Just brought our first Cali

[veedubz4life001]

Hey all,

Been an avid Cali fan for many years with fond memories of growing up with a T2 and hired a few California’s over the years. I’ve spent more hours reading through posts on here than I choose to disclose!!. As so many have said previously – this has to be the most super informative forum for the VW California ever!

Finally we can call ourselves California Owners!!!!! And officially part of the owners club woop woop! Purchased our pre-owned (2021) Beach T6.1 (Aussie Version) a few weeks back, which includes electric roof, 4motion (rear diff) with a three seater bench.

So as advised by so many we took the Cali for a trial run over the weekend with the family and so far no regrets! Kids absolutely loved being in it – to the contrary they wanted to spend more time in the van than outside. Still so much to learn and fine tune about how the Cali can meet our needs, so brace yourselves for many questions although most seem to be answered on the forum.

Soooo, the vehicle is super low mileage (13,000 km) and given the age it appears to have been sitting dormant looking for an owner to give it the love it deserves! There is still a year left on the warranty and I want to make sure I get whatever needs remediating before that ends! So being new to posting messages please tell me if I should post each question in an existing post.

Issues I have noted so far include

• Roof canvas seems to be pulling away from the upper fixing as previously mentioned on the forum. Would people recommend me taking it to VW (warranty job) or doing the remedial work myself – I have read on here using small amounts of adhesive and pushing rubber seal back into place is the work around, but would this void the warranty? I cant seem to see any labels in the bellows to tell you what version I have – if anyone can give hints to this that would be much appreciated.
• The left windscreen roller blind does not stay in the open position and keeps popping out of the rear view mirror holder thingy. Again is this common and would you recommend a visit to VW.

• Finally, the camper controller, I am getting the dreaded “Error auxiliary heater” and this is my biggest concern. I’m mindful the vehicle has probably sat for a fair while and the aux heater may not have ever been used given the weather here. Also to note the AGM under the seat has been replaced with a LiFePO4 lithium battery (200A JBD BMS ) with RedArc DC-DC charger. The aux heater issues are, when I select ‘operating mode’ the error message appears and then returns to home screen. When I select ‘settings’ the same happens. When I select ’heat continuously’ (level 10) the yellow symbol appears but then I keep getting “please wait” which keeps coming up but get no fan noise or the clicking noise and definitely no heat.
• Also to note the camper controller readings for the leisure battery are inaccurate (as I expected being lithium) although panel shows 0h, 12.7v/0A (is this way off?), although the image on the camper panel shows full blue bars. (the lithium BMS also shows full battery, 3.19a current and 14.33v).

What I have tried

• Pulled 20a + 5a fuses from under passenger seat for min 30sec – no success
• Pulled 20a + 5a fuses from under passenger seat for min 30sec and took for drive – no success
• Door open to let air in vent and tried above – no success (just to note it has been warm here - tried again today and its 25degrees here) not sure if this is causing an error.
• I haven’t pulled the three fuses under the driver side dash as I don’t want to mess too much with fuses and create more issues.

My current thinking is – aside from a faulty aux heater/heat exchange/fuel line, is the camper control panel wrong battery readings i.e. 0H causing the heater to think there is not enough battery to start the heater and getting an error code. I know if I take it to VW they will just blame the Lithium battery. Speaking to the installer of the battery they were confident the battery would not and has not to date caused aux heater issues, to the contrary they advocate the battery improves the aux heater.

I don't have a OBD scanner/VCDS to see if there are any error codes but do you think its worth purchasing/getting scanned and clearing codes, has anyone tried and had success?

any comments would be much appreciated

 

[CC44853]

I would try disconnecting the lithium battery (if the other agm one remains) as they are wired in parallel, and see how the system responds. The circuit doesn't expect to see a lithium battery there.

 

[veedubz4life001]

thanks for the quick response, it only has the one leisure battery....the lithium one.

