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The ONE in September

RoadTime

RoadTime

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
whatliesbeneath.jpg

If there ever was a class action law suit I could really get behind, it would be one addressing the ongoing rust issues that continue to plague Sprinters.
Having moved up in Sprinter by a decade, I would have thought the rust issues would have been resolved by now.

Apparently not :(

There still a ticking time bomb :eek:

For the amount of money these things cost new, having it fairly quickly start to have rust issues whether seen (or worse unseen), blows my mind.
By the time is shows it's ugly face, you have some serious rust issues going on.

I'll ease up on my little rant now ;)

Today, I got to see the progress on my newer Sprinters full body makeover. It did have several of the typical Sprinter rust spots and the beginnings of rust around the windshield area.

The windshield area, I'm unfortunately all too familiar with :rolleyes:

Eventually, if left untreated, becomes a huge problem when needing a new windshield.

My current van had been nicely re-painted, and the troublesome areas were concealed for the most part. However, that's all they were, concealed. The root problems were not stopped and would only continue to get worse. Since I plan on having this van for many more years, this needed to be corrected now!

What Lies Beneath...

It was the unseen rust areas that surprised me the most, and even the shop owner, as he pondered how some of this rust was even possible.

As of today, the van is stripped down, as they continue to attack and destroy the remainder of the rust issues, before painting.

This is how it looked on my visit.

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Pretty ugly to look at right now, can't wait to see the finished product :D
 
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Turtle

Turtle

Administrator
Staff member
Retired Expediter
RoadTime said:
Turtle said:
I replaced the multifunction switch on the van yesterday.
Click to expand...

That's messed up, but a little funny at the same time :D
Click to expand...
Yeah, it was funny. Annoying, but funny. THe first sign the multifunction switch is going bad is the wiper delay doesn't work, or works erratically (sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't). After that it moves to headlights and/or turn signals.

If you Google "headlights flash with turn signal" or something similar, you run across copious amounts of answers from people who don't know what they're talking about, but they think do, because they've used reasoning and common sense to divine the answer. That's where the real funny is. They'll say it's a short in the wiring harness, and it certainly could be. But no. Some will tell you it's a blown fuse, which makes no sense at all. Others will say it's a failed relay, which makes as much sense as a blown fuse.

But if you get to forums comprised of people who know what they're talking about, the right answer is invariably the multifunction switch or the electronic turn signal switch (not the turn signal relay). I was confident enough in my diagnosis that I just ordered the part and had my mechanic replace it.
 
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Turtle

Turtle

Administrator
Staff member
Retired Expediter
RoadTime said:
Turtle said:
I also had a Fantastic Fan Vent adventure.

I had the model 6600, with the 14 speeds, rain sensor, all that. I hit the remote to turn on the fan, the dome raised and the fan came on, and as soon as the dome reached fully open it immediately closed right back down and the fan shut off.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure which model I have now that came with this van, but it has the same features. Still haven't figured out the remote completely. Can't get it to open with the remote, but it will close, although not by any request I made (I think). Maybe user error, but wondering if I may need the upgrade. I finally figured out how to increase the fan speed, (I was thinking, wow is this thing wimpy lol), so it might just be me. Guess I need to find a instruction manual for this thing :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
You have the 6600R (R is for Rain Sensor). The toggle switch by the knob enables or disables the rain sensor. When it's really humid and the dome can't decide whether to close or open, because it doesn't know the difference between humid and rain, you'll know when to disable it.

The Auto/Manual/OFF button toggles between, well, it's right there on the button When it's OFF, the first press turns on the fan to automatic mode, and then you press the up and down arrow keys to set the thermostat to the desired temp. After you do that, and don't press any more buttons, the LED will eventually change to show you what the temperature is. The fan will automatically speed up and slow down depending on temperature and thermostat setting. If you have the thermostat set to 70 degrees and it's 100 degrees, the fan will pretty much run at full speed until it cools down to 70 degrees. (Don't hold your breath for that to happen in Laredo).

I rarely run mine in automatic mode. Occasionally when I'm sleeping. But mostly when I start the fan up, I just push the button twice to start it in Manual mode, then set the fan speed to whatever I like.

Attached are 3 files. One is in case you ever need it, how to program the remote. That's in case your remote is no longer talking to the fan. You are programming that remote to talk to the fan.

Another is the operating instructions for that fan and remote.

The third file is the supersekrit instructions on how to increase the power (and thus range) of the remote. It not only increases the range of the remote, which is more of an issue in large RVs, but it increases the power of the remote. Sometimes in densely populated areas there is so much radio interference that you have to move the remote a couple of feet away from the fan for it to work. I boosted mine a notch to where I run into that problem very rarely.

I will say the upgrade kit is great. The dome raises and lowers much faster, but the biggest difference is being able to change the in/out airflow from the remote and not having to use the toggle switch. But I wouldn't have upgraded the 6600R with the upgrade kit if mine had still been working properly. If you have an older 3 speed fan and no rain sensor, it's probably worth it.
 

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  • Range Boost Study.pdf
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DollarSign

DollarSign

Fleet Owner
Owner/Operator
Well the Charlotte office strikes again! I'll be heading close to the office this weekend. It just got me to thinking. Hey Mr. E since I'll be there Monday why not extend the Drivers Appreciation week to one more week :tearsofjoy:.

Next years 2019 Drivers Appreciation week is September 8th - 14th. I've also thought about getting 4 brushes and have Mr. E, Mr. Whitley, Sr, and Nick wash my van while I watch :tearsofjoy:. I can see it now, hey you your missing a spot :tearsofjoy:!
 
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DollarSign

DollarSign

Fleet Owner
Owner/Operator
At Lady Jane's getting a cut and beard trim. Look up my delivery and said open 24hrs. I was like WOW! After calling and talking with someone there, have to wait til Monday.
 
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RoadTime

RoadTime

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
Use it or lose it...
Practice makes perfect...

About 3 years ago, I started playing guitar again after a long hiatus. After a year of almost daily practice and study, I got fairly good. Nothing outstanding, but I could definitely hold my own. Had a long list of songs and practice drills I could do by memory. Then I got to the point that I wasn't really progressing any more, kind of plateaued, got bored, and shelved it for over a year.

Last night, I finally decided to stop looking at it sitting in the corner and do a little jamming.

Oh my, I was horrible :eek:

Other then remembering a few basic cords, my memory was blank, as I tried to play songs and run through drills I used to be able to do in my sleep.

Going to take a lot of work if I want to get back to where I was.

Needless to say, my return debut didn't go over as well as I expected ;)

0124ears.jpg
 
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