Craikeybaby's VW T5 Bike Van
Discussion
I think the battery is definitely shot. I managed to jump-start it, once my jump start pack had charged up. And I left it on the battery conditioner all day and that seemed to cure it for a while.
Then another few days of not driving and the battery was flat again. Time for a new battery.
I still also need to fix the wing mirrors - the heating element is broken on the nearside mirror, then whilst diagnosing that, I managed to break the offside mirror, so now both need replacing
Then another few days of not driving and the battery was flat again. Time for a new battery.
I still also need to fix the wing mirrors - the heating element is broken on the nearside mirror, then whilst diagnosing that, I managed to break the offside mirror, so now both need replacing
I have barely been using the van these last few weeks, but am looking forward to a holiday in North Yorkshire in a few weeks, where the van will be filled with bikes etc. However, when I drove it this evening, there was an ABS warning light on the dash, and further investigation shows fault codes for the left rear wheel speed sensor:
This could either be the sensor, or a wiring issue.
If it was on my MR2, I would not hesitate in jacking it up and investigating further, but my garage is too low for the van, and my drive is on a slope. I had a quick look underneath, and found the sensor, but couldn't easily get both hands on it to remove the connector, so I'll take it to a garage. Hopefully it is just the sensor, rather than the wiring.
This could either be the sensor, or a wiring issue.
If it was on my MR2, I would not hesitate in jacking it up and investigating further, but my garage is too low for the van, and my drive is on a slope. I had a quick look underneath, and found the sensor, but couldn't easily get both hands on it to remove the connector, so I'll take it to a garage. Hopefully it is just the sensor, rather than the wiring.
This thread is overdue for an update...
I got the wheel speed sensor sorted at a local VW specialist. And we had a good trip to Yorkshire. We stayed in Staithes, so we could only drive down to the village to unload the van.
On the way there we drove across the North York Moors, between Hutton-le-Hole and Castleton, the fully loaded van was surprisingly fun to hustle along there, but I couldn't help but wish I was in my MR2 Roadster. Especially as my only previous drive on that road had been in the MR2, but in such thick fog that I could barely see the end of the bonnet.
Unfortunately, my reason for coming back to this thread today is that I went to run some errands in the van this afternoon, but it wouldn't start. It was cranking over OK, but not catching. I read the fault codes, but none were present, so I am a bit stumped really. I drove it yesterday and it was fine. The especially annoying thing is that once again, the van let me down on a day off work. As I was heading out on my own, and not needing the loadspace, I was able to take the MR2, the van has been left on the drive in disgrace, and hopefully it will start later in the week.
I got the wheel speed sensor sorted at a local VW specialist. And we had a good trip to Yorkshire. We stayed in Staithes, so we could only drive down to the village to unload the van.
On the way there we drove across the North York Moors, between Hutton-le-Hole and Castleton, the fully loaded van was surprisingly fun to hustle along there, but I couldn't help but wish I was in my MR2 Roadster. Especially as my only previous drive on that road had been in the MR2, but in such thick fog that I could barely see the end of the bonnet.
Unfortunately, my reason for coming back to this thread today is that I went to run some errands in the van this afternoon, but it wouldn't start. It was cranking over OK, but not catching. I read the fault codes, but none were present, so I am a bit stumped really. I drove it yesterday and it was fine. The especially annoying thing is that once again, the van let me down on a day off work. As I was heading out on my own, and not needing the loadspace, I was able to take the MR2, the van has been left on the drive in disgrace, and hopefully it will start later in the week.
My "cheap" Autoaid breakdown policy worked again, after I tried all sorts to get it started, I filled out the form on the app, asking them to recover it to my local(ish) VW specialist. The recovery truck was here within 20 minutes, and he managed to get the van started, by flicking the ignition on and off a load of times, then cranking it. He still recommended that I took it to a garage, so I drove it over to the specialist, where of course it starts every time. It has been at the garage all week, with no fault found. Annoying.
It lives! It just needed cranked past when the oil pressure warning light came on the dashboard.
Now I can take it for the MOT, and will get the Transporter specialist to have another look at the starting issue when they have it in for service and a few other jobs in the spring. Although given it has only happened 3 times in 3 months I am not holding my breath that they will be able to replicate/find the issue.
Now I can take it for the MOT, and will get the Transporter specialist to have another look at the starting issue when they have it in for service and a few other jobs in the spring. Although given it has only happened 3 times in 3 months I am not holding my breath that they will be able to replicate/find the issue.
I have had the van for 3 years now - time has flown by! I haven't got bored of it, in fact, I cannot imagine not having a van, it just fits our lives perfectly.
