Shunt fix

CaliJo said:
Just tried attempting this fix without removing the fridge in my 2007 Cali, I cut a hole behind the battery as others have and can now access the shunt, but for the life of me I can’t find the unused hole on the wheel arch, I assume it’s behind the fridge and I’ll have to remove/lift it, which I was really hoping to avoid! Has anyone actually done this with the fridge in place?
Click to expand...
vwcaliforniaclub.com

How-To Guide - Earth Shunt Repair Guide

Earth Shunt Repair Guide - To repairing flickering display and diesel heater not working correctly due to a bad earth connection on the shunt.
vwcaliforniaclub.com vwcaliforniaclub.com
Removing the fridge is easy, just make sure you have your roof up, gives you more room.
 
Hey all,

So i had issues with my diesel heater, previously discussed. Its a t6.1 beach with factory Eberspächer aux heater. VW said it was the wiring harness which was replaced. However since the repair when i turn the heater on the lights flicker when firing up/down and after a night of use i get a message on the dash saying low 12v, which makes me think its getting powered from the main battery and not the leisure battery. Just to note i have replaced my agm leisure battery to lifepo4 battery with bms which shows no draw on the battery when heater fires up. Funny thing is it used to draw from the leisure battery prior to the wiring harness replacement VW did as shown on the bms, however not anymore. Its going back tomorrow any tips of how i direct VW who dont appear to know what the fix is? Any tips appreciated. Could this be a earth shunt issue??
 
veedubz4life001 said:
Hey all,

So i had issues with my diesel heater, previously discussed. Its a t6.1 beach with factory Eberspächer aux heater. VW said it was the wiring harness which was replaced. However since the repair when i turn the heater on the lights flicker when firing up/down and after a night of use i get a message on the dash saying low 12v, which makes me think its getting powered from the main battery and not the leisure battery. Just to note i have replaced my agm leisure battery to lifepo4 battery with bms which shows no draw on the battery when heater fires up. Funny thing is it used to draw from the leisure battery prior to the wiring harness replacement VW did as shown on the bms, however not anymore. Its going back tomorrow any tips of how i direct VW who dont appear to know what the fix is? Any tips appreciated. Could this be a earth shunt issue??
Click to expand...
The T6.1 has a different battery monitoring system NO earth shunt.
The Parking Heater should only work from the Leisure Battery.
VW have wired it incorrectly.
 
WelshGas said:
The T6.1 has a different battery monitoring system NO earth shunt.
The Parking Heater should only work from the Leisure Battery.
VW have wired it incorrectly.
Click to expand...
At the risk of being a pedant, the Parking heater isn’t the air heater, it’s the engine coolant heater.
Just saying……
 
sidepod said:
At the risk of being a pedant, the Parking heater isn’t the air heater, it’s the engine coolant heater.
Just saying……
Click to expand...
As far as I am aware VW use Eberspacher for the Parking Air Heater and Webasto for the engine Coolant Heater.
We were talking about an Eberspacher Heater.
 
Whatever. The AIR heater in the living area is not, in VW world, the Parking Heater.

The California is just one of many iterations of the commercial platform that is the the Transporter.

Other iterations include Taxis, Ambulances, Crewcabs, Police etc.

These other vehicles as part of their useage profile, tend to spend periods of time ‘Parked’ when in use, waiting or taking a break etc.

When doing this, it’s a possibility to rely on the engine coolant heater to circulate warm air around the cabin to warm the driver for periods of time up to 120mins. Hence the reason it’s referred to as the “Parking’ heater.

Parking does not include sleeping over night in a camper version.
 
sidepod said:
Whatever. The AIR heater in the living area is not, in VW world, the Parking Heater.

The California is just one of many iterations of the commercial platform that is the the Transporter.

Other iterations include Taxis, Ambulances, Crewcabs, Police etc.

These other vehicles as part of their useage profile, tend to spend periods of time ‘Parked’ when in use, waiting or taking a break etc.

When doing this, it’s a possibility to rely on the engine coolant heater to circulate warm air around the cabin to warm the driver for periods of time up to 120mins. Hence the reason it’s referred to as the “Parking’ heater.

Parking does not include sleeping over night in a camper version.
Click to expand...
Disagree.

We are not talking about commercial variations of the Transporter, but the California.
Unless modified the only form of manual heating available in the California is the Eberspacher Air Heater, hence Parking Heater, a term used by many.

