Greetings from a new Bongo owner as of today

[Bob]

Bear in mind you must get the bottom hose HOT, ie stat open.

[Fassi]

Bear in mind you must get the bottom hose HOT, ie stat open.

Yes, thanks for the reminder

[Fassi]

Just in from bleeding the system. There was loads of air in it but seemed to go well and the bottom hose became hot. I did notice while doing it that when i put my heaters on inside the front one would only work on max setting so i guess i'm now going to be chasing that. The rear heater I have no clue what was going on there. Gould hear a pump or motor making a noise but nothing happening and the controller in the rear seems to have no power.

Anyway. Hopefully the bleeding is enough for me to drive it 27 miles to campers scotland. The big difference I noticed was that the temperature gauge never went past 11 o'clock whereas yesterday it had went more towards 2 oclock. Yesterday the fan was running at full pelt and today it never came on. The amount of bubbles coming through into the funnel while bleeding was very pleasing. It seems that this cooling system has been running on mostly air for who know how long. Hope it hasn't damaged anything. The coolant also seemed to be pretty good condition although that is probably because i put most of it in.

My low coolant alarm and temperature alarm should arrive on tuesday from Haydn so will get that fitted before the drive.

[haydn callow]

Best of luck...

[Fassi]

My alarm kit has arrived so just about to fit it. I had a wee poke about and realised the fuse for the ADD fan is missing. Is this for the fan right next to the engine? Does it provide air to the vents in the rear?

Sorry if my questions are a little basic. Just trying to get my head around everything.

[g8dhe]

The fuse ADD FAN is the scavenger fan that cools the engine housing area directly infront of the engine.
It has nothing to do with the internal cabin ventilation fans at all.
Its controlled by the ECU from a sensor just down by the handbrake, and can run with the ignition off as well.

[Fassi]

The fuse ADD FAN is the scavenger fan that cools the engine housing area directly infront of the engine.
It has nothing to do with the internal cabin ventilation fans at all.
Its controlled by the ECU from a sensor just down by the handbrake, and can run with the ignition off as well.

Thanks

[Fassi]

So fitted the combi alarm this morning and all seems good with the coolant and engine temperature. Really satisfying to have this in place now and I will attempt the drive to campers scotland tomorrow to get the bongo its health check.

Thanks for the advice everyone.

[mikeonb4c]

So fitted the combi alarm this morning and all seems good with the coolant and engine temperature. Really satisfying to have this in place now and I will attempt the drive to campers scotland tomorrow to get the bongo its health check.

Thanks for the advice everyone.

Great news - hopefully all will soon be sorted and you'll be happily BongoingAlongB4Long

[BongoBongo123]

Great advice thanks.

It was a private sale and the guy moves back to Australia on Monday. I asked for my money back but he wasn't having it. He seems to be a guy who would struggle to change a domestic plug. He really knew nothing about the bongo in terms of maintaining it. I should have body swerved it when all his answers were 'don't know'

Said he had never had a problem with it but i guess he was just ignorant to it.

I will soldier on with it as I'm sure these things can be remedied. It has had a new head gasket in the past according to some receipts I found. And a cambelt change just 10k ago. The guy I bought it from only had it 6 months to use in his visit from oz.

I will give the bleeding a little try. I have the workshop manual and I will check youtube as you suggest. I've got it booked in to campers scotland on thursday for a health check and service.

After bleeding and checking for leaks do you think I will be ok to drive it the 20 odd miles to get checked?

Also which coolant alarm should I get? I will use Haydn as that seems to be the preferred choice but which one?

Thanks again All.

It is not uncommon for people to say "I just take it to the garage when there is a problem or I don;t know" I had a similar situation to yourself, empty expansion tank, an overheat fairly soon after i got it. I think you will just have to accept it now and get it sorted by someone who really knows Bongo's. They do cost a little money to run and the cooling system is cantankerous, we all know it and all have to deal with it in one way or another. Either by work and self taught Bongo knowledge or through a garage that knows them. Time, some money or a bit of both (just avoid a serious overheat and potentially subsequent head crack nightmare, about a £1,300.00 repair I think)

I cannot ever remember changing coolant on ANY vehicle every 24 months (many never change it in 6 years !) but I certainly will be with the Bongo. I had a rubber turbo pipe go (water cooled) within a week so had a system refill and flush, bleed, pipe check. But once you have it running ok there will be some peace of mind hopefully. It does not need to be mega expensive but it will cost something for sure. And keep on that 24 month coolant drain and refill schedule, keeps pipes fresher and less likely to corrode from within and reduce sludge build up/blockages, kind of preventative maintenance cost really. (better than a £1,300.00 bill)

Good luck sorting it. A low coolant or temp alarm is nigh on essential for a Bongo IMO. I have the temperature sensor.

edit : ok well done you sorted it, keep a close eye on it for a while.

[windywatson]

With regards to your rear heater/air con. It's not uncommon for owners to have it disconnected/isolated. This could have been done for a number of reasons. Usually it's because of a failure of some type, hose/pipework leak or electrical fault etc. And then deciding that as it doesn't get much use, not to bother with a repair.

[Fassi]

Just replaced the transistor that controls air con fan speed and i now have working speeds instead of just off or full on. So good. The information on this site is really really good. I've went from just wanting to have a campervan to being obsessed with tinkering and trying to fix things in a matter of days, all thanks to bongo fury

[mikeonb4c]

Just replaced the transistor that controls air con fan speed and i now have working speeds instead of just off or full on. So good. The information on this site is really really good. I've went from just wanting to have a campervan to being obsessed with tinkering and trying to fix things in a matter of days, all thanks to bongo fury

You'll make a good Bongo owner These vehicles are more than just a car, they are a rewarding hobby and an incredibly useful all round vehicle. I wish I had more time to spend fettling mine!

[Fassi]

After these initial overheating problems everything has been fine. The coolant was changed at campers scotland and I've had no worries until yesterday. I decided to put a dip stick into the coolant expansion tank while I was pottering about. The coolant seems contaminated with rusty specks.


Should I be worried?

Thanks.

[mikeonb4c]

I think it needs a good looking at when you get home. It suggests there's been neglect at some point. The crud could be clogging main and car heater radiators and that in turn could explain inability to cool properly when engine working hard. Might be worth squeezing radiator top hose when system cold to see if it crunches or is hard. That would confirm crud in system. For now, try to avoid working engine too hard. Keep us posted.