temp warning light

[Kezzer]

Please help?!!
We are in France in the middle of nowhere, due to come home tomorrow but our coolant/temperature warning light is flashing and goes past the 'hot' after only 5 mins of driving from a cold engine. It then stops and goes right down to 'cold' even after driving for half an hour and goes on and off intermittedly. After leaving her parked up for a while it does it again. Any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks

[AngeloEvs]

Sounds very much like you have lost coolant. Check the Header tank (Blue Dalek Cap). Also remove the Blue DaleK cap and see if you can blow/suck air through it. You should only be able to blow into it and not suck any. If faulty, you will loose coolant every time you go up an incline. Get someone to Rev the engine from cold and check what is happening with the coolant level as the engine is being revved. Also check for air bubbles and contamination. If you are in any doubt get to the nearest garage and ask if they are familiar with your vehicle and get it checked ASAP. A full header tank does not necessarily mean you have a full quantity of coolant with these vehicles as air locks can easliy form and the entire system needs to be bled and refilled. See what others say, but thats my advice.

Best of luck and hope it is nothing serious. If all is oK with the coolant level then you can move on to the electrical system later.

[Kezzer]

Hi there,

thanks for your very quick response.
To let you know the current situation: We attempted to try the Dalek blow/suck, however all we got was a squirt of hot water, so thought we had better leave that one! In the end we called the RAC (we have European cover - pricey, but probably worth it now!). This being France, the operator had trouble contacting any garages that we still open (2pm on a Friday - the French take POETS day seriously) but they did manage to send a pick up truck. The driver, although very nice was not able to diagnose the problem so has towed it off to the nearest VW garage. Only problem is that they will not be able to look at it until Monday morning. RAC were very helpful, although we are now going to miss our crossing tomorrow and will have to await further info on Monday. Turns out that as we had called the RAC and they suggested it be taken to a garage, if we had risked it and decided to drive up to Le Havre anyway and then had broken down en-route, we would not be covered. With two small children in the back, just not worth the risk. So, work informed, birthday party cancelled, and awaiting further info.

To be honest, we have only had the van a few months, full of excitement and enthusiasm for a new way of life, and it has really dissapointed us this holiday. We have had LPG issues (stalling and using a whole tank (55 litre tank) for the 60 miles to Portsmouth, stalling on petrol when idling and in low gear, exhaust smells, and now the temperature issue. Have spent a fortune on LPG conversion, re-upholstery and repair work and sadly have fallen out of love with the T25. Really want this to be resolved and to learn to love it again!!
Thanks for your reply again, and will let you know what the garage says!

[Nicola&Tony]

Yep, sounds like you could have a water leak, which isn't necessarily gonna be expensive or complicated to fix. Depends where it's leaking from. Fix the leak and make sure that the cooling system is bled properly afterwards.

Who did your lpg conversion and when was the van last serviced?

Going abroad in a van that you haven't had very long, with (sounds like) limited mechanical experience is a bit of a gamble to be honest with you. The fixes to the problems that you describe aren't necessarily difficult, but with language differences they might be easier to achieve once you're back home.

There's plenty of help and advice available on here, so don't be losing heart just yet.

Tony

[AngeloEvs]

Sorry to hear of all the problems. Generally speaking, if your van has issues with both forms of fuel then it may well be that you have a problem that is affecting performance in general. Wise decision to miss the crossing and get a diagnostic even though its caused a lot of inconvenience. I would get the van looked at by someone who understands these vans when you return to the UK. May be the VW agents who have it at the moment will spot any problems and it could be that there is a link between the temperature problems and poor running. Best of luck and let us know the outcome.