Being a professional Electronic Technician, I'm pretty sure I know what happened. The fuse would blow, so the customer kept putting a higher and higher amp fuse to make it stop. Well, he finally put a high enough fuse that exceeded the amperage what the circuit can carry. The wire is now the weakest point and will melt taking out neighboring wires. The moral of the story: If you blow a fuse, find out WHY it blew. Don't be stupid and keep putting more fuses in, otherwise you may end up like this guy.

Having had a Disco 2 get under my skin I understand the customers decision. There are land rovers and then there is ”My Land Rover.” And they are not the same thing.

The tipping point for me would be about 6 to 8k... There's plenty of value in having your own, that you're used to the quirks and features of, rather than just swapping to another used one.

If the car is essentially good, and the owner knows the car and where it is at repair wise, then it would be viable to spend 3000 on this level of repair. The car is a know quantity, a replacement used car is unknown. I prefer known quantiles personally.

A new defender is $100k. Shops are going to do well for the next few years. $5000 repair vs new truck is not even a comparison anymore.

Check the windshield cowl at the bottom of the windshield. I would bet that it is either cracked or not flush against the windshield. This piece is way more important that most Disco 2 owners understand, because it keeps water out of your vehicle. When it is compromised, water will drip in under the dash and up against everything under the dash. It will short out your main wiring harness, it will cause damage to the BCU, it can cause door issues. The part is rather expensive at $350, but cheaper than $5K.

Grimes is a hell of a good troubleshooter !! i don't know how you remember where everything goes when putting it all back together . Love this indepth format

You asked what I would do in the same circumstance, I have no idea. I would never buy a used Land Rover, BMW, Mercedes or Audi. they cost WAY too much to drive after the warranty expires. I have a 2004 Nissan Maxima. Runs like a champ and cost next to nothing to repair it when it breaks down. When I bought the car a year and a half ago it had around 115k miles. I replaced tires, battery and wiper blades for around $800.00. Then I replaced the struts, sway bar ends, drive shafts and the spark plugs & coil packs (for less than $3,500.00). ...oh, yea. I almost forgot. I bought about $400.00 in special tools to make the job go way easier. (That includes having a 4 wheel alignment done at a repair shop after I did the work) I recently replace two A/C hoses and recharged the system with 134a for less than $75.00. I am a plumber by day and a shade tree mechanic by night. Most nights I just sleep though.

It's truly amazing how many people ignore what a fuse is there for, and will go to great lengths to avoid discovering what would cause one to blow. In past years, some would slip a penny in to replace a blown glass house fuse or more up to date: get out the duct tape to hold down an "annoying" circuit breaker... And burn their home down. Doing it in modern vehicles is even more stupid as they are so well designed not to just fail with out reason. And before I forget: adding Mrs Wizard to your creative team, full time, was a masterful stroke!

Somebody must have smelled the meltdown and ignored it. Bad idea. Kudos to Grimes for the courage to tackle this. Good luck!

The circuit using the wire that burned through is most likely where the short initially occurred. I don't envy Grimes in the forthcoming task. Way back in 1980, I got to build an entire body harness for a Lincoln Town Car that had a similar meltdown. We couldn't just get a new harness from Ford, but they were more than happy to sell us all the stuff to build our own. I quit eating spaghetti for a while after that.

If the customer would not fiddle with the fuse (im sure he installed biger fuse) which then melted there wouldn't be wires melted that far and to that level. The fuse blows for a reason. If you put the same fuse and it goes that means there is something real wrong. The customer did make things worse.

If he bought another one whose to say that one would have the same or other issues that are just as expensive. He obviously loves his vehicle. So if I had the money and had an excellent shop to work on it and know it's going to get done right I would spend the extra money to get it done. This was an excellent video, it answered I had on this subject. Thank everyone at Omaga for doing what you do to keep these mechanical works of art goin.

Guys you’re in this far, just keep going.

A British car with electrical problems? Never happens.😂

The owner should continue the repair. If he buys another comparable Range Rover, it will have its own list of defects.

