# Avantgarde 200



## 107467 (Oct 5, 2007)

I have just bought a 2003 Compass avantgarde 200 (private sale). Everything was well until i got home with it. Firstly the battery is knackered so it won't start now and secondly the speedometer has gone wonky, saying i'm doing 120mph , i wish. 
Is the battery just a standard car battery.
And has anyone had a similar problem with speedo.


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Battery*

Hi

Re the speedo. I had a new speedo fitted to a Vauxhall Astra as the needle was "wobbly". It was a very quick job at the main agent. Hopefully, the same for the Peugeot.

Russell


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## Broom (Oct 8, 2007)

Hi Lacmac

First of all what has discharged the battery, alarm and the like, it may not need a new one, all though it is likely as it will be the original.

Speedo don't know.

Best Regards
Broom


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## 107467 (Oct 5, 2007)

Thanks Russel and Broom,

That's the downside to buying private, if something goes wrong you have to fork out for it yourself. So i don't know how much a dealer will charge to repair it, but i'll give them a call tomorrow.

As for the battery. The van had been left standing since June, even the leisure battery is finished,the terminals were covered in corosion. And your right Broom, it has an alarm which of course is draining the battery all the time. I'm not a believer in alarms, you here them go off all the time and people just get used to them and don't do anything about them. It has an immobiler as well. 

I picked it up from bristol last night, stayed in a car park in stroud. in the morning it would not start, so had to get the breakdown service out to restart it, came all the way up to Stockton which took about 5hrs, turned of the ignition and tried to restart it, nope, i got about half a turn of the engine then it died. And as i've never had to replace a motorhome battery before i wasn't sure if they were any different from a car battery.


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## timbop37 (Jun 28, 2006)

I would go ahead and replace the battery and speedo cable. On a 5 year old van, if you only have those faults, you are doing pretty well.

Good luck with your new purchase.


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## sideways (Jun 2, 2008)

Hi it will be bigger than a car battery, just go to your local motor factors and ask for a battery for your base vehicle, eg 2.5 ducato of whatever year, they may well sell leisure batteries but if not a caravan place is next stop.Dissapointing i know when youve just bought it but at least you will be starting out with two new batteries. on the speedo front i know the previos model had a cable drive,its possible that yours is electric it may resolve itself with a new battery


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## 107467 (Oct 5, 2007)

Luckily i my last motorhome had 2 leisure batteries so i kept one before i sold it. 
I'm going to check now to see if it is an electrical speedo or a cable one and if it's electrical i hope a new battery will solve it. The only problem is the leisure battery is kept in an outside locker, not very handy for the inverter i have, i might have to reroute the wiring and place the battery under the seat, trouble is, there is very little storange in the van as it is, especially when there are no outside storage lockers.


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## sideways (Jun 2, 2008)

whats directly above the battery locker, can you fit inverter inside and drill through floor.


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## 107088 (Sep 18, 2007)

theres a possibility that the batteries and speedo are connected. Not all speedos are cable operated. 

I have the problem ( and its not dissimilar ) on one of the bikes.


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## 107467 (Oct 5, 2007)

Ive just had a look and the battery box is under the seat anyway so i can just drill through and place the inverter outside the box under the seat.

I phoned my local peugeot dealer to ask for a price for a battery, at the same time i asked would a flat or dodgy battery interfere with the speedo (it is electronic) and he said no. 

It turns out the battery that was in was for a peugeot 209 and i was quoted £107 for the correct one but i'll shop around first.


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## 107467 (Oct 5, 2007)

I fixed the speedo but i don't know if it was me or the new battery. All i did was to take it out of the dash and moved the the hand. It had stopped at 80 and i felt a bit of resistance whist moving it anti clockwise but it was free moving clockwise, so i just turned it back to 0mph, connected the new battery and drove off. So all is well.

Now i just have to work out how to fill and empty the waste water at my previous motorhomes had a tap under the body but not on this one. And i'm not sure how to use the toilet as this has a handle you pull up and down plus a electric button which isn't working yet but might just need some new batteries. Everytime i asked the previous owner how this or that works,she said her husband dealt with it. but they split up and now he's in australia. I got a few manuals but nothing makes much sense.

Anyway, thanks for all the advice, much appreciated.

Lachie


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## Wizzo (Dec 3, 2007)

Worth checking before you buy a battery - is the alternator working? If you can get the engine running the voltage at the terminals should be between 14v - 14.5v, maybe slightly more or less but certainly in that region.

