Seemingly having an issue with the number plate lights on my 2013/2014 Freelander 2 Dynamic.

They were initially temperamental, coming on and off, but now gone completely. Sometimes a tap to the boot handle would turn them back on. This lead me to believe that there was an issue with the connection in the wiring nearby.

The lights have been cut, swapped with LED’s from PowerfulUK before I purchased the vehicle. It failed its MOT a few years ago due to these lights not working, hence the replacement.

Here’s the unusual bit, I’ve checked with a multimeter for power to the whole boot switch, I think its part LR083610, it receives power at one wire with 12v and the other two (for the lights) receive around 6v. There’s no issues with the boot release whatsoever.

I get power at the actual lights themselves but they’re still not coming on. I’ve brought a new boot switch with the regular bulbs to see if that resolves the issue but yet I still have no lights!?

Any ideas?

If you are getting power it must be a poor earth causing them not to work. (Or maybe that's not the issue with modern canbus electrics?) Landrover - turning owners into mechanics since 1948

2014 Orkney grey Freelander SD4 GS.
2004 Zambezi silver Discovery 2 Td5 (Gone)
1963 Surf blue Morris Mini Minor Super de Luxe (my little toy)

Probably just some corrosion in one of the plugs along the route. Unplugging & replugging is probably enough to remove corrosion.

Also go back to basics, incandescent light globes are perfectly legal. Why complicate things. Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

Thanks, I’ll go check those out.

I’m not one for electrics but I’ll struggle through.

I do intend to return to old fashioned bulbs as they make life a little easier!

Exactly, I have never seen the point of these car led bulbs, with the horrible white light they give, plus if the life of them is anything like domestic led bulbs, good luck with that one after taking the ridiculous cost into consideration

Taken the time to check the earth connections here in the boot and everything connecting to it, unplugged a few and used some contact cleaner here and there but yet still no lights on either my existing lights or the newly bought loom.

I’ve not been able to find a fuse for these at all and considering the switch which the lights are connected to still work, is there anything else I’m potentially missing?

Are the rear parking lights working. If not maybe part of the issue. If they are, run a wire from there (label new wire both ends for later wire tracing). Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

they are not fused,one of the ecus controls them ,try a hard battery reset,disconnect both battery terminals hold together for ten minutes.then reconnect.

All the lights on the vehicle are powered by the CJB, so aren't individually fused.
Have you checked that there is 12 Volts at the bulb holder? It's best to use a test lamp, rather than a meter, as a test lamp draws current, where a meter doesn't. 2009 Rimini Red SE TD4. Soon to be sold.
Hyundai Ioniq 5 Ultimate on order.
Gone. 2006 Tonga Green i6 HSE.

As said above exterior lamps are protected by FETs and can switch on and off under electronic control without driver intervention.
I haven't looked further but have any OBD fault codes been left in the system?

Manual says

Circuit Protection

Two 60 Amp fusible links in the battery junction box protect the power feed to the CJB LH and RH lighting circuits respectively. All exterior lighting circuits are protected by Field Effect Transistors (FETs), located in the CJB, which can detect overloads and short circuits.

The FETs respond to heat generated by increased current flow caused by a short circuit. On a normal circuit this would cause the fuse to blow. The FETs respond to the heat increase and disconnect the supply to the affected circuit. When the fault is rectified or the FET has cooled, the FET will reset and operate the circuit normally. If the fault persists the FET will cycle, disconnecting and reconnecting the power supply.

The CJB stores fault codes which can be retrieved using a Land Rover approved diagnostic system. The fault code will identify that there is a fault on a particular output which assist in
fault detection. FL2 XS SD4 Auto 2010 2012-2017 (21k - 91k miles) (MY2011)
FL2 Metropolis SD4 Auto 2014 2017- (16k - 76k+ miles) (MY2015)

The FET system can be quite clever, it monitors the current draw when the power is applied - too much power and it cuts the feed much faster than a fuse would - so great. Often the power will be cut until the ignition is cycled.

You can also spot an open circuit - too little power being drawn, at this point things get a little wayward. Some manufacturers notice that a bulb has blown and put up a message (VW). Some manufacturers will cut the power to the circuit !! if it thinks a bulb is blown (BMW). Some manufacturers will send a pulse down the line to test, this gives a low voltage reading on a standard multimeter.

LEDs look like blown bulbs unless they have resistors fitted. So first things first, look for a faulty circuit by putting a test lamp in circuit BEFORE you turn the ignition on, always earth the test lamp to a known earth point on the body - never a door. Tangiers Orange - gone, missing her
Replaced by Ewok what a mistake - now a happy Disco Sport owner

Thanks for some more replies, I’ve just tried the battery reset (holding both terminals together but no luck! May try again tomorrow though as its not too easy getting both ends together, seems a lot of wiring and a few what appear to be additional wires to the plug on top of the battery.

There was about 7V roughly coming to the lights when tested with the multimeter.

I’ll obtain a test lamp and give these a go.

They are a bit tight. Use a jumper lead. Put a "solid" plastic barrier over the terminals to avoid any chance of an accidental short. Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

MattShedden wrote:

Thanks for some more replies, I’ve just tried the battery reset (holding both terminals together but no luck! May try again tomorrow though as its not too easy getting both ends together, seems a lot of wiring and a few what appear to be additional wires to the plug on top of the battery.

There was about 7V roughly coming to the lights when tested with the multimeter.

I’ll obtain a test lamp and give these a go.