I'm in agreement with you that a new harness isn't the most cost effective option. I do strongly disagree on replacing single wires one by one as needed. It is not a cost effective use of your techs time or the customers money. The used/scrap yard option would be the best way. Used interior harnesses usually fair pretty good because they are away from the engine heat, vibration and the elements. The connectors aren't brittle, the insulation won't crumble. There is sure fire way to test your new-to-you harness. Place the overlay harness in the cabin roughly where it will be installed and take your Fluke meter and check continuity end to end of the harness. There is no guessing or hoping or luck involved. Its a yes its good or no I got an open circuit in a wire. I'm interested to see how this one turns out in a later installment!! Keep up the great work guys!! Sincerely, Brian. Current Master ASE technician and (formally) Land Rover Gold Certified technician of 10 years : )

I had a 2004 dark gray Disco 2. I miss the old drama queen.

It honestly depends on the maintenance history and the ownership of the vehicle history like say he's had the vehicle a long time and he's done transmission replacement differentials etc depending on the condition of the vehicle you know exactly what you have if you put that kind of money into it if you go out and buy another one you can be in the hole just as bad because that one needs transmission work differential work other stuff that will add up just as much money as fixing the one you have that you know doesn't have those issues

LET'S GIVE IT TO GRIMES, HE PULLED THAT DASH COMPLETELY OUT, AND IT WAS PAINFUL TO SEE 👀 😢

Nice work, Grimes and Wizard. I’m super glad you caught that in time. It’s too nice a car to burn down. My favorite part of the video, though, is just how excited and giddy Mrs. Wizard was to show off her artwork. Her being able to retire from teaching seems to have done both of you well; it thrills me that you’ve both had enough success for that to happen!

I was a porter at a Jaguar/Land Rover dealership in Scottsdale AZ around 2003. I drove many of these from our roof lot down to the technicians in the shop and recall that the felt very odd and had numerous electrical issues. I still enjoy seeing them around because of nostalgia though.

Car Wizard - i have a long hiatory with Landrover back to the mid 90s. A lot of these had wiring harness issues from the factory.

Looks like Grimes is the Electrical Wizard! 😃

Insert "Joseph Lucas, the prince of darkness" joke here.

You guys outdid yourselves with this one! AFTER the tear down, Mrs. Wizard does an interior look! I’m like, NOW?! 😂😂

I had something very similar happen with a 1995 Plymouth Neon Sport Coupe. Long story short, I paid an auto electrical specialist to troubleshoot and repair. The culprit was a bad ground under the arm rest console. I nearly lost the car over this. May I recommend hunting down and reconditioning every chassis ground in that vehicle before wire replacement. During functional testing after wire replacement, install a suitable temporary in-line fuse - if things go south, you won't damage more wires. Finally, I enjoy Mrs. Wizard's contribution to your channel. Blessing to you both and Happy Thanksgiving.

Well done *Grimes* : that must be a very, very mentally exhausting job. You'd need a lot of resilience I guess to keep going after doing the first 10 wires, and have only another 40+ to go. And then to have to test everything. And then put everything back together, and test it again.

It just feels right seeing a Disco in the shop

I had to make a similar decision with my '93 Miata when the keyway on the crankshaft was obliterated. At the time the car in good condition was only worth maybe $2000. I opted to have it repaired (finding a replacement crankshaft at the time was difficult), it's been running great since then. It's a car I have owned since I bought it new, so I knew all the issues it did (or rather mostly did not) have.

It appears the windshield is cracked on this car. There are rust streaks down the roof line from the jack on top of the roof too. I suggest he call his insurance company about the wire fire. If he is lucky they will total it out under his comprehensive coverage. it makes no sense at all to put 5 cents into a car that would make Lucas the prince of darkness proud.

Wow. That’s weird (not!) A British car with a broken electrical system. I can’t imagine that this is even worth $3k. I would have junked it. And you still haven’t even found out why it melted or how to prevent it from happening again. I would never trust this truck again. I’d be driving with a fire extinguisher next to me even after the repair.

These are known to be electrical nightmares. I owned a 2003 disco with the 4.6. Never again.

