Two Go Back to France

[Wanders from Glos]

Fingers crossed for. A positive call today.

 

[125BEER]

Maybe another option....

Cheers

 

[carolyn]

If you do decide to go it alone tracking down a garage then Funsters best friend in France yodeli might be happy to act as a translator now that you’ve diagnose the problem. You’d be less likely to be ripped off as well and I think she even lives in the Toulouse area.

It’s just a thought.

 

[DBK]

The good news is we have a date for a repair, the bad news is it is 1st October, nearly two weeks away!

I've accepted the date but I'm going to start looking for somewhere myself to see if I can get it done more quickly. There is a possible garage not too far away I can walk to tomorrow morning, so I will try them first.

We will try and keep active, we can visit Toulouse by bus and Metro and we'll hire a car for a few days.

 

[Landy Andy]

You could try and source the parts, so if you find someone you are ready to go.

Shame I’m not there or I’d have done it for you.

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[DBK]

You could try and source the parts, so if you find someone you are ready to go.

Shame I’m not there or I’d have done it for you.

Many thanks for the suggestion about buying the parts and the very kind offer. I've had another look at it and I think I would struggle even with car ramps. I've helped change one on my son's Audi and I remember the tensioner needed a lot of force which I applied using an extension bar from the top while he put the belt on from underneath. Sadly on the Ducato there is zero access from the top without removing the header tank and power steering reservoir so it would all have to be done from underneath using one hand for the tensioner and another to put the belt on. I'm not going to attempt it as the risk of losing fingers is too high for my liking.

 

[Figaro]

Did you do a search for a mobile mechanic ?

 

[DBK]

Did you do a search for a mobile mechanic ?

Not yet and I might look at that but I'm slowly adjusting to enforced idleness and if we have to wait until 1 October it isn't the end of the world. We will probably hire a car for 5 days next week and go off exploring which will fill the time in usefully. We normally stay put in one place every weekend anyway so no change there.

 

[Landy Andy]

Sadly on the Ducato there is zero access from the top without removing the header tank and power steering reservoir so it would all have to be done from underneath using one hand for the tensioner and another to put the belt on.

I think it’s an underneath, and through wheel arch job, and as mentioned may even be engine mount removal on the 3lt

 

[DBK]

Meanwhile, we are going native.

It's a pre-mixed one and the first time I've had pastis. First impressions were underwhelming, "like drinking cough mixture" was Mrs DBK's comment.

But with application it is beginning to grow on us...

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[Spriddler]

It's a pre-mixed one and the first time I've had pastis.

I'm partial to it when over there and I tried to get some in Tesco Redruth but when I asked the girl stocking the booze shelves if they had any Pastis she said they'd be with the pies and sausage rolls.

 

[Ingwe]

Meanwhile, we are going native.

It's a pre-mixed one and the first time I've had pastis. First impressions were underwhelming, "like drinking cough mixture" was Mrs DBK's comment.

But with application it is beginning to grow on us...

View attachment 951837

I’m amazed that this is your first taste of pastis. I love it and, like so many drinks one has abroad, it never tastes as nice once home!

 

[Orion]

Meanwhile, we are going native.

It's a pre-mixed one and the first time I've had pastis. First impressions were underwhelming, "like drinking cough mixture" was Mrs DBK's comment.

But with application it is beginning to grow on us...

View attachment 951837

With All Hallows approaching you could always try a ‘Black Witch’ or variation there of. Should be a plentiful supply of cassis in that part of the world.

Halloween Cocktail: Black Witch

Spending Halloween at home this year? Be shaken, and maybe a little stirred, by our striking Black Witch cocktail....

celtic-marches.myshopify.com

 

[MichaelT]

Meanwhile, we are going native.

It's a pre-mixed one and the first time I've had pastis. First impressions were underwhelming, "like drinking cough mixture" was Mrs DBK's comment.

But with application it is beginning to grow on us...

View attachment 951837

Lovely with ice and some water.

 

[DBK]

Lovely with ice and some water.

