CityScout

Many thanks. 👍

I've searched - honest - and can't find what I'm looking for, which is: 2015 2.0 TDI Scout (CRMB engine): A list of (SKF/INA/Dayco) cambelt full kit part numbers. A guide on changing the cambelt. I've done loads of cambelts over the years, including at least half a dozen of the old PD engines - but it's never a bad idea to take note of the wrinkles someone else has ironed out. It has all come about because it's been little used this last two years and the first time it was started after a long period of being idle (apart from a failed battery - another story) it had developed a bit of a squeak. Chased it down to the auxiliary belt area and just the faintest hint of metal filings round the bottom pulley. I figured at 60K miles, 7 years and irregular usage, I might as well do the lot, especially the cambelt and water pump. Sourcing a bottom pulley, possibly the belt tensioner, is another part of the job. If anyone can fill the gaps, I'd be grateful.

I'm afraid that has NOT been my experience with AGMs. Apart from my less than wonderful encounters with them, if you look at the cost-benefit based on manufacturer's predicted Start-Stop cycles, £-for-£ compared to something like an EFB of the same quality, AGMs don't add up. The Scout is a basic Start-Stop system, so for now I'll stick with EFBs 😀 It's more the Law of Sod than anything else that my kit is not here to help recode it when the battery decides to quit.

It isn't common but by no means unknown, especially on older vehicles. Modern vehicles tend to have better control of the charging systems, the older systems just whacked 14.4 volts and varying amounts of current into the battery without much control. The result was boiled off electrolyte, causing the above mentioned catastrophe. Sealed batteries (as was the one that went bang) are not immune to gross overcharging and don't allow the electrolyte to be checked, so the problem is still there - but hidden. In my case the whole charging and distribution system (a Schaudt unit in a motorhome) was eventually found to have been butchered by the 'repair' done for the previous owner, after a fault, probably in the 3-way fridge, damaged some wiring and the internals of the Schaudt unit. It looks like his 'workaround' cooked the battery over a couple of years and the rest is history - plus a lot of extra laundry.😰 Anyhow! Back to the original question .................. By some miracle, the pulse-charge 'repair' I did on the battery has held up for now, probably because it's being driven regularly - but it is staggering that a battery that showed under 3 volts has come back to that extent. I've got to lay the credit at the feet of the very clever guy who designed my pulse generator. Sadly, I can't find any reference to his business, so maybe folded, or given up. I have a new EFB battery to fit but I'm uncertain that the current charging regime it has for an AGM will not harm the new battery, so unless someone knows otherwise, I'll wait until I can recode it before I fit it.

I tend to use it.

Thanks very much for the link. Excellent. Just the answers I needed. 👍 To be perfectly candid, I have had more than my fair share of AGM problems, they are never as good as claimed and very vulnerable to deep discharge damage. That and heat damage from either an external source, or internally from heavy loading is their Achilles heel ........ as well as the price. They all seem to base the reason for fitting them on an AGM being capable of 30% more cycles - but they cost on average 30% more (like-for-like by manufacturer). Given that, my unfortunate experience and their well documented shortcomings, I'll stick with EFB, I think. Age will get my battery long before Start/Stop cycles. I do very little town driving. 😀

Well, by some miracle it seems to have achieved an at rest voltage (after two hours off charge) of 12.8 volts. I'm thinking it was the bespoke pulse charger that has helped it. The guy who built it was/is(?) an electronics wizard who built stuff for solar charging systems and aircraft batteries - but I can't find any reference to his business now. Apart from the usual alarm screeching at me 'til I cycled the locks, it started immediately. TPMS, ASR/ABS and one other (memory fail) lights stayed on, plus it warned Start/Stop was disabled. 25 metres down the drive twice put them all out, the TPMS was the last to go. MOT in the morning, so the charger is staying on there 'til it goes for that, then back on again until the new battery arrives - a Start/Stop capable Varta EFB. Just got to get it coded at some stage, sooner rather than later, if the rumours are correct.

No probs. The red bit is a snapped off one of two vent adapters that attached pipes that went out to atmosphere. It was the battery that was fitted when we bought the motorhome. The charger is OK and has been watched like a hawk ever since. There is a comprehensive display for battery capacity, voltage and charge/discharge current. The casing was fine before the bang and the casing of the new one is OK too. It was quite literally like a shotgun going off next to you when it exploded. I'm fairly certain it was an internal short igniting the gas. The new battery, a Yuasa, is fully sealed. No vents. Both the mains and solar chargers are IUoU profile.

Now up to 12.2 volts after being left off charge for 3 hours. Back on again, with the pulse unit. Here's hoping ........... The weather is really foul right now, so I'll leave it going until tomorrow morning and see what it gets up to, then try refitting it. Slightly off-topic and not to teach Granny to suck eggs: I've used and owned motorhomes for over 40 years and thought I knew a bit about batteries. We got a very unpleasant surprise recently when the habitation battery on our (relatively recently acquired) motorhome exploded - with a bang like a bomb had gone off. Fortunately it didn't catch fire but there was acid everywhere. It was a good quality, Varta proper leisure battery. I didn't know it's history, other than there had been electrical problems with the charging system that I cured. It appears that abuse in a previous life had damaged the battery and eventually it suffered an internal short. Hydrogen and oxygen, even in a fully sealed battery, make a good bomb! The only clue I ever got (hindsight is a wonderful thing) is that it dropped its voltage to 10+ volts for no real reason a couple of days before and it gave almost subliminal flashes of a high charge rate the next morning - so quick you said to yourself "Did I really see that?" I sourced a new battery intending to collect and fit it when we moved at the end of the week. It exploded the next day and blew the top clean off: even though it was strapped over the top and onto the floor with two 1" wide webbing straps - which it snapped. The photo doesn't do the carnage justice. I had to lift a 37Kg bucket of acid out from under a seat and get it outside without spilling any more.

