Mike P Posted April 14, 2022 Share Posted April 14, 2022 Whilst investigating why my windscreen wipers have stopped working I came across a thin armoured plastic pipe attached to the scuttle but with a loose end; Chasing it back it appears to join other plastic armoured pipes around what could be a vacuum chamber ( about 2 inches diameter), just below the wiper motor. Can anyone enlighten me please? Thanks Mike P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 15, 2022 Share Posted April 15, 2022 I don't know the answer, but I did come across this video that might be of interest. (A photo of the 2-inch diameter possible 'vacuum chamber' might help.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breakaleg Posted April 15, 2022 Share Posted April 15, 2022 Not so that the water can drain away is it? Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 Mike When you refer to an "thin armoured plastic pipe" do you mean a thin plastic pipe protected by a corrugated plastic 'sleeve'. If so, I'm guessing these pipes are for the windscreen washers and the one with a loose end would be for a windscreen washer option that your motorhome does not have (eg. for a rear-window wash/wiper or headlamp washers). My crystal-ball conjecture is based on my Skoda's windscreen washer system that I'm currently working on to address a leak, as that has the type of sleeved pipes I've just mentioned, with one pipe going from the washer-bottle's pump to the windscreen and a second pipe going to tailgate's window. There's also a little jar-shaped plastic thing to which the two pipe's are connected, which MAY have some sort of pressure distribution function. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveandlisa Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 Ooh-err, Mine appears to be the same too 8-) No idea what its for or where its supposed to go either :-( Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 A picture would be most useful. My 'van is an X290, so I can't do a comparison, but I suspect, if it is below the wiper motor, the "vacuum chamber" you refer to is in fact the "wet" end of the brake servo. It would sit directly under the brake fluid reservoir, and on the end of the (large) circular vacuum servo. I can't see anything on the parts diagram for the brakes that has a loose (or even unexplained) pipe there, but if it has a non-braking function, it would be unlikely to appear on that particular diagram. The EGR function on the X250 is also solenoid/vacuum driven, and has a "vacuum box" but that's the square black thing right in the top middle of the engine bay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witzend Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 Mike P - 2022-04-14 5:51 PM Whilst investigating why my windscreen wipers have stopped working I came across a thin armoured plastic pipe attached to the scuttle but with a loose end; Chasing it back it appears to join other plastic armoured pipes around what could be a vacuum chamber ( about 2 inches diameter), just below the wiper motor. Can anyone enlighten me please? Thanks Mike P Any chance you could add a picture of this pipe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alanb Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 Hi Mike P, Is your Ducato x250 the 150hp version? If yes, then that engine uses a variable vane turbo which is vacuum controlled. The electric/vacuum control valve is situated at the rear centre of the engine bay. Perhaps this valve is what you are calling a vacuum chamber. If this is the case, then it will also have an electrical connector for the connection to the engine computer. However this does not explain the disconnected pipe. Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 18, 2022 Share Posted April 18, 2022 Alanb I believe the item you are referring to is the 'vacuum tank' (photo below) that was discussed in this late-2019 forum thread https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Ducato-engine-bay-identify-part/53867/ I initially wondered if this was the thing Mike was asking about, but its position and appearance nowhere near match his description. (I can't see this being resolved without photos from Mike (or steveandlisa). Photos have been requested three times now with no response.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 18, 2022 Share Posted April 18, 2022 Alanb I believe the item you are referring to is the 'vacuum tank' (photos below) that was discussed in this late-2019 forum thread https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Ducato-engine-bay-identify-part/53867/ I initially wondered if this was the thing Mike was asking about, but its position and appearance nowhere near match his description. (I can't see Mike's enquiry being successfully resolved without photos from Mike (or steveandlisa). Photos have been requested three times now with no response. Inspired guesswork can only go so far...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike P Posted April 18, 2022 Author Share Posted April 18, 2022 After stretching my digital abilities, hopefully photo now attached Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 18, 2022 Share Posted April 18, 2022 Thanks for the photo. I've copied it below and arrowed (in red) the mystery pipe. The fact that it has a plastic clip on it indicates that it ought to be secured to something somewhere in the engine bay. Is what I've arrowed in green the 'vacuum chamber'? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike P Posted April 18, 2022 Author Share Posted April 18, 2022 Thanks Derek, The green arrow is what I described as the "vacuum chamber". the pipe clip was secured to the edge of the scuttle above the brake fluid reservoir. