The old favourite: Voltage Plausibility Fault again....

DanS · Mar 25, 2018

Hi Everyone,

Since realising a long held dream and buying our California (2009 SE auto) last year I have found this forum incredibly useful but I'm now appealing to collective brain as I've definitely exhausted my knowledge/ability and I'm struggling to find a cure.

Not long after getting the van symptoms of the dreaded earth shunt problem starting appearing; control panel flicker, auxiliary heater not working. California Club to the rescue! I downloaded the VIP guide, bought the kit from Listers Coventry and set to work. I can't pretend it went without incident but after much swearing I thought I'd sorted it. Not so; the problems worsened to the point that the 'voltage plausibility fault' message is ever present and no other menus, including the hidden diagnostics, can be accessed. I've now replaced the two leisure batteries (from Alpha Batteries) with fully charged new ones and still no better! To add to the list the electric sliding door's stopped working too.

I'm out of ideas, though it's definitely not beyond the realms of possibility that I've stuffed the earth shunt repair up (not sure how though?). Any help would be gratefully received or equally suggestions on recommended garages in the south Cheshire area. My searches in this respect are also drawing a blank.

Thank you,
Dan

WelshGas · Mar 26, 2018

DanS said:
Hi Everyone,

Since realising a long held dream and buying our California (2009 SE auto) last year I have found this forum incredibly useful but I'm now appealing to collective brain as I've definitely exhausted my knowledge/ability and I'm struggling to find a cure.

Not long after getting the van symptoms of the dreaded earth shunt problem starting appearing; control panel flicker, auxiliary heater not working. California Club to the rescue! I downloaded the VIP guide, bought the kit from Listers Coventry and set to work. I can't pretend it went without incident but after much swearing I thought I'd sorted it. Not so; the problems worsened to the point that the 'voltage plausibility fault' message is ever present and no other menus, including the hidden diagnostics, can be accessed. I've now replaced the two leisure batteries (from Alpha Batteries) with fully charged new ones and still no better! To add to the list the electric sliding door's stopped working too.

I'm out of ideas, though it's definitely not beyond the realms of possibility that I've stuffed the earth shunt repair up (not sure how though?). Any help would be gratefully received or equally suggestions on recommended garages in the south Cheshire area. My searches in this respect are also drawing a blank.

Thank you,
Dan

Sorry to hear about your problems.
I'm not an electrical expert but I think you need an Autoelectrician to sort this problem. VW will just suggest renewing components Right Left and Centre without getting to the problem in the first place.

The Electric sliding door runs from the Engine rather than the Leisure Batteries so is probably a separate problem.

Does the Electrical Hook Up work? Does the Charger work? Does anything change when on Mains?

Loz · Mar 26, 2018

do you have a damp under the passenger seat carpet?

DanS · Mar 26, 2018

Thanks for the replies guys.

When on mains the plug icon shows on the control panel but the voltage plausibility fault still comes up all the time. The heater won't work on mains or with the engine running (just a dripping sound, presumably the diesel). Hard to know if the charger is working at the moment as the batteries went in fully charged. I did manage to access the diagnostic menu very briefly, before the error message returned, and it claimed there was no faults (living in denial I suspect).

As for the passenger side carpet, it feels a little 'sticky' to the touch (probably says more about the hygiene of my van) but I can't see an easy way to get underneath it. Is there a fuse box or similar located on this side that's vulnerable to water ingress?

WelshGas, I was thinking exactly the same about sending it into VW - possibly a big bill for replacement parts with no success. Autoelectrician is a good shout, if I can find one with a willingness to get involved with a Cali.

Thanks for your help. I'm stumped on this one, though it doesn't take much and I'm running out of back-up plans!

Dan

WelshGas · Mar 26, 2018

DanS said:
Thanks for the replies guys.

When on mains the plug icon shows on the control panel but the voltage plausibility fault still comes up all the time. The heater won't work on mains or with the engine running (just a dripping sound, presumably the diesel). Hard to know if the charger is working at the moment as the batteries went in fully charged. I did manage to access the diagnostic menu very briefly, before the error message returned, and it claimed there was no faults (living in denial I suspect).

