dinocarsfast

I used to be a Master Tech at a BMW dealership and now I'm an electrical engineer so I'll give it my best guess what happened. It sounds like dealership one poorly diagnosed the problem and the true failure was intermittent. The PCM relay is controlled by the PCM and supplies power to the PMC. I think F32 powers this relay and it will cause weird problems that might point to a defective PCM and if it is a loose connection will be intermittent. I dont think you will have a problem anymore but if you do get rid of as a lemon, 4.5 weeks in a shop is long enough in most states. But if you're happy with it make sure to not take it easy and complain, at BMW we would have made lease or loan payments on a car if it was in a shop for more than a couple weeks

I'm looking for All-Terrain tires and the best option I found so far is Yokohama 205/70r15 98H they are only 4% larger compared to stock. If 15" steel wheels fit over the front brakes does anyone know what vehicle I could get these wheels from used? Or will 215/65r16 98H fit? They are 6.7% taller Or the last option because they do not have the rated weight rating 215/60r16 95H,

I might still have a spare reel if I can find it. My van didnt have a spare tire when I got it and I needed the removable part on the end of the cable that the spare bolts to. I wont be home until mothers day weekend. PM me if you are interested, I will give it away for shipping costs if I can find it.

I wouldnt worry about getting replacement parts. Conversions done by companies like this use generic parts and they are not specific to the vehicle and the conversion company makes fixtures and installs the part. If it has lithium ion batteries I wouldn't worry about needing replacement batteries, if it has lead acid you will probably need to upgrade them within a few years.

what is in this picture? that looks like the low cluster but is that cruise control? I thought cruise control wasn't available with a low cluster

I wish I had seen this before you bought it, I had difficulties using one of these. It wasnt able to upload the secondary boot loader, or something else for the as-built-data data transfer and I ended up getting a OBDLink MX wifi and havent had any problems with it since. https://www.amazon.com/ScanTool-OBDLink-MX-Wi-Fi-Diagnostic/dp/B00OCYXTYY

I'm taller than your son and I didnt have problems sitting in either seat but I hear a lot of shorter people complaining about fitting places because of their height and my reaction is usually try a little harder. But I also cut up the passenger seat bracket and welded in a spinner to turn the seat around during winter camping. It shows you region as "US Great Lakes" I'm in the Milwaukee area if your close I could probably do a quick cut and weld to make it go back further if you still thought you needed to.

I have a 2015 transit that was cng but I removed everything, it was the Westport system. I might be willing to sell everything then you could have it installed in a new vehicle as a cheaper alternative if you found an installer that would let you bring your own parts. But I didnt think that a transit conversion would qualify for California HOV plates because it is dual fuel, and to qualify the car must be CNG dedicated fuel only. But what do I know, I live in the midwest

I put nokian hakkapelitta 7 with a 60 aspect ratio sidewall I think. They have been good so far. I mostly got them because they had a 100 rebate, figured they would be a few years old but the production date was only 2016 if I recall correctly.

I have used things such as these; locking lugnut removal set these tool sets work well, its like a reverse threaded nut that when you spin the socket CCW it tightens down and grips the lugnut or you could try the 12 point socket and hammer it on like this

I used a VXC nano, it worked ok, I reprogrammed a BCM and replaced the PCM. I had some errors with changing the car configuration but I think that was because of the IDS version. The version of IDS that I used must be run on VM and couldnt be installed on the host, this was a bit of a problem for me. I also use OBDLink MX with the open source software FORScan. I like FORScan a lot since the developer responds back if you have any problems and newer versions are always being released. Though I dont think you can program control modules with it and I had problems with changing central configuration but I think that will be corrected in the future.

This directory has almost all junkyard listed that keep inventory of stock in North America, I always check here first. Car-part

Impressive build, I wish I could have finished mine in a week

You said you programmed the new cluster but did you change the vehicle configuration "as built" in the BCM? I will be doing this next weekend or some time soon so I will let you know how it goes.

If it snapped off you will have to take the assembly off from the inside, if it just fell off because the screw tightening it wasnt tightened you might be able to buy a handle and install it in 5 minutes. Its hard to explain but a small torx or allen covered by plastic cap near the door latch will release the handle. Sorry I dont have any pictures at this time but most small suv door handles are similar these days so you can just google how to remove a ford escape handle and it should be similar.

