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Two points on limiting brake pad/rotor wear:
1) My experience is as a ship driver...spent 31 years in the Navy "driving"
destroyers, patrol gunboats, and aircraft carriers, none of which had brakes.
Doing so, one learns to anticipate the need to decrease power early on in
order to avoid giving a backing bell.
2) I have a 2001 Weekender (automatic transmission) which is significantly
lighter than an EVC. I had similar brake pad/shoe wear on my 1993 Weekender
until I sold it at 164,000 miles while it was still on its first replacement
brake set.

Good luck,
Bob W.

Bob,

I do not think I am a "heavy breaker," nor is my wife (who sometimes drives the EVC) but how in the heck did you get 73K+ out of one set of Eurovan brakes?! My 2000 had one disk/pad replacement by the previous owner at about 35K and I had to do it again at 60K. Do you have a manual trans?

The two mechanics who have worked on my EVC (both very well trusted) explain how VW (and most other German vehicles) have "soft rotors" and high wearing pads, and that my experience is not that unusual.

I have often heard the mechanic folklore that it is cheaper to replace brakes than to repair a clutch/transmission, so that is why it is better to use the brakes instead of "engine braking" but it seems like mine are wearing out a lot quicker than yours do! We do use (automatic) 3rd gear on descending mountain roads and we don't pull any trailers.

Any tips for keeping the brakes working for so long? Were you just lucky?

Dave Richoux 2000 EVC

If the wipers and headlights also go out when the audible alarm comes on, it might be the ignition switch-this is what happened to my van-
Judy
02 WK

for what its worth, if you never want to see that light again or hear the sound, you can take the wiring from your old pads that are severed and use a wire connector to put them together. that restores continuity and the light stays out. when you install your new pads you just don't connect the sensor and you know when to replace them the same way we've know for the past 50 years.
peace
mike

--- leadrcd <clyde318000@...> wrote:

I have a '02 EVC with 50k miles on it. Last week a warning light came
on indicating that the brake pads needed replacement. My friendly Les
Schwab dealer pulled the tires and found that the pads were in good
shape - more than 50% wear left. That's the good news, the bad is
warning light remains on and emits an earspliting buzzing sound about
every third time I start up the van (same sound as the low fuel
buzzer). Any thoughts on resetting the warning system? Thanks.

Check both front and back pads to see what the situation is with the wire/sensor.

There is no easy way to do this. Those of us who have changed the brake pads several times have made a connector using the old one off the brake pods so that the two wires are connected together. Plug that into the complaing wheel and the wanring goes away.

Did your Les Schwab person check both front and back? They usually don't check the rear wheels, but the Eurovan is one of those rare vehicles that wear the rear pads as quick as the front.

--Stephen

It could be that even though your pads are good, there sometimes is a fault in the detector wire built into the pads. I have seen this come up on the list a few times (has not happened to me.) Some searching through the archives and files section might find a quick cure (or you may be SOL!)

Dave Richoux 2000 EVC

I have a '02 EVC with 50k miles on it. Last week a warning light came
on indicating that the brake pads needed replacement. My friendly Les
Schwab dealer pulled the tires and found that the pads were in good
shape - more than 50% wear left. That's the good news, the bad is
warning light remains on and emits an earspliting buzzing sound about
every third time I start up the van (same sound as the low fuel
buzzer). Any thoughts on resetting the warning system? Thanks.

Clyde the Guide

I'll try replacing the sensor and purging the cooling system of air.
After the replacement, I'll let you know if my overheating problem
is solved. Thanks for your input everyone.

--- In ev_update@..., "dave_king_ev" <dave_king_ev@...>
wrote:

That would be my conclusion. Either the sensor is bad or the
connection to the sensor is so corroded that the wiring is not

picking

up the circuit through the sensor when it closes in both its

positions

(I suppose you would have noticed excessive corrosion during your
jumper tests).



--- In ev_update@..., "campbellmeister"
<campbellmeister@> wrote:

Dave, I don't think the fans are activating at low, medium and

high

speeds like they should be. I jumped the wires that plug into

the

coolant temperature sensor on the passenger side of the radiator

and

both fans function properly at low and medium speeds. When I

start

the vehicle and let it warm up I have not witnessed the fans

activating

on low, medium and high speeds. If the fans function properly

but they

do not activate when the vehicle gets hot, does that mean I have

a bad

coolant temperature sensor?

