T1N can motovan

[Oldbear]

Last but not least, and also not pictured, I tore out the radio the PO installed in a fit of rage because it doesn’t just turn off when the van turns off and had drained the battery enough I needed to use a jump pack since I’d last played with the van last weekend. Fortunately, I have a replacement that was only $30. So a little splicing and that’ll go in.

I blame modern cars for restricting the wonderful creativity of the everyman which could previously flourish with the wiring of the vehicular audio entertainment instruments.

What wonders one could find when pulling out that old cassette player!

 

[keep shoveling]

Alright, back to our regularly scheduled “god damnit, what the fuck, self?” instead of blaming everything on Mercedes.

Today I went out and replaced the head unit because the old one was hot garbage that wouldn’t connect to Bluetooth or let me use aux. So it was all radio all the time. How am I supposed to listen to podcasts making fun of people who love the joe Rogan experience? I bought the thirty dollar-est head unit on Amazon (long term I’d like something that folds out with a nice screen for a backup camera but those are all $500+ and there’s a lot of van left to work on).

Prior owner, your wiring is bad and you should feel bad.

Mmm, look at that. 100% Western Union splice underneath there. No, you can’t check.

Then you have to take out this little bezel.

So that you can install the appropriate cage.

Bend these little jobbers up.

Then bend them over when you realize that while that will keep the cage in place it will also stop you from putting the bezel back too. Look ma, no blood (yet)!

Plugged it all in, and… it won’t make sound. Continuity between the wires, head unit powers on, pre-amp wiring is separate so that’s not the issue. 30-40 mili amps coming out of each wire so… busted head unit? At least I can charge my phone from the USB while listening to a little portable speaker. Awesome.

You guys, you guys, you guys, LOOK! cardboard aided design

Some very small errors in transferring the design over to plywood. All cutting was done on the sidewalk with an oscillating multi-tool because, remember, this is all happening on the street in NYC.

The secret is you get it close and then you put a marker in a big old washer and run the washer along the wall. That traces out the pattern of the wall onto a washer-distance away thing, like our wall. It’s great. See, much better.

Somehow, tracing it onto another sheet didn’t work quite as well. I must have gotten the angle wrong. Aaaargh! Oh well, it’ll all get hidden by the ceiling but… fuck. God damnit, self. What the fuck?

Next step on the wall is to put down a thin layer of foam and then cover the foam in carpet. 5mm plywood has worked out great for a wall I don’t want to hang anything on and I’m now planning to use it for the ceiling too. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, tomorrow I’m taking it riding!

 

[Oldbear]

No sound AND no smoke = 50 % success, if not greater!

 

[keep shoveling]

No sound AND no smoke = 50 % success, if not greater!

You’re totally right. The fact I didn’t break anything or start any fires is a total victory.

Today I took the van to go riding and it fucking owns. ~17mpg. Dually means even though it’s a huge slab it doesn’t get blown around too much. Nice tall ceiling, amazing space for putting all my junk. The 84mph governor is a real pain in the ass though. For passing only, I mean.

Just another 40 hours and it’ll be in a good spot, I think. Maybe 80 hours?

The bike on the other hand…

 

[Oldbear]

From this side of the of the pond NYC and enduro seems like an exotic mix. How far do you need to drive from NYC to sink your KTM in the mud?

 

[keep shoveling]

Three pieces of cardboard. Scribe, cut, fit sides and ceiling separately. Fasten full pattern assembly together. Check fit. Trace to plywood.

https://www.harborfreight.com/6-in-locking-wing-divider-63659.html? More versatile than washer

From this side of the of the pond NYC and enduro seems like an exotic mix. How far do you need to drive from NYC to sink your KTM in the mud?

2.5-3 hours for that one. There's a place or two that's only two hours away though. I'm always surprised at how quickly you get to countryside once you leave the city (depending which direction you go). About an hour away and you can be very firmly in either affluent suburbia, projects, not yet left the city or somewhere positively bucolic. Sadly, riding is further yet but there's some very nice riding around here I think. Connecticut has Pachuag and Thomaston Dam, NJ has the pine barrens and PA has famous redding outdoors.

 

[keep shoveling]

Surprisingly little swearing tonight. Probably because I had modest goals.

The two pieces of the wall had been overlapping a little and the fit wasn’t snug on the right piece so I wanted to fix that. Despite a tool like this being better in every way other than cost, I stuck with old reliable - a washer I had on hand - to trace the wall and mark the final cutting. It came out pretty well. The pieces fit snugly against each other and against the outer wall. You can see how the right piece isn’t perfect against the ceiling but that will get covered by the ceiling panel. I’ll still fix it when using these as a template for the same in the rear.

I used the coat hooks on the metal bulkhead to hang some insulation.