Awesome as always.Thanks for sharing and taking us along

As the Car Care Nut opined in one of his videos, overall mileage often matters less than how what miles it has were acquired. I'd put more money into this one than even what an equivalent used one would cost, because I know the history - how it's been maintained, major services that have been done, etc. in short, how whatever miles I had put on it were acquired. If he buys another LR Discovery 2 with similar miles, he has no idea of the history. It may have been maintained very badly (or not at all), it may have been abused, been wrecked ... better to keep what you know than risk coughing up $6-8k on a used one and find out it'll need a head gasket or worse.

#5 Its a Landrover!!!!!!

It's a nice truck but there's no way I'd spend that. That's why I sold my D3 and got an LX 470. At least the repairs are worth making.

This is GOOD content! Really good and cool to watch!

Melted wiring isn't a joke, back in 1998 a short resulted in an onboard fire that downed Swissair flight 111.

#2 I would say; interior review was fantastic!

Owners know these are expensive vehicles to own and maintain. I'd spend the money and also understand that more expensive repairs were in my future.

A couple of thousand dollars it is worth it as long as there are no other major issues with the car, I had a Discovery 1 which I never liked but if it's a solid car fix it.

This one's getting a sequel video, I can feel it...

I used to have a c4 corvette that lights and blinkers would come on when you hit bumps, slapping the door panel would make them go out

Love Mrs Wizards review of the ‘lack of interior’ review! Really made me laugh. Glad the owner is saving this lovely Disco.

I had a 1974 VW bus with wires going to the carbs, I think a fuel shut off solenoid. One wire had fallen ont a heat shiel during a long drive from California to Seattle, melted the insulation and once it shorted, melted wires from the engine to under the dash. Had to rent a u-haul in Weed California to Seattle. My brother rewired it the following year and got it running. Always use the correct fuse and make sure your wires are secured away from anything hot.

I had one of these , same year, same options. Biggest POS i've ever owned! As soon as I would fix one thing, two other things would break! My advice to the poor guy that owns this POS is run away as fast as youcan!

That thing is obviously very loved and i knew the owner was gonna fix her up, definitely deserves it

Kudos to the customer on doing it right and changing out the heater core and the rest of the "while we are in there" (the most expensive phrase in the English language after "American hospital visit") stuff.

Disco videos are best videos. I've done this same job in both my 03 and 04 because of mice chewing up the same wires. I could have done this job with my eyes closed at this point haha. Basically rewired the entire body harness myself with correct color wires and everything. Tested all of them before reassembly and wrapped the whole harness in capsaicin electrical tape to prevent having to do it again. Both have been flawless for years in the electrical department. I think its worth spending the money and getting it fixed correctly, especially in my case because I can do it all myself. Just got done doing the headgaskets on the 03 which was fun /s but both have done many trails and driven to the top of quite a few mountains here in colorado, keeping up just fine with the jeeps along the way. The 04 will be getting an LS swap starting in spring. Too bad I don't live closer to car wizard, he could sublet a ton of land rover work my way and know its going to be done correctly without a single shortcut. Plus I'm at the point in life where I'm more interested in keeping these on the road for people to enjoy over making money. I know them like the back of my hand, bumper to bumper. If you ever have a weird one you can't solve, message me. I'm sure I'll have a solid answer. Great job!

I love disco's and completely understand why the customer wants to fix the harness problem, I would of done the same. Such a cool car which I would want to keep for along as I possibly can. I hope you do a video showing the finished repair & put back together, I would love to watch that!

Wow, that is a tough one. Well, I say it all depends on what the customer wants. Since they are happy to have it fixed, I'd be more than happy to take their money.

This is a Game Show I have been on many times 😵 I have built 3 discoveries first one d2 offroad stuff just like that one, 2nd one green blew head gasket rebuilt engine blew again sold. 3rd one was d1 white rare manual blew head gasket, hot tanked, shaved decked heads, valves new radiator everything. Ran great put Headman headers custom exhaust gained some power was nice. But one thing I didn't replace the fuel line and the exhaust flange leaked. The fuel line blew out and the truck went up in flames on the road when my mother was driving it. I probably would have rebuilt the engine bay again but that wiring harness and dash yall are working on was completely toast. Sad today 😭 Love yalls Videos Wizards 💯🙂

The good news is that there should be no shortage of Landrover Discoverys in junk yards to get parts from.

