Club 80-90 Forums

HI all

Just bought this baby - LHD hi-top Westy - absolutely stunning and fantastic to drive, but after spending a weekend away in it I have found some problems.

All the interior lighting including a fluorescent light run off the main battery. The night heater also runs off the main battery, NOT the leisure battery. This means that I will need to rewire everything because I am afraid to run stuff off ther main battery in case I can't start it in the morning!

Is there a magic switch for the leisure battery to make everything run off it, that I'm missing? Any help appreciated.

The water tap pump DOES run off the leisure battery, but when I filled the tank, water is leaking very slowly through to the underside of the van. Where can I get a replacement tank?

The fridge doesn't appear to work off 12v at all. I had it on for hours but no noticable drop in temperature. I just got a European hook up socket for my hook up reel, so hopefully when I get to a site with mains electricity, the fridge will actually turn out tobe working.

The van has a fitted gas cylinder with the European filler cap. Where on earth do I get a no-nonsense adapter to allow me to fill it with autogas? I livein West Yorkshire and can't find anywhere no matter what search engines I use.

Thanks

on a westy the fridge only works on 12volt when the engine is running i think.your best talking to lhd.

jed

That's a bit weired, as Jed said the 12v only works when the engine is running,and is very un-noticeable. Always put already chilled stuff in them for the journey.
Why the lights run off the main though I'm not sure. the heater should definitely run from the leisure. To be honest I have never checked where my lights are wired too. I can only think someone has messed about with it.
The water tank, You might just need a new cap. if you do need a new tank then....
http://www.vw-busworld.de/
is the place for all things westy. They as far As I know dont do the cap, at least not on their website. If you phone them (apparently they speak good english and are polite.) you might have some luck. Mine came from belgium, but after discussion with the seller he told me he was a parts dealer for bustypes anyway. so they probably do sell them.
you can test the 240v by hooking it up from home (adapter from JK). when you say gas canister do you mean the cylinder one underneath or as mine is a euro cannister, inside the van. Unfortunately the under slung one has been removed from mine.
Check to see if the electrical fuses are behind the drivers seat on the body just to the right of the sink unit, if so you may be lucky and just need to reconnect it. You can also buy a new westy loom if all else fails, again bustypes. You will searching through for ages as it's quite interesting to find out what you can still buy.
lhd.......................

Interior lights run of the starter battery,run a new feed from the leisure to the fuse box
Eberspacher should run from the leisure,run a new feed if its been altered or have a look for the old wires they are probably still there
LPG adaptor(DIN to Bayonet as used in UK filling stations) can be bought from Steve Shaw (Gasure) check the alternative fuels forum here or from TB Turbo in Lancaster
Check all the tank coneections before you shell out on a new tank,removing it is a bit of a pain but not difficult
Try the fridge on gas its the most effective fuel
PM me and Ill send a copy of the manual for early jokers

I have and 81 Westy and the lights run. one in the back runs off the drive, the other over the kitchen unit is of the leisure.

I have seen a couple of tanks up for sale on ebay over the last month, so you could try there.

I was told to get the fridge going by wiring it for mains in the house as mentioned by lhd, but it did not work. I pursued the gas option as Ade says. I was told that the liquid coolant settles over time with old vans and stops the thing from working. The solution is to take the fridge out, turn it upside down for a day (not continuously turning, but just the once and leave it!) the coolant remixes. an additional thing I noticed was that the flue was rusted, as was the rolled sheet cover to the insulated pipe at the base of the fridge. a few gentle taps (when still upturned) releases flakes of rust inside the pipe and come out the flue. I found that it then worked first time. I do however take it out every year now, as the performance diminishes over time. This method was passed an '82 westy owner who reported the same results. If there is one imporvoement, I believe it is to get the coolant replaced at a caravan and camping fridge joint.

Again, I'm with Ade on the Gasure, but if you are off to France, it is helpful to et the German to French adapter also (that said many stations have them)

I have an 81 Aircooled Westy. The rear tube light above the sink runs off the main battery from memory, but the Eber runs off the leisure. You can tell if you flick the battery check switch on the control panel under the hob. If you switch on the Eber you should see it dim, or maybe the top LED go out. It does on mine anyway. Same with the fridge on 12 volts. Get the engine running, then get in the back, flick the battery test switch on and then turn the fridge on to 12 volts. The fridge only works on 12volts when the engines running as there is a wire from the back of the alternator to the relay to switch it on only when the alternator is putting out a charge. I think.Should see the lights flicker/move if all is ok. As for the water leak, check that all the hoses that come off the tank or go to it-ie the filler, overflow, pipe to the tap etc. are all ok and that the jubilee clips are tight.