Fridge box and diesel heater faults - 6.1 ocean

[BeachLife]

Hi all,

Hoping for some advice / guidance / anything to help my sanity!

Recently changed from a T6 Beach to a 6.1 Ocean, bought from a main dealer.

The ocean is 1 year old and I’ve discovered that neither the fridge box, nor the diesel heater are working. The console unit shows the yellow snowflake but the box doesn’t cool (the dealer have replaced the cool box and still doesn’t work). The diesel heater comes on for about 20 mins then stops - again the yellow heating symbol shows with no action.. when I try to restart the heater the console shows a “please wait” message.

Couple of questions:

1. Has anyone had anything similar on a 6.1 and what ended up being the fix please? It’s booked back in for a centre console unit change but I’m concerned that this could end up being a longer drawn out issue and would prefer to be on the front foot so it doesn’t need to keep going back into the dealer. Have also asked them to run a health check on the leisure batteries.

2. Does anyone know whether there is any sort of habitation check as part of the approved used check prior to a California delivery from a main dealer? Can’t seem to find anything online from VWCV other than a standard van check of the essentials. Have asked the dealer for a copy of the AUC for this vehicle but nothing yet.

Thank you in advance!

 

[lohr500]

Have you tried with the mains hook up lead connected?
Just wondering if you have low voltage on the batteries and that is causing the fridge and heater to play up. Could be nothing to do with the faults, but perhaps worth a try?

 

[Thirteencharacters]

Hi

The heater is quite quirky, but if you look at the California Chris video on YouTube, it describes it quite well.
Make sure you have the operating mode set to Air Aux Heater (rather than ventilate)
Settings are used to set the start time of the heater (to give you the desired temperature when you want it-so for checking just have it on no timer set

Mode I use is “Heat Continuously”-rather than “Heat Immediately”,
That takes you to the temp setting that you want, and 3 or 4 is usually good.
Then Activate, and the heater should slowly purge and then run.
It actually doesn’t heat continuously (ie run continuously), but cuts in and out when it reaches temperature.
I recently used mine for 3 days, and it ran perfectly.
Of course it runs on Diesel, and one of the vehicle checks is to make sure you are above a low threshold.

Heat Immediately setting gets you a quicker response, but the heater then seems to require a refresh with the vehicle having been driven.
Not sure why this setting is even there, but from recollection it is the one that the fob selects if you use that method to start it.

So I always go for the continuous setting.

Have a go with that, but note that if you keep trying to select heat Immediately after it has stopped running (waiting for the refresh run)-the control panel will lock up and not come out of “please wait”
Interesting if you still have the pop up roof raised….
Then you need to pull a fuse under the passenger seat…

On the cool box, I can’t say much-other than check the port on the right is not blocked, and that the lid is shut.
Select a temperature of around 5, and it should explode coke tins after a few hours.
As you have a question on the batteries, I would connect the electric hook up to eliminate that concern.

If the dealer just changed it and its still faulty-what was he doing….?!

 

[BeachLife]

Thanks

Have you tried with the mains hook up lead connected?
Just wondering if you have low voltage on the batteries and that is causing the fridge and heater to play up. Could be nothing to do with the faults, but perhaps worth a try?

I think I did but am now questioning my memory - good point, will try again. Thank you! Have asked the dealer to run a health check on them (or whatever the process is called) too so hopefully this possibility will be eliminated fairly quickly!

 

[BeachLife]

Hi

The heater is quite quirky, but if you look at the California Chris video on YouTube, it describes it quite well.
Make sure you have the operating mode set to Air Aux Heater (rather than ventilate)
Settings are used to set the start time of the heater (to give you the desired temperature when you want it-so for checking just have it on no timer set

Mode I use is “Heat Continuously”-rather than “Heat Immediately”,
That takes you to the temp setting that you want, and 3 or 4 is usually good.
Then Activate, and the heater should slowly purge and then run.
It actually doesn’t heat continuously (ie run continuously), but cuts in and out when it reaches temperature.
I recently used mine for 3 days, and it ran perfectly.
Of course it runs on Diesel, and one of the vehicle checks is to make sure you are above a low threshold.

Heat Immediately setting gets you a quicker response, but the heater then seems to require a refresh with the vehicle having been driven.
Not sure why this setting is even there, but from recollection it is the one that the fob selects if you use that method to start it.

So I always go for the continuous setting.

Have a go with that, but note that if you keep trying to select heat Immediately after it has stopped running (waiting for the refresh run)-the control panel will lock up and not come out of “please wait”
Interesting if you still have the pop up roof raised….
Then you need to pull a fuse under the passenger seat…

On the cool box, I can’t say much-other than check the port on the right is not blocked, and that the lid is shut.
Select a temperature of around 5, and it should explode coke tins after a few hours.
As you have a question on the batteries, I would connect the electric hook up to eliminate that concern.

If the dealer just changed it and its still faulty-what was he doing….?!

Ah this is all extremely useful advice - thank you. I will try all of the above with a full tank of fuel and plugged into electric - and sorry to sound thick but when you say the port on the right? Do you mean the bit that sticks out inside the right of the fridge that I believe controls the temp of the fridge?

Well they spoke to VW tech apparantly who advised a next fix of changing the centre console unit and with a shipping time of 7-10 days not worth leaving with them. That said, I am reticent to have another replacement that may not end up fixing the issue - but I know nothing about fridges or electrics so will pipe down!!

 

[Thirteencharacters]

Good luck, and yes on the bit that sticks out inside the fridge.
By blocked, i mean nothing inside the fridge smothering that sensor.

