Tuesday, 20 March 2012

On The Mend

With so many problems that I had no idea how to solve, I went to the T4 Forum  (http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/ it is the place to go for all matters T4 or even T5) for help and guidance. The guys and girls there are always friendly, and always willing to help out, and accordingly, I got a few leads on what was wrong, and how to sort it out.

With regards the AUX belt slapping, it seems I will need either a new bottom pulley, or pulley tensioner. Yes, it is likely around another £100 to be spent. But that one can wait, as the van is going nowhere with no dashboard dials working.

And about the dashboard dials? I found out there was probably a loose connection somewhere, and was told to look under the front of the van. I did so, and what did I see?

Uploaded from the Photobucket Android App


I made a very temporary fix, to earth the cable, just so I could go and see if the dash worked after connecting it . . . . And lo and behold, it worked! So, with the help of the ever friendly Rob from the T4 Forum, we found a spot to bolt it in place, giving me a working dashboard again!

Uploaded from the Photobucket Android App
However, I had managed to drain my battery in the van by charging my phone in it. In less than 2 hours the battery was flat, and the van wouldn't start. So, after pushing the van into the road to get to the nearest car battery to charge/jump it from, we had it going again. Then rob informed me that the battery in the van was basically way too small for the job of starting a van like this, and should be in a tiny car instead.

After sourcing a new battery online (euro car parts had 15% off online), I had a new battery installed, and this one staarts the van before the key is even fully turned I'm sure. Much much better, and not an area to cut corners in (previous owner of my van please take note!)

I went from this:

60ah with 540a cranking power

Uploaded from the Photobucket Android App


To this:

95ah with 800a cranking power

Uploaded from the Photobucket Android App

So now the van has a working dashboard, and starts perfectly. Sweet . . . .

No comments:

Post a Comment