Broken Sleeve on Electrical Harness leading to Trunk Lid - How to fix? [TOC, Photos done]

[EnglishPhaeton]

Err...,

I'm afraid you didn't get what I said.


It would be interesting to know if the mirepoix mix of vegetables originated from Mirepoix.

Could you ask around ?

P.

Pierre,

I didn't realise we shared the code postal with quite so many neighbours!! In answer to the mixed veg dish it has no apparent connection to the town of Mirepoix.
I asked many years previously!

Stu

[WillemBal]

Btw, mirepoix is the name of a famous French side dish
It would be interesting to know if the mirepoix mix of vegetables originated from Mirepoix.

Hi Pierre,

This dish was given that name by the duke of Lévis-Mirepoix, a guy with the name Gaston Pierre de Lévi. Actually, his cook invented it, who happened to be a Dutch guy, captured by the inquisition during his summer holiday. He was released on the condition that he would create a famous dish for king Louis XVI


The truth is over here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirepoix_%28cuisine%29, with (strange, but true) a lot more information than the French Wiki.

Regards,

Willem

[Zaphh]

Hi Pierre,

This dish was given that name by the duke of Lévis-Mirepoix,...

Which takes us back to the original question: was the "Mirepoix" of the duke of Mirepoix the small town currently occupied by the English ?

P.

[EnglishPhaeton]

Which takes us back to the original question: was the "Mirepoix" of the duke of Mirepoix the small town currently occupied by the English ?

P.

Pierre,

short answer is yes, although the (VERY) mediocre Château of the Levis family still exists, albeit in a poor state these days, the most famous (and therefore most celebrated) member of the Levis dynasty is Guy.
Very little info on him doing a quick search of Wiki, although I have read quite a bit about his exploits. He was heavily involved during the Albigensian Crusade, and was allied eventually with Simon De Montforts armies in their extermination of the Cathars.
If you are interested in a very absorbing book I can thoroughly recommend the "Massacre at Montsegur" Written by a German woman whose name escapes me, but well worth a few hours!

Stu

[Zaphh]

No, the answer that a "mirepoix" comes from the Duke of Mirepoix's cook in Mirepoix is perfect enough for me. One last question: is it standard for local restaurants to serve meat with a "mirepoix de légumes" ?
It is not obvious that they should, because cooking a good mirepoix with matching gravy takes time (more than throwing a bag of frozen chips into rancid oil (yuck !)).

P.

[kend414]

Solution based focus or "Famous cooks of France for 500" ?

[gartracescort]

Note that VW does not recommend soldering as an acceptable repair for wiring. Please see Michael's posting above with attached documents.

Damon

Given a, the cost of a new part, b, the lousy design and c, the minimal current for a few LEDs.....I'll risk it!

[EnglishPhaeton]

No, the answer that a "mirepoix" comes from the Duke of Mirepoix's cook in Mirepoix is perfect enough for me. One last question: is it standard for local restaurants to serve meat with a "mirepoix de légumes" ?
It is not obvious that they should, because cooking a good mirepoix with matching gravy takes time (more than throwing a bag of frozen chips into rancid oil (yuck !)).

P.

Pierre,

we are talking Ariege here! My children first encountered the local "mirepoix" at school, they still refer to it as "left-overs"!!

Stu

[Zaphh]

As much as (as a Phaeton owner) you certainly understand the difference between a Phaeton and other cars that may look more sexy at first glance, but lack the refinement of the Phaeton, you must understand the mission you have to educate your kids and (having the blessing of living in a wonderful part of France) teach them the difference between junk food and the much revered "mirepoix de légumes," which was invented where they live, and which is so exquisite with, say, "un gigot de 7 heures" http://www.meilleurduchef.com/cgi/md...eures_ill.html

Another activity you should indulge in and become a master of while you are there: http://webtv.ac-versailles.fr/restau...ation_articles

[EnglishPhaeton]

As much as (as a Phaeton owner) you certainly understand the difference between a Phaeton and other cars that may look more sexy at first glance, but lack the refinement of the Phaeton, you must understand the mission you have to educate your kids and (having the blessing of living in a wonderful part of France) teach them the difference between junk food and the much revered "mirepoix de légumes," which was invented where they live, and which is so exquisite with, say, "un gigot de 7 heures" http://www.meilleurduchef.com/cgi/md...eures_ill.html

Another activity you should indulge in and become a master of while you are there: http://webtv.ac-versailles.fr/restau...ation_articles

Unfortunately or fortunately depending on the day, our children have now matured to young adulthood. They do not and have very seldomly partaken of junk (fast) food, even whilst in France (where MacDonald's is noticeably better to the UK outlets). I admit that the leg of lamb cooked very slowly is a family favourite but not, alas the mirepoix (mixed veg in stock).
Both of our children (but not my wife or myself) particularly enjoy Cassoulet, especially when visiting friends in Revel, just outside of Castelnaudary (The canal boat hire there is both good and inexpensive, especially compared to Carcassonne)
I feel however that we have perhaps hijacked this thread. Maybe we should start a new one comparing Phaeton owners favourite dishes/wines/restaurants?
You go first Pierre, I have no doubt reading previous posts on your gastronomic delights that an intriguing thread would develop.

