Just bought and now I have a couple of problems :-(

[eNigMar]

Wow! this blew up whilst I was out there scratching my head and pulling it apart to figure this out.

Turns out that some fool had tapped into one of the sensor wires to use as ground for an old stereo. The one that it came with didn't use this as it wasn't actually wired in, just filling the hole. I pulled it out and installed mine using the supplied ground which caused the brake light to come on.

Just sorted two hours before the MOT. Phew!

Thanks all.

[g8dhe]

Yes, seen a few vehicles which have been tampered with!
Its quite frightening at times what people do or use when dealing with vehicles, happy to give advice these days but tend to stay away from laying my hands on With some setups it goes on and on and on for ages finding weird and dodgy wiring and additions!

[teenmal]

Do you have one of those fitted teenmal and if so how long have you had it. I only ask because I see the vendors description lists improvements made in response to requests from customers. One of those in particular says "The new circuit is smaller and is covered with a self-adhesive pad that insulates from being shorted to any metal parts, " which could be read as older models having had a problem in that respect. And there seem to be a couple of iffy reviews also. Might be worth contacting their customer support to see if you are entitled to a product recall free replacement.

In passing, my more expensive Haydn alarm is now in its 12th year of good service - it was one of the first ones fitted to a UK Bongo I think. I had the occasional false murmor from it when it was 9 years old and Haydn aftercare sent a free of charge replacement screw that sorted it. I've been happy to pay the extra for the great service its done me but, as ever, people must make their own choices.

Footnote: For any who dont know, Haydn Callow was a Bongo owner who saw the risk to Bongos and since nothing was available for them he got in touch with a well established Australian high quality coolant alarm manufacturer - you really dont want an overheat in the Outback! - in order to develop a version for our Bongos.

Mickey,there is absolutley nothing wrong with the reasonably priced alarm , the chap that makes them is a well established Electronics Engineer.Any aditions you want he will be more than happy to oblige,I dont see what all the Hubub is about , this is just a wee bit of compitition betwee Traders which is healthy for the punters as you know.I am happy for you that you have one fitted , I supose you have (the vehicle ) has been fortunate enough not to have suffered a CRACKED head.

Fredom of speach is a great gift that wee all should enjoy.

They may take away our lives, but they'll never take our freedom.



Take care xx

[mikeonb4c]

Totally agree and great that we think alike about freedom of speech and free competition. As Mikexgough used to say on here - yer pays yer money and takes yer choice. Mine was the Haydn Alarm as I wanted the best for my Bongo. The LCA prevented overheating due to coolant loss which could have caused a cracked head on more than one occasion. Sadly it couldn't prevent whatever else caused my Bongo head to crack after 10 years of my ownership. It was suggested to me that years of short runs and many thermal cycles (it was my daily commute and kids taxi) may have exposed what is a known weakness in some engines (they all have 'em - seals on the v6 etc). But the repair bill was no more than many car repairs can be and, taken over all the years of great service and low bills, i had no issue with it. Happily it happened when i was due for a cambelt change so the cost of that could be lost in the overall bill.

[haydn callow]

Also Mike :- when you got your prototype alarm there were no other alternatives on the market, your Bongo along with 19 others were ‘on the road testbeds’. All the cheaper ones are attempts at copies but none of them have the built in auto test at Ignition on. We felt the auto test was a must and a lot of effort went into making it happen.

[mikeonb4c]

Also Mike :- when you got your prototype alarm there were no other alternatives on the market, your Bongo along with 19 others were ‘on the road testbeds’. All the cheaper ones are attempts at copies but none of them have the built in auto test at Ignition on. We felt the auto test was a must and a lot of effort went into making it happen.

Indeed. I've never forgotten that. A few blaze a trail to market with an idea for something much needed but that does not exist. Their contribution to progress can sometimes get overlooked.

Footnote: readers might want to know i paid full whack for mine - there were no inducements, and I speak independently and only as i find. I just thought the LCA was a bl**dy good idea, being done properly, and of great potential benefit to my Bongo (as it has proved to be).

[teenmal]

Totally agree and great that we think alike about freedom of speech and free competition. As Mikexgough used to say on here - yer pays yer money and takes yer choice. Mine was the Haydn Alarm as I wanted the best for my Bongo. The LCA prevented overheating due to coolant loss which could have caused a cracked head on more than one occasion. Sadly it couldn't prevent whatever else caused my Bongo head to crack after 10 years of my ownership. It was suggested to me that years of short runs and many thermal cycles (it was my daily commute and kids taxi) may have exposed what is a known weakness in some engines (they all have 'em - seals on the v6 etc). But the repair bill was no more than many car repairs can be and, taken over all the years of great service and low bills, i had no issue with it. Happily it happened when i was due for a cambelt change so the cost of that could be lost in the overall bill.

Don't worry about it , this is typical of this engine as we have found out on numerous occasions.


Keep up the good work

[Mark Wilson]

Just to add to the positives for the cheaper alarm. I've had one for nine months with no problems fitting or in use. I have a routine of testing it every time I start the engine, while waiting for the glow plug light to extinguish.

[mikeonb4c]

Totally agree and great that we think alike about freedom of speech and free competition. As Mikexgough used to say on here - yer pays yer money and takes yer choice. Mine was the Haydn Alarm as I wanted the best for my Bongo. The LCA prevented overheating due to coolant loss which could have caused a cracked head on more than one occasion. Sadly it couldn't prevent whatever else caused my Bongo head to crack after 10 years of my ownership. It was suggested to me that years of short runs and many thermal cycles (it was my daily commute and kids taxi) may have exposed what is a known weakness in some engines (they all have 'em - seals on the v6 etc). But the repair bill was no more than many car repairs can be and, taken over all the years of great service and low bills, i had no issue with it. Happily it happened when i was due for a cambelt change so the cost of that could be lost in the overall bill.

Don't worry about it , this is typical of this engine as we have found out on numerous occasions.


Keep up the good work

Well of course you only see cars when they are sick, and you appear to have experience with Bongos in particular. Could maybe be skewing your outlook?

[BongoBongo123]

It is rather hard not to worry a tad about £2,000.00 bills when your engine is smoked.

[Philowen5]

Yes, seen a few vehicles which have been tampered with!
Its quite frightening at times what people do or use when dealing with vehicles, happy to give advice these days but tend to stay away from laying my hands on With some setups it goes on and on and on for ages finding weird and dodgy wiring and additions!

Hi, are there any links to the colouring of the wires through the fusebox by the drivers knees? Also I could do with info on feeds from ignition, permanent live etc.
Basically when I fitted my VSR I made the mistake of having a nosey at the back of my fuse box, it was all melted with all sorts of (what appeared to be dodgy) connections and splicing etc. So I need to replace fuse box before I end up on fire!! Any help would be massively appreciated.
Phil

[g8dhe]

The colour codes and a table to assist are all on the Wiring Diagrams pages, you will need Flash enabled in a real browser (not a phone or tablet)
http://www.g8dhe.net/bwm

[Philowen5]

Great thank you

[Rgtj1080]

Same sort of problems here
Just bought the van and stereo was loose. Pulled it out to investigate then replace it and now have no power to head unit and engine light is flasing and wont go out
HELP

[g8dhe]

Check the top left fuse 10 Amp on the drivers fuse panel, its backup and unswitched power, which includes the radio backup and the ECU backup supplies hence the likely cause of the ECU reporting a problem!