Diamond Dave
Check under the ’van before you buy!
We’ve had a bit of trouble with a 2000-plate Ducato-based model recently. It came in for a service and to have the alternator charging system looked at, because the battery light was staying on. Another garage had replaced the alternator but it still wasn’t charging. I found the problem quite quickly – the D signal wire from the alternator had been chewed through by rodents. It was a fairly simple fix, apart from having to remove the starter battery and support to access the wire. However, it then wouldn’t start because the battery was flat, so I charged it for a couple of hours. No good. The battery was past it, so a new one was fitted. Still it wouldn’t start, because the immobiliser had thrown a wobbly. Inquiries with specialists led to the purchase of a brand-new immobiliser box from Fiat: not cheap and 10 days to come from Italy. Then it had to be programmed, so off it went to a specialist. It returned several days later, but still no good; so it went back to the specialist who cut two new keys and programmed them to the new immobiliser box. It was refitted, but still wouldn’t start – so I’m currently waiting for a resolution from the specialist, and hoping that it doesn’t involve replacing the electronic immobiliser section on the injection pump.
DON’T GET YOUR WIRES CROSSED
Motorhomes have gained in popularity in recent times, in part fuelled by the restrictions on foreign travel pushing people towards UK holidays. This has devoured the stocks of used motorhomes and pushed prices upwards. The pandemic has also caused delays in new vehicles coming through due to labour shortages within the build and supply chains.
There has been a huge rise in home-converted vans and small businesses popping up to convert vans for people. This is great – as long as those doing the converting understand the systems they’re dealing with. I’ve had to advise quite a few that their gas systems don’t comply with safety standards, and there have been a few horror stories in the ‘electrickery’ departments, too, with sockets wired wrongly and exposed connections just waiting to electrocute an unsuspecting user. Shocking at best, and a fire waiting to happen at worst.
Unfortunately, a lot of people buying campers for the first time don’t know what to look out for.
We had a classic example in recently. A young woman had bought her first campervan, a 1989 Talbot Express Auto-Sleeper Rambler. It came to us for a service, but it soon became obvious she had been duped by an unscrupulous seller.
The ’van was in a tatty state. The accelerator cable had broken and the replacement had been fitted wrongly, meaning the throttle was held partially open so it was idling too fast.
But worse was to come. Once it was up on the lift, I found excessive corrosion that had been badly repaired. My fingers went straight through both front sills, and patches had been tacked onto chassis sections, then smoothed over with body filler and underseal. One such patch fell off when I touched it. The nearside rear spring hanger outrigger was almost completely missing. This ’van had passed an MoT just a month before.
The moral is to take off those rose-tinted goggles when viewing a motorhome or camper. Don’t let yourself be swayed by a nice interior, and have a look underneath, especially if it’s an older vehicle.