 

[WelshGas]

thanks for the quick response, it only has the one leisure battery....the lithium one.

The T6.1 has a sophisticated battery monitor unlike the T5/6.
This is done via a battery module connected to the leisure battery -tve pole.
It this is not connected then the Control panel will think the leisure battery is dead. The voltage is just the voltage measured differently.
A photo of the leisure battery connections would help.

 

[veedubz4life001]

Hey,

Thanks for the reply.

See attached picture from under passenger seat.

Its a pretty tight squeeze in there and lots of cables. I have no idea what i am looking for, any idea what the battery module looks like? All I can see are fuses and lots of cables down there - sorry! if you can make out anything from the pic that would be much appreciated. From what i can make out the left side has cables coming from under the carpet and the dc-dc charger is on the right, again not sure how helpful this is.

Just to add the rest of the control panel seems to be working fine ie elec roof and all internal lights work from the panel.

 

[Viktorgeorge]

Post in thread 'flap for front blind not catching securely'
https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/flap-for-front-blind-not-catching-securely.57339/post-739584

 

[The big K]

Re the ‘Roof canvas pulling away from the upper fixing’, that happened to both front top corners of the canvas in our Aussie spec 2024 Cali 6.1 Beach last year. Just took it back to the dealer (in Kedron Brisbane) who repaired it under warranty.

And welcome to the Cali club BTW! Post a pic of your van maybe?

 

[veedubz4life001]

Hey,

So I managed to pop all three corners into the grove over the weekend. Lets see how long this lasts before coming undone again.

Do you know what VW did to fix the issue?

 

[jaydisc]

Hey, I'm another Aussie with a Beach! And… mine was coming off the corner too. So, there is a "TPI", which means "known issue" at the dealers for this. However, I also had version 04S of the bellows. I doubt you can know which version you have as this was a tag on the bellow window that everyone rips off right away. What's your build date? Is your roof canvas two-tone? Light on the inside, dark on the out? If so, it's likely that you have older (pre 06S) bellows, which are leaky!!! I would consider doing a water test, because if they are, the gap at the top is the least of your problems, and VW should replace the entire bellows with the current revision (06s), AND properly secure it to the corners in the process. Otherwise, if VW, or you, attempt to put sealant or something else in there, and you have to later replace the bellows, that sounds like a mess.

I had me bellow replaced in January… only to have further electric roof problems, which took weeks in the shop to resolve (the process to fix includes letting the vehicle sit for 3 days, and has to be repeated up to 3 times). That's JUST been resolved a few weeks ago, so I've finally got a leak-resistant working electric roof. But yeah… it's been a journey.

With the roller blinds, are you folding the rear-view mirror up as far as it can go? This is required to affix the left blind in my experience. The locals here REALLY don't like those blinds and will recommend a thermal cover instead, which I also have… but I only bring with me when it's very warm or very cold and I'll be away for more than a day or two.

Also, by swapping out the leisure from AGM to Lithium, I'm fairly sure that the camper display battery meter won't be of use for you anymore. I heard it's calibrated to the AGM batteries. I installed some EcoFlow lithium batteries IN ADDITION to the built in leisure as I didn't want to mess with the built-in controls.

Where are you in Oz? I'm Sunshine Coast.

 

[Goldi]

Hey all,

Been an avid Cali fan for many years with fond memories of growing up with a T2 and hired a few California’s over the years. I’ve spent more hours reading through posts on here than I choose to disclose!!. As so many have said previously – this has to be the most super informative forum for the VW California ever!

Finally we can call ourselves California Owners!!!!! And officially part of the owners club woop woop! Purchased our pre-owned (2021) Beach T6.1 (Aussie Version) a few weeks back, which includes electric roof, 4motion (rear diff) with a three seater bench.