I've just purchased a new leisure battery 110ah for £70 and was quoted the same for the starter battery (an 096).

JohnW


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## Technophobe (Jul 31, 2007)

lacmac said:


> I'm not sure how to use the toilet as this has a handle you pull up and down plus a electric button which isn't working yet but might just need some new batteries.


Lachie - if it's a 2003, probably a Thetford which may or may not be electric flush. If the button is blue and there is a little clear indicator near it (usually with an embossed symbol of a man pouring something) it's electric. If the button does nothing when pressed (and there is water in the tank - some use the main fresh water tank, others have a header tank filled from above the cassette door outside) then it won't be batteries as it runs from the van's 12v system - there is usually a blade fuse somewhere in the cassette locker - check it hasn't blown.

Not sure about the handle you pull up and down - does it open the cassette to accept the "waste"?

Jon


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## 107467 (Oct 5, 2007)

Hi JohnW,i bought a 096 battery for £51 but got it for £46 as my friend is in the VW club and gets a discount at the local camping shop. And the Alternator is charging the battery ok.
As you said Jon It must be electric , there is a clear symbol of a man pouring something. on the outside near the cassette toilet there are 2 AA batteries, would this just be a back up? As for the handle, its right behind the toilet seat,its not for opening the waste as there's s a lever just behind your legs (if your sitting on it) for that.I'll check the fuse to see if that's blown.
Thanks for all your advice,

Cheers

Lachie


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## 107467 (Oct 5, 2007)

More questions, 

When on hook up, does the the onboard charger charge both the engine and leisure battery and whilst driving does the alternator or onboard charger charge the leisure battery.

I have a tow bar fitted, would i be able to fit a motorcycle rack. I have a bike that weigh's 180kgs so its quite heavy.


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## Technophobe (Jul 31, 2007)

lacmac said:


> More questions,
> 
> When on hook up, does the the onboard charger charge both the engine and leisure battery and whilst driving does the alternator or onboard charger charge the leisure battery.
> 
> I have a tow bar fitted, would i be able to fit a motorcycle rack. I have a bike that weigh's 180kgs so its quite heavy.


Re the charger - the answer to your questions is yes & yes. Normally the charger trickle charges the vehicle and leisure batteries on hookup and the leisure battery when driving - at least that's what happens with my Swift.

Issue of m/c rack is out of my area of expertise but I understand there are 3 considerations:

Will it cause you to exceed the total weight limit of the vehicle?

Will it overload the rear axle (there are plated limits for front and rear axle - can check the weights individually at a weighbridge)?

Will it render the vehicle less stable causing "wagging" at the rear - tends to happen if there is a substantial rear overhang?

The best alternative if there are problems with any of these is to consider a bike trailer on the towbar - but consider a reversing camera so you can keep an eye on it!

Jon


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## 107467 (Oct 5, 2007)

Hi Jon
Thanks for that. I'll have to check with the manufacturers to see if i'm able to take a load like that on the back.

I've just come back from a couple of days in York.Found out that the Truma heater works when it wants to. I took the front of to see why it wouldn't start then it started. then it wouldnt, it sparks ok but maybe once in 10 times it fires up. and now i can't even get the front back on. I had the same sort of problem with one before and i squirted WD40 down the bottom where the temp control wire is and all was well but not this one. Also the shower tap only works on cold,i've had it apart and can't see anything wrong with it so i don't know it theres a blockage in the pipe. i'll try again tomorrow. God i hate how early it gets dark.Theres not enough hours in the day as it is.
Cheers


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## vmeldrew (May 3, 2007)

lacmac said:


> As you said Jon It must be electric , there is a clear symbol of a man pouring something. on the outside near the cassette toilet there are 2 AA batteries, would this just be a back up? As for the handle, its right behind the toilet seat,its not for opening the waste as there's s a lever just behind your legs (if your sitting on it) for that.I'll check the fuse to see if that's blown.
> Thanks for all your advice,
> 
> Cheers
> ...


Re the symbol of the man pouring, is this not just a warning light, powered by the batteries outside, to let you know that the cassette needs emptied?
Also, the handle sounds as if it is a manual flush to me, but could be wrong on both counts.


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## 107467 (Oct 5, 2007)

Hello Vmeldrew,

your right, it is just a warnig light to say that its full.but it is empty and the light remains on, i have checked the float in the cassette and the magnet is still there so i'm not sure what else it could be.


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## JOHNRH (Dec 3, 2007)

*WASTE WATER DRAINAGE*

HI , JUST BEEN READING ABOUT YOUR PROBLEMS WITH AVANTGARDE 200 , I HAVE THE SAME MODEL SAME YEAR.

