rear camera near or on the tow hitch then will need to run the wire all the way back through the car to the Carplay device on the dashboard.
The connection using the FM transmitter can be great but can be awful when you get interference. I am going to get one of those Grom Bluetooth widgets that plugs into the CD changer socket on the back of the radio.
What Have You done To Your Range Rover Today? Well it wasn't yesterday but last Thursday & I took my car to see @Gilbertd again as I have had an increasingly loud rumble at the front of the car. It's been coming on for a few thousand miles. At first I wasn't sure that it was present at all but over time it has got much louder & I have become increasingly more conscious of it. Richard concurred with my diagnosis of a driver's side front wheel bearing that needed replacement. As it happened in his garage he had a whole half-shaft with bearing & hub that he had nabbed when Marty cleared his UK workshop a while ago. There was no provenance on the state of the used wheel bearing but as Richard pointed wheel bearing failure on the P38 is uncommon & that as far as he knows the wheel bearings are original in his ex-police P38 with over 500K miles on the clock so not risky.
Changing the whole half-shaft including the hub & bearing assembly is the easiest way of replacing a wheel bearing. For those without access to a suitable press i.e. most of us, the simplest option is to buy a hub with a new bearing fitted but for a decent bearing (non-Britpart) that's pretty expensive compared to the cost of a used part (£0 in this case😀. Changing the whole half-shaft also means that you don't need to get undone the big nut that holds the hub on the end of the half-shaft.
The work all went smoothly & while some of the bolts were stiff to undo there were no great problems. Just a long breaker bar & a lump hammer was all it took so no heat was required & no nuts or bolts got rounded off. The only specialist workshop tool was an old brake disc that was bolted on prior to being struck with a sledgehammer to get the old half-shaft with hub assemble out of the front diff. A new ABS sensor purchased in anticipation of destroying the old one while removing it from the hub proved unnecessary as it pulled out easily.
Once it was all back together again I took it for a spin up & down the road to confirm that the rumble had gone but now I have it back home I've been getting a bit OCD about noises related to road speed. I came up to a roundabout yesterday & convinced myself that I could hear the wheel bearing again but then realised it was the thump-thump-thump burbling of a 4.6L V8 at low revs.
I am once again immensely grateful to @Gilbertd for help with work on the car as my contribution this time apart from chat was not much more than holding the half-shaft vertical while he rolled on a new rubber gaiter & cleaning up bolts that had traces of red Loctite.
v8vroom wrote:
This is my unit - paid £44 on AliExpress. Works a lovely treat.
There are so many different models on the market that the choice is bewildering. I don't see any point in the risks of a personal import from China when the device that I purchased included a 64GB micro-SD card & next day delivery from Amazon.
Gilbertd wrote:
That is my only complaint (other than the crackle when trying to use line in), no instructions. Step daughter asked me how she saves a clip from the dashcam and I have no idea. I have a dedicated dashcam with a red button that marks the current clip so it doesn't get over written and I would assume it has something similar but no idea how to do it. The same with displaying a split screen. At one point it was showing the sat nav map and the title of the music she was streaming, but how we got it into that state we couldn't work out.
Poor instructions would be my complaint too. I have never had a dash cam before so hadn't appreciated that being able to save the current clip so it doesn't get over written would be useful. I have figured out how to toggle between different layouts of split screen though. I will show you how it is done when I see you later in the week.
As may be gathered I'm pretty chuffed with my purchase. Even just having the dash cam & reversing camera for £55 looks like a good deal never mind the lovely satnav tablet.
I have been using TomTom on my iPhone as my satnav but just bought this brilliant CarPlay tablet. It's priced at £70 but there is a 20% voucher that gets applied at checkout to make it £56 which is less than half the price that these devices usually are. It allows me to run TomTom on my iPhone but have display on the large 1600x600 pixel. Other apps can be run too like BBC Sounds or Podcasts. I believe Android Auto offers similar facilities.
It runs off the cigar lighter & can connect to the car audio via Bluetooth (when I get round to fitting a GROM dongle) or FM transmitter. It is permanently connected & starts up every time the car starts. I'm so impressed with the value for money that I thought I would share the news😀.