So as advised by so many we took the Cali for a trial run over the weekend with the family and so far no regrets! Kids absolutely loved being in it – to the contrary they wanted to spend more time in the van than outside. Still so much to learn and fine tune about how the Cali can meet our needs, so brace yourselves for many questions although most seem to be answered on the forum.

Soooo, the vehicle is super low mileage (13,000 km) and given the age it appears to have been sitting dormant looking for an owner to give it the love it deserves! There is still a year left on the warranty and I want to make sure I get whatever needs remediating before that ends! So being new to posting messages please tell me if I should post each question in an existing post.

Issues I have noted so far include

• Roof canvas seems to be pulling away from the upper fixing as previously mentioned on the forum. Would people recommend me taking it to VW (warranty job) or doing the remedial work myself – I have read on here using small amounts of adhesive and pushing rubber seal back into place is the work around, but would this void the warranty? I cant seem to see any labels in the bellows to tell you what version I have – if anyone can give hints to this that would be much appreciated.
• The left windscreen roller blind does not stay in the open position and keeps popping out of the rear view mirror holder thingy. Again is this common and would you recommend a visit to VW.

• Finally, the camper controller, I am getting the dreaded “Error auxiliary heater” and this is my biggest concern. I’m mindful the vehicle has probably sat for a fair while and the aux heater may not have ever been used given the weather here. Also to note the AGM under the seat has been replaced with a LiFePO4 lithium battery (200A JBD BMS ) with RedArc DC-DC charger. The aux heater issues are, when I select ‘operating mode’ the error message appears and then returns to home screen. When I select ‘settings’ the same happens. When I select ’heat continuously’ (level 10) the yellow symbol appears but then I keep getting “please wait” which keeps coming up but get no fan noise or the clicking noise and definitely no heat.
• Also to note the camper controller readings for the leisure battery are inaccurate (as I expected being lithium) although panel shows 0h, 12.7v/0A (is this way off?), although the image on the camper panel shows full blue bars. (the lithium BMS also shows full battery, 3.19a current and 14.33v).

What I have tried

• Pulled 20a + 5a fuses from under passenger seat for min 30sec – no success
• Pulled 20a + 5a fuses from under passenger seat for min 30sec and took for drive – no success
• Door open to let air in vent and tried above – no success (just to note it has been warm here - tried again today and its 25degrees here) not sure if this is causing an error.
• I haven’t pulled the three fuses under the driver side dash as I don’t want to mess too much with fuses and create more issues.

My current thinking is – aside from a faulty aux heater/heat exchange/fuel line, is the camper control panel wrong battery readings i.e. 0H causing the heater to think there is not enough battery to start the heater and getting an error code. I know if I take it to VW they will just blame the Lithium battery. Speaking to the installer of the battery they were confident the battery would not and has not to date caused aux heater issues, to the contrary they advocate the battery improves the aux heater.

I don't have a OBD scanner/VCDS to see if there are any error codes but do you think its worth purchasing/getting scanned and clearing codes, has anyone tried and had success?

any comments would be much appreciated

View attachment 134502View attachment 134499View attachment 134498View attachment 134501

Hey all,

Been an avid Cali fan for many years with fond memories of growing up with a T2 and hired a few California’s over the years. I’ve spent more hours reading through posts on here than I choose to disclose!!. As so many have said previously – this has to be the most super informative forum for the VW California ever!

Finally we can call ourselves California Owners!!!!! And officially part of the owners club woop woop! Purchased our pre-owned (2021) Beach T6.1 (Aussie Version) a few weeks back, which includes electric roof, 4motion (rear diff) with a three seater bench.

So as advised by so many we took the Cali for a trial run over the weekend with the family and so far no regrets! Kids absolutely loved being in it – to the contrary they wanted to spend more time in the van than outside. Still so much to learn and fine tune about how the Cali can meet our needs, so brace yourselves for many questions although most seem to be answered on the forum.