I love the artwork, you two!!!! I’m sure Mr. Wizard had a hand in some of that stuff. 👍🏻

Congrats on reaching 950k subs, Mr. and Mrs. Wizard!

I'd fix her up, as long as the chassis was ok and the rest was sound, its such a shame to see so much waste in the motor trade, so much, i left it and became a gardener instead. Great job mr and mrs Wizard. Love the videos...shame about the bus, i was looking forward to seeing you work your magic on it but it was going to take time, i guess? Much love to all❤

Fire Hazzard 🔥 Ground issues Be safe.

Mr. And Mrs. wizard are couples goals 💪🏻

My stepsister drove one of these for years. Her husband hated it because he knew when it broke down it was going to cost $1000, at the minimum, to fix it.

When i was 15 , in 1993, my father bought a brand new Discovery Mk1....2.000cc , 4 cylinder, petrol, manual, colour british green ! Obviously, not a fast car, but really spacious and comfortable .30 years and 210.000 kilometres later...and is still in his garage. Fine meccanically, fine internal, fine external. Some minor electric issues throughout these years, but nothing really catastrophic. A fuel pump and a battery failure, maybe the worst of all. Clutch changed at 165.000 km. Α shift stick problem some years ago, kept the car in our garage for nearly five moths, but it got repaired at the price of ...180 euros , using brand new spare parts!!! Anyway, consider that I am from Crete, Greece (that explains the 2000cc engine) where maintenance and repairs are much (...much...) cheaper , I live in a city of 150.000 population and there have always been at least two more cars around . So, the Disco has always been used carefully enough by my father and really carefully by me, mainly out of the city and not every day. Now he is 76, he prefers driving his Jimny but him an my mother still enjoy some small trips and excursions with the Disco ....maybe once a month!

Wow I love the way you folks dealt with this I love disco’s

10:27 Someone from Germany gave you a 'number plate' for the Citroen! Nice.

Other channels have advertising for gambling or pay-2-win games, while the Wizard has his wife’s parts-crafting using parts off of vehicles we’ve seen. Love it!

The world needs more Grimes

Can't wait for the follow up video showing us how you fixed it. If it were my range Rover I would probably pull all the electronics and ghetto rig some rudimentary switches and wires. The brake lights and horn would have to be switch activated too so it wouldn't be able to pass inspection.

Love the art work ! It’s awesome 😊

At least it was caught before it burned down - but wowzas is that a large job!!!

Best interior review ever!

In the RHD 2.5 diesel (particularly manuals) of that model these were notorious for having a short in column loom, sometimes starting and driving off. There was a Disco fired up that started drive into six other cars at Sydney airport long term parking before burning to the ground back in the late 90's.

I've often seen Land Rovers for sale on the cheap and always wondered "how bad can it be?". Thank you for answering that question.

On your way to 1 million subs car wizard congratulations

A British vehicle with electrical problems like is a zebra with stripes.

Awesome Misses Wizard. I'll be shopping for myself, but unfortunately it'll be after Thanksgiving. I hope that you keep making things if I miss this opportunity. You gotta do an after Christmas offering. You won't even need to lower prices. Unfortunately, my VW Passat ( I know Mr. Wizard it's a "don't buy") is taking a couple thousand out of my fun budget this November. Anyway, great stuff.

owww, heavy...if it is not going to be worse, then go for it. a new car cost the same(i reversed your line) and this seems to be a nice one. big job, respect

I'd fit a good used loom (US=harness), carefully checked before fitting, and the customer made aware that no warranty can be given. What puzzles me is why fuses didn't blow to isolate the fault, Can it be that somebody had a blow fuse and just replaced it with a far higher amp fuse to "get things going". I suspect the current owner was sold a pup.