--- In ev_update@..., "dave_king_ev" <dave_king_ev@>
wrote:

I didn't ask the question clearly, or you didn't answer

clearly, or

both. Let's try again:

The fans have three speeds. Low, medium, high. They always

run

together (eg, both low, or both medium, or both high, or both

off).

Does that describe your fans?


--- In ev_update@..., "campbellmeister"
<campbellmeister@> wrote:

Hi Dave,

I dont think my fans are running at different speeds. It

seems

like

they are only running at a single speed. Both fans are

opperating at

the same speed. Any advice for testing the multiple fan

speeds?

--- In ev_update@..., "dave_king_ev"

<dave_king_ev@>

wrote:

If your radiator cap is leaking you'd know it. It's

sealed by

a

big

o-ring (over 1" diameter) in the well of the overflow

tank.

The

o-ring seals long before the cap is screwed down all the

way.

Either

the tank holds pressure or it doesn't. Don't waste your

time

on a

new

one unless you notice the tank failing to hold pressure.

Do the fans always run together? Do they change speeds?

What

are

your observations?



--- In ev_update@..., "campbellmeister"
<campbellmeister@> wrote:

--- In ev_update@..., gti_matt <gti_matt@>

wrote:

--- campbellmeister <campbellmeister@> wrote:

Hello All,
I recently purchased an EV GL with 90,000 miles on

it

and I

am

loving

this thing. Unfortunately I am having an issue with

the

cooling

system.

At random times while driving on city streets, the

temp

light

begins to

blink and the temp gauge needle begins to climb. The

needle

does

not

climb all the way to the top of the meter but it

gets

close

enough to

make me concerned. Like clockwork, the light stops

blinking

and

the

needle begins to plummet back to normal operating

temperatures.

My

cooling fans are operational and there is fluid in

my

overflow

reservoir. I was thinking that this might be a

sticking

thermostat. Any

advice would be greatly appreciated.

I'm not overly suspicious of the thermostat myself. T-

stats

usually fail in one of two

ways...either fully open (engine usually never fully

warms

up

unless car isn't moving and is

idling but cools down...way down...after car is moving

again)

or

it sticks fully closed, in which

case the car would overheat and the fans would usually

not

come on

since the water in the radiator

is still cool and isolated from the hot engine circuit.

It might be a thermostat if it's opening, but just not

fully

opening and therefore only partially

restricting water flow, but I've never really seen

them

fail

that

way myself.

I would instead suspect the lower-speeds fan circuit.

Although

you said the fans are coming on,

are they coming on only in the highest speed? That

might

be

the

case...the lower speeds aren't

happening and so the coolant heats up and only the

highest

speed,

triggered by the thermoswitch

sensing the coolant getting very hot, so that's why

you

see it

get

close to overheating.

Thanks for your responses. I will go agahead and try the

new

radiator cap. As for the fan speeds, I am not totally

sure

how

to

check the fan speeds. I know that when the AC is running

the

fans

are both operating at the same speed. Do you know a

simple

way

to

check the fan speeds? I've read about a way to close the

circuts

on

certain sensors and the fans will operate at different

speeds.

I'll

probably go through those checks this weekend unless

someone

has

an

easier way to check the three fan speeds.

Forest -

In my EVC the lead from the combiner relay to
the front bat is ~18" long, with a 30A auto
reset breaker in the lead, which is why I didn't
use a fuse in my short jumper. There is also a
40A fuse at the rear bat area.

BTW, crocodile clips, with their wider jaws, fit
great on the large relay terminals, at a 90 degree
angle. Standard 'Mueller 30' clips will work, but
not as secure as flat nose 'bat charger' clamps.

Regards,

Jack_son
===============================================
--In ev_update@..., "forest flanigan" <creoflan@...>
wrote:

A fuse is a good idea. I'm not making it for charging while sitting-

-more as

a emergency jumper. I use a marine battery in the coach and keep an

eye on

the charge--and don't use much power when camping.

Forest

What year? On my 2002 GLS, I take off the end cap and tighten with a
hex/allen bit - all done!