YOUR WASTE WATER DRAINAGE PIPE IS ON THE NEAR SIDE ABOUT SIX INCHES BEHIND THE REAR WHEEL , THEIRS A CLIP ON THE BULKHEAD AND YOU SHOULD FIND A PIPE WITH A PLASTIC TAP ON THE END , JUST UNCLIP AND IT WILL DROP DOWN .

SPEEDO IS A COMMON FAULT USUALLY GOES HAYWIRE AND WORKS INTERMITTENTLY AT ABOUT 13000 MILES. SOMETHING TO DO WITH A PLASTIC BIT RUNNING OFF INSIDE GEAR BOX. FORTUNATELY I GOT MINE FIXED UNDER WARRANTY. (BELIEVE YOURS IS FIXED KNOW).

YOU ARE CORRECT ABOUT FITTING THE INVERTER AND DRILLING THROUGH TWO HOLES THROUGH THE BATTERY COMPARTMENT TO CONNECT . HAD TO DO THIS WHEN WE FIRST GOT THE VAN AND IT WORKS SUCCESSFULLY.

BEST OF LUCK WITH THE REST .

JOHN RH


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## 107467 (Oct 5, 2007)

Hello JOHN RH I have a few questions for you.

i found the drain pipe but it only emptied about 2 cup fulls but whist camping for the last 2 days we had to fill the water tank twice so there should be a lot more than that to come out and the waste light has not come on. So maybe there is a bockage.
You know the panel in the closet above the heater,well on mine are 2 wires i think green and white covered in black tape,they have spade connectors but i don't know what they are for.

How do you drain the main water tank.

Cheers

Lachie


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

lacmac said:


> i found the drain pipe but it only emptied about 2 cup fulls but whist camping for the last 2 days we had to fill the water tank twice so there should be a lot more than that to come out and the waste light has not come on. So maybe there is a bockage.
> How do you drain the main water tank.


We used to have a 200 of the same age as yours. The waste tank had an overflow- a hole on the top- so that if it got too full then the water used to flow out of the top. Hence it never got too full and started to back up the shower drain etc as happens in some vans.

If you could only drain a small amount out then I suggest you put a bit of newspaper under the waste tank and then pour water down the sink. If I'm right then you should get water pouring onto your newspaper from the overflow and you've got a blockage in the pipe. Pouring a strong solution of biological washing powder down the sink and going for a short drive might just dissolve whatever it is ( probably grease)

Ours used to be very sensitive to angle when you drained the waste tank. if the van was slightly leaning to one side or parked on a slope, then it would not drain.

To empty the clean water tank look in the wardrobe, remove the plywood panel at the bottom and there is a tap that you open to drain the tank.

G


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## JOHNRH (Dec 3, 2007)

Hi Lachie, to drain off the water , lift seat where boiler is and you will see some pipes with a yellow lever , which should be in the upright position, press it to the left or right , either will do and water will drain out , you can see if its working by just looking under the van. 
With regard to waste pipe , if its blocked or (full )which it should be if only two cupfuls have come out then the waste light should come on , thats the one on the meter gauge.
The same meter should also show the voltage of battery when on leisure battery or hook up?
Forgot to tell you yesterday , the toilet is a hand operated flush, the indicator light only lights up if the toilet cassette is full (providing the batteries are working).The lever at bottom of toilet is to flush same, open and shut.
Best of luck JohnRH


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## 107467 (Oct 5, 2007)

Hi again.
thanks Jon for the tip to drain from the boiler and thanks G for telling me about the tap at the water tank.I have the user manual but it doesn't mention any of the above.

Right, i found out why the waste tank never seamed to fill, the waste hose had a leak so its been dribbling out all the time.So i'll nip to B&Q tomorrow.
I also fixed the heater,i think the wires from the sparker were shorting out on the heater surround so i taped up the connections and everythig is working ok.
I noticed the shower tap was not letting water through when i turned it to the right. So i took it apart. I cant see what is blocking it. I disconnected the hoses and turned the pump on just to see if there was a blockage in the main pipes but they were fine,so it has to be the tap. I checked the price for a replacement, £79. thats a crazy price for something made from plastic, i might try and get one form B&Q while i'm there. if i cant find anything i'll have another go at it tomorrow.And while i was doing that i let the water drain through the shower try and what do you know, another blockage, iso i had to go under the van and bow through the hose to unblock it, it was full of sand/grit.


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