The mystery of the electrical thing with the springs?

[lesfurieux]

Allo,

I am a new Land Rover owner. I have a question concerning the electrics on the 1961 series II that I just bought. I was wondering if someone might be able to please help me by identifying the device that is being pointed to in the attached picture by the big red arrow. It is located on the left hand side of the bulkhead by the brake and clutch cylinders and consists of a non-metallic plate with springs connected to studs. I would be grateful for any help. Thank you.

[greenmeanie]

Ummm - A redneck fuse box?

That is nothing electrical that should be on a Series. I wouldn't put any power in her until you've been through the electric system.

[Mercedesrover]

Looks like a crude heater fan resistor to me.

[CliftonRover]

some sort of ridiculous fuse

[SafeAirOne]

Its the flux capacitor. There should be a box inside the cab where you can set the date for time travel. The only problem with the system, as I recall, is that you have to hit 88 miles per hour for it to take effect, and everyone knows that's impossible to do in a Series Rover.

Seriously though, where do the wires lead? If the wires go to the coil, it could be some sort of crude ballast resistor.

[Tim Smith]

Naturally, that is a smoke catcher!

The previous owner may have been native American.

[adkrover]

I'd say some bizarre resistor thingy but tracing the wires would help the diagnosis. My question is, what's with the 120V lamp cord hanging around the clutch reservoir? Is this one of those new hybrids I've been hearing about? Better get a longer extension cord.

[Donnie]

Looks like a home made resistor, possibly a desire for 2 speed wipers??? you will need to see where the wires lead .

[4flattires]

Clearly....

...this vehicle has a dilithium crystal resonator resistor.

Scottie would be proud that this technology still exists in Landies today!

Seriously, remove it quick....before you think about keeping it wired in and turning your bulkhead into a toaster.

Now....about that coil mounting position......hmmm...

Jeff

[xsbowes]

..

Now....about that coil mounting position......hmmm...

That's the way my coil is mounted also.

[4flattires]

Stacy,

I was making a humorous reference to a thread topic on coil mounting, since most agree that pointed downward is the factory setup.

http://www.roversnorth.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3531&highlight=coil

Jeff

[lesfurieux]

I'd say some bizarre resistor thingy but tracing the wires would help the diagnosis. My question is, what's with the 120V lamp cord hanging around the clutch reservoir? Is this one of those new hybrids I've been hearing about? Better get a longer extension cord.

Ha. No, its not a lamp, its the block heater cord.

[lesfurieux]

Thank you to those who proffered a response. I'm grateful. Not too many Land Rovers in my area or people to talk to about them. I haven't a clue what the thingy is either, the wire loom is so recklessly hacked its tough to discern what the thingy is or was. I've no intention of keeping it anyhow. I intend to entirely rewire the vehicle when I switch to an alternator. Ambitious and pricey, but necessary.

I had a Landcruiser BJ42 while I was at university. The diesel and drivetrain were quite reliable, but the 24V electrics were not. Nonetheless, I'd longed for a Land Rover. Usually, during lectures or when doing my homework afterwards. Once I graduated, I saved up enough scratch and sought one out. The one I got was previously owned by a forestry company in Northern Ontario. If anyone is interested, I can talk about it some more if you'd like.

Again, thanks for the information. Just to confirm, then, its not a flux capacitor.

[adkrover]

Everyone knows that before working on household wiring you should find the proper breaker or fuse and turn off the circuit. I used to know (used to) an electrician that didn't want to take the time hunting it down so he would just short the wire out and let the breaker or fuse blow. This in my opinion is completely stupid because it relies on the last idiot to have wired it properly (no fuse, big fire).

You may want to try a similar approach only in reverse and go through the truck making note of what every switch does and what does and doesn't work. A good idea anyway with a new truck that has so many years on it. Then, disconnect the teleporter and see if anything changes. That might help track down the mystery.

I'm thinking now that if it came from a forestry company, it's either a remote location toaster element for mid morning tea or a really big cigar lighter. Have you tested it with a voltmeter for current? Does it get hot?

[thixon]

Looks like a crude heater fan resistor to me.

I may be a little late in the game here, but I have to agree with Merc.

Heck, the fan motor resistor on old jeeps was exactly what you see in your photo, just a couple of springs housed in a small plastic casing.
Have you followed the wires back yet? I can't think of anyting other than the heater fan or the wiper motors that you'd want to apply this to on a series.