Looking for T4 friends...?

[Stef Williams]

Hi, I've just bought my first Cali and a T4 version - Freestyle.

I have so many questions about usage etc so looking for knowledgeable like minded folk who can share experiences....

 

[2into1]

Fire away ! There is a few of us here. What year/colour is your Freestyle?

 

[Stef Williams]

Fire away ! There is a few of us here. What year/colour is your Freestyle?

Wow that was quick - I was being blown away by the hi tech t5/6 comments.

Its 2003, LHD.

Qs: heres a few questions to start off.....

Need 16" steels for winter tyres - is that possible as I have the tyres on t5 rims (i know i can't use the rims)

How do you get at the leisure battery

Used it away last week & had a flat battery when tried to drive away - used normal radio - could that be the cause? If so how can I avoid that hassle - other than taking a little transistor.

Should diesel heater blow from both black vents? Only one seems to work - how can I sort this?

Should the cooker burners be an ignition option to light - theres a small spike behind each burner.

Roof bars - needed to carry surf boards, was hoping for an option that I could slide the bars in a rail type system - any ideas of the best option as I'd like to be able to remove bars easily too.

Bike rack - I have an original rack but not 100% working - can I get parts, e.g. the lockable winder is seized, the short fixing arm also seized, other bike fixing arms not present, the one rail for a bike to sit in has been ripped out - can I get an original replacement..

Night heater seems to be full on and not able to vary temps - any ideas how I can test it etc.

Symbol for clean water tank is showing full when I know its empty - solution please?

Any english handbook download versions as mine is german.

How can I get to the small grill near the front bumper which appears full of moss.

Alarm immobiliser - its remote key operated and has what appears to be built in sensors, but not sure about if alarmed or has immobiliser. I've researched a few places but no conclusive answers.

 

[Gavinskii]

Firstly, welcome to the forum, I am basing my answers on having owned 2 x T4 Cali's in the past. They were a bit earlier than yours, but not sure they altered that much.
Just expand the box below for a few answers.

Wow that was quick - I was being blown away by the hi tech t5/6 comments.

Its 2003, LHD.

Qs: heres a few questions to start off.....

Need 16" steels for winter tyres - is that possible as I have the tyres on t5 rims (i know i can't use the rims)

How do you get at the leisure battery. Open the boot and it's on the left hand side under where the bed sits in a little cabinet.

Used it away last week & had a flat battery when tried to drive away - used normal radio - could that be the cause? If so how can I avoid that hassle - other than taking a little transistor. The radio should not run down a car battery (especially as your vehicle I guess is a diesel and will have a heavy duty battery - either you have an open circuit draining your battery, or the battery is shot.

Should diesel heater blow from both black vents? Only one seems to work - how can I sort this?

Should the cooker burners be an ignition option to light - theres a small spike behind each burner.

Roof bars - needed to carry surf boards, was hoping for an option that I could slide the bars in a rail type system - any ideas of the best option as I'd like to be able to remove bars easily too.

Bike rack - I have an original rack but not 100% working - can I get parts, e.g. the lockable winder is seized, the short fixing arm also seized, other bike fixing arms not present, the one rail for a bike to sit in has been ripped out - can I get an original replacement..

Night heater seems to be full on and not able to vary temps - any ideas how I can test it etc. My T4 Cali had a little thermostat like a dial.

Symbol for clean water tank is showing full when I know its empty - solution please? Either ignore it, or try to free up the sender unit ( I think it has a mechanical arm with a float - which triggers the sender unit)

Any english handbook download versions as mine is german. Yes I found one possibly on The Samba.com I will see if I have a copy on an old pc and let you know.

How can I get to the small grill near the front bumper which appears full of moss.

Alarm immobiliser - its remote key operated and has what appears to be built in sensors, but not sure about if alarmed or has immobiliser. I've researched a few places but no conclusive answers.

 

[2into1]

I can help with a couple. Others will be along later to help more.......

Need 16" steels for winter tyres - is that possible as I have the tyres on t5 rims (i know i can't use the rims)

Some of the 150hp models came with 16" Steels, so they are available. I'll see if I've the link somewhere.

Used it away last week & had a flat battery when tried to drive away - used normal radio - could that be the cause? If so how can I avoid that hassle - other than taking a little transistor

Most probably. I have a little DAB which I power off the leisure. It is not too difficult a job to get your leisure battery fed up to the dash, and swap the feed. That's the neatest solution, so long as it doesn't turn off every 30 mins.

