Earth shunt repair - covered by VW or at what price

[Unox]

I have the well known earth shunt problem. I have seen in other threads in here that people have got the repair covered by VW - also after the warranty has expired (as an acknowledgement of bad design). Before I make any claims to my VW dealer about this it would be nice to know to what extent people have got the repair covered and which models (year) this applies to. My van was first registered in Dec. 2006 and I am actually a bit unsure if it should be categorised as a 2006 or 2007 model in this connection.

If not covered by VW - what did you pay for the repair by VW? I got a preliminary quote equal to GBP 430 for work only which I find steep. They have no prior experience with this issue - or with Californias in general it seems...

 

[jts46]

Download the document i produced when i repaired mine about 5/6 years ago. The document is in the download section.

John

 

[Unox]

Thanks for your reply, John. Do you mean the "Earth shunt repair" document? I have read that one. Very instructive and helpfull, but I don't think it answers my questions regarding VW attitude and costs.

 

[WelshGas]

I agree it might not tell you about VW's attitude, but it would be of immense use to a decent Auto-Electrician who could do the repair at a reasonable cost, if VW do not play ball by allowing a claim.

 

[jts46]

Thanks for your reply, John. Do you mean the "Earth shunt repair" document? I have read that one. Very instructive and helpfull, but I don't think it answers my questions regarding VW attitude and costs.

I have a 2006 with front panel roof corrosion, VW won't repair or help with this so i can't see them helping you with the shunt repair, if you are technically minded it is an easy repair, time consuming yes.

John

 

[yanathem]

I asked last year if vw would do the earth shunt on mine as it was a know fault and was told no chance van to old, this obviously is in the uk where customer service is unheard off, but in reality it is a really really easy job shouldn't take any longer than an hour, just follow the repair procedure in the downloads section and you cannot go wrong. The parts were £3.68 + delivery. Got the parts from local decent VW van centre. Parts were a selection of different size nuts, washers and bolts (some of which you will not need) and then got a suitable sized earth lead from my local TMS motor factors. Unfortunately i don't have the receipt any more with the part numbers on but your dealer should be able to order what you require as long as they have ordered the parts before, i spoke to a couple of dealers over here first and they thought i was having them on, not all uk van center's are good, hope yours are better.

 

[SimplyDubs]

but in reality it is a really really easy job shouldn't take any longer than an hour, just follow the repair procedure in the downloads section and you cannot go wrong.

It should be indeed... However when Listers in Coventry did mine things went horribly wrong and they managed to scratch the wardrobe units when removing the fridge... which resulted in them offering to remove and replace ALL of the interior units. (An offer I decided not to take them up on due to the chances of more damage, found another way to keep me happy - Some of you know the story)

'Twas a long time ago, it was one of their first... It's fairly easy but a little care is needed

 

[Unox]

Thanks for your replies and suggestions everybody. Yes, John's repair document is certainly of great help. I might just try to do the repair myself - or get somebody else than VW to do it following the instructions in the document. Nevertheless, it would be interesting to get some reports on VW repair attitude/price.

 

[bvddobb]

Yes, John's repair document is certainly of great help. I might just try to do the repair myself .

I am about to do the repair myself, having ordered and just received the german forum kit. I have read the two repair guides, and perhaps it is obvious to everyone, but John's doesn't say to disconnect the batteries before starting the repair. I thought I'd just mention that

 

[jts46]

I am about to do the repair myself, having ordered and just received the german forum kit. I have read the two repair guides, and perhaps it is obvious to everyone, but John's doesn't say to disconnect the batteries before starting the repair. I thought I'd just mention that

I did disconnect battery originally, but then you can't raise roof to give extra headroom and space to lift fridge out, so reconnected it and left it connected, as i found it not necessary.

John

 

[bvddobb]

Yes, sure, you would need to raise the roof before disconnecting the batteries .

Still, the german manual makes a big point to disconnect the batteries before, therefore I thought I'd just mention that. Can't hurt!