We did add some ice cubes although the bottle was already chilled from the campsite shop. But my understanding is it isn't normally served chilled if you order it in a bar. Perhaps our pastis expert Ingwe can advise?

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[MichaelT]

We did add some ice cubes although the bottle was already chilled from the campsite shop. But my understanding is it isn't normally served chilled if you order it in a bar. Perhaps our pastis expert Ingwe can advise?

No the pastis not chilled but water is.

 

[bellabee]

We did add some ice cubes although the bottle was already chilled from the campsite shop. But my understanding is it isn't normally served chilled if you order it in a bar. Perhaps our pastis expert Ingwe can advise?

My introduction to Pastis was at the age of 15 when I first went on the French exchange with school.
My parents didn't drink, apart from the obligatory bottles of sherry and port, opened at Christmas only.
My French pen friend's father used to come home for lunch, from the cement factory where he worked, and the family always took Pastis as an aperétif. It was neat, unchilled, but over ice cubes.
He then took red wine and beer, before returning to work in the afternoon.
I've always assumed that this was the way to drink Pastis, but I don’t really know because I've never known anyone else who drank it.

 

[Ingwe]

We did add some ice cubes although the bottle was already chilled from the campsite shop. But my understanding is it isn't normally served chilled if you order it in a bar. Perhaps our pastis expert Ingwe can advise?

The pastis isn’t chilled but they serve it on the rocks with water.

 

[jockaneezer]

We tried Pernod from one of my mate's Dad's drinks cabinet, our big mistake was topping the level back up with water so he wouldn't notice some had gone !

 

[chaser]

Not yet and I might look at that but I'm slowly adjusting to enforced idleness and if we have to wait until 1 October it isn't the end of the world. We will probably hire a car for 5 days next week and go off exploring which will fill the time in usefully. We normally stay put in one place every weekend anyway so no change there.

B..... Game isn't it. I have made the decision if or when we get this lot with mine sorted I am never motorhomeing in France ever again.

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[Mark and Mindy]

I’m amazed that this is your first taste of pastis. I love it and, like so many drinks one has abroad, it never tastes as nice once home!

When we were on our honeymoon in Greece we found a wine we really loved and drank it every night so we brought some home and it was foul, more like paint stripper. To get rid of it we would take a bottle to any parties we went to and discreetly hide it amongst other donated bottles.

 

[Spriddler]

When we were on our honeymoon in Greece we found a wine we really loved and drank it every night so we brought some home and it was foul, more like paint stripper.

I had exactly the same experience on one of my honeymoons with a botte of Metaxa that I brought home from Greece.

 

[Jolly Jack Tar]

I lived in Brittany for 15 years.try 'Pastis -cola'...The coke makes it look,and taste, like Venos cough mixture..an acquired taste!

 

[DBK]

I took up Landy Andy 's excellent suggestion and ordered the parts today. I went to the large Fiat garage which is close by. It's a big place covering several marques, Jeep, Alfa Roméo etc and of course Fiat, the common thread is they are all owned by Stellantis apparently. Whoever they are.

Working out who owns who is difficult these days, for example there are two Volvos, one making cars and the other trucks, plant and marine engines but they are owned by different people. However, my knowledge may be out of date now and this may have changed.

I did of course ask if they could do the repair but they had no dates until October. I had gone with a photo of the van to show it was just a van. During one conversation I had with CMC it was mentioned some garages didn't want to touch motorhomes. Possibly because they take up too much room on their car park and also, like this rather swish place, they didn't want an old MH spoiling their image.

But they did have a parts department where I was able to order the bits I should need. I had brought a copy of the V5 and the guy used the VIN number so I'm as confidant as I can be they are the right bits. It would have been cheaper at one of the spare parts places, an equivalent of GSF or EuroParts of which there were a couple nearby but I'm happier paying the price for (hopefully) the right parts which the guy assured me were genuine Fiat items. They should arrive next week.

