NEWBIE NEEDS HELP

[johnllleee]

Hi
i just picked my van up at the weekend
its a 1.6 TD tin top caravelle bus converted to camper
my first t25, what a culture shock its minging inside stinks of wet dogs
i have a few technical questions could anybody help please

1. the indicators were not working so i purchased so i fitted a new flasher unit.
they now work but when i took the old flasher unit out it was a four pin relay not a 3 pin and the fourth pin has a wire was just disappears into the van somewhere where i have left it attached to the old realy at the moment does any body have any ideas ?

2. the temperature gauge does not work altho it ran all the way back to york (sherburn) from oxford ok

3. it has an inverter attached to the battery for the camper electrics should i leave this on all the time ? shouldnt this ideally be on a seperate battery, will it drain the battery if left on or if using it when camping ?

4. the gear selection is at best vague lots of crunching going on and selecting reverse is an artform is this normal ? or is something on its way out.

i am sure there will be many more questions as the weeks go on

Thanks John

[Gandalf]

Welcome!

Point 4 re gear selection - mines a bit umm wishy washy - i'm hoping to get the linkage tightened up - you can get the neccessary from Brickwerks. I'll let you know if there is much improvement once I've had it done - as to your other questions I'm unsure but I'm sure someone will drop by soon to help you out!

[andisnewsyncro]

Hi
Now the fun begins !
1. Sorry, no ideas on that one...

2. Make yourself a large pot of tea or coffee and have a search trough the many threads on here about temp gauges. It could be one or more of many things.. Eg PCB behind the clocks, the temp sender(s) the gauge itself, a broken wire somewhere between sender and gauge.. There's loads of info on how to diagnose this, it just takes a bit of getting your head round Have a good read through the wiki too, just click the link at the top of any page on here, absolutely invaluable.

3. Not ideal at all !! For your camping electrics (12v) you really need a second battery via a split charge circuit; the van charges both starter and leisure batteries whilst running, when you switch off the supply for your interior lights, radio (ideally) and any thing else you need power for then comes from the leisure battery. Again it's all been covered quite comprehensively and it will make sense the more you read it through. The inverter just makes a 12v DC battery run a 240v AC appliance - how long for depends on the battery. Quite handy for chargers and the like, but there are lots of different inverters of different powers out there..
I'm not trying to be awkward by not going into details, it's just that there are far better explanations on here can can write for you

4. If you're lucky it might just be wear & tear at the bottom of the gearstick which a good clean, regrease and realign might sort out. There are gear shift refurb kits available. Don't forget it's an old van, it needs a "slightly adapted" driving style from modern cars, the gearchange has to be done quite slowly and steadily....
Here's a site you will find yourself needing at some point in the future no doubtBrickwerks

[ghost123uk]

Hi
i just picked my van up at the weekend
its a 1.6 TD tin top caravelle bus converted to camper

Congratulations

my first t25, what a culture shock its minging inside stinks of wet dogs

Easy to sort out

i have a few technical questions could anybody help please

Coming up

1. the indicators were not working so i purchased so i fitted a new flasher unit.
they now work but when i took the old flasher unit out it was a four pin relay not a 3 pin and the fourth pin has a wire was just disappears into the van somewhere where i have left it attached to the old realy at the moment does any body have any ideas ?

I don't

But if it was me I would just put some tape on it and forget it for now !

2. the temperature gauge does not work altho it ran all the way back to york (sherburn) from oxford ok

I would get that fixed asap.
These vans have an odd water system and you need to know all is well.
If it overheats, you could be looking at a new cylinder head !

I'm no expert on Diesels, but if you find the temp sender on the engine and earth it, the gauge should go off the scale. If it does = faulty sender unit. If not, faulty wire to dash.
or
Common one is = the horrid multi wire connector behind the dash.
or
Poss faulty gauge, tho less likely as these are pretty reliable.

Does the fuel gauge work OK ( I ask because their is a part that is common to that and the temp gauge )

3. it has an inverter attached to the battery for the camper electrics should i leave this on all the time ? shouldnt this ideally be on a seperate battery, will it drain the battery if left on or if using it when camping ?

Does it have a switch on the battery side of things ?
If so leave it OFF when not in use.
If in doubt, disconnect it.
It will flatten the battery if left on too long.

Yes you might like to fit a second battery.
Plenty on here re that.
Search for "leisure battery" - tho many on here, including me, use a starter battery as a leisure battery - better if you ever need to "jump start" your (or someone else's) main battery. If using a starter battery as a leisure battery tho, just don't ever let it run flat, it is bad for them.

4. the gear selection is at best vague lots of crunching going on and selecting reverse is an artform is this normal ? or is something on its way out.

Aiden will be along soon to answer that one

i am sure there will be many more questions as the weeks go on

No problem

[johnllleee]

Thanks for your help guys

you are a very friendly bunch on here

the fuel gauge seems to work fine filled it up to about 3/4 when i baught the van and have diven it about 200 miles and has used about 1/3 of a tank
top speed seems to be about 55 ish by my sat nav or 65 according to the van spedo
will investigate the temp gauge first as that would seem to be the most urgent

[colinthefox]

John

I had a non-working temp gauge suddenly last week. When I earthed the wire going to the sensor (that's the one on the water flange on the SIDE of the engine behind the fuel pump) the gauge shot off the scale as it should. The sensor tested out OK with a multimeter (ie not open circuit). The problem was no connection between the water flange and the engine block, which I couldn't believe as it is bolted on. I cleaned up the seating area of one of the bolts and coated it with copper ease and cured the problem.

Colin

[ghost123uk]

Good work diagnosing that one Colin

I bet that would have had some folks scratching their heads !!

I often wonder why the Dizzy on the WBX has an earth tag on it when it is metal to metal contact with the crankcase

[choplee]

Welcome!

Point 4 re gear selection - mines a bit umm wishy washy - i'm hoping to get the linkage tightened up - you can get the neccessary from Brickwerks. I'll let you know if there is much improvement once I've had it done - as to your other questions I'm unsure but I'm sure someone will drop by soon to help you out!

just been reading this thread about the gear selection .....you have to really concentrate and be slow and gentle ... i see that your doing a slight linkage tighten or are you buying a kit ????
can you let me know if it makes it any better

Thanks