Apollo13
VIP Member
Hi all. First post. Long story, will try to summarise!
Had our 2012 T5.1 around 18 months and been through the mill with it. Lots of niggling engine trouble initially with 2x injectors, cam cover oil leaks and a serious diesel return line leak leading to two replacement cam belts within 500 miles.
Currently saddled with a number of common interior issues and due to my role requiring multiple weekends away and two small children (and long suffering wife!) to entertain when I'm home, I'm looking for a specialist near Didcot / Abingdon familiar with Californias to help get us up and running again.
Issues are:
1. Fridge not working. When set to 6degC ish it clicks and clicks off again. If set to a low temp eg - 6degC it clicks and the compressor briefly clunks, and then it (by it I mean a relay type sound) clicks off again. As though it doesn't have the oomph to start it. Battery voltage is 13.5V at the controller connectors which drops to 13.3 as it tries to start up. 240V hookup connected. Called Penguin Frigo. Helpful guys, but ultimately the fridge needs to come out I think. And auto electrician / Danfoss fridge expert to diagnose and fix it. I'm not equipped to mess around with fault LEDs, wire up separate power supplies etc etc. And having shredded my hands today manoeuvring the controller I just want someone who knows what they are doing to help me out! Winding resistance check okay 2.3ohm and no short to ground.
2. Left side sliding window is leaking down the back of the cupboards. Looking up from inside the cupboards I can see rust on what I think is the underside of the bottom runner. I assume there's some sort of metallic plate inside the runner and the water has rotted it. The silastic sealant for the metal body pressing / trough thing with the triangular cutouts on the inside of the van side panel looks intact. The water is running / dripping from the outside of the metal pressing anyway. I can't see or feel any other drains as some posts show and the water is sitting in the bottom runner channel. When I stick a small cable tie into the front drain hole of the runner the end of it can be felt from the inside of the cupboard, so there is no tube or anything. So whatever the water drops onto or into is not doing its job and has a leak path. Are these windows easily fixed or replaced with the rest of the cali interior remaining in place? What window do people use? Any recommended fitters? How much are we looking at to get this sorted? The van lives outside so this is a constant pain / worry and the dehumidifier can't keep up! Let alone that we can't put any perishable items into the cupboard for fear of wet cornflakes etc.
3. The Kenwood DAB head unit packed up this week. Black screen. Only the fan and red triangle when pressing reset. Apparently depressingly common on the DNX525DAB. What unit do people fit instead, as I would be happy to replace like for like but it seems to be obsolete now. Costs? Can I get Android Auto affordably and keep the existing rear camera as is? Additional wiring requirements? We need the van to drive to Devon this weekend and it will be a long trip with no tunes and no reversing camera also unhelpful on the lanes! Again I'm no electrician and just want someone to sort it at a sensible price. The windscreen has a small crack already and the Kenwood has a DAB antenna stuck to the inside. Am I best off getting the windscreen replaced first?
I've read a bunch of the threads on the fridge and window issues in particular but although I'm an engineer by trade I'm no electrician and we bought the van to use it, not to spend all our time fixing it!! We've only yet managed two nights in it. Really want it to work for us, but currently the reality is a long way short of the dream! I'm close to selling it as is for someone with more free time to make it right.
There are other issues too, but the above are the most pressing. All help and advice gratefully received. Thanks all.
Had our 2012 T5.1 around 18 months and been through the mill with it. Lots of niggling engine trouble initially with 2x injectors, cam cover oil leaks and a serious diesel return line leak leading to two replacement cam belts within 500 miles.
Currently saddled with a number of common interior issues and due to my role requiring multiple weekends away and two small children (and long suffering wife!) to entertain when I'm home, I'm looking for a specialist near Didcot / Abingdon familiar with Californias to help get us up and running again.
Issues are:
1. Fridge not working. When set to 6degC ish it clicks and clicks off again. If set to a low temp eg - 6degC it clicks and the compressor briefly clunks, and then it (by it I mean a relay type sound) clicks off again. As though it doesn't have the oomph to start it. Battery voltage is 13.5V at the controller connectors which drops to 13.3 as it tries to start up. 240V hookup connected. Called Penguin Frigo. Helpful guys, but ultimately the fridge needs to come out I think. And auto electrician / Danfoss fridge expert to diagnose and fix it. I'm not equipped to mess around with fault LEDs, wire up separate power supplies etc etc. And having shredded my hands today manoeuvring the controller I just want someone who knows what they are doing to help me out! Winding resistance check okay 2.3ohm and no short to ground.
2. Left side sliding window is leaking down the back of the cupboards. Looking up from inside the cupboards I can see rust on what I think is the underside of the bottom runner. I assume there's some sort of metallic plate inside the runner and the water has rotted it. The silastic sealant for the metal body pressing / trough thing with the triangular cutouts on the inside of the van side panel looks intact. The water is running / dripping from the outside of the metal pressing anyway. I can't see or feel any other drains as some posts show and the water is sitting in the bottom runner channel. When I stick a small cable tie into the front drain hole of the runner the end of it can be felt from the inside of the cupboard, so there is no tube or anything. So whatever the water drops onto or into is not doing its job and has a leak path. Are these windows easily fixed or replaced with the rest of the cali interior remaining in place? What window do people use? Any recommended fitters? How much are we looking at to get this sorted? The van lives outside so this is a constant pain / worry and the dehumidifier can't keep up! Let alone that we can't put any perishable items into the cupboard for fear of wet cornflakes etc.
3. The Kenwood DAB head unit packed up this week. Black screen. Only the fan and red triangle when pressing reset. Apparently depressingly common on the DNX525DAB. What unit do people fit instead, as I would be happy to replace like for like but it seems to be obsolete now. Costs? Can I get Android Auto affordably and keep the existing rear camera as is? Additional wiring requirements? We need the van to drive to Devon this weekend and it will be a long trip with no tunes and no reversing camera also unhelpful on the lanes! Again I'm no electrician and just want someone to sort it at a sensible price. The windscreen has a small crack already and the Kenwood has a DAB antenna stuck to the inside. Am I best off getting the windscreen replaced first?
I've read a bunch of the threads on the fridge and window issues in particular but although I'm an engineer by trade I'm no electrician and we bought the van to use it, not to spend all our time fixing it!! We've only yet managed two nights in it. Really want it to work for us, but currently the reality is a long way short of the dream! I'm close to selling it as is for someone with more free time to make it right.
There are other issues too, but the above are the most pressing. All help and advice gratefully received. Thanks all.
