ASK-Solutions

Although ASK-Solutions is an office and workshop based company, we needs cars for doing our business from time to time. We use both passenger cars and vans / light trucks for picking up materials, equipment, second hand gear for replacement parts and supplies.

For larger pickup and deliveries we used a 1987 Dodge Caravan fitted with a Dakota engine. However, we need a few parts for this car from the USA or Canada. Shipping car parts has always been a challenge, but with the current Corona crisis it’s not worth the money, time and effort. Laura has a 1983 Volkswagen T3 single cab which is just not suited for ASK-Solutions and needs restoration. Laura is looking for a new home for this car.

In the end of April we came across an advertisement for a Ford Transit MK6 (2004) color matched to our Bordeaux Dodge in pretty good condition. Only a little rust in the usual places, but far less than most Transits have. The car has some minor dents which we could easily sort out. It had not ran that many miles and everything checked out.

The problems started immediately after registering the car and paying the car salesman. No crank, no start. When turning the ignition, the car was only clicking. Still at the car company, they helped us out, and with a booster pack the car started just fine. They immediately offered to replace the battery if the current battery could not hold a charge. The next day the Transit again wouldn’t start and they replaced the battery.

The first journey on a new battery, the odometer in the instrument cluster gave dashes. Our local garage checked the battery connection and the odometer worked again. But on the road the dashes came back and the whole instrument cluster started to behave strangely. A couple of days later the car was only clicking again and making electrical noises from within the cabin.

After consulting with two local garages, a mechanic at the Ford dealer and the seller, we came to an agreement of repairing the car mostly ourselves. Although we’re definitely not a mechanics place, we are partly a repair company. Most, if not all issues are electronic and electrical related. We will showcase the full repair and probably restoration of this Ford Transit.

Next: Ford Transit – Diagnoses