10.26" display
4K Front Dash Cam including 64GB SD Card
1080P Reversing Camera (wired)
Car Play & Android Auto
Bluetooth
FM transmitter
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FKMRCKPJ?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title
Gilbertd wrote:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/404025564146, he replaces the switches on the circuit board and fully checks them before sending them back. You get a shiny new case too. As you have two keys, then it isn't a problem to do one at a time.
+1 for this. I just had a spare key refurbished by him. Before I sent it off the red LED didn't work & it would unlock but not lock the car. Now it's all working correctly. If you aren't getting the LED operating then the fob is faulty.
Gilbertd wrote:
nigelbb wrote:
What is the URL? A copy of his old website should still be accessible on the Wayback Machine just like you can access all the useful guides on rr.net that were deleted by the owners https://web.archive.org
www.p38webshop.co.uk
Here is Marty's website as it was on 26th May 2023
https://web.archive.org/web/20230526043552/http://p38webshop.co.uk/
Gilbertd wrote:
Afraid I've no idea what the fault or fix is, but a logged error of one sensor short to another is the symptom.
Unfortunately Marty managed to crash his own website and hasn't got around to writing a replacement yet but his old one did detail the problem.
What is the URL? A copy of his old website should still be accessible on the Wayback Machine just like you can access all the useful guides on rr.net that were deleted by the owners https://web.archive.org
I serviced the car a couple of days ago which included new pollen filters. The deal that I got on eBay was for two pollen filters plus the foam for the scuttle. I had never put new foam in before but it's pretty straightforward to get at. I know that some people have made a permanent job with perforated aluminium sheet which I night try in the future but as I had the foam I thought that I may as well use it.
I was able to reuse all the existing screws but would have preferred to replace them all with stainless screws if anyone has a link. I have some stainless self tappers but the screw heads are too small for the holes.
The car originally had a heated windscreen but sometime before my ownership it was replaced with a screen that didn't have heating elements but all the wiring is in place. I am not sure how many there should be of those weird little clips that secure the lower windscreen trim but I found ten in varying condition. It seems that they are NLA & even command a decent price used. I'm surprised that no enterprising bod with a 3D printer hasn't run off copies.
I tackled this again yesterday. I had to remove the fog lamp to give me access then cut the cable ties securing the reservoir & was able to pull it loose enough that I could get at the sensor. The rubber grommet had either not been fully pressed home or had dislodged as I put it all back together lats time. I made sure that the rubber grommet was pressed firmly home & now I was able to fill the reservoir right to the top of the filler. I put it all back together held with new cable ties & now the jib is done at last.
On reflection I should probably just have shorted out the connection to get rid of the error message.
I took another look today & I think I found the problem. The sensor & wire passes through a rubber grommet that should provide a seal but it has been pushed right in to the reservoir so that liquid leaks out through the hole. I need to dismantle it all again so that I can reach the sensor & re-seat it so that there is no leak.
I need to revisit this. When I get a Low Screenwash message I can fill up with a few pints but previously I would fill until the neck of the filler pipe was full but now it starts overflowing from somewhere else on the reservoir before the neck is filled. If I fill up straight after the Low Screenwash message appears it's only about two pints that I can add before it starts overflowing. The neck is well sealed into the reservoir & it doesn't look like the leakage is from that joint. I assume that there is a split to hole somewhere else in the reservoir so I am going to have to remove it totally & replace it with the other reservoir.
I haven't done any more than reattach the drain hoses after making sure they are clear of debris but haven't secured them with cable clips yet. The weather has been hot but not really humid & hot so the fact that I haven't had any icy water dripping onto the passenger carpet isn't 100% confirmation that I have fixed the problem. It's definitely cooler now so I will have to wait until next summer to know whether the problem is fixed or not.
Gilbertd wrote:
I found on mine that the drain tubes weren't a nice tight fit onto the spigots so when it was really humid it was coming out faster than it could get out of the tubes so would drip. It's a fiddly job, but see if you can get a tie wrap around it and pull it tight. I used a pair of long nosed pliers to get it into place and pull the tie wrap tight. I've had no further reports of wet feet since.
