Bongo Fury

Hi, my Bongo's been at the garage (auto transmission specialist) for a week now, but they don't know how to fix it.
I bought it a fortnight ago (private sale), and now it's just £13,500 quid's worth of money down the drain, gutted.
If anyone can suggest what we should try now, please advise. Is there a Bongo specialist somewhere in the UK where I should get it towed to? (currently in Glasgow).

Basically, the hold light keeps flashing; it's permanently stuck in 'safe mode' (3rd gear).
The transmission computer flags-up two faults: the speedo input, and the Transmission fluid Temperature sensor (TFT).

The speedo needle just dances about all over the dial. It's not chipped. The mechanic replaced the speedo with a new one, but no change: still dancing all over the place. No obvious loose wires.

The reading from the TFT sensor is the correct temperature; the sensor seems just fine, but the PCM computer keeps flagging it as a fault.

The mechanic doesn't have the time (or inclination) to go chasing obscure electrical faults all round the system, especially as he doesn't have wiring diagrams (2003 Bongo).

No idea what to do now

I mainly just wanted to comiserate with you - what a horrible start to the wonderful world of Bongo.

I must say after 2 weeks I think you might have some redress with the previous owner esp. as you paid so much. But I am sure someone who knows more about it than me will be along soon.

This is probably going to sound silly, but you could try a 2nd hand box, they cost about £250 quid, I know this is unpalatable after spending so much but at least you can tell if the problem is the box or car.

Sorry to hear of your woes.

We got our Bongo's manual gearbox fixed at Strathclyde Gearbox Services in Rutherglen. I felt it was expensive, but they were professional and were true to their word regarding time scales and prices. I doubt they will be able to help with your auto problem (perhaps that's where your Bongo is!), but they may be worth a call. Regarding the fault itself, two electrical faults immediately makes me suspect an ECU problem, or a shared part of the wiring loom to the ECU. I have no expertise at all in this area but there's clearly a fault with the speedo display, not caused by the speedo itself.

Wiring diagrams are available to members from the link at the bottom of this page http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/fox_ar ... #electrics

The wiring diagrams are on line for 1995-7-9 but we don't yet have beyond 1999 those should come later this year, however saying that I very much doubt that the basic sensors will have changed or most parts of the wiring loom so if your happy reading the diagrams click below;

With regard to the speedo then this is the likely page the sensor is on C1-03

and the physical location of connector is on the next page.

Gearbox Specialists

Ben Sansom was having transmission problems with his new shape Bongo, and could not figure out the diagnostic codes. But he finally got it fixed thanks to Belvoir Transmissions of Newark, Notts. "They had the software, and had worked on several Bongos in the past." says Ben. Belvoir can be contacted on 01636-678000.


Got this from top tips hope it might help

OMG what sad news i feel for you,
Good point to try a second hand box, there's some good bongo support on here could be worth a try to find a second hand one and borrow it just to try if it works then there u go if it dont then at least you have eliminated something.
Speak to Wheelquick in wigan they know a lot about Bongos, and have some breaking in a yard.
Good luck

Thanks for your support folks!

When you say I should try swapping the 'box' do you mean the combined (on the automatic bongo) ECU/transmission computer known as the PCM?
If anyone has a spare box for a 2003 2.5 litre diesel automatic bongo I could try, I'd be most grateful.

rocketeeer wrote:Thanks for your support folks!

When you say I should try swapping the 'box' do you mean the combined (on the automatic bongo) ECU/transmission computer known as the PCM?
If anyone has a spare box for a 2003 2.5 litre diesel automatic bongo I could try, I'd be most grateful.

Where is home for you, in terms of getting it towed back (and possibly to the nearest autobox specialist). I dont' know if he'll answer PMs any more, but a member called Alacrity had a Bongo and worked in an auto transmission specialist (in Kent I think). Might be worth seeing if you can get him on the line. Bad business. Good luck. It could well be something relatively inexpensive but you need some expertise to establish that

mikeonb4c wrote:I dont' know if he'll answer PMs any more, but a member called Alacrity had a Bongo and worked in an auto transmission specialist (in Kent I think).

There was dandywarhol as well - he was based in Edinburgh, but hasn't been on the forum for 6 months

Automotive automatics in Edinburgh have a good name I think it's in Jane street or manderson place

Hi,

So sorry to hear about your unfortunate start to Bongo ownership. I have lived in the Newark location for many years and have driven automatics for years of many types before my Bongo. I can back the recomendations made for Belvoir Transmitions of Newark. They have \7 have had a great reputation for thier expertise for years. However they are a long way from you. They are very helpfull so you could give them a call for some advise.

If I where you I would spend a little time finding a specialist in auto gear boxes to get this sorted. From my experiances in the past there are few general garages that are realy good with auto's. This can lead to big bills as they often spend hours in trying to diagnose faults & swap out parts that make no differance, and you are paying for all of this.

The flashing lights & codes are there to give the information about the fault & help get the diagnoses correct.

So don't panic, find the right garage to help you before you run up big bills at garages that ultimatly don't resolve the issue. Usually on these types of gear boxes it is likely to be the failure of a small component/sensore and should be a relativley easy fix for those in the know.
As the speedo is using an electronic pulse to read speed, and this speed sensor is also used to provide control pulses for other managment eliments of the gear box, it makes sense to assume that some sensore is faulty. Changing the speedo is very unlikely to solve the gear box issue, but does point to something in common to both.

Please don't let this spoil your ownership of this vehicle for you. Once fixed you will enjoy it.

Cheers & keep us posted.