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted April 18, 2022 Share Posted April 18, 2022 Whilst my x250 is slightly different, the 'pipe', has the standard Fiat flexible conduit on it which would only normally be on the wiring loom, as for where it clips, looks like it should be on the tab above brake fluid filler cap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 18, 2022 Share Posted April 18, 2022 I agree with Colin about where the clip on the flexible corrugated conduit should go, particularly as there's a similar clip on the conduit nearby that I've circled in yellow on the photo in my last posting. I'm also tempted to think (prompted by Colin's remark about the wiring loom) that the thing in the conduit is not a "pipe" but a dead-end electrical cable. This 2019 forum thread may be worth looking at https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/2007-Fiat-Ducato-2-2-mystery-connection-/51774/ If what's in the conduit is an electrical cable for an option that's not fitted to Mike's Ducato, I would have expected there to be a connector on its end. But hey - it's a Fiat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deneb Posted April 19, 2022 Share Posted April 19, 2022 The "box" indicated by the green arrow looks like an aftermarket alarm siren, although difficult to be certain from the angle of the photograph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witzend Posted April 20, 2022 Share Posted April 20, 2022 colin - 2022-04-18 5:28 PM Whilst my x250 is slightly different, the 'pipe', has the standard Fiat flexible conduit on it which would only normally be on the wiring loom, as for where it clips, looks like it should be on the tab above brake fluid filler cap. thats where mines always been clipped wonder what its for Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike P Posted April 21, 2022 Author Share Posted April 21, 2022 On removing the scuttle the "pipe" appears to emanate from the corrugated wiring loom associated with the wiper motor. Still no ideas what it's for! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 21, 2022 Share Posted April 21, 2022 Have you tried pushing a piece of thin wire up the 'pipe'? If it's an electrical cable (which its emergence from the wiring loom suggests it is) you won't be able to do this. - or at least the piece of wire won't penetrate very far. (It would be worth knowing whether Ducatos with the ComfortMatic transmission also have this 'pipe' thing.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikefitz Posted April 21, 2022 Share Posted April 21, 2022 My guess, antenna for central locking receiver key fob signals. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 22, 2022 Share Posted April 22, 2022 I believe you are correct. A GOOGLE-search that included the word "antenna" retrieved this 2014 MHFacts forum enquiry. https://forums.motorhomefacts.com/149-fiat-ducato/118558-2008-3-0-160-wire-identification-please.html I'm not a MHFacts subscriber (so I can't see the images on that thread) but the description clearly matches what is currently being discussed here. Rayc (who is also a member of the Out&AboutLive forums) advised in the MHFacts thread that "It is the antenna for the Central Locking" and he went into more detail of the central locking system in this other 2014 MHFacts entry. https://forums.motorhomefacts.com/185-bodywork-trim/120072-urgent-x250-central-locking-malfunction-2.html The item is referred to as "P093 R.F. antenna for door lock receiver." on Page 147 of this 2006 document https://campervanineurope.files.wordpress.com/2016/09/fiat-ducato-1st_x250_training-manual.pdf but its location on the vehicle is not revealed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hans Posted April 22, 2022 Share Posted April 22, 2022 X250 en x290 is the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 22, 2022 Share Posted April 22, 2022 Are you saying that all Fiat Ducatos built from mid-2006 onwards have their central-locking antenna under the bonnet as discussed here? Or that all Ducatos built from mid-2006 onwards should be referred to as "X250", because that's what's on their Certificate of Conformity? The Wikipedia Fiat Ducato entry splits the vehicle into four 'generations'. The platform(s) on which 3rd generation Ducatos were built from 2006-2014 are generally identified as "X250", while the platform(s) of 4th generation Ducatos built from 2014 onwards are generally identified as "X290". I'm not sure which 'generation' the latest Ducato is (5 or 6) https://www.fiatprofessional.com/ducato-2021/new-ducato/packs nor whether it should still be referred to as a X290 or something else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hans Posted April 23, 2022 Share Posted April 23, 2022 Derek a facelift x250 to x290 did not alter the COC. So if you look on a x290 fiat ducato coc it it still 250. But of course under bonnet details could be changed. You did a great post. And the arrows pointing. Were you a professional engineer in your career or a teacher ? Have you still have a motorhome or sort off.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 24, 2022 Share Posted April 24, 2022 I worked at GCHQ from 1970 to 1996 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/02/gchq-spy-agency-nsa-snowden but I was only a lowly IT specialist not a licensed assassin/spy for the UK Government. (My application for that role was turned down due to my extreme psychopathic personality.) No motorhome nowadays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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