While driving home in my "new" 300TD, an electrical problem developed. The forst clue was that the tack needle dropped to 0 when I stepped on the brake, and it revived when I released the brake. Then I noticed that the gauges in the left cluster were also affected, but everything would wake up a few seconds after I released the brake. I noticed a humming/buzzing noise that seemed to be coming from somewhere around my left knee. Since I am not the Bionic Man, I am guessing that the noise was coming from a relay somewhere near the fuse box. As time went on, I noticed that the Exterior Bulb Failure lamp, which had been trying desperately to tell me that a brake light was dead, was also going out when the gauges dropped out. The final clue was that the fuel reserve warning light was also affected. If I had to guess, I would say that a relay is sticking, and it now seems to be more or less constantly stuck. I'm too chicken-hearted to go out in the rain to poke around at electrical components under the hood, but I do see from the manual that the affected circuits are all connected to the same fuse, #15, if I recall correctly. Can anyone provide a quick diagnosis and/or cure? Am I correct in assuming that I'm going to be replacing a relay?

Now for the other issue. I had a chance to become acquainted with the Automatic Climate Control. The AC blows cool, but not cold enough to annoy me. Most of the time I was comfortable, and I could hear a relay somewhere around the center console clicking, apparently related to changes in fan speed, etc. I gather that there is a little guy in there, who must be related to the little man that lives in the refrigerator and turns the light on and off when I open and close the door. Apparently this guy's particular task is to operate that relay, but he seemed to get a little annoyed with me when I drove over bumps, and he tended to express his annoyance by blasting me with hot air. After almost four decades of driving Land-Rovers, my concept of climate control is pretty much limited to "Open" and "Closed," or as closed as things get with a Land-Rover. I have read the owner's manual, but I don't see a way to just turn off heating and cooling in favor of plain old fresh air ventilation. Any suggestions on these two issues?

Thanks!

John Karlsson
Hope Valley, RI