Just a thought: Have you tried one of the pulse chargers? I've had considerable success with one, albeit made by an electronics wizard 15 years ago, rather than a £15 Chinese built clone. They do work - but must NOT be left connected too long. I've just checked it and by coincidence, it was showing 13.89 volts. Upon disconnecting the charger it settled spot on 12 volts after 10 minutes, although I suspect it would drop lower if left. The acid test (no pun intended) will come tomorrow morning when I put it back on the car and try and start it. If it's stuffed, the voltage will drop too far to be of any use when the key is turned and it sees the starter motor load. I think the same will apply to your caravan battery. As soon as it sees a serious load, it might object.

Well under 7.5 volts. It was 2.96 volts - no I didn't miss the figure '1' off the front. 🙄 It's now on the bench, first with a big old fully charged battery paralled to it, and a bespoke de-sulphating pulse generator - plus a very basic 12 volt, unregulated charger across it as well. It came up to 9 volts in an hour, so the big battery was taken off and so far the voltage is up to 10 volts off charge, 13.9 on charge. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I'll see what it's like in the morning - but it will be replaced. It has its MOT on Tuesday, so as long as I can get the warning lights out on the dash and it passes, I'll be happy. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. It had sounded a bit reluctant to start before it was laid up, despite being on a smart charger. I think the 3 months neglect has finished off what was already a fairly terminal battery.

Thanks for the link. That looks awfully like the underbonnet of my car ........ 3 hours on the smart charger has done nothing. Time to dig out the big charger and if that doesn't work, it's jump leads and spare battery. It looks likely it's going to need a new battery, so my quest is to try and avoid AGMs if possible and reasonable. Resetting the battery management system is the next issue, ie, who can do it? I could with my scan tool - but that is in Spain at the moment .........🙄

Yep, external smart charger was connected - but something was not right - I suspect a 'Pike' issue, in that it's been left for 3 months with the plug not properly connected. Is your Mk ll 'Start-Stop' equipped - as per my Mk lll ? I am not a fan of AGM batteries, having had problems with them, a short life and just not performing as advertised. I understand some manufacturers are not fitting AGMs to Start-Stop vehicles any longer - because of the problems. I was looking for an alternative, eg: an EFB variety which are more than capable of 'Start-Stop' loadings. The other thing I don't know the answer to is if the charging system is properly configured for anything other than AGM - or even correctly set up for AGMs. There is a difference but it's possible both options could be covered.

It's been a while ............ Has anyone tried any other option for a new battery than the original (096) AGM type? Guess who's got a flat battery ............🙄

We had the great misfortune to try that with a Snooper attached to a 9 metre motorhome. It was very busy and Just as we got towards the bit that I knew from memory was awkward to catch the turn for Malaga - it quit, went blank, expired! Not funny! Not surprisingly it was replaced with a different brand. Back to happier memories: Looks like it's going to have to be a sticky disc on the dash and a generic offering from Garmin/TomTom/Mio.

Nice little unit. Looks to be the standard Garmin mount and power supply (USB) so can't utilise the existing outlet on the dash. Not the end of the world - but does anyone know if the existing outlet adapter for the factory fit satnav accepts anything other than the 'factory option' Garmin?

Very true - but driving on your own, too long spent looking at it could well mean running out of road ................

Ah! The one thing she doesn't want to do is use her ancient, basic, phone ('that's for phone calls' and I can understand that sentiment) Neither does she want to replace a perfectly adequate phone for the sake of getting annoyed/confused by an app she can't fathom. As for TomTom? Nothing wrong with the old TomToms - but I'm not even slightly impressed that they dumped support of my faithful old 520 nor impressed by the newer versions that insist on downloading 8-9Gb data for every map update. A mare if, like us, you have poor, or limited internet. A simple, small, basic satnav, least complication possible, minimum bits stuck on the dash is what's needed. Will

Hi All It's been a while .................. At last getting to grips with (nagged into ) doing something about the wife's 2012 Citigo satnav situation, ie, the lack of one. Nothing I've read encourages me to try and get hold of the VAG-supplied Garmin, although there are quite a few offered secondhand - probably because they're not wonderful. She doesn't want to use a phone/tablet/whatever, just a plain, simple satnav. I'm trying hard to avoid a windscreen mount and wire draped all over the dash, so does anyone know if the standard adapter will take any other Garmin-type satnavs, or if there's an aftermarket adapter that sits in the existing dash mount and takes the on-board power from there to run another brand of satnav? .......... or is it simpler to just buy a disc to stick on the dash and go a totally independent route? Will

I know this is a bit ancient history, but: Did you get anywhere? Trying to do the same thing on the wife's 2012 Citigo. Even a basic conversion from the back of the radio to a Buck converter/USB would work OK. Finding the identity of right switched supply seems to be the difficult bit. Will