Soooo, the vehicle is super low mileage (13,000 km) and given the age it appears to have been sitting dormant looking for an owner to give it the love it deserves! There is still a year left on the warranty and I want to make sure I get whatever needs remediating before that ends! So being new to posting messages please tell me if I should post each question in an existing post.

Issues I have noted so far include

• Roof canvas seems to be pulling away from the upper fixing as previously mentioned on the forum. Would people recommend me taking it to VW (warranty job) or doing the remedial work myself – I have read on here using small amounts of adhesive and pushing rubber seal back into place is the work around, but would this void the warranty? I cant seem to see any labels in the bellows to tell you what version I have – if anyone can give hints to this that would be much appreciated.
• The left windscreen roller blind does not stay in the open position and keeps popping out of the rear view mirror holder thingy. Again is this common and would you recommend a visit to VW.

• Finally, the camper controller, I am getting the dreaded “Error auxiliary heater” and this is my biggest concern. I’m mindful the vehicle has probably sat for a fair while and the aux heater may not have ever been used given the weather here. Also to note the AGM under the seat has been replaced with a LiFePO4 lithium battery (200A JBD BMS ) with RedArc DC-DC charger. The aux heater issues are, when I select ‘operating mode’ the error message appears and then returns to home screen. When I select ‘settings’ the same happens. When I select ’heat continuously’ (level 10) the yellow symbol appears but then I keep getting “please wait” which keeps coming up but get no fan noise or the clicking noise and definitely no heat.
• Also to note the camper controller readings for the leisure battery are inaccurate (as I expected being lithium) although panel shows 0h, 12.7v/0A (is this way off?), although the image on the camper panel shows full blue bars. (the lithium BMS also shows full battery, 3.19a current and 14.33v).

What I have tried

• Pulled 20a + 5a fuses from under passenger seat for min 30sec – no success
• Pulled 20a + 5a fuses from under passenger seat for min 30sec and took for drive – no success
• Door open to let air in vent and tried above – no success (just to note it has been warm here - tried again today and its 25degrees here) not sure if this is causing an error.
• I haven’t pulled the three fuses under the driver side dash as I don’t want to mess too much with fuses and create more issues.

My current thinking is – aside from a faulty aux heater/heat exchange/fuel line, is the camper control panel wrong battery readings i.e. 0H causing the heater to think there is not enough battery to start the heater and getting an error code. I know if I take it to VW they will just blame the Lithium battery. Speaking to the installer of the battery they were confident the battery would not and has not to date caused aux heater issues, to the contrary they advocate the battery improves the aux heater.

I don't have a OBD scanner/VCDS to see if there are any error codes but do you think its worth purchasing/getting scanned and clearing codes, has anyone tried and had success?

any comments would be much appreciated

View attachment 134502View attachment 134499View attachment 134498View attachment 134501

RE: Bellows popping out of fixing in roof. About 6" of the rubber strip that connect the bellows to the roof popped out of its groove on the front left hand corner of my T6 3 months before warranty expired. Took it to Dealer who pulled out the right hand front corner as well, and then glued both corners back with a grey sealant/glue. The man who did it mentioned that he thought the tube it came from had a VW part number. It's hasn't come out since.

 

[The big K]

When VW repaired our bellows they first inspected the problem then sought advice from Germany re the procedure and got the glue in from Sydney. I had to return a week later for them to apply the glue then let its set for half a day. Did the trick.

 

[The big K]

Hey, I'm another Aussie with a Beach! And… mine was coming off the corner too. So, there is a "TPI", which means "known issue" at the dealers for this. However, I also had version 04S of the bellows. I doubt you can know which version you have as this was a tag on the bellow window that everyone rips off right away. What's your build date? Is your roof canvas two-tone? Light on the inside, dark on the out? If so, it's likely that you have older (pre 06S) bellows, which are leaky!!! I would consider doing a water test, because if they are, the gap at the top is the least of your problems, and VW should replace the entire bellows with the current revision (06s), AND properly secure it to the corners in the process. Otherwise, if VW, or you, attempt to put sealant or something else in there, and you have to later replace the bellows, that sounds like a mess.

