1998 T4 Caravelle - advice for a couple of problems

[swiftnets]

Hey all

Have a few thoughts and questions.

We purchased our van second (or more) hand and it has the Cruise control stalk, but nothing happens when I try to use it and it obviously doesn't appear to operate properly. If there was a few likely and simple causes, what would they be as I would prefer to not send it away.

Also, the radio/interior light/memory fuse keeps blowing, which has been an annoyance, however yesterday on replacing said fuse, an obvious short was in existence as that (all too familiar from school electronics) smell of burning insulation and a pretty reasonable amount of smoke emanated from under the dash. I obviously rapidly removed the fuse again, which had warped and also obviously became hot, and disconnected the battery. Interestingly now I no longer have central locking, which was not a symptom previously. In short I was wondering if anyone else has had success in removing parts of the dash and such, as I also would like to replace the very old cassette radio.

Does anyone have any armrests spare? We are missing the one that would be most used on the inside of the drivers seat.

Michael

[Sunny43.5]

Some of the circuits are shared so if you have removed the fuse that may be why central locking has gone , I am not an auto elec but have had many years in the car industry . I would suggest that if you have a test meter you can set it to continuity and start checking the light fittings themselves the meter will indicate a short to earth so it may take a while to find out what is causing the short also check the manual to see ift tells you what may be sharing he circuit and then you may have to check those as well . If your current radio unit is asingle din you will need to find some release arms these are small flat bits of metal with a 90 degree corner on one end you may find that the bezel around the outer part of the radio unclips you can then insert the release arms and remove the unit . The radio could also be part of your problem .

[swiftnets]

Advice for a couple of problems - update and more questions

Well, thanks for the advice above, I too suspected the old radio as causing some form of issue with the electrics. I found the fuse for the central locking, that was separate to the fuse we had blow on us numerous times before, but had still blown this time.


I removed the old radio today and found some things worked when they never did before, I didn't realise there was actually an acc with the van, having the key at off but still in the ignition, up until today the radio and other electrics were either on or off with the engine. With the radio removed there was other bits working where the didn't before like the interior lights and the trip functions and such.

I suspect there was some form of partial short in the radio that prevented the electrics from working the way they should.

I have replaced the problem fuse with another one, but a lower amp so I can be sure that replacing the radio has resolved the issue and also to provide better protection for the electrics with another possible short.

I also found the wire that burned through it's insulation, once I get time I will link it here as it appeared to be completely disconnected from anything, just connected to an orange/brown round thing next to the fuse box, I would like to know what that is and whether or not removing this wire from there will have any affect.

It looks like the previous radio was quite poorly installed, they made quite a mess of the wiring harness and as such I had little slack to work with. I fitted it all however, so it remains to be seen as to whether or not the fuse will blow again.

Can anyone suggest, while I have the trim off, what I should expect from the outputs and such of the cruise control stalk so I can begin to work out where the issue with that is hiding?

Michael

[Sunny43.5]

I don,t have an answer for the cruise control but the round thing you describe is an earth hub it is a central point for lots of earth connections near the fuse box .