I am in the process of doing the same thing but I travel a lot and I am barely home to work on the van. What are you using to program your van, IDS or FORScan and it says you installed the cluster in your van but did you program the cluster and change the Central Configuration in the BCM yet? Wow I just read the dates of the post and you have been working on this for a while

it might be possible but you might not be able to program the key without inserting it into the ignition. I programmed my pats keys using Ford IDS software but if I were to do it again I would use FORScan its free and they have great support. Here is a link to programming the keys; http://forscan.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=839

Sorry, to clarify the setup that I was describing I was assuming that you would be using a dc to dc charger like these; http://amsolar.com/rv-solar-panel-kit/charge-controllers/ These chargers are marketed for rv solar setups but a photovoltic cell is just a another power source and if you connect it to your vehicle battery the charger will charge your auxiliary batteries just the same as long as it is expecting a 12V source. Without a charger like this an auxiliary battery setup will be not be fully utilized and your auxiliary batteries will never get charged and store only a fraction of the batteries advertised current. Many people connect auxiliary batteries directly to the vehicle positive, this in my opinion will cost a more because the batteries will never fully charge and you will need multiple batteries. And being that they are usually kept at a low charge level they will need to be replaced more frequently. One difficulty with a charger like this is that you only want it to charge when the engine is running, so you will need a switch. Otherwise you could discharge your vehicle battery while trying to charge your auxiliary battery if the engine is not running. If my explanation is not clear or missing anything please let me know I will be glad to clarify.

I am building mine with the auxiliary batteries connected to the vehicle charging system too. One thing to consider is the alternator output is very low at idle and will barely charge the batteries, This link has has the output curve of the alternator; Ford Fleet charging system documentation So with my 2.5 engine at idle 600 rpm and 2.76 pulley ratio the alternator will spin around 1700 rpm, producing less than 100 amps. Estimating some of the main loads, headlights that dont yet switch off in my van, 55w each equaling 10 amps and with losses and other loads I dont expect much more than a couple of amps for the auxiliary batteries unless the vehicle is moving and the engine is spinning. Though with an auxiliary battery charger it might be able to charge auxiliary by stepping up the voltage and drawing more current than what the alternator is producing but this will only be draining your main battery if alternator output current is not enough. The overdrive pulley solution. I plan to install one of these http://www.cpgenerator.com/overdrivepulleys.html it might put a little higher load on the bearings but I dont rev the engine very high anyway because I try to save fuel so Im not to worried. Also if the bearing go bad and it starts to make noise, alternator replacement is easy and it will be a good excuse to install a higher output unit. I am really curious why you need 4 optima deep cycle batteries I have heard from people that use that much reserve power for 5th wheel rigs and with a lot of loads and live completely off the grid. I would also suggest a battery monitor like this https://www.solar-electric.com/trtmbamosy1.html. You install a shunt resistor directly to the battery and it monitors how much current goes into or out of your battery and accurately monitors your charge state and power usage. With a battery monitor you will be able to use a lot more of your batteries and they will probably have less wear because you will better be able to avoid overly discharging them. Keep everyone posted on your progress and what you decide to go with. Don't be like me, I need to make a build thread but I my build has been progressing slower than I had hoped.

Not sure if what your trying to say is not clear or if what your trying to say is wrong but I believe the cargo vans are more expensive to import because of the 25% "chicken tax" on imported trucks. Because of this all cargo vans were imported as passenger vans then converted to cargo vans then the seats and windows were shipped back to the factory.

Nice work, do you stay in the Salt Lake City area or do you travel around a lot. I hope to have my van built before winter and able to have a long ski trip too!

I think the armrest comes attached to the seat on base versions when the center console doesnt have a padded surface. My van is very basic and doesnt have much but the armrest is attached to the seat

I believe the side rails are bolted from the inside in 5 locations on each side. If you see a van without the side rails they will have plastic caps covering the holes. I dont have any pictures now but I think eddwal50's pictures show the 5 locations

Thanks but it was really straight forward, the weirdest thing that I found was how the AC compressor seems to be mounted without a spring belt tensioner and no way to adjust tension. I was once a BMW master technician before I went to college. I have constantly been working with my hands since then too so they dont lose their ability. But I knew what I was getting into when I bought this since I have recently learned that I can save a lot of money if I buy it broken and do the repairs myself

I had some fun this weekend.... and made more progress on my camper build but I am still doing preliminary work getting the van operational. I was not able to start the old engine and test the electronics yet because I haven't gotten the Ford IDS scan tool and software yet but I went ahead and replaced the engine since cylinder 4 had a bent rod Luckily changing the engine went straight forward and I have it mostly buttoned up at this point. Currently I am waiting to see if initializing the keys to the car solves my last problem until I find something else wrong with the car. I really hope I don't have to many more problems and repair costs don't blow up to big and dip into my traveling funds but that's the way it goes sometimes, oh well.