2020 VW California Ocean T6.1 – Pop-top roof won't raise, single click under left front seat, no hydraulic pump noise

[louipedersen]

Hi everyone,


I'm hoping someone can help me diagnose a fault on the electric pop-top roof of my 2020 VW California Ocean T6.1.


The pop-top roof will not raise.


Symptoms:

• The camper control display works normally.
• When I press "Roof Open", I hear a single click from underneath the left front seat.
• There is no sound at all from the hydraulic pump.
• The roof does not move.
• There are no error messages on either the camper display or the dashboard (apart from the low fuel warning).

What I've checked so far:

• Leisure batteries measure 12.7 V with the engine off.
• With the engine idling they measure 14.5 V.
• I have a permanent Victron battery monitor installed, and the battery voltage does not drop at all when I press "Roof Open". It doesn't seem like the hydraulic pump is drawing any current.
• I have reset the camper control unit by removing and reinserting fuses SC5-SC8.
• I have checked all the fuses under the left front seat and they are all OK.
• With the help of another person, I confirmed that both relays marked "646" under the left front seat click when "Roof Open" is pressed.
• I've attached a photo of the area under the left front seat.
• The large black module next to the row of fuses in the attached photo becomes noticeably warm, even though the roof never moves.

History:
I had exactly the same problem once before. On that occasion, simply starting the engine and letting it idle for a couple of minutes solved the problem and the roof opened normally.


Unfortunately, this time that makes no difference.


My questions:

• Has anyone experienced these exact symptoms on a T6.1 Ocean?
• Does this point towards the hydraulic pump, the roof hydraulic control unit, a relay, or a wiring issue?
• Does anyone know what the large black module next to the row of fuses in the attached photo is, and whether it's normal for it to become warm?
• What do the two relays marked "646" control?
• Is there anything else I should measure or check before I start removing the headliner to access the hydraulic pump?

Any advice or experience would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks in advance!

 

[flying banana]

Try engine off. Ignition on. Plugged in to mains. Also, try lowering first? Even though its down

 

[louipedersen]

Try engine off. Ignition on. Plugged in to mains. Also, try lowering first? Even though its down

Thanks for the suggestion. I tried exactly that:

• Engine off
• Ignition on
• Connected to mains
• Pressed "Roof Down" first, even though the roof was already fully closed

Unfortunately, it made no difference. I still only hear a single click from underneath the left front seat, there is no sound from the hydraulic pump, and the roof doesn't move.

 

[flying banana]

My next suggestion is pull the control panel and put 12v to the roof motor from your battery to see what happens. Daunting I know

 

[louipedersen]

My next suggestion is pull the control panel and put 12v to the roof motor from your battery to see what happens. Daunting I know

Thanks. That's a good suggestion.
Before I apply 12V directly to the pump, I'd like to measure whether 12V actually reaches the pump connector when "Roof Open" is pressed. If there's already power there, the pump becomes the main suspect. If not, I'll continue tracing the fault upstream.
Do you know the easiest way to access the pump connector on a T6.1 Ocean?

 

[flying banana]

No mate. But I'm.sure it's behind the screen like it is on the t6

 

[louipedersen]

Update:

I found the problem.

It turned out to be a faulty relay under the left front seat. The relay clicked normally, but it was still defective.

I found the fault by swapping the two identical relays marked 646. After swapping them, the roof would open but not close. Swapping them back made the roof close again, but it would no longer open. In other words, the fault followed the relay.

The VW part number for the relay is 4H0 951 253 C.

I'm attaching a photo showing the relay location under the left front seat and a photo of the relay itself. Hopefully this helps anyone else who experiences the same problem.

 

[lohr500]

Thanks.
That's great detective work and feedback.
Very helpful in case we ever find ourselves with the same problem.

 

[Vinnie Van G]

Update:

I found the problem.

It turned out to be a faulty relay under the left front seat. The relay clicked normally, but it was still defective.

I found the fault by swapping the two identical relays marked 646. After swapping them, the roof would open but not close. Swapping them back made the roof close again, but it would no longer open. In other words, the fault followed the relay.

The VW part number for the relay is 4H0 951 253 C.

I'm attaching a photo showing the relay location under the left front seat and a photo of the relay itself. Hopefully this helps anyone else who experiences the same problem.

View attachment 149491

View attachment 149492

Very helpful should any other owners experience this fault. Thanks for taking the time to identify & sharing

 

[Fordiesdocamping]

Hi everyone,


I'm hoping someone can help me diagnose a fault on the electric pop-top roof of my 2020 VW California Ocean T6.1.


The pop-top roof will not raise.


Symptoms:

• The camper control display works normally.
• When I press "Roof Open", I hear a single click from underneath the left front seat.
• There is no sound at all from the hydraulic pump.
• The roof does not move.
• There are no error messages on either the camper display or the dashboard (apart from the low fuel warning).

What I've checked so far:

• Leisure batteries measure 12.7 V with the engine off.
• With the engine idling they measure 14.5 V.
• I have a permanent Victron battery monitor installed, and the battery voltage does not drop at all when I press "Roof Open". It doesn't seem like the hydraulic pump is drawing any current.
• I have reset the camper control unit by removing and reinserting fuses SC5-SC8.
• I have checked all the fuses under the left front seat and they are all OK.
• With the help of another person, I confirmed that both relays marked "646" under the left front seat click when "Roof Open" is pressed.
• I've attached a photo of the area under the left front seat.
• The large black module next to the row of fuses in the attached photo becomes noticeably warm, even though the roof never moves.

History:
I had exactly the same problem once before. On that occasion, simply starting the engine and letting it idle for a couple of minutes solved the problem and the roof opened normally.


Unfortunately, this time that makes no difference.


My questions:

• Has anyone experienced these exact symptoms on a T6.1 Ocean?
• Does this point towards the hydraulic pump, the roof hydraulic control unit, a relay, or a wiring issue?
• Does anyone know what the large black module next to the row of fuses in the attached photo is, and whether it's normal for it to become warm?
• What do the two relays marked "646" control?
• Is there anything else I should measure or check before I start removing the headliner to access the hydraulic pump?

Any advice or experience would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks in advance!

View attachment 149479

See there are nice people here, great information for all owners. Thank you

David

 

[Croft Farm]

Try engine off. Ignition on. Plugged in to mains. Also, try lowering first? Even though its down

We have had a failure this holiday. The oil came out of the ram with a loud bang, all over the van and the roof collapsed on one side. We couldn’t get anyone to assist, so we put the roof down and drove home from France with a robust strap over the roof.
Now in the UK we went to the VW van centre in Newcastle and they were totally useless. They say they will have it back in a couple of weeks and take the roof off to fix the problem.
Does anyone know who could help with a repair.
Looks like it needs new struts and a new ram on both sides.