Something I haven't mentioned so far is when we took the van to the garage, on an ultimately futile trip on Tuesday, there were additional orange warning lights coming on. These were "Check engine" and "Hill start not available". In between these showing the red battery warning light came on, which was the one which came on while we were driving on the autoroute. I ignored them anyway and carried on. My suspicion was they were the consequence of low voltage. This puzzled me because we have a Battery Master and I had assumed as we are on EHU it would have topped the battery up over the weekend. I don't think it had and given it only produces about 0.5A I probably shouldn't have expected it to. This is not a criticism of the Battery Master, it isn't sold as a battery charger but as a battery maintainer.

I checked the battery voltage today and it was 12.7V from which you might think it was healthy.

The wheels in my head turn slowly these days and I had considered buying a mains battery charger but after mulling this over for a few days it dawned on me I had brought one with us. It's only a 5A model, I use it for the LiFePo4 batteries for my portable radios but I plugged it in and it went straight into bulk mode suggesting the cab battery was well depleted. It's been like that for a few hours now. I'll turn it off when we go to bed and continue again tomorrow.

Which of course raises the question could we get home running the battery charger off the inverter? How much electrical power does the engine need if we use the fan sparingly and avoid driving in rain, windscreen wipers will use power? Could we return via CCP sites stopping if necessary at lunch time to plug in and recharge the leisure batteries? It seems feasible but the engine cooling fan (fans?) are electric and must use quite a bit of power. Do they work while driving or only when stopped?

I might try a few experiments over the weekend.

Last shot is from the campsite bar taken an hour ago. We are, after all, on holiday.

 

[Googlebot]

I think you might be pushing it, 5 amps isn’t a lot of charge.

That said, if you start with a full battery…..

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[Ingwe]

I took up Landy Andy 's excellent suggestion and ordered the parts today. I went to the large Fiat garage which is close by. It's a big place covering several marques, Jeep, Alfa Roméo etc and of course Fiat, the common thread is they are all owned by Stellantis apparently. Whoever they are.

Working out who owns who is difficult these days, for example there are two Volvos, one making cars and the other trucks, plant and marine engines but they are owned by different people. However, my knowledge may be out of date now and this may have changed.

I did of course ask if they could do the repair but they had no dates until October. I had gone with a photo of the van to show it was just a van. During one conversation I had with CMC it was mentioned some garages didn't want to touch motorhomes. Possibly because they take up too much room on their car park and also, like this rather swish place, they didn't want an old MH spoiling their image.

But they did have a parts department where I was able to order the bits I should need. I had brought a copy of the V5 and the guy used the VIN number so I'm as confidant as I can be they are the right bits. It would have been cheaper at one of the spare parts places, an equivalent of GSF or EuroParts of which there were a couple nearby but I'm happier paying the price for (hopefully) the right parts which the guy assured me were genuine Fiat items. They should arrive next week.

Something I haven't mentioned so far is when we took the van to the garage, on an ultimately futile trip on Tuesday, there were additional orange warning lights coming on. These were "Check engine" and "Hill start not available". In between these showing the red battery warning light came on, which was the one which came on while we were driving on the autoroute. I ignored them anyway and carried on. My suspicion was they were the consequence of low voltage. This puzzled me because we have a Battery Master and I had assumed as we are on EHU it would have topped the battery up over the weekend. I don't think it had and given it only produces about 0.5A I probably shouldn't have expected it to. This is not a criticism of the Battery Master, it isn't sold as a battery charger but as a battery maintained.

I checked the battery voltage today and it was 12.7V from which you might think it was healthy.

The wheels in my head turn slowly these days and I had considered buying a mains battery charger but after mulling this over for a few days it dawned on me I had brought one with us. It's only a 5A model, I use it for the LiFePo4 batteries for my portable radios but I plugged it in and it went straight into bulk mode suggesting the cab battery was well depleted. It's been like that for a few hours now. I'll turn it off when we go to bed and continue again tomorrow.

View attachment 952373

Which of course raises the question could we get home running the battery charger off the inverter? How much electrical power does the engine need if we use the fan sparingly and avoid driving in rain, windscreen wipers will use power? Could we return via CCP sites stopping if necessary at lunch time to plug in and recharge the leisure batteries? It seems feasible but the engine cooling fan (fans?) are electric and must use quite a bit of power. Do they work while driving or only when stopped?