I will give that a try when I get back to the UK as I know I have some fine cable ties plus several pairs of surgical forceps that will aid fitting. It will be like doing keyhole surgery😀
I still wonder if that could be the cause of my problems as even if I completely disconnected the drain tubes from the spigots the water would then drip (or pour) down underneath the carpet either side of the tunnel. What I get is water in the heater ducts. Once it's reached a certain critical level I can hear it sloshing about & it spills out when cornering. It's the same symptoms as when rainwater is getting into the heater ducts round the pollen filters. Which reminds me I need to investigate the water ingress the last time I was out in torrential rain. There has been no significant rain for several months so this is not my current issue plus the water entering the cabin is icy.
I've had a recurring problem for years where I get icy water dribbling into the passenger footwell (RHD). Condensation accumulates on the A/C evaporator & is collected by a drip tray. This drip tray has a spigot at each end to which a rubber drain is attached thence disappearing through the floor to drip out on the road. At leasts that's the theory. These drains have a tendency to get blocked with leaves & crud from the roads. Normally you wriggle under the car & poke a screwdriver or piece of stiff wire into the bottom of the drain & get rewarded with a wet sleeve as the drain is cleared. I previously cleared the drains but with the humid & very hot weather we have been having recently it's started dripping icy water again.
I removed the bits of trim on either side so I could see to disconnect the rubber drain tubes that attach to the spigots at the bottom of the drip tray. I didn't have any suitable wire so was very grateful to my wife who suggested using some of that wire that is normally used to hang net curtains. She even found some in the French DIY store that we visited. The spring wire is perfect as it's flexible but stiff enough to easily push down through the drain tube until it was visible under the car. I hardly needed to scrabble under the car to confirm the drain was patent.
The rubber tube that connects to the spigot is corrugated & I it looks like both tubes have a hole in them but on the upper surface so probably not responsible for the icy water in the footwell. It only happens on the hottest most humid days when the A/C is working hard & presumably lots of condensation is collecting on the evaporator. It's possible that the rubber tubes had been kinked so impeding water flow which in turn means the water backs up in the drip tray & then spills over into the heater box. I have reattached them & as far as I can see they are not kinked so any water from the drip tray should run freely out down through the drains.
I will see how I get on now that I know for sure that the drains are clear & that the rubber tubes reattached to the spigots so there should be clear flow. The problem is that as it's only on the hottest most humid days when the A/C is working hard that the problem occurs the rest of the time I have no idea whether I have fixed the problem or whether it's just not hot &/or humid enough that sufficient condensation collects on the evaporator to start dripping into the cabin.
I would be grateful for any suggestions.
I confess that I bought a job lot of three new height sensors off eBay for about £20. They weren't OEM but I thought that for the price it was handy to have them as spares.
nigelbb wrote:
Another year passes & it's time to renew the insurance. I have the P38 plus a Smart FourTwo. Last year the cost was about £350 for each car with LV. The price on the Smart is higher than normal as my wife only passed her test just over a year ago & LV wouldn't even insure her on the P38. The renewal price was £380 for the Smart & £535 for the Ranger Rover so I started to look at comparison sites & ring around. I was happy to stick with LV for the Smart. I got a remarkably wide variety of quotes for the P38 including my wife driving. On one comparison site it was about £400 with Aviva & on another £350 with RAC Online (minimal customer service via web chat). Footman James was £866 Lancaster £755
Finally I entered my details for a quote from NFU Mutual & got a call back the following day. I had a forty minute call with a nice Scottish gentleman called Graham. The upshot is that the P38 is now insured fully comprehensive for £338.34 & the Smart for £272.55. I thoroughly recommend NFU Mutual who are not on any comparison site so you do need to speak to them on the phone to get a quote. It's nice that like LV they are a mutual so aren't going to rip off customers to pay out shareholder dividends.
Another year on & it's renewal time. I was very pleased to have the P38 at £312 & £278 for the Smart. A nice touch is that I can pay by monthly direct debit at no extra cost. I will still take a look at the comparison sites but I doubt that they can beat the NFU Mutual price.
Fifty years ago I was in hospital after an accident. The young chap in the opposite bed had been riding his motorbike when a pheasant crossed his path & hit him full in the face. His whole face was swollen beyond belief. He was lucky not to have died.