Fresh water tank losing water

[wyn]

Have just returned from our first major trip - two weeks in Spain from San Sebastian to Cordoba and back via Segovia, Avila, Toledo, Arcos de la Frontera, Caceres, Trujillo, Lago de Sanabria and Santillana del mar. All went well and the Cali was great to drive and to live in apart from one minor hassle. Our fresh water tank was losing water in a steady drip, about 10 litres in 24hours, a tank full in three days. As far as I can tell the drain tap (which I had opened to flush and sterilise the tank before leaving) is fully closed, but still allows a small amount of water to drip out. Anybody else have this problem and any ideas on what I can do about it?

 

[T2KF4]

Hi there..

Same issue. Loosing water from the fresh water tank drain. Allbeit at a slightly slower rate than you..

Looked for a way of tightning up the tank draining tap but cant find one. Looking at the constrution on the tank on the tech diagram it looks like you need to take off the whole belly pan to get at the valve..

Did you ever get anywhere with this? Or was it back to the dealer for an expensive repair?

Thanks,
Tim

 

[T2KF4]

Hi there,

Same issue, although our drain tap is leaking at a slower rate. Did you ever find a solution to this? I have tried to find a way of tightening up the tap but have not found one yet. Looking at the diagram on page 36 of the manual here:

http://vwcaliforniaclub.com/downloads/t5_tech.pdf

it looks like getting the drain valve will involve removing the belly pan. Has anyone else had this problem and found a solution?

Cheers
Tim

 

[barry]

Yup,had this problem but couldn't find source of loss.
VW Van Centre spent ages looking at it and traced it to the drain outlet.

Closing the tap firmly rather than casually (which is what I'd been doing) solved the problem.
I felt a bit of a dick.I hope your problems are as easily solved

 

[Cali64]

Has anyone else noticed that the fresh water drain hose (unlike the waste water drain hose) does not come through the drain hole but sits inside the floor pan? - when flushing the fresh water tank most of the water sprays out through the drain hole but some floods the floor pan and exits in other places under the van! The dealer checked the van under warranty and assures me that this is normal........ :?:

 

[Andy]

Yes this is normal !!!! Diabolical design, would have been so simple to add a short hose like the on waste tank.
I suspect it may also contribute to corrosion under there somewhere eventually.

 

[Cali64]

Thanks!
I suppose the answer is not to flush through the fresh water tank drain hose but to always run it through the tap to the waste water drain?! :|

 

[barry]

Yup,had this problem but couldn't find source of loss.
VW Van Centre spent ages looking at it and traced it to the drain outlet.

Closing the tap firmly rather than casually (which is what I'd been doing) solved the problem.
I felt a bit of a dick.I hope your problems are as easily solved

The reason that the Van Centre took a long time finding the 'leak' was because the location of the drip-on-the-floor was spatially displaced from the location of the real culprit for the exact reason given in the previous post ;-)

 

[bh-15]

Not losing water but valve will not open to drain tank. VW says the whole kitchen unit has to be removed to replace valve. Is it worth the distruption?

 

[wyn]

Am writing this post from a campsite in Sarnen Switzerland and am glad to say that the issue seems to have resolved itself after opening and shutting the valve firmly a few times

 

[T2KF4]

Hi All, - Just to say i have tried shutting the tap firmly and still no joy. The drip is very slow so its not a disaster. I will discuss with the local dealer and let ypu know how i get on..

Cheers
Tim

 

[nknight]

I had this issue on a 2009 Cali from new. Initially the van centre thought that all of the rear units would have to be taken out. However they asked VW at a training session whether this was necessary and were told the "quick" way to do it. Just an adjustment apparently.

 

[duelago]

I had this issue on a 2009 Cali from new. Initially the van centre thought that all of the rear units would have to be taken out. However they asked VW at a training session whether this was necessary and were told the "quick" way to do it. Just an adjustment apparently.

Do you know how to do it the quick way? I have the same problem, but the Cali is very uncommon in Sweden and I really don't think I can find a mechanic with this knowledge in my area.

 

[WelshGas]

Read here. Something simple to try. Might work.

http://www.forumforpages.com/facebook/the-vw-california/draining-fresh-water-tank/2662946534/0

 

[duelago]

Read here. Something simple to try. Might work.

http://www.forumforpages.com/facebook/the-vw-california/draining-fresh-water-tank/2662946534/0

Interesting. Have to try that solution. Thanks!

 

[duelago]

Fantastic. The lever removal trick discussed in the other forum worked. However, it's micro adjustments to put the lever in a 100% closed position. My plan is to keep it closed until the winter season, and use the kitchen tap to drain the tank from now on, if I need to change to water.

Thanks!

 

[Hotel California]

Fantastic. The lever removal trick discussed in the other forum worked. However, it's micro adjustments to put the lever in a 100% closed position. My plan is to keep it closed until the winter season, and use the kitchen tap to drain the tank from now on, if I need to change to water.

Thanks!

I would be carefull with emptying the watertank thru the tap ,
This means your pump will be working overtime pumping say 15 liters water up, they are allready known to be not that reliable , you might overheat the pump resulting in a breakdown...