The Webasto coolant heater, unless modified, as you have done, is normally only available with Manual Operation in vehicles sold in Northern European Countries in which case it can be used as a Parking Heater for limited periods without flattening the engine battery unless the engine is also running.
 
veedubz4life001 said:
Hey all,

So i had issues with my diesel heater, previously discussed. Its a t6.1 beach with factory Eberspächer aux heater. VW said it was the wiring harness which was replaced. However since the repair when i turn the heater on the lights flicker when firing up/down and after a night of use i get a message on the dash saying low 12v, which makes me think its getting powered from the main battery and not the leisure battery. Just to note i have replaced my agm leisure battery to lifepo4 battery with bms which shows no draw on the battery when heater fires up. Funny thing is it used to draw from the leisure battery prior to the wiring harness replacement VW did as shown on the bms, however not anymore. Its going back tomorrow any tips of how i direct VW who dont appear to know what the fix is? Any tips appreciated. Could this be a earth shunt issue??
Click to expand...
@veedubz4life001, there was an issue reported by other users that some T6.1 vans had an undersized power cable to the Aux Heater (J364) (Eberspäche) - The cable was 1.5mm2 rather than 3mm2.

It meant that when the heater started and required a lot of power, the cable was too thin and the voltage at the heater dropped when switched on, so the heater then switched off itself due to low voltage.

I am absolutely sure it has been discussed on the forum numerous times, but I am struggling to find the specifics. But from Memory was just uprating of the Earth and Power wires to a larger size.

I believe the TPI (Dealer Technical Document) is 2069697/2 from German Caliboard.de site.

I don't have a copy but Google has various versions
 
Last edited:
Thanks guys for the replies.

So i got the van back today, apparently the customer service rep assured the battery was wired correctly and that the wiring harness is plug n play and apparently as the battery monitor has been removed when the lithium battery was put in they think its the monitor thats causing the problem. I cant seem to accept as it was working fine without the battery monitor on the leisure battery before the harness was changed. They said they tested it with a second leisure battery with monitor and it worked, not sure how they teated this without taking the lithium battery out. I asked to speak to the technician but he had left for the day so will speak to them on Monday.

Its beyond me why its no longer working and super frustrating.

I know VW are generally not great but here in Australia i thinks its another level.
 
vbk1975 said:
@veedubz4life001, there was an issue reported by other users that some T6.1 vans had an undersized power cable to the Aux Heater (J364) (Eberspäche) - The cable was 1.5mm2 rather than 3mm2.

It meant that when the heater started and required a lot of power, the cable was too thin and the voltage at the heater dropped when switched on, so the heater then switched off itself due to low voltage.

I am absolutely sure it has been discussed on the forum numerous times, but I am struggling to find the specifics. But from Memory was just uprating of the Earth and Power wires to a larger size.

I believe the TPI (Dealer Technical Document) is 2069697/2 from German Caliboard.de site.

I don't have a copy but Google has various versions
Click to expand...
Do you think the new wiring harness they have used is an older version??
 
vbk1975 said:
@veedubz4life001, there was an issue reported by other users that some T6.1 vans had an undersized power cable to the Aux Heater (J364) (Eberspäche) - The cable was 1.5mm2 rather than 3mm2.

It meant that when the heater started and required a lot of power, the cable was too thin and the voltage at the heater dropped when switched on, so the heater then switched off itself due to low voltage.

I am absolutely sure it has been discussed on the forum numerous times, but I am struggling to find the specifics. But from Memory was just uprating of the Earth and Power wires to a larger size.

I believe the TPI (Dealer Technical Document) is 2069697/2 from German Caliboard.de site.

I don't have a copy but Google has various versions
Click to expand...
Also worth noting the heater works fine (temperature permitting) just not from the leisure battery as before
 
veedubz4life001 said:
Thanks guys for the replies.

So i got the van back today, apparently the customer service rep assured the battery was wired correctly and that the wiring harness is plug n play and apparently as the battery monitor has been removed when the lithium battery was put in they think its the monitor thats causing the problem. I cant seem to accept as it was working fine without the battery monitor on the leisure battery before the harness was changed. They said they tested it with a second leisure battery with monitor and it worked, not sure how they teated this without taking the lithium battery out. I asked to speak to the technician but he had left for the day so will speak to them on Monday.

Its beyond me why its no longer working and super frustrating.

I know VW are generally not great but here in Australia i thinks its another level.
Click to expand...
I am not at all familiar with Lifepo4 battery, but generically the BMS work by measuring current flowing in and out of the battery via the Earth (and other measurements), if the earth is put on the wrong side of the BMS (ie by passing it, then the the device will work currently, but the current it takes will not register with the BMS) - But what i don't know if this is a possibility on a Lifepo4. I do believe the repair action for the heater does also require the earth wire to the chassis to be replaced, so if they have just wired it back to the battery and somehow bypassed the BMS this could explain the lack of current being detected.
 
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