Vel Satis for £190 - a rejuvenation exercise by a non mechanic

[very tall brad]

I know little about electrics or the oily bits on a car. But I am keen. I think I would do well building cars in a Renault or Citroen factory.

 

This car came to me as a non runner. To be frank, I bought it for the wheels and MAF sensor to get another VS going that I bought one day lasy November when feeling ill.

 

Long story short - this is too good to scavenge bits from so, at the moment, it is 'sharing' it's MAF sensor with the dark grey car in the picture below. I have another MAF on it's way - from an Espace - so hopefully these will no longer have to be sharing components.

 

The car was filthy, grimy and sticky inside. Several parts were missing or broken and the windows/mirrors not working. All of this was fixed witha  simple clean of the battery connections and a new battery.

 

I have lots more to do - drop links, bit of paint, refit some trim, service etc. I hope to get it tip top for under £450 all in. Billy Bonus - these 3.5 Nissan 350Z engined cars have a chain, no cambelt. Simple, eh?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[explosive-cabbage]

Good luck.

 

You are a braver man than I.

[trigger]

Hope it goes well for you, they are a interesting looking car for sure.

[Cavcraft]

It's a Renault and it's automatic. It simply cannot* go wrong.

[Asimo]

That is quite a list of cars you got there. Are they all current?

 

You are living the dream, Renault-shite wise.

[Pillock]

I like. Isn't HN a typical Renault head office reg - press cars or just pre-registered to bump the numbers?

 

They'll go wrong but hardly owe you the earth so nicely played.

[gtd2000]

Just a pity they didn't commission Nissan to provide the entire powertrain and electrics....

[very tall brad]

It's a Renault and it's automatic. It simply cannot* go wrong.

 

Ha ha. I know what you mean. Two Safranes and four Espace V6s - all failed in the auto department. Luckily, the auto fitted to the V6 VS is not a Renault unit, I am told. Fingers crossed.

[very tall brad]

That is quite a list of cars you got there. Are they all current?

 

You are living the dream, Renault-shite wise.

 

Yes. This is my current shite list. There are a few others as well as these but they are far from shite. Nice car= anguish. Shite car= relaxation.

[Danblez]

Jesus, now that is VFM even to just sit in and make brum brum noises!

[wuvvum]

Luckily, the auto fitted to the V6 VS is not a Renault unit, I am told. Fingers crossed.

The auto 'box in my V6 Laguna II wasn't a Renault unit either (Aisin-Warner, iirc), but that buggered up anyway.

[Split_Pin]

Fabulous looking cars these. Given your current fleet, these don't look like the scariest cars you've ever owned.

[mouseflakes]

Ace!

 

I might have to 'like' every post made by Brad simply because they all include that list of Executive Chod.

[Lord Sterling]

Hello from the country that brought us Renault Brad!

 

another VS going that I bought one day lasy November when feeling ill.

This has to be the best excuse for buying a modern Renault.

 

I did see this car before I left, I knew you would prefer to put it back on the road. I might have to purchase myself a VelSatis or Avantime at some point.

[Shep Shepherd]

I've always liked the look of the Vel Satis and would love to own one at some point, especially if I can find a good one for well under a grand, but then I am a bit mental

[Sigmund Fraud]

A man who owns two Avantimes and four Vel Satis (? Satii) certainly deserves my utmost respect !

 

It's interesting to hear that even a neglected example is straightforward to return to the road... Rumours would have me believe that even seasoned electronics engineers would collapse in tears at the mere sight of a Vel Satis !

 

Needless to say, I'll be watching this topic with great interest !

[Richard]

(? Satii)

 

Sates I would think.

[406V6]

Impressive collection of sh*te. You must have a huge garage - or more likely an old aircraft hangar.

 

Anyone on here is going to be impressed if you can fix the electrics on a 2000s Renault so please tell us more about your adventures.

[londonm]

Do you banger race them?

[very tall brad]

All you need is a cheap OBD2 reader and some logic. And an appreciation that with French cars it's never the fault you expect it to be.

 

For example, I had the warnings lamps flash on the dash for the grey Vel Satis indicating an "ESP Fault" and a problem with the "Fuel Injection". The nice lady who sits behind the dash also spoke these warnings and told me to "Take it to your Renault Dealer". The car was in limp mode and wouldn't rev past 2500rpm. Armed with my OBD reader, I diagnosed several faults relating to the potentiometer on the accelerator. So, £40 lighter, I fitted a replacement accelerator pedal. The problem went away for ten seconds and returned. The OBD reader threw up the same codes and the nice lady spoke the same warnings. A process of elimination by starting the car and getting it to idle (badly) and, one by one, disconnecting all the obvious stuff under the bonnet lead me to the MAF sensor. One used MAF sensor and it's right as rain.

 

On the lighter car (£190 worth) it was a non starter. A simple clean up of everything under the bonnet and a new battery followed by clearing the 30 odd fault codes and all is well. All the problems on this car are through faulty earths or loose connectors. The same applied to my Citroen XM which I bought new in 1992 and still own. Poor connectors, poor earths and poor continuity causes all sorts of gremlins. How many folks rush out and buy new switch packs, starter motors or whatever when all they need is a new battery and good connections?

 

It seems Frenchies are more susceptible to this sort of crappo that most. VS, in particular, also need a strong battery to the correct size and spec AND a 100% efficient alternator otherwise you can forget all about reliability.

[very tall brad]

Do you banger race them?

What? In this suit, Sir?

[Shep Shepherd]

^

 

L'heritage, the French version of Heritage, I wonder?

[very tall brad]

Hello from the country that brought us Renault Brad!

 

 

This has to be the best excuse for buying a modern Renault.

 

I did see this car before I left, I knew you would prefer to put it back on the road. I might have to purchase myself a VelSatis or Avantime at some point.

 

Hi Lord Sterling of Monaco (almost). How is the weather?

 

You were right - it was too good to part out as the Colonials say. It'll be MoT'd next Tuesday and on the road I hope. I can then get to grips with whatever else needs attention - suspension links and bushes, I think. The underside is very clean and rust free.

 

I am looking after your cars, Lordie. The R reg Sterling is started regularly - I didn't disconnect the battery as intended.

 

Speak to you soon.

[Split_Pin]

This is a refreshing new angle on 2000s French car electronics. I like your methods and thinking. Most of ' The Internet' houses Merchants of Doom, citing the most dramatic and expensive causes to car related problems. Nice to see you have gone your own way here.