Teething problems

[Ilikesleeping]

Hello all.

We picked up our brand new California a couple of weeks ago. So far we love it but have a few problems. I will be calling the dealership next week but thought I would ask you all if you had any thoughts/experience first.

1) The leisure batteries do not charge via the alternator. We drove for four hours today to give it a good run but the batteries did not receive any charge at all, even when in max charge mode. It charges fine via the EHU though.

2) The carpeted floor between the two front seats, just in front of the rear flooring is very bouncy/flimsy. It feels like a thin piece of plywood under the carpet with no support underneath. I’m worried that if I put my weight on it, I might fall through. Is that normal?

3) We’ve had to fade the audio to the front speakers only as there is a very loud vibration somewhere near the rear speakers.

If anyone has experienced any of these problems, I would appreciate your feedback and advice!

Many thanks,
Ben

 

[CamperFam]

1. Batteries dont top up more than 80% unless on EHU.
2 is normal. Dont worry.

 

[Ilikesleeping]

1. Batteries dont top up more than 80% unless on EHU.
2 is normal. Dont worry.

I thought that would be the case with the batteries but we got down to 50% ish and still no charge. I also put it into max charge mode and still nothing. The display was reading -1Amp for the whole four hour drive today.

 

[WelshGas]

Hello all.

We picked up our brand new California a couple of weeks ago. So far we love it but have a few problems. I will be calling the dealership next week but thought I would ask you all if you had any thoughts/experience first.

1) The leisure batteries do not charge via the alternator. We drove for four hours today to give it a good run but the batteries did not receive any charge at all, even when in max charge mode. It charges fine via the EHU though.

2) The carpeted floor between the two front seats, just in front of the rear flooring is very bouncy/flimsy. It feels like a thin piece of plywood under the carpet with no support underneath. I’m worried that if I put my weight on it, I might fall through. Is that normal?

3) We’ve had to fade the audio to the front speakers only as there is a very loud vibration somewhere near the rear speakers.

If anyone has experienced any of these problems, I would appreciate your feedback and advice!

Many thanks,
Ben

No 2 is normal. There is a thick foam block between front seats protecting a wiring loom that runs between the seat bases.

 

[calibusje]

Hello, as some already said: No 2 is normal.
No 3: As it is a brand new cali, go to the dealer for the speaker.
For No 1: If you read -1A: normal because the screen uses power, but also the constant monitoring that the car does.
The alternator will charge the batteries only to what’s ‘necessary’ and only max 80% (uses lesser fuel, this is to meet the emission standards).
4 hours is not much to charge the batteries while driving without the max. function.
So, drive with max. charge function on: it should charge all the batteries up to 100%.
If not: go to the dealer.
Above all: enjoy your acquisition!
Greetings

 

[Roger Boeken]

sounds like split charge relay not working, take it to the dealer.

 

[Hawthorn37]

Agree with @Roger Boeken it sounds like there is a fault. If our battery goes low, running the engine even on a campsite will charge up the battery. If you’re noticing no charging then there’s an issue.

Speaker - sounds like a dodgy connection / speaker.

 

[markbrown83]

Congratulations on your new purchase.

Out of interest, have you had your pop top up in rain and noticed any leaking at all?

 

[derek_j_buchanan]

Hello all.

We picked up our brand new California a couple of weeks ago. So far we love it but have a few problems. I will be calling the dealership next week but thought I would ask you all if you had any thoughts/experience first.

1) The leisure batteries do not charge via the alternator. We drove for four hours today to give it a good run but the batteries did not receive any charge at all, even when in max charge mode. It charges fine via the EHU though.

2) The carpeted floor between the two front seats, just in front of the rear flooring is very bouncy/flimsy. It feels like a thin piece of plywood under the carpet with no support underneath. I’m worried that if I put my weight on it, I might fall through. Is that normal?

3) We’ve had to fade the audio to the front speakers only as there is a very loud vibration somewhere near the rear speakers.

If anyone has experienced any of these problems, I would appreciate your feedback and advice!

Many thanks,
Ben

Number 1 alternators won’t recharge a battery in 4 hrs from flatlug it in
Nos 2 is not an issue.
Number 3 turn down the volume
No4 chill baby

 

[Ilikesleeping]

Congratulations on your new purchase.

Out of interest, have you had your pop top up in rain and noticed any leaking at all?

Not yet. A bit of light drizzle but that’s all. I’ll be sure to report if it does leak though!

 

[Ilikesleeping]

Number 1 alternators won’t recharge a battery in 4 hrs from flatlug it in
Nos 2 is not an issue.
Number 3 turn down the volume
No4 chill baby

Thanks for your input but I think you’ve misunderstood my concerns. The batteries were not flat, they were at around 60%. After four hours of driving, they had not charged at all, even with max charge turned on.

Regarding the speaker rattle, it happens even with very quiet audio, it’s a certain frequency that rattles the internal trim. Not what I expect from a >£70k van!

 

[Mr B]

Hello all.

We picked up our brand new California a couple of weeks ago. So far we love it but have a few problems. I will be calling the dealership next week but thought I would ask you all if you had any thoughts/experience first.