As for the passenger side carpet, it feels a little 'sticky' to the touch (probably says more about the hygiene of my van) but I can't see an easy way to get underneath it. Is there a fuse box or similar located on this side that's vulnerable to water ingress?

WelshGas, I was thinking exactly the same about sending it into VW - possibly a big bill for replacement parts with no success. Autoelectrician is a good shout, if I can find one with a willingness to get involved with a Cali.

Thanks for your help. I'm stumped on this one, though it doesn't take much and I'm running out of back-up plans!

Dan

There are a lot of wires passing between the electrics under the 2 cabin seats. The carpet between the seats has a thick underlay and if there is a water leak from Roof drains, Windscreen, Doors and numerous other places it can collect there and cause corrosion of the wires and connectors and numerous electrical problems.

DanS · Mar 26, 2018

Thanks for your help. Sounds like I could be staring down the barrel of a needle in a haystack search.

Apologies for sounding like I need hand-holding (I evidently do!) but is it fairly easy to get to the area under the carpet, between the seats to assess the state of the wires?

I'm surprised at how complicated the issue seems to be having originally thought it just to be the earth shunt. I've clearly underestimated the complexity of Cali electrics.

WelshGas · Mar 26, 2018

DanS said:
Thanks for your help. Sounds like I could be staring down the barrel of a needle in a haystack search.

Apologies for sounding like I need hand-holding (I evidently do!) but is it fairly easy to get to the area under the carpet, between the seats to assess the state of the wires?

I'm surprised at how complicated the issue seems to be having originally thought it just to be the earth shunt. I've clearly underestimated the complexity of Cali electrics.

Never done it myself but I think you have to remove the seat and seat base to free the carpet. Make sure you disconnect the engine battery and do not reconnect until all the seat electrics, Airbag and/or Heated Seats, are reconnected.

DanS · Mar 28, 2018

Thanks for the guidance.

Having done a bit more thinking I wonder if I may have fixed the original problem and then created a new one: As the van has been sitting for so long the engine battery has gone dead. I've jump-started it a couple of times but I've since read the manual (lesson: do this first....) and I've done this incorrectly by connecting the negative of the booster battery directly to the negative of the van battery. I think I could have fried something.

Mike Maguire · Jun 10, 2018

Hi DanS ... any news? Did you find the problem & fix?

DanS · Jun 26, 2018

Hi Mike and everyone,

Apologies for not replying sooner. I'd written a waffly reply and clearly not posted it so I'll have a second go....

Our Cali has not long returned from Listers Coventry (who were excellent) and all appears to be working perfectly! The cause of the problem is possibly a little embarrassing but I think it's worth sharing, despite my blushes, as it could helps others in a similar situation.

The problem did still lie with the earth shunt as my repair had been slightly less than complete. Although I created the new earth to the body, I had failed to re-connect the small wire that originally sits on the opposite side of the shunt to the rear leisure battery. Apparently this is required to complete the circuit back to the control panel, which makes sense.

Clearly I am no auto-electrics wizard but I'm normally awkwardly obsessed with detail so I feel a bit stupid. Glad it's all sorted though and thanks for everyone's input.

Dan

WelshGas · Jun 26, 2018

DanS said:
Hi Mike and everyone,

Apologies for not replying sooner. I'd written a waffly reply and clearly not posted it so I'll have a second go....

Our Cali has not long returned from Listers Coventry (who were excellent) and all appears to be working perfectly! The cause of the problem is possibly a little embarrassing but I think it's worth sharing, despite my blushes, as it could helps others in a similar situation.

The problem did still lie with the earth shunt as my repair had been slightly less than complete. Although I created the new earth to the body, I had failed to re-connect the small wire that originally sits on the opposite side of the shunt to the rear leisure battery. Apparently this is required to complete the circuit back to the control panel, which makes sense.

Clearly I am no auto-electrics wizard but I'm normally awkwardly obsessed with detail so I feel a bit stupid. Glad it's all sorted though and thanks for everyone's input.

Dan