Stu

[Zaphh]

Let's get back on topic then.

You may recall that last year, on page 3 of this thread, I had decided to remove the mesh and try to glue back the ferrule to the tube using some epoxy putty (cf. http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...1#post67281830 )

This lasted until last May, when the putty broke (there was apparently too much extending force exerted on the ferrule when the boot would open).

So, I first tried to put more putty giving it a couple more millimeters so as to relieve the tension a bit, but this cracked again...

As a last resort, I decided to use the putty that had cured on the tube as a way to grasp the tube with a thin steel wire, then caught the ball by its ears and drove back the wire up to the tube and wrapped it around.

The wire goes around the ears of the ball and cannot escape thanks to the two lugs of the half plastic tube that normally hold the ball.

I hope my explanations are understandable. Here are two photos to illustrate them.





The wire makes it impossible for the tube to be separated from the ball anymore.

I did not put these photos on this thread because I wanted to see how this new contraption would hold.

Well, we are now in August and the boot has been opened and closed many times now. Nothing has moved, so I am going to wrap some black fabric sticky tape around it and hope for the best.

Hope this helped more than the previous conversation

P.

[EnglishPhaeton]

Let's get back on topic then.

Hope this helped more than the previous conversation

P.

Okay Pierre,

job done, now for the new thread. Seriously I await with EAGER anticipation. For those who have not been fortunate to eat at a good restaurant in France (rather than a pretend French restaurant elsewhere) it is THE experience! The passion, the vision of the Chef, the quality of the ingredients, the culmination of arts, sorry I'm salivating.
I only get to Paris on rare occasions these days but boy trying to park a Phaeton IS worth the trouble!
New thread Pierre!!!

Stu

[gilessav]

Good afternoon all,

Just a quick note to say a big thanks for the invaluable guides on this forum for removing the sheath around the wiring harness in the boot.

I spent an hour this morning taking the boot liner apart and removing all the mesh upto the 'snake'. Seems the ball and ferrule are still connected to the tubing, with only a small rub mark on the inner tube where the mesh had frayed. I put this all back together and lubricated with plastic/rubber spray as directed, seems to be operating smoothly now so lets hope its a significant delaying provision at the worst.

Thanks to the guides here what could have been a nightmare job without knowing where to start was for once an hours work or less, keep up the great work

[EnglishPhaeton]

Good afternoon all,

Just a quick note to say a big thanks for the invaluable guides on this forum for removing the sheath around the wiring harness in the boot.

I spent an hour this morning taking the boot liner apart and removing all the mesh upto the 'snake'. Seems the ball and ferrule are still connected to the tubing, with only a small rub mark on the inner tube where the mesh had frayed. I put this all back together and lubricated with plastic/rubber spray as directed, seems to be operating smoothly now so lets hope its a significant delaying provision at the worst.

Thanks to the guides here what could have been a nightmare job without knowing where to start was for once an hours work or less, keep up the great work

Hey Giles,

welcome to the wacky world that is Phaeton! I guess I'm lucky, 2 Phaeton 256k miles between them and the boot on both cars is perfect! Now, about those damned turbochargers.............

Stu

[musicman12345]

Hi all,

As has happened to a number of you previously, the sleeve and ball have separated in the boot of my 2004 Phaeton.

Has anyone had any luck approaching their UK VW Dealer or UK VW Customer service with a complaint on this appalling design fault??

It is ridiculous that such a basic fault should occur on a luxury £40k car (when new)!
I could understand it if it was a "wear and tear" issue.......or maybe the car should come with a warning to only open the boot once a month or something !

(1) If so, what response have you had ??

(2) Have you had an offer of a contribution from your UK VW Dealer / UK VW Customer Service towards the cost of repair???

(3) How much did this repair cost?

(4) My rear window has also cracked (what luck !) - how much you have to pay to replace this?

Thanks for your help and wisdom.

[PanEuropean]

...the sleeve and ball have separated in the boot of my 2004 Phaeton.

