Club 80-90 Forums

Just got the van back from the garage. Reported on the forum earlier that i was having electrical issues after the van went in for (what i thought would be a routine) headlight fault and new radiator fitting. e.g full beam causing coolant light to come on, no indicator lights, fuel gauge temp gauge faulty etc..Headlights are working, handbrake light working. Have now been told by the garage that the dashboard is basically knackered and even a jolt on the road could cause it to fail again.Woe. Some people have suggested that it could have been an earthing issue. This leaves with with a dilemma. Are replacement watercooled T25 dashboards easy to obtain? Is anyone using an alternative dashboard system on their van? Suggestions for a confused van owner please! Am willing to meet an experienced T25 owner in Nottingham area for tea, sympathy and help!

dash boards are about

there are some different ones , dependent on age / engine / spec ect

bits can be swapped if only a certain part is damaged.

you can also keep your speedo so the mileage stays correct

whats your van details? air / water cooled? petrol /diesel ? clock / no clock? rev counter? in 86 the plug changed from vertical to horizontal?

Hello.
I have a water cooled 1.9 petrol 'D' plate van. 86/87.
Am just stumped as to what to do next. Don't fancy driving around without coolant/temp and fuel gauges. Can an alternative dash cluster be fitted to the T25's? I notice on the Justkampers website you can buy separate VDO gauges (fuel, oil etc...) but looks like you need to fit a particular fuel sender for the fuel gauge which requires some welding.
Anyone out there please feel free to correct me! Help! Please!

P.S No rev counter on my dashboard!

time clock or no time clock?

no obvious / cheap / easy option .

replacement das pods can be purchased for £50-£150

you keep your old speedo if its ok.

whats your plastic housing like? as you can just change the pcb board?

Thanks.Speedo fine.PCB board from where? Any links to sites appreciated.

I'd really suggest investigating what the problem actually is - or finding someone who can do it for you.
Chances are that either you have a problem with grounding or a component has failed, or wires have snapped/become disconnected.
It is highly likely that if you get a different dash pod the problem will still be there and you'll be no better off.

Can you describe 'exactly' what the problem(s) are? i.e. exactly what is going on, what happens when you turn the key etc etc ......

just checked my stock
I have one late petrol clock one left.

£50 deliverd

The initial problem i had (several weeks ago) was only with the headlights (stuck on side beam but with the setting stuck on full beam (purple light on dash)) and a radiator leak.I had no issues at all with the rest of the instrumentation on my dash. Took the van into my regular garage who diagnosed the headlight as just a faulty/burnt wire. New radiator was fitted (with refurbished fan cowling). When i went to pick up my (fixed!) van and tried the lights, they all worked fine but when i tested the (fixed) lights the coolant light would start to flash! The dash lights, indicator lights, fuel gauge and temp gauge didn't work either but the handbrake , heater lights and battery light do work. I told the mechanic, who then proceeded to test the fuses (all worked) and looked under the dash. He didn't know what to do and as you can imagine i was furious. I thought that perhaps the mechanic could have inadvertently short circuited or broken an earthing during his initial repairs. I took the van out for a second opinion at another garage (and i pick the van up tomorrow). This garage have got the instruments on the dash working again , so i'm told, but i have been advised that they could fail at any time. I don't know what to think and i'm more bloody confused than ever! What the hell is going on!!!!!!!!!!

OK - so if the 'new' garage have got it working then they must know what they did to get it working (you would hope ).
Make sure that you ask (and understand) what the problem was so you can report back;
One common problem is that the PCB wears out where the connector connects to it, as in the picture below (the top left bit, stolen from the Wiki!);

If that's the case you could rewire the dash if you're feeling brave, as in the Wiki link below;
https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/VW ... _connector

But find out what the problem is first - the garage saying that 'it could fail at any time' isn't really helpful for you (just makes you nervous!)......
.... find out what the problem was and report back and I'm sure someone here can help you with a solution.....

the dash housing is plastic and cracks easily .
also the pcb can be come damaged ,

people who are not sure what they are doing do the most damage , pulling the dash off , connecting electrical items ect

it can be a combination of things leading to the problem . the fact that yours works but may not work for long is actually very common on a lot of vans , usually a problem is not know by the current owner until other work is carried out , as in your case ,
it may be a heavy handed non experienced mechanic OR it could just be that it was just waiting for some one to touch it!

Turn the key. Getting no coolant light. Just handbrake light. Battery light was working. That has now failed. No dash lights, indicator lights,temp or fuel gauge. Speedo working and heater lights working.

Funny you should say that. The mechanic did grumble saying that (in his words) "I'm not a bloody electrician". His heavy handedness in repairing the original headlight fault could be to blame. Will report back tomorrow. Am very very grateful for responses on forum. Will post back tomorrow.........thanks.

Juuls wrote:Turn the key. Getting no coolant light. Just handbrake light. Battery light was working. That has now failed. No dash lights, indicator lights,temp or fuel gauge. Speedo working and heater lights working.

Is that yesterdays prognosis or the results after the second garage were finished with it?