Shamefully, I have just looked back at the list of jobs on my first post and some are still outstanding:
My plan had been to run it for a year, to make sure that we got on with it, then get the rear insulated/carpeted to make it a bit nicer for the boys in the back seats, but with Covid etc, that has not happened yet. However, that is the plan for this spring. I want to try and make the rear a bit more useful, with some cargo nets etc and maybe storage compartments over the wheel arches. I am still undecided if I want to continue just chucking the bikes in diagonally and bungeeing them to the rear seat headrests, or if I am going to get one of those fancy fork mount systems.
We have got a couple of trips away planned for the summer:
I had some free time today, so decided to do a few little jobs on the van. The one upgrade I had made was to fit brighter headlights and DRLs, prompted by one of the DRLs failing. However, this left me with very white headlights/DRLs, but yellow fog lights:
Before foglight upgrade by Lewis Craik, on Flickr
Unfortunately the photos don't really show the differences:
After foglight upgrade by Lewis Craik, on Flickr
It started off as an easy job, but when I took off the first foglight unit I noticed that one of the three brackets was broken, it didn't seem to have caused an issue before, so rather than replacing the unit I just superglued it back together, which seemed to do the job. There is another crack in the casing, but it doesn't seem to be causing an issue, so just left it.
I also treated the van to a quick wash, as it had been quite a while since the last one and it was looking more grey than blue. It doesn't look like my phone saved the "mandatory" snow foam shot, so maybe that is what angered the detailing gods and made it hail briefly whilst I was drying it off.
Shamefully, I have just looked back at the list of jobs on my first post and some are still outstanding:
- [-]Sort out the Bluetooth media player - I test these things for a living and the VW one has me stumped, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't and other times the option isn't even shown on the headunit (phone is shown as connected, including media player on the cluster display).
- Sort out what can be displayed in the cluster display, as temperature/range are displayed, but only with warning messages, the rest of the time it is phone information.[/-]
- Buy/build some under seat storage for the twin seat in the back. - Currently the camping chairs are just stuffed under there
- Touch in a few stone chips/small scratches. - Unfortunately it has managed to accrue more scratches, and is in real need of a trip to the bodyshop
- Correct the number of seats on the V5 - it says 6, but it is a 5 seater. I'm guessing it was most likely an admin error at the dealer that originally registered it (coincidentally my local VW dealer). - Still not done, as the DVLA had big backlogs in 2020, and I haven't got round to it since. The dealer did confirm that it was 100% a 5 seater from the factory though.
- Floor mats for the front, I'm thinking rubber will be a better bet than carpet as I am using it for mountain biking. - The standard floor is pretty good, hardwaring and easy to clean, so do not see any need for mats
- Possibly fit a ground anchor in the boot to secure my bikes. - Still looking for a decent option for this.
My plan had been to run it for a year, to make sure that we got on with it, then get the rear insulated/carpeted to make it a bit nicer for the boys in the back seats, but with Covid etc, that has not happened yet. However, that is the plan for this spring. I want to try and make the rear a bit more useful, with some cargo nets etc and maybe storage compartments over the wheel arches. I am still undecided if I want to continue just chucking the bikes in diagonally and bungeeing them to the rear seat headrests, or if I am going to get one of those fancy fork mount systems.
We have got a couple of trips away planned for the summer:
- Cruise to the Prom - a VW show in Weston-Super-Mare, mostly as an excuse to get down to the seaside for the day, but also motivation for me to get the van looking good.
- A road trip to the Lake District, the Scottish Borders (for mountain biking) and somewhere else on the east coast on the way home.
I had some free time today, so decided to do a few little jobs on the van. The one upgrade I had made was to fit brighter headlights and DRLs, prompted by one of the DRLs failing. However, this left me with very white headlights/DRLs, but yellow fog lights:
Before foglight upgrade by Lewis Craik, on Flickr
Unfortunately the photos don't really show the differences:
After foglight upgrade by Lewis Craik, on Flickr
It started off as an easy job, but when I took off the first foglight unit I noticed that one of the three brackets was broken, it didn't seem to have caused an issue before, so rather than replacing the unit I just superglued it back together, which seemed to do the job. There is another crack in the casing, but it doesn't seem to be causing an issue, so just left it.
I also treated the van to a quick wash, as it had been quite a while since the last one and it was looking more grey than blue. It doesn't look like my phone saved the "mandatory" snow foam shot, so maybe that is what angered the detailing gods and made it hail briefly whilst I was drying it off.
jock mcsporran said:
For the bike rack, the picture I posted on here last year is a Forty Winks Triple Station. Managed to get three bikes fork mounted plus all the luggage and five people.
It just screws in to the threaded holes for the rear tie down points.
https://www.fortywinksuk.com/internal-bike-rack
Was that in a LWB or SWB van?It just screws in to the threaded holes for the rear tie down points.
https://www.fortywinksuk.com/internal-bike-rack
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