I like your tip of the dent puller to get the fridge out. I don't have a dent puller, I thought to use two Tiger Plastics suction hooks. We'll see how that works!

 

[WelshGas]

Which battery to disconnect. The ENGINE battery is used to raise the roof - thats why you have to switch the ignition on. It has it's own Earthing system.
The LEISURE batteries power everything else, fridge, diesel air heater lights in living space, inverter etc: and earths via the Earth under the fridge .

 

[bvddobb]

The german manual suggests to raise the roof, and then disconnect both the engine battery and the two leisure batteries. For what it is worth...

 

[jts46]

Sorry if i did not make it clear which battery. Don't have an inverter as it is PRE FACE LIFT.

 

[jts46]

But we do have roof front panel corrosion that VW refuse to do anything about..

 

[Pyabies]

Hello all,

I have a flashing display when I put the heater on but the heater then settles down and all works ok..I can live with that, BUT.........

Could there still be an Earth shunt fault and would this be why my fridge keeps switching off..those of you who had a confirmed earth shunt fault,did your fridge play up at all.?

Thanks for your help

 

[calikev]

What year is your van?

 

[Pyabies]

What year is your van?

2006 (with second leisure battery)

 

[bigblue]

Just a thought, I am no electrician but looking at a wiring diagram both the leisure batteries appear to have their negative terminals connected with the earth shunt on the battery under the fridge. Would it be easier to just make another earth connection to the battery under the front seat? There has to be a suitable connection to the chassis under the seat somewhere. Might make it an easier job?

 

[Andy]

Just a thought, I am no electrician but looking at a wiring diagram both the leisure batteries appear to have their negative terminals connected with the earth shunt on the battery under the fridge. Would it be easier to just make another earth connection to the battery under the front seat? There has to be a suitable connection to the chassis under the seat somewhere. Might make it an easier job?

I believe the batteries need to be earthed via the shunt to get battery display on the control unit display.

 

[comfortz]

A Big thank you to John for producing the earth shut repair in the download section.
Its just saved me a bucket load of time looking for what to disconnect!

I replaced the earth cable from the rear battery to the shut as well as placing another earth cable to the body as recommended in the 'how to'. Still a pig of a job - but then again I took the chance to replace the euro 230v socket and 12v socket with uk ones

Thanks John!

 

[zisdorf]

Do we know clearly/precisely what year & models need the earth shunt repair??

Thanks

 

[WelshGas]

Do we know clearly/precisely what year & models need the earth shunt repair??

Thanks

I'm afraid not. Basically the problem related to Galvanic Corrosion due to dissimilar materials used to connect the Leisure Battery earth to the vehicle body.

See Post 11 on this thread.
https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/earth-shunt-again.2710/

 

[calikev]

It seemed to be cured from 2010 but that said if the earth starts corroding where it bolts to the body under the fridge it can give earth problems

 

[v-tec]

Just done my shunt mod today,
Took me 4 hours from start to Finnish , I did not raise the roof because it was raining, My one is 2006 so had to remove the sink, used a magnetic 5.5mm socket to remove the 4 nuts holding the sink down,
To lift the fridge out i pushed up on the metal work that the compressor sits on and a friend grabbed the top, came out very easy, Put masking tape over the side of the wardrobe and along the front edge of the cabinet housing to prevent any scratches, Made a 300mm earth cable , Fitted a new shunt and bolted it up to the redundant seat belt threaded hole on the inner wheel arch ,
Job went very well, No overload message now, and no heater cutting out,
Battery readings showing less amp draw on heater fire up stage, all in all a good fix,
I've got a couple of long weekend coming up quad racing before the the end of the year,
I will feel a bit guilty being all snug in the Cali while my mates sleep in there vans,
In the mornings I will get from them, Did you have your heater on last night you
W****r, Sorry boys I'm afraid so
Loving my Cali , Perfect for my sport.