I think the car is worth fixing, just because it is older does not mean it is cheap to run, I know having an older car that you still have to service it well if not better than when new and when there is a problem fix it properly and your car will be reliable.

My first guess at cost, $6--8,000. A friend asked if my mechanic would rewire his truck for $200? Uh, no. I used to be a car hobbyist. I told a friend their battery cable needed replacing. They said that couldn't be the problem. The shop they took it to replaced the cables, battery and alternator. I'm pleasantly surprised at how often the wizard is below my own estimates. Bravo! BTW, 38 years ago an automotive electrical shop was $80 an hour---no estimates.

The German license plate on the Citroën is dope .

Hi David we have a saying in Australia, if you want to go bush take a landrover, but if you want to come home ,you use a toyota landcruiser. If the landrover has electrical woes, it's a lucas.

He knows the vehicle, where it’s been, how it’s been maintained, etc. so I’d stick with it. Seems like someone was exceeding the limits of the circuit with larger amp fuse

I'm more curious as to what caused the shorts so that could be corrected. I still remember someone stopping on the highway in front of the service station I used to work at and running towards us desperately asking us for a fire extinguisher because his whole dashboard was on fire

For the works that you have to do, I suspect it will surpass $5,000. It comes down to how you feel about the vehicle whether it has any sentimental value to you, but for the financial perspective, it is not worth repairing it.

Grimes has an attention to detail that most humans do not. Great detective work.

I thoroughly enjoyed this vid and project. Excellent job. I would fix it too.

Discovery's are prone to have bad wiring, ground issues, blown head gaskets and leaky sunroofs.. Absolutely not worth fixing especially if your in middle America or the west coast cause you have to pay the additional transport costs on top of the parts. I worked for a rover dealer for ten years and have lots of horror stories the reputation is well earned. If I were Wizard I'd make him pay as you go cause if he repairs the truck and the guy cant/won't pay he won't be able to sell it at a price where he can make money.

I remember those carts in school, in Cali the TVs were strapped to the carts because earthquakes.

Super interesting! Be sure to give us a follow-up on this and how it went.

I love my Disco 2, it is my baby. It is hard to give up on it, even replacing it. They are just unique trucks

Once the wiring is garbage, replace it with a new one. The cost to repair = cost of a new harness. Then there is no wire by wire testing and possible failure of old wiring down the road. However, once you are at this decision of buying a new harness, there are all the modules connected to the harness that should be also checked. So at this point you may be into this for $8-10k. Now it's time to search for a different vehicle (not another Land Rover, lol) that will be hella more reliable and sell this Land Rover as a parts vehicle. Moral of the story: don't buy a Land Rover and then hang custom pieces on it.

People love their Land Rovers - I knew the customer was going to give the go ahead.

Your estimated prices are pretty dam reasonable, I doubt many workshops could fix it for that.

Wizard you got lucky with Grimes he really knows his sh&t.

What a great video!! Also…. What’s up with that old green and white Ford truck? Can we see more of that? Hmm is that Hoovies?

I once turned a dead mini fridge into a book case

There's two kinds of Land Rover owners, those who don't care and keep upgrading to the newest model and those that are hardcore lovers of their vehicle. As a mechanic with 20 years under my belt I always dread working on them but I've always loved the way they look and ended up in a position to own a 2006 LR3 with the 4.4L V8, their most solid Rover in the USA, after buying it and fixing some gremlins caused by the previous owner it's been an amazing experience and I just can't explain it very well but it's a entirely different experience driving a Rover than it is any other car, I've driven top of the line F150's, Escalades, Suburbans, GL Mercs, Land Cruisers, 4Runners, etc. and none of them feel as good to drive as my Rover so I completely understand the customer wanting to fix his baby. Love my Rover even with it's weird quirks.

If it 20:33 were mine I would proceed with Omega. You know the truck and once the wiring is fixed you are good. Buying another old one is a gamble in itself.

Very inventive Mrs Wizard.

I’m a dealer tech, I’d buy a used harness and vin-check compatibility through Land Rover to make sure it’s the same. Could take months to find one though so I see why it’s being repaired in this case.

The curse of "The Prince of Darkness"....😂