Club 80-90 Forums

Hello all,

I took the van to work in Barking today to give it a run. Got there fine and all was well until about 15 minutes from home when the Carbon Monoxide Alarm in the back of the van went off. I silenced it and checked the battery, and as there were no obvious smells I carried on with the windows down. By the time I got home the van was a bit smelly, sort of oily, and the Alarm had continued all the way home. My throat is a bit rough and I've got a slight headache!

Its only a month old so I've no reason to doubt its not working right, So:

Is it possible that exhaust gases are getting into the van through the heater or through the engine bay?

The exhaust is a full stainless system that was on the van when I got it, I will check the receipts later to see how old it is.

Thanks in advance for any advice

Ben
1990 1.9 DG Caravelle

Batmangb, CO is colourless, odourless and a killer (it locks up the oxygen carrying capacity of your blood and is irreversible). The main symptoms of CO poisoning are a blinding headache, cherry red lips and if you've got it real bad... Death! If you can smell exhaust fumes then you are running a risk using the bus until you find the source of the leak. A common means of entry of exhaust gas is through badly fitting door seals, especially the rear door (exhaust gases accumulate in the low pressure behind the moving bus). Poor seal around the engine cover could also be a culprit. I would trust a nearly new CO detector before I trusted the integrity of the exhaust system or door seals on my 22 year old bus.

I don't mean to preach about how bad this can be, but I nearly gassed myself driving in a knackered old mini with a shagged exhaust when I was a kid, so the lesson has stuck!!

[quote="batmangb]....all was well until about 15 minutes from home when the Carbon Monoxide Alarm in the back of the van went off. I silenced it and checked the battery, and as there were no obvious smells......[/quote]


WARNING Carbon monoxide is colourless, odourless & tasteless.

Bearing in mind the above warning, it could be that you have oil leaking onto the hot exhaust & smoke is being drawn into the cab. Corroded heat exchangers on air cooled vans can sometimes allow exhaust fumes into the interior via the heater. You van has a stainless steel exhaust so there shouldn't be any problems.

Wolfsburg Willy wrote: it locks up the oxygen carrying capacity of your blood and is irreversible

Correct in principal, however if caught in time victims are placed in a compression chamber and a high concentration of oxygen is forced into their blood streams. From memory CO is 3 times more readily absorbed than O alone.

Ian.

Check the engine bay seal and the catches
Also check the tail gate seal

If I was you I wouldn't be carrying anyone in the back until its sorted , and if you have to drive the van do it with the windows down and if theres a roof vent open that

Put a new battery in the alarm