Should the cooker burners be an ignition option to light - theres a small spike behind each burner.

I'm curious about this too! Mine has those but can't see any way to 'fire' them!

Night heater seems to be full on and not able to vary temps - any ideas how I can test it etc

Mine has a tendency to do that. It does slow down the fan if I lower the temperature, but the temperature of the air remains the same. My understanding is the fan always blows.

Symbol for clean water tank is showing full when I know its empty - solution please?

They all do (or show empty when full). Ignore and get used to the sound the tap makes when it is getting low on water

 

[TwentyOneThirtyFive]

Hello,

Welcome to the wonderful world of Westies

There's a specific T4 based Westfalia area of the forum here (Edit: I notice this thread has now been moved to this section) : http://vwcaliforniaclub.com/forums/#t4-california-westfalia-section.130 and a thread of useful information (such as parts suppliers, common problem resolution, location of English language manuals) here: http://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/t4-westfalia-useful-information.5207/

To answer some of your other questions:

Should diesel heater blow from both black vents? Only one seems to work - how can I sort this?

No, only one. The other vent is for the driving heater (usually a second control on the dash, at least it is on early vans)

Roof bars - needed to carry surf boards, was hoping for an option that I could slide the bars in a rail type system - any ideas of the best option as I'd like to be able to remove bars easily too.

The two options are generally fitting a rail type systel such as http://www.swcampers.co.uk/product-category/elevating-roof-racks/ or artificial gutters such as http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0002MBP82/?tag=eliteelect-21.

Symbol for clean water tank is showing full when I know its empty - solution please?

Common problem. Replacement sensors are available from Gunzl (http://www.vwbusshop.de/en_GB), but they can also be fixed - I've seen instructions somewhere, but not sure where...

Edit: here we go, on the Brick Yard. http://www.brick-yard.co.uk/forum/westy-water-tank-level-sensor-repair_topic67691.html

Any english handbook download versions as mine is german.

http://westfaliat4.info/html/vw_westfalia_t4_transporter_do.html

hth,
dan

 

[welshwestie]

Small grill near the bumper, sounds like the air intake on passenger wing. Pop the bonnet, remove the air box, and you will have access to it. There's usually a sort of foam material just behind the grill. Moss isn't good as if it gets dry, dust and debris will get sucked into the air filter, via the air mass meter, and you can have all kinds of problems with a contaminated air mass sensor.

 

[welshwestie]

Bike rack. Fiamma or Westfalia, you can get lots of spares for the VW T4 Fiamma bike rack, not sure about the Westie one.

 

[pabloalfa76]

Hi Stef,
Welcome to the forum.
If you are looking for 16" steel rims, most people use Merc Vito steels, as they are the same stud pattern (112) and easy to get hold of.
Cheers, Paul.

 

[sidepod]

Not much I can add apart from another welcome.
Night heater does seem a bit binary. Full on "surface of the sun" setting or off.
Temp dial doesn't seem to make much difference.

Cooker burner. Small spike is thermocouple not igniter. It just monitors flame. This is why you need to keep button depressed for a few moments after lighting.

Always keen to help. Just shout.

Pod.

 

[2into1]

mall spike is thermocouple not igniter. It just monitors flame. This is why you need to keep button depressed for a few moments after lighting.

Is this a failsafe? If the flame gets blown out, the thermocouple cools and the gas stops flowing?

I must say, the whole process of lighting the gas under my camping kettle for the first coffee of the morning is one of the most pleasurable parts of camping!

 

[TwentyOneThirtyFive]

Night heater does seem a bit binary. Full on "surface of the sun" setting or off.
Temp dial doesn't seem to make much difference.

They way they should work is that once the temperature set on the thermostat is reached, the amount of fuel is reduced to 25% (approx 600w). Once it dips below the temperature it is back up to 100% (surface of the sun W)

At least that is how the D2Ls work on the earlies, I assume later vans have a more modern version of the heater, but will probably work the same way. The petrol versions work differently.

 

[sidepod]

Is this a failsafe? If the flame gets blown out, the thermocouple cools and the gas stops flowing?

I must say, the whole process of lighting the gas under my camping kettle for the first coffee of the morning is one of the most pleasurable parts of camping!

Indeed. That is the correct mode. Same as the one in your kitchen at home.

Part of our pre-sleep routine is to load the coffee pot ready for coffee #1 on wake up. Love it. Cosy in bed with the smell of fresh coffee wafting around the van. (better than farting labrador)

Pod.