1) The leisure batteries do not charge via the alternator. We drove for four hours today to give it a good run but the batteries did not receive any charge at all, even when in max charge mode. It charges fine via the EHU though.

2) The carpeted floor between the two front seats, just in front of the rear flooring is very bouncy/flimsy. It feels like a thin piece of plywood under the carpet with no support underneath. I’m worried that if I put my weight on it, I might fall through. Is that normal?

3) We’ve had to fade the audio to the front speakers only as there is a very loud vibration somewhere near the rear speakers.

If anyone has experienced any of these problems, I would appreciate your feedback and advice!

Many thanks,
Ben

1: ignore those other comments. It's not normal. Either split charge relay has a problem (unlikely) or more likely the 80amp fuse is blown or not plugged in or is loose under the passenger seat. Failing that a fuse has blown in the engine compartment under the battery.

2: kind of normal, but get VW to check it

3: not normal

Either way get VW to check all your issues. Sooner the better. If they are not familiar with Californias go to a van centre that is.

 

[Ilikesleeping]

Thanks Mr B. I have it booked in next Friday so hopefully they can figure out what’s up. I have a trip to France at the end of March and will be staying at three sites on the way to the Alps. It would be great to arrive at each site with fully charged batteries! The other problems are not very important, just a bit annoying.

 

[Mr B]

Thanks Mr B. I have it booked in next Friday so hopefully they can figure out what’s up. I have a trip to France at the end of March and will be staying at three sites on the way to the Alps. It would be great to arrive at each site with fully charged batteries! The other problems are not very important, just a bit annoying.

The batteries should charge immediately on engine startup if you select the override.

Have a look at the fuse diagrams in your manual and check the 80amp fuse under the passenger seat.

It's a bit daunting when you first get your van but once you start having a look yourself and reading some forums it doesn't take too long to start understanding how all the systems work.

The tech really hasn't changed too much for 15 odd years.

The electrics are a pain in the arse to troubleshoot but most of the issues are really simple to fix.

 

[Quiddle]

My 5 mnth old Cali had a charging issue on alternator. Fine on normal charge, 5A @13.2 V but when I pressed Max charge it changed to -29A @12.3 V, like the alternator had switched off completely. Turned it off for ½ hour and since then it's been fine with max charge at 8A /14.4 V. Emailed dealer to make sure problem is registered but hopefully it was a temporary software glitch in the control unit.

 

[Quiddle]

My 5 mnth old Cali had a charging issue on alternator. Fine on normal charge, 5A @13.2 V but when I pressed Max charge it changed to -29A @12.3 V, like the alternator had switched off completely. Turned it off for ½ hour and since then it's been fine with max charge at 8A /14.4 V. Emailed dealer to make sure problem is registered but hopefully it was a temporary software glitch in the control unit.

 

[calibusje]

1: ignore those other comments. It's not normal. Either split charge relay has a problem (unlikely) or more likely the 80amp fuse is blown or not plugged in or is loose under the passenger seat. Failing that a fuse has blown in the engine compartment under the battery.

2: kind of normal, but get VW to check it

3: not normal

Either way get VW to check all your issues. Sooner the better. If they are not familiar with Californias go to a van centre that is.

So, ‘ignore those other comments’? Really? What’s wrong with let’s say, mine?

 

[Mr B]

So, ‘ignore those other comments’? Really? What’s wrong with let’s say, mine?
View attachment 119637

Not to be a pedant but the op said the battery was at 50% and not charging.

Anyway I'm sure the magical VW techs will sort it...

 

[Ilikesleeping]

So, ‘ignore those other comments’? Really? What’s wrong with let’s say, mine?
View attachment 119637

I don’t think he was referring to your comment. Yours was very helpful and appreciated!

 

[Mr B]

Sorry I've had too many red wines...

He was! Anyway I'll have another red wine. And get off this forum

Cheers!

 

[calibusje]

Not to be a pedant but the op said the battery was at 50% and not charging.

Anyway I'm sure the magical VW techs will sort it...

Yes, as I said: it should charge and if not: go to the dealer. If everything is like in the OP: something is wrong but it will be resolved and then he can enjoy it.
My reaction was not to insult you, we all want the same thing and I simply gave some extra explanation about loading and how it should work.
Greetings

 

[Roger Boeken]

Number 1 alternators won’t recharge a battery in 4 hrs from flatlug it in
Nos 2 is not an issue.
Number 3 turn down the volume
No4 chill baby

No 1 : alternator will not charge batteries from flat to 100% in 4 h but more than 50 % is no problem, he should at least see on the control panel a significant charging current . His batteries are not completely discharged either.

 

[calibusje]

Yes. Anyway, they are not behaving normally, it is best to have them checked and hopefully an adequate analysis and solution.

 

[Ilikesleeping]

So it turns out there is a fault in the loom between the engine (I presume the alternator or engine battery) and the leisure battery under the passenger seat. So that means a wait for the new loom and then the garage will need to strip out a lot of the interior to fit it. Not what I expected from a brand new Cali. I’ve only had it four weeks! I really hope they know what they are doing and put it all back together properly