Thanks Sloth/ GD. I thought china china was some clever sort of switch I hadn't come across.

I still don't speak ETM fluently, but it looks the interior lights, or some thing to do with them, are also getting their ground through that rotary light switch. Do you know how relevant that is? Also, how good an earth does the connection need? Presumably the MOSFETs have their own ground, and the switch going to ground is just a signal ( or not?) . If possible I want to try and avoid burying a relay behind the switch panel,so wd probably locate it under the dash somewhere, hence the circuit might need to be a bit longer than it is currenly

It sounds a bit weird for something essentially mechanical, like the suspension, to be inconsistent (whether bad or good). Why would the height sensors make it wallowy? Although, did you check your ride heights recently ( have they crept up, due to black spots) you may be able to take them down a couple of cm

How about tires and pressures ? Perhaps wallowy (because the panhard rod translates up/ down movement to left/ right) means you want firmer shocks ie to reduce movement in both planes? Did you take another P38 er for a spin recently to cross check? Wd be a shame to chase this only to discover "that they're all like that". I'd describe mine as more floaty than wallowy, but there's a bit of wallow in there, for sure

what's that show on TV about the dodgy traders?

That's a good point, GD. The switch has a common earth for the side/ head an interior lamps, so probably not the solution. From the ETM doesn't seem like there's a single fused supply for just the headlights either, and by the time the BECM distributes the power to the lights it's going left/right down 3/4 wires per side. So maybe I have to leave this task for when I have to refurb the BECM and jump the tracks :o) Unless Sloth can tell me what this china china magic box is !!

maybe take a track rod end or two - they're small, and useful to have anyway. have you removed the ABS "skirt" from the bottom of the bumpers/ fenders

that went way over my head Sloth... do you have a photo or diagram pls?

take your eka code :o)

Simple enough request...lots of folks seem to have searched for the programmable solution, and failed in the past. So what's the most elegant way to achieve this? I. Insert a relay on the headlight position of the rotary switch for the lights ( and tie the relay across an ignition dpdt wire, such as the stereo's position II live), or II. Change the +ve power source for the head lights in the fuse box from a perm one to an ignition dependent, or some other....
I had a self inflicted flat battery this weekend ( ie left the lights on) and want to eliminate the risk of that again...I'm sure someone smarter than me's already cracked it

Too much AC/DC

Looks like you're back in business again Richard? I see your replies on the check the brake lines thread...

Just got back to base after taking the Defender to Dorset, and popped the bonnet on the P38 to spray up the connection from the engine loom to the gearbox at the rear LH of the engine by the transmission dipstick (since I was getting multiple errors ie both throttle and torque seemed like an obvious place to go). Once i'd done that and plugged it back in then the gearbox fault still registered, but the difference this time was that the Nano cleared the errors... Can't be sure the connector was properly clipped up in the first place (doh !! ). Problem solved. Tnx for your help GD

I did the tracking ( but not toe) myself after having to change one of the TREs on the drag link. Get the wheels into dead ahead. Use a silver pen/ paint and mark off the orientation of the adjuster. Your steering wheel is marginally left or right at this point.
Keeping the steering lock off :-) Loosen both clamps on the tracking adjuster, and then adjust the drag link to correct s/w alignment, put a spirit level on top of the steering wheel if you want - the s/w wheel will turn as you adjust the drag link. Tighten, and then check alignmnent on a road run. The paint marks of your start point will help you work out which way and how much you may need to adjust again, if at all. Before you tighten remember to make sure both TREs are aligned in the same vertical axis.

This won't help if someone refitted the s/w wrong, obv

That's not a bad looking engine bay

+1 on Irwin nut removers, give them a few good whacks with the hammer before turning. Don't worry about the exact size, pick the smallest one that fits. Irwin just seems to follow imp sizing, and thermoset metric equivalent. Those splines will cut into the soft nut, once it's on though leave it on until you have got it off ( ie don't take it on and off).
Nut splitter (and impact wrench) if you have enough room to get one on ( the supporting outer ring is very thick, so you need enough clearance around the nut).
I know the grinder option has been discounted, but do you have a dremel and cutting disc? That saved me a bunch of times, ie being able to cut from a different angle and better access

Shame you got banned without knowing why, GD/RG, I was looking fwd to hearing that story

yes, could be worse. I whipped off the TPS itself just now and sprayed that up, made no difference.

v odd. The wiring to the TPS looks in fairly decent nick, tbh. Rave seems to confirm that dodgy TPS signals will mess with the gearbox and gear changes, so it does seem to be something along these lines. I've disconnected the battery again. How long will it be before the P38 forgets it had a gearbox fault ie stops flagging it before I can even start the engine? (Nanocom won't let me delete it). I was just hoping if it was a bogus error it might go away after cutting off the power :o)

yep, makes sense - seems like wiring or a sensor. The closed throttle position is giving 0.625 v, which I understand is in range. It's annoying as I suppose it is just one little fix away. Anyway, I'm away for a week, so guess I will take the trusty Defender.

btw - have reset adaptive values on nano, following the HG rebuild. Also, nano is not able to clear the gear box fault, even at position 2 on the ignition ie engine off.

No sooner had I fixed the RH head gasket than .... gearbox fault....

I don't believe it's the battery,.... nanocom says "invalid throttle angle data", and then scrolling right says "engine torque fault.... On a short test drive i feel the box changing down as i brake (where before all was silky smooth), and it doesn't feel happy.
When I was doing the HG it was on a 10 degree slope (to my garage) for a couple of weeks. There's definitely D3 in it, need to wait until it has cooled to be sure of the level, but it was all v smooth before, and there's no reason to believe there's been a catastrophic leak while it has been stationary. The battery was disconnected during that time, I've put it on charge just in case.
And the sunroof spat out a rubber seal today too, but i'll deal with that another time...