spike Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 I have the Sigma S30 alarm/ immobiliser fitted, which has a small keypad on the dash. When set, the alarm always goes off when windy even though all the vents and windows are closed. The small keypad allows the internal sensors to be switched off, which I have had to do. Though all the doors and bonnet are active when in this state, I realise that the alarm would not sound if someone was to enter through a window, which I guess is the weakest spot. I’ve done some checked and found the culprit to be the cab doors, the seals are so ineffective that when it’s windy the cab curtains moves backward and forward! Not too sure as to what I can do about this and was wondering if anyone else has suffered with the same problem and managed to come up with a possible solution. All the rubber seals are in place and seem to be in good condition. Your suggestions would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Collings Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 I take it y our 'van is based on the Ducato or one of it Sevels cousins. The doors on 94-2003 range were notorious for poor sealing particulary at speed but I am not up to date with the current version. This is the first time I have heard of problems while stationary. Basically the doors are not touching the seals. Most cars now have the entire side of the car as one pressing giving a much more accurate aperture but from memory the Ducato cab was a number of pressings welded together and oops it slipped in the jig The doors are not very stiff and due to turbulence bow away from the door aperture especially on overcab models. It used to be common to remedy bad door fits with a bit of applied brutality twisting the frame by hand or padding the door with timber to spread the load and giving it a clout. Its was the sort of job done when the customer was not looking. Wind the window down first. It might be the door latches can be adjusted to tighten the clearance a fraction but as its the gaps appear to be at the front edge away from the latch the effect will be small. You may be able to check if the seals touch by trapping piece of thin card in the seal if it floats about thats where the gap is. If all else fails try filling the gap with self adhesive draught excluder available from B&Q etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted April 14, 2012 Share Posted April 14, 2012 Like George I am also assuming that the 'van is the previous generation Sevel (and I think your previous posts support this). If the door seals themselves look "tight" there is another possibility. In strong wind, draughts can enter via the slots in the trailing edges of the door, and exit around the window seals in the cab door, and/or the door handle cut out, and any other gaps in the door trim. (and yes, enough to move curtains!). Covering the vents in the trailing edge of the doors with duck tape will largely eliminate this. As I posted elsewhere recently, there is also a gap below the seatbelt reel mountings that can let a gale in if the wind is in the right direction - though I doubt it will disturb your curtains over-much - it can be (judiciously) blocked with foam rubber. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted April 14, 2012 Share Posted April 14, 2012 The rubber door seal strip is affixed to a flange and if you prise it off you can bend the flange outwards by clouting it with a hammer and a block of wood and this will reduce or close any air gaps twixt door and seal. It has made a worthwhile difference in curtailing cold air flow to the several Sevel vans I've done it to! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted April 14, 2012 Share Posted April 14, 2012 We had a simalar problem on our van. We bought white (Because van is ) draft excluder form DIY shop and stuck that around the door frame. Solved our problem, PJay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike B. Posted April 14, 2012 Share Posted April 14, 2012 Another thing that could be the cause-is the van rocking with wind and then causing curtains to move thus setting off movement sensors? Also on ours have to close the air intake on heater from outside to recirculated Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nasher Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 We had a Autotrail 696g with this problem and after several attempts by different dealers to effect a cure we wrote to Fiat UK who sent an engineer to look at the van, after an inspection he said they would have to reduce the number of shims behind the door hinges, making a tighter seal of the doors. Apparently the hinges are fitted incorrectly at the factory which is typical Fiat, anyway it cured the draughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Collings Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 Shims under the hinges. Forgotten about them. I think most car have them welded in nowadays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spike Posted April 17, 2012 Author Share Posted April 17, 2012 Thank you for all the excellent answers on this subject, you certainly have given me plenty to go at and that’s appreciated. All I need now is some gale force winds! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.