--- In ev_update@..., "B Feddish" <bfeddish@...> wrote:

My driver's side armrest was mysteriously broken when I got it back

from my

mechanic. It's pretty wobbly. Does anyone know off-hand what I need

to fix?

Thanks,

Bryan

I don't know about Seattle but I do know that I work on the VW MV in Olympia
area. As far as Seattle is concerned, I,myself, would trust Chris at Fine
Tuning off of Aurora as long as he says he will work on them. I don't know
what he feels about the EVC but I do know he is an excellent VW mechanic.



Dave

Fifty thousand miles is about the right time to need new pads, particularly
in the heavier EVC. The front and the rear pads are sized to wear out about
the same time. While the front pads are larger, they apply most of your
stopping power. One brake pad on each wheel has a wire embedded in it. When any one
of those four pads is worn down to that wire such that the wire is severed,
"brake warning light" circuit continuity is now lacking and the light on the
dash board illuminates. In addition, if for some reason a wire elsewhere in
the circuit gets severed or a connector is loose, circuit continuity is also
broken and the light will illuminate.

In my case, the front pads were the first to need replacement. When the
light illuminated at 73,000 miles, I found that one of the front pads had worn
to the extent that the wire in the pad was severed. Measuring that pad
revealed that I could expect about another 40,000 miles from the pad before the
pad's backing plate scraped the rotor. But that would mean 40,000 more miles
with a light and periodic buzzer. Hence, I changed the front pads and the
dashboard light extinguished. About 2000 miles later, the light again illuminated
and I found that the wire in one of the rear pads was severed. After
replacing the rear pads the light extinguished and remains so at 124,000 miles.

I suspect that the wire in each pad is embedded at an imprecise depth such
that once the wire is severed, one may have anywhere from zero to five mm of
pad remaining and perhaps more.

If you want to "reset the warning system" then you must restore circuit
continuity. My suspicion is that replacing the pads on all four wheels will
solve your problem. There are instructions in our files section for DIY pad
replacement.

Good luck,
Bob W.

Er, this was supposed to be posted on its own, as a new thread... sorry -


And YOUR favorite Seattle area EVC mechanic shop is....???

Thanks for your help...

Land
('97 Winnebago EVC )

A fuse is a good idea. I'm not making it for charging while sitting--more as
a emergency jumper. I use a marine battery in the coach and keep an eye on
the charge--and don't use much power when camping.

Forest

That's always debatable, but I try not to blow things up with my
experiments! Just a 12 gauge wire is fine. I leave it on all winter. It
doesn't heat up when I start the engine because it starts fast and most of
the current comes from the chassis battery anyway. Extended cranking would
be a problem for it though. I should probably put a 30A fuse on it, you
might consider that. It's a PITA to take it off every time you want to
drive the van.



When I upgrade to the Duo Charge and Odyssey the solenoid will be gone, and
I'll have to either jump the Duo Charge or use a trickle charger on the
chassis battery.



Stuart



_____

From: ev_update@... [mailto:ev_update@...] On Behalf
Of forest flanigan
Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2008 11:38 AM
To: ev_update@...
Subject: Re: [ev_update] Shore power charging--was: Trickle Charging both
bats?



Stuart-

Sounds like you know what your doing.
What size wire do you use for your jumper--I'm going to make one up this
week-

Forest

EVC or not? <<

Sorry, it's a 2003 EV MV.



Thanks,
Bryan

EVC or not?

There is a cast metal lug on the EVC front seats with a steel tab that is supposed to position the arm. The steel part is held on by swedging the cast metal and it often breaks. I fixed mine by epoxy gluing the tabs back into position, then screwing the hex socket screw in tightly. They have held up for a few months now...

You can find the screw and tab by pulling out the plastic cover at the pivot point.

I don't know if non-EVCs have similar armrests.

Dave Richoux 2000 EVC

Stuart-

Sounds like you know what your doing.
What size wire do you use for your jumper--I'm going to make one up this
week-

Forest

Winnebago was probably suppose to replace the VW sticker with the updated one. Maybe they did and someone just pulled it off leaving the original one from VW. My 2002 EVC has the same sticker on the doorjamb and in the Winnebago owners manual.

Miles K.