The way the bulkhead works, I can stuff insulation on the top part on the other side so there’s full insulation across the whole thing.

Some folks were bored.

Then it was on to the side door. Where I discovered this! The sliding door is kitted out for electric locks. Now I just need to figure out why they’re not working. The rear and the passenger both work.

Before.

And after. I cannot overstate how magic this stuff is. The door makes a nice thunk now instead of a rattling crash as it closes.

This picture is mostly for me to think about where the helmet hangers and cans will go on the walls. That’s the jumble of aluminum in the middle on top of the toolbox.

 

[Yinzer Moto]

Many times, the power lock problem on the sliding doors is the contacts that transfer power to the door.

 

[keep shoveling]

Many times, the power lock problem on the sliding doors is the contacts that transfer power to the door.

Yeah, I'll have to check it out. Usually if you have an open connection the doors do the lock, unlock, lock, unlock thing which is a huge pain in the ass and I fixed with the rear door. It's not doing it now but maybe that's just a weird quirk of the contacts not working too so it doesn't even think there's a power lock on the sliding door.

 

[oldschool]

No sound AND no smoke = 50 % success, if not greater!

Excuse me, the proper term is "installer's cologne".

 

[oldschool]

Prior owner, your wiring is bad and you should feel bad.

As a former installer, that is hideous, only exceeded by the use of scotchlocks. Also, as a former installer out of the business for close to 20 years, what in the hell is that antenna adapter?? I've seen my share but none like that one with DIN plug and a crapload of extra connections. I'm guessing you lose a few db on the incoming signal. And please tell me you didn't buy a Blaujunk head unit... or maybe they're no longer as bad as they used to be.

 

[keep shoveling]

As a former installer, that is hideous, only exceeded by the use of scotchlocks. Also, as a former installer out of the business for close to 20 years, what in the hell is that antenna adapter?? I've seen my share but none like that one with DIN plug and a crapload of extra connections. I'm guessing you lose a few db on the incoming signal. And please tell me you didn't buy a Blaujunk head unit... or maybe they're no longer as bad as they used to be.

Yeah, I get it if that's your job to put a turn signal on your dirtbike to pass inspection and then it's coming off. But, uh, my guy you know that is just living in your van forever (until I find it and take it out).

I don't even know with that adapter. It's a thing, for sure. I need to just bite the bullet and get a nice head unit, but there's so much to be done on the van first. The fact this one doesn't output sound though is definitely a motivating factor.

Blaupunkt? No way! This is a genuine BOSS. https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B01CG8N0H8 It was on sale for $30 and it's OEM plug and play compatible. If the prior owner doesn't chop out the OEM plug that is.
I definitely got a $30 head unit though. It outputs just a teeny tiny bit of power to the speakers, almost like it's expecting to go to an amp but there's a separate "plug in here if you're going through a separate amp" bit on the back so I know the wires are going to the right spot.

I need a single DIN unit as there isn't enough room for double and while you can chop up the dash to do it that looks fucking terrible. At least all the versions I've seen on the t1n do.

The pioneer AVH-3500NEX looks nice but it's $700 and if I'm spending $700 on something I think it might be on headlights. There are some nice ones from poland that look good. The OEM are pretty sad at this point. I bought a lens cleaning kit but I don't have a ton of hope for their brightness.

Because mercedes is, well, mercedes, my van being a 3500 comes with a little adjustment to tilt your headlights down in case the back gets loaded down enough to adjust the angle of the headlight. Such a cool thing. I don't know if it's working and it's pretty unnecessary but I still love it.

 

[oldschool]

Yeah, I get it if that's your job to put a turn signal on your dirtbike to pass inspection and then it's coming off. But, uh, my guy you know that is just living in your van forever (until I find it and take it out).

I don't even know with that adapter. It's a thing, for sure. I need to just bite the bullet and get a nice head unit, but there's so much to be done on the van first. The fact this one doesn't output sound though is definitely a motivating factor.

Blaupunkt? No way! This is a genuine BOSS. https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B01CG8N0H8 It was on sale for $30 and it's OEM plug and play compatible. If the prior owner doesn't chop out the OEM plug that is.
I definitely got a $30 head unit though. It outputs just a teeny tiny bit of power to the speakers, almost like it's expecting to go to an amp but there's a separate "plug in here if you're going through a separate amp" bit on the back so I know the wires are going to the right spot.

I need a single DIN unit as there isn't enough room for double and while you can chop up the dash to do it that looks fucking terrible. At least all the versions I've seen on the t1n do.

The pioneer AVH-3500NEX looks nice but it's $700 and if I'm spending $700 on something I think it might be on headlights. There are some nice ones from poland that look good. The OEM are pretty sad at this point. I bought a lens cleaning kit but I don't have a ton of hope for their brightness.