It is ridiculous that such a basic fault should occur on a luxury £40k car (when new)!

Holy crow, are there still 2004 Phaetons in new car inventory in the UK? Even with 0 miles on them and a full new car warranty, I think they will have difficulty getting £40k for them.

Michael

[Paximus]

Hi Musicman (sorry, you didn't give your name),

Sympathies on that. The forum members are conjuring up a 'new user's guide' thread so that owners can quickly get up to speed on Things That Really Really Ought To Be Checked Right Now, but it was too late for my car, and too late for you, it seems.

The previous owner of my car was dealer-invoiced £670 + VAT to replace the loom, and a search shows that even a used rear window glass from Poland is £200 (see this link), and that's assuming it shipped successfully, and plus freight and fitting.

At least the loom can be tackled successfully at low cost using the information within this thread.

Good luck.

Chris

[Paximus]

Holy crow, are there still 2004 Phaetons in new car inventory in the UK? Even with 0 miles on them and a full new car warranty, I think they will have difficulty getting £40k for them.

Michael

Shouldn't they begin appreciating shortly?! After all, a 2005 Flying Spur costs £40k

Chris

[musicman12345]

Hi Chris,
Thanks so much for getting back to me - I was afraid it would be something in that region costwise.....terrible - considering it's a VW design fault on such an expensive car.
I suppose it's always worth it to approach a VW dealer and see if they will get VW to go 50/50 on it......?
Anyone got any thoughts or experience on this ??
Thanks again,
Andrew.

[Paximus]

I believe that's a long shot, unless the dealership broke the glass (which they do from time to time!)

Chris

Edit - is the glass breakage covered under your road insurance policy? In UK it could be, depending on how skilfully the claim was presented, and usually shouldn't affect any no claims discount.

[Paldi]

Hi all....

My mesh had frayed to the point of "hanging by a thread" so I took action and cut it off! I followed the expedient and easy approach. In other words, I did not dismantle the trunk lid or the box that holds the inner part of the wire loom... I just used a pair of scissors to snip off the webbing that you can see. I hope that's enough and that what I can't see won't jam up inside and cause a problem. If it does, I'll let y'all know. I also sprayed the plastic tube with some lubricant.

[PanEuropean]

Hi Fred:

Great to hear from you again.

Michael

[Victor R]

Just an FYI:

My harness was just replaced today under the Fidelity VW Real Driver (now Drive Easy) warranty. I have seen posts on this site noting it has been covered, but also some where it hasn't been. It is worth checking this for those of you that have this coverage.

Victor

[johnt26]

That's great Victor, I'm glad you had success!

As you probably remember, I was told that the warranty would not cover the harness which is one of the reasons I didn't re-up.

I hope others can use your sucess as an example if they are turned down by their appraiser.

[pilgrim7777]

I must say it is so annoying that VW will not recognise the electrical harness to the truck lid is a real problem. I have my one replaced yet again and still the vehicle has not yet done 40,000 miles, although I accept it is a MY2004 replaced yet again for the third time, I have tried to take care and complained that I thought a replacement every N number of years is too much.

[PanEuropean]

Photos re-hosted.

Michael

[Paldi]

It's been 4 months since I cut the fraying mesh off the plastic tube covering the wiring harness... the tube without mesh is holding up fine.

[n968412L]

going to have a shot at some preventive lubrication...what's the best technique? Take the boot lid liner off to get at the innards? If so, how is it fastened? Found a couple of screws...but I bet there's more to it than that!!

Any advice gratefully received...

Regards

M

[EnglishPhaeton]

going to have a shot at some preventive lubrication...what's the best technique? Take the boot lid liner off to get at the innards? If so, how is it fastened? Found a couple of screws...but I bet there's more to it than that!!

Any advice gratefully received...

Regards

M

Mike,

you sly old dog, plain package arrived then?!!

Stu

[n968412L]

Mike,

you sly old dog, plain package arrived then?!!

Stu

Oh yes.... but it's much smaller than I thought it would be...

[EnglishPhaeton]

Oh yes.... but it's much smaller than I thought it would be...

Ah well............

when I bought mine "over the counter" I stipulated "extra large"

Sorry to all those not privy to our Northern (English) sense of humour, but basically I have a larger package than Mike!

Stu

[n968412L]

Must be why you need a LWB...

[EnglishPhaeton]

Must be why you need a LWB...

Ouch!



Stu

[n968412L]

Bump

anyone got any experience of taking this part of the boot apart before I try my luck...??

Thanks

M

[Paximus]

There's no particular problem, apart from the fact that the lid liner fixings required more force to pull off than I expected.

Chris