I had me bellow replaced in January… only to have further electric roof problems, which took weeks in the shop to resolve (the process to fix includes letting the vehicle sit for 3 days, and has to be repeated up to 3 times). That's JUST been resolved a few weeks ago, so I've finally got a leak-resistant working electric roof. But yeah… it's been a journey.

With the roller blinds, are you folding the rear-view mirror up as far as it can go? This is required to affix the left blind in my experience. The locals here REALLY don't like those blinds and will recommend a thermal cover instead, which I also have… but I only bring with me when it's very warm or very cold and I'll be away for more than a day or two.

Also, by swapping out the leisure from AGM to Lithium, I'm fairly sure that the camper display battery meter won't be of use for you anymore. I heard it's calibrated to the AGM batteries. I installed some EcoFlow lithium batteries IN ADDITION to the built in leisure as I didn't want to mess with the built-in controls.

Where are you in Oz? I'm Sunshine Coast.

We’re based in Brisbane, Australia and use the thermal shades for the front windscreen and driver and passenger side windows. We also use the thermal shades for the back window because the inbuilt shade tends to not be flush with the window.

We also have not changed the underseat AGM battery but have added an EcoFlow lithium that charges as we drive from the front ciggy port. The underseat agm powers our domestic fridge for around 2 days straight, whilst we use the EcoFlow for a Starlink mini.

We have had the Cali for 6 months now (bought the 4 motion 340 one)… today we clocked up 20,000 km! So we kinda love it! And really appreciate this forum for all the tips and wisdom!

 

[jaydisc]

We’re based in Brisbane, Australia ...

We also have not changed the underseat AGM battery but have added an EcoFlow lithium that charges as we drive from the front ciggy port. The underseat agm powers our domestic fridge for around 2 days straight, whilst we use the EcoFlow for a Starlink mini.

Neat. You're almost local.

Nice setup. Mine's quite similar, but reversed. I have a Delta 2 in the boot (charged via the Alternator Charger connected to the leisure under the seat), and that runs my Dometic for about 2 days. And, also in the boot, I run a Telstra 5G router and Raspberry Pi running off the leisure AGM. I also have a River 3 between the seats, which doesn't block rotation. I charge that off the ciggy port.

I LOVE the Alternator Charger. By connecting it to the leisure, I can reverse charge the leisure from the Delta. Thus, I basically have electric hookup (via the Delta) that charges everything!

 

[The big K]

How do you connect the alternator charger back to the leisure battery? Is it just attached to its terminals?

 

[jaydisc]

How do you connect the alternator charger back to the leisure battery? Is it just attached to its terminals?

You attach to the positive, but because the leisure battery(s) have a factory shunt/monitor attached, you need to connect the negative of anything added to chassis/ground to not interfere with that. I connected the negative to one of the four bolts holding the chair to the chassis. I've yet to put my car up on hoists and find a proper path for the cable, so right now, it just goes along the edge and under the carpet.

 

[The big K]

Thanks for that… food for thought!

 

[veedubz4life001]

wow nice to see a few more Aussie Cali owners (although I'm in WA......so close yet so far ) and thanks for the bellow advice. I guess I'll get the hose (with rain attachment ) to the bellows and see how waterproof they are and then head to VW for a replacement/ sealant repair. on that note do any WA owners in here have any recommendation of good VW Specialist Dealer that you would trust with your beloved?

 

[veedubz4life001]

maybe swapping the AGM for lithium wasn't the smartest idea............but i do like the convenience of not needing to think about elec hookup/power, although this appears to be at the cost of having a cold night....

any other ideas on what's causing the aux heater issue would be much appreciated or recommendations of where to take it as I'm not so good with car electrics. we are also heading into autumn/winter soon so having this sorted sooner than later would be a bonus.