I might try a few experiments over the weekend.

Last shot is from the campsite bar taken an hour ago. We are, after all, on holiday.

View attachment 952376

When the parts arrive, are you planning to fit them yourselves?

 

[gus-lopez]

Which of course raises the question could we get home running the battery charger off the inverter?

Further to my earlier post if you temporarily fitted a decent thickness wire direct from the positive on hab batteries direct to the + on the van battery then the solar would be charging them all as one & not just the 1A as you stated.
That would get you home with some sun & using ehu along the way.

 

[DBK]

When the parts arrive, are you planning to fit them yourselves?

No, the vehicle needs to be raised up and I've decided to just accept in this case that it needs a garage.

 

[DBK]

Further to my earlier post if you temporarily fitted a decent thickness wire direct from the positive on hab batteries direct to the + on the van battery then the solar would be charging them all as one & not just the 1A as you stated.
That would get you home with some sun & using ehu along the way.

That's a very good alternative. Sorry I missed your suggestion. I will buy some wire next week and keep it in reserve. My feelings at the moment are we will go for the 1 October appointment and if they say its going to take too long and we will miss the 9 October ferry we will look at a Plan B.

 

[Wanders from Glos]

I took up Landy Andy 's excellent suggestion and ordered the parts today. I went to the large Fiat garage which is close by. It's a big place covering several marques, Jeep, Alfa Roméo etc and of course Fiat, the common thread is they are all owned by Stellantis apparently. Whoever they are.

Working out who owns who is difficult these days, for example there are two Volvos, one making cars and the other trucks, plant and marine engines but they are owned by different people. However, my knowledge may be out of date now and this may have changed.

I did of course ask if they could do the repair but they had no dates until October. I had gone with a photo of the van to show it was just a van. During one conversation I had with CMC it was mentioned some garages didn't want to touch motorhomes. Possibly because they take up too much room on their car park and also, like this rather swish place, they didn't want an old MH spoiling their image.

But they did have a parts department where I was able to order the bits I should need. I had brought a copy of the V5 and the guy used the VIN number so I'm as confidant as I can be they are the right bits. It would have been cheaper at one of the spare parts places, an equivalent of GSF or EuroParts of which there were a couple nearby but I'm happier paying the price for (hopefully) the right parts which the guy assured me were genuine Fiat items. They should arrive next week.

Something I haven't mentioned so far is when we took the van to the garage, on an ultimately futile trip on Tuesday, there were additional orange warning lights coming on. These were "Check engine" and "Hill start not available". In between these showing the red battery warning light came on, which was the one which came on while we were driving on the autoroute. I ignored them anyway and carried on. My suspicion was they were the consequence of low voltage. This puzzled me because we have a Battery Master and I had assumed as we are on EHU it would have topped the battery up over the weekend. I don't think it had and given it only produces about 0.5A I probably shouldn't have expected it to. This is not a criticism of the Battery Master, it isn't sold as a battery charger but as a battery maintainer.

I checked the battery voltage today and it was 12.7V from which you might think it was healthy.

The wheels in my head turn slowly these days and I had considered buying a mains battery charger but after mulling this over for a few days it dawned on me I had brought one with us. It's only a 5A model, I use it for the LiFePo4 batteries for my portable radios but I plugged it in and it went straight into bulk mode suggesting the cab battery was well depleted. It's been like that for a few hours now. I'll turn it off when we go to bed and continue again tomorrow.

View attachment 952373

Which of course raises the question could we get home running the battery charger off the inverter? How much electrical power does the engine need if we use the fan sparingly and avoid driving in rain, windscreen wipers will use power? Could we return via CCP sites stopping if necessary at lunch time to plug in and recharge the leisure batteries? It seems feasible but the engine cooling fan (fans?) are electric and must use quite a bit of power. Do they work while driving or only when stopped?

I might try a few experiments over the weekend.

Last shot is from the campsite bar taken an hour ago. We are, after all, on holiday.

View attachment 952376

It sounds to me like you are getting somewhere towards a solution.

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