It seems that the Defender’s engine skipping, not starting and red check engine light problems were all connected and a simple fix. The relays controlling the fuel pump went bad, which happens. Fortunately, I had spares with me so that if this had been diagnosed on the road, I would have been on my way in a matter of minutes. I was 100 percent right in my diagnosis that the problem had something to do with the fuel pump, which itself was brand new. Perhaps new relays should have been installed when the new fuel pump was installed. I am beginning to think that this has been my problem all along over the last year, and it came and went intermittently until it finally gave out. Hmmm. In the future, if I install a new device, I will insist on new relays. This should be standard operating procedure on all installations. If I am correct, that means not only did I spend a ton of money over the last two years dealing with this, and not having the use of my vehicle in the meantime, but this was a time bomb waiting to go off during this entire trip of 10,200 miles. Lucky me that it happened the day after I got home. And perhaps this problem was the reason I had to have the Defender shipped back from Utah in 2016, at a cost of more than $5000 for me. Just a thought.
But a larger problem was with the indicator light for the headlights. That panel (see #1 in below left illustration) holds several warning lights – handbrake on, lights on, oil, and check engine. When the mechanic took a look at why the “lights on” light was not coming on, the rest of the panel fell apart. Not surprising for a 24-year old vehicle. Fortunately, no functionalities were affected, just the indicator lights, but they are needed. Now the problem comes on finding one to replace mine.
“There is a solution for every problem.”
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