Because mercedes is, well, mercedes, my van being a 3500 comes with a little adjustment to tilt your headlights down in case the back gets loaded down enough to adjust the angle of the headlight. Such a cool thing. I don't know if it's working and it's pretty unnecessary but I still love it.

It's unbelievable how expensive modern headlights are. I've had good luck with Kenwood units. I put this one in my '95 Silverado last year and it's been great for the money ($116). I see it's not available now but I'd expect a similar unit would work just as well. That one has bluetooth to the phone and you can play any songs on your phone as well, HD radio, USB port for a flash drive or external hard drive and CD deck.

 

[Shiryas]

Keep up the good work!

I have an LS400 engine in my garage that needs to go into my Toyota Pickup. Then, it's time to get back on my T1N like you.

 

[keep shoveling]

No new update from me yet, but planning to work on the van some more this weekend. I just had to share the most mercedes engineering thing I've seen in a long time. Completely unnecessary, only works when things are new and good, totally unapologetic about how it maywill fail if you do something stupid like let it get dirty or fail to maintain it/replace it at appropriate intervals, and also in fairness just better than what you usually get.

 

[Yinzer Moto]

No new update from me yet, but planning to work on the van some more this weekend. I just had to share the most mercedes engineering thing I've seen in a long time. Completely unnecessary, only works when things are new and good, totally unapologetic about how it maywill fail if you do something stupid like let it get dirty or fail to maintain it/replace it at appropriate intervals, and also in fairness just better than what you usually get.

Living in a cold climate, I like hood mounted squirters. Wiper mounted squirters always freeze, even when using the good fluid. A bit of plain water will work it’s way in and freeze them. At least with hood mounted, the engine heat will defrost them.

 

[keep shoveling]

Living in a cold climate, I like hood mounted squirters. Wiper mounted squirters always freeze, even when using the good fluid. A bit of plain water will work it’s way in and freeze them. At least with hood mounted, the engine heat will defrost them.

Sorry, it never gets that cold in Germany so what you're talking about isn't a problem.

 

[GMK999]

Eyewitness spotting.. The TCM was seen in the woods of New England today sporting 2 motos and 2 Happy riders!! It was nice to meet you today ,G

 

[keep shoveling]

Part of the joy of parking on the street in NYC is you get to see people do stupid things. Like park their cars directly into the tow hitch on your van for... reasons? It's funny because there was a good two feet of room behind them and behind that was a crosswalk so it's not like they were really trying to squeeze in. RIP, your license plate, dude. It made very bad crunchy sounds when I pulled forward a little bit to get in the back for some tools.

Today as part of plan "HOLY SHIT I NEED AIR CONDITIONING IMMEDIATELY IF NOT SOONER" I'm going to take out the heater controls because the middle button doesn't really spin and maybe that's part of the problem.

Spoiler

it is not part of the problem. why would you think this is part of the problem? what a dumb thing to think.

You can see on the left where one screw is. There are two more underneath. Put it into neutral...

And it all just sort of pops off. No I wasn't nervous about breaking the trim pieces. You're nervous.

Big piece comes off and then the bezelish part around the controls. You can see they're held in with two screws.

And there's the culprit. Interestingly, as I started to take off the cables to send this in to get repaired poke around a bit before breaking something and buying a new one, I noticed that the problem wasn't actually with the control unit. That spun just fine.

It was with these fuckers behind it. I liberally sprayed them with lubricant and lubed up the cables too for good measure and we'll see how it is in another day. Apparently the entire thing is mechanical. Cables pulling to rotate those which connect to various blend doors. The lighter one moves OK but the dark one is pretty stuck. From what I've read it's quite possible this is just the plastic grinding and not wanting to move and lubricant will fix it. The other thing I've read is that you have to replace things deep inside the van to fix it.

But, nobody cares about any of that because it turns out this is completely and totally unrelated to air conditioning which is the really important thing. I have bezos's thirty dollar-est manifold gauge and six cans of R134 coming this week so that will be step one. The compressor never kicks on so I'm hoping that it's just empty and needs to be refilled. We'll see how it goes, but fingers crossed!

Why didn't I start with that? I thought the control unit was also broken and wanted to send it off to get repaired and then figure out the AC while that was being done. Riddle me this: how will you turn the AC to help diagnose it without THE CONTROL PANEL? HMMM? Yeah, I don't know either. I didn't think that one all the way through but fortunately I've been saved by the Wisdom of Mercedes Engineering <™>; and their indestructible-unless-you-break-them-by-doing-the-wrong-thing parts.

 

[Yinzer Moto]

You are very brave pulling all those German plastic components apart.