 

[BeachLife]

Good luck, and yes on the bit that sticks out inside the fridge.
By blocked, i mean nothing inside the fridge smothering that sensor.

Ah perfect, thanks. Just tried again on EHU and still dead so there’s something else afoot here!

Heater appears to be working again now!!

 

[ParachuteMan]

Hi all,

Hoping for some advice / guidance / anything to help my sanity!

Recently changed from a T6 Beach to a 6.1 Ocean, bought from a main dealer.

The ocean is 1 year old and I’ve discovered that neither the fridge box, nor the diesel heater are working. The console unit shows the yellow snowflake but the box doesn’t cool (the dealer have replaced the cool box and still doesn’t work). The diesel heater comes on for about 20 mins then stops - again the yellow heating symbol shows with no action.. when I try to restart the heater the console shows a “please wait” message.

Couple of questions:
W
1. Has anyone had anything similar on a 6.1 and what ended up being the fix please? It’s booked back in for a centre console unit change but I’m concerned that this could end up being a longer drawn out issue and would prefer to be on the front foot so it doesn’t need to keep going back into the dealer. Have also asked them to run a health check on the leisure batteries.

2. Does anyone know whether there is any sort of habitation check as part of the approved used check prior to a California delivery from a main dealer? Can’t seem to find anything online from VWCV other than a standard van check of the essentials. Have asked the dealer for a copy of the AUC for this vehicle but nothing yet.

Thank you in advance!

Hi. Ref the heater

“Heat Continously” means I’m now going to be in the van parked up for the next few hours. “Heat Immediately” means I’m at home, warming the van up before driving off somewhere.

However, Heat immediately only gives you 90 minutes total before it stops and you have start up and drive over 5 mph before it resets. As I learn to my cost last winter ! I got the same warning messages as you.

Can’t help ref the fridge, sorry

 

[Thirteencharacters]

Hi Parachute Man.
Do you really?

Good clarification on the heat modes, and makes sense (although why one mode needs a vehicle run reset and the other doesn’t is interesting).
Maybe just runs harder in the “immediately” mode-so cokes up.
Coke again!

The frustration is that if you happen to get to a control panel “lock up” situation (through multiple start attempts), the 6.1 then creates another problem.

The panel never comes out of the “please wait” mode, and can’t be reset.
The 6.0 (apparently) lets you re-boot the control panel with a long press of the control knob.
VW fixed that “escape method” however, by removing that functionality.

Only way now is to remove power-with 3 batteries providing it.

First hand experience talking here..
We were on a site with the roof up, and no means to drop it-caused by this exact scenario.

So couldn’t drive it (or even tow it).
A call to my dealer (who will remain anonymous) gave no help in identifying a fuse diagram/allocation (something I have never seen in a vehicle before-they always provide a fuse map), so they suggested I cut into the head lining and severed the pneumatic pipes….
Mind your fingers they said.

The manual supplement for the California does actually indicate a method for releasing the pressure and lowering the roof.
Simply strip out the plastic panels on the roof near the mirror, and operate the bleed screw….
Then strap the roof down with the conveniently supplied rails straps-as with the pneumatic system open-as the roof can fly up while on the move.

One person later said on a forum.

“When all else fails, read the instructions”
I have added to that, “make sure you have the instructions with you”!

With our brand new van, I had been reading the supplemental-familiarising with the Cali controls.

I hadn’t got to the mind your fingers bit-and I couldn’t quite remember which table at home I had left the supplement on…

All this because I wanted to turn the heater on.

So my fix was to pull the 5 amp fuse which feeds the control panel-rather than cut the headlining.

You knew about those fuses, right?

They are located under the passenger seat (easier to see if you spin the seat around), and the fuse is on the row that is aligned East/West, assuming the front is North.
It’s the 5 amp one nearest the passenger door.

All usual disclaimers apply, but this sorted the roof issue immediately.

I still had to drive the van to be able to use the heater however.

Have fun out there, and winter approaches.!

 

[DianeM]

Hi

The heater is quite quirky, but if you look at the California Chris video on YouTube, it describes it quite well.
Make sure you have the operating mode set to Air Aux Heater (rather than ventilate)
Settings are used to set the start time of the heater (to give you the desired temperature when you want it-so for checking just have it on no timer set

Mode I use is “Heat Continuously”-rather than “Heat Immediately”,
That takes you to the temp setting that you want, and 3 or 4 is usually good.
Then Activate, and the heater should slowly purge and then run.
It actually doesn’t heat continuously (ie run continuously), but cuts in and out when it reaches temperature.
I recently used mine for 3 days, and it ran perfectly.
Of course it runs on Diesel, and one of the vehicle checks is to make sure you are above a low threshold.

Heat Immediately setting gets you a quicker response, but the heater then seems to require a refresh with the vehicle having been driven.
Not sure why this setting is even there, but from recollection it is the one that the fob selects if you use that method to start it.

So I always go for the continuous setting.

Have a go with that, but note that if you keep trying to select heat Immediately after it has stopped running (waiting for the refresh run)-the control panel will lock up and not come out of “please wait”
Interesting if you still have the pop up roof raised….
Then you need to pull a fuse under the passenger seat…

On the cool box, I can’t say much-other than check the port on the right is not blocked, and that the lid is shut.
Select a temperature of around 5, and it should explode coke tins after a few hours.
As you have a question on the batteries, I would connect the electric hook up to eliminate that concern.

If the dealer just changed it and its still faulty-what was he doing….?!

We recently had an infotainment software update and heat immediately doesn’t seem to need to be reset by driving any more…..yeah

 

[Thirteencharacters]

Do you know what revision number that is?