[Kip-on-truckin]

Well you can call me Admiral, because I just added a 2nd Promaster to my nascent fleet. A short wheel base 2500. But it holds 2 pallets, and that's all I care about.

Unlike my first one, this one has options! It's got the power mirror AND it's got the little cargo net on the rear door. Such luxury!

I got it cheap because it's got 88k on it, and the carfax shows it hit a deer, so nobody seemed interested in it. It has one weird electrical problem which may also have scared off buyers. You turn the fan on past halfway, and it lights the seatbelt, tire pressure, and airbag lights. Turn the fan on full blast and it lights the battery light. I scanned it with my $19 OBDII dongle, and when the fan is on the computer thinks it only has 10 volts.

Since I bought it at a dealership, they took a look. When you produce the condition, the canbus shows that a bunch of modules are out of power EXCEPT the HVAC module. The dealer tech believes that something is wrong with the HVAC that causes it to send messages that fail the other modules on it's buss, or something like that. The battery/system is at 14 volts all the time, so it's not really loosing power. I felt that this problem was fixable and livable since the price was so cheap.

Anyway, gotta install a floor and Etrack, do a bunch of paperwork, hire and train a driver, and put this thing to work. All hail capitalism!

 

[BavarianBoy]

It has one weird electrical problem which may also have scared off buyers. You turn the fan on past halfway, and it lights the seatbelt, tire pressure, and airbag lights. Turn the fan on full blast and it lights the battery light.

Probably under the left entrance is a poor ground connection for the instrument cluster.
Remove the entrance and check this.

 

[ha3Dy_j1s]

Deerest Van ...

Hey, you got it. Congrats Kip. So what's a couple more little lights on the instrument panel anyway? Probably just makes you feel at home since you're used to seeing that airbag light already! I'll assume its a gasser ... and its white. And I'll be interested in hearing your fuel economy comparisons. Is this the one with the double seat? Good luck with the minor gremlins!

 

[Kip-on-truckin]

Bavarian,
By left entrance, do you mean the driver's side footwell? Where is the cluster ground located?

Mine is a very early build, late 2013. Wasnt there a recall or change to the weatherstripping at some point? Something about water?

Any tips are greatly appreciated.

 

[Kip-on-truckin]

Ha,
Yup, white 2500 136" gasser. Ive had such good luck with the other, i really didnt feel the need to even look at the transit. This one even has a sliding door window....which i need to cover up.

Wont have any concrete fuel data until it gets in service. Judging by the instant, seems identical to my 3500, possibly slightly worse. Rpm, power, trans shifting, all identical. I can say that its a slightly tippier ride with the short wheelbase. Possibly a little harsher too due to 500lbs less weight on the identical springs.

My driver will be trained and ready after labor day, and i will probably put him in the 3500 and me in the 2500 to shake it down. The unknown is how much the lack of 3 feet of deck and 300lbs of capacity will affect the loads im offered. Im hoping none at all, or very very little.

Yes, this is the double seat, which is pretty uncomfortable for adults but my 7 and 5 year old think its the best ride in town.

 

[BavarianBoy]

Bavarian,
By left entrance, do you mean the driver's side footwell? Where is the cluster ground located?

Mine is a very early build, late 2013. Wasnt there a recall or change to the weatherstripping at some point? Something about water?

Any tips are greatly appreciated.

Take a look: www.blog.carmedien.de/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Rueckfahrsystem-Ducato-3.jpg
Check that the small ground-screw left in the picture is loose or is rusted.

 

[Kip-on-truckin]

Fantastic! Danka Bavarianboy!

 

[ha3Dy_j1s]

... The unknown is how much the lack of 3 feet of deck and 300lbs of capacity will affect the loads im offered. Im hoping none at all, or very very little.

The unknown might be "Where's that space I usually put my cot?" But the new one has almost 6 ft across the front seats. Get comfy.

Yes, this is the double seat, which is pretty uncomfortable for adults but my 7 and 5 year old think its the best ride in town.

Now that's wonderful! If only there was some way they could feel that way about BOTH your ProMasters ... >
(says the guy who's been trying to negotiate a seat swap w/K-O-T. But then, having one PM with a bench and one with a single ... that's how you tell them apart!)

 

[Kip-on-truckin]

BavarianBoy,
A quick inspection reveals that mine does NOT have the same grounding point as yours. The stud is there. I see no evidence of any wiring that should be there but isn't. Interesting.

 

[BavarianBoy]

Strange. The error that has your car would indeed exactly a bad ground connection.
In the cable duct above the grounding point is also not a forgotten wire?

 

[Kip-on-truckin]

I didn't disassemble the floor covering to find out, but the best I can see there is no wire in the area that looks like it should be grounded. Also, you can see that the nuts and washers were assembled on the grounding stud, THEN the whole thing was painted. In other words, nothing has ever been on that stud.

Somewhere around the HVAC module will turn up a broken ground, broken or corroded connector, or something like that. This van did hit a deer at one point, and the windshield has been replaced and the hood painted. Maybe there is still damage. Bavarian Boy, do you know where the HVAC module is located? Is it a discreet computer, or is it just a section of a larger computer?

Kip

 

[BavarianBoy]

Hi Kip,

The control panel is the HVAC module (M070).
C016 and C022 is ground.

Peter

 

[Kip-on-truckin]

Hi Kip,

The control panel is the HVAC module (M070).
C016 and C022 is ground.

Peter

That's excellent Peter, thank you so much. You don't happen to know if the best way to get at the HVAC module is behind the radio from the top, or by removing the cupholder assembly and getting at it from the bottom?

Kip

 

[BavarianBoy]

The best way is to pull the Radio.
To test you put directly a additional wire from HVAC-Module-Pin 40 to the ground-pin of the battery.

 

[Kip-on-truckin]

BavarianBoy, you were EXACTLY right. The problem turned out to be missing grounds on the HVAC module. The dealer worked on it for free, and found that some grounds were broken up by the headlights. This particular van hit a deer before I owned it, and it probably happened then. But you got it RIGHT! Well done and thanks.

 

[Arch]

Peter (Bavarianboy) how do you know all this stuff? Work for fiat?

 

[Bconno]

Peter (Bavarianboy) how do you know all this stuff? Work for fiat?

BBoy is a master technician, not a mechanic. Big difference, we have a lot of mechanics in this country, but not many master technicians. They are worth their weight in gold

 

[ChandlerAZman]

That's awesome!

 

[Arch]

Totally awesome! I vote bboy to have his own stickied thread about all tips, and tricks of our vans!

 

[Arch]

The best way is to pull the Radio.
To test you put directly a additional wire from HVAC-Module-Pin 40 to the ground-pin of the battery.

Bboy any way to disable or at least lower the seatbelt chime?