T6.1 Spare wheel, on all hell breaks loose with electrics.

[sizeholly]

Hi, To cut a long story short I got a puncture in my N/S front Leighton LV1 20" wheel. (T6.1 Transporter Feb 2021)

I took it off to get in fixed and put on the spare, the spare is a standard 16" steel and with the van lowered on B14's it did sit a bit low on that corner.

I put the punctured wheel in the back to drop at the tyre shop and went to work.

The minute i set off with the spare on there were lights flashing all over the place and the power steering didn't work until I got to 30mph.

The lights that came on were, engine light, glow plug, front distance assist, hill start assist, steering wheel light and a few others.

It drove okay from 30 mph but when i stopped the headlights wouldn't turn off so I turned the switch to off instead of auto and the side lights stayed on when parked and locked.

Eventually I disconnected the battery and reconnected and the lights stayed off, I locked it and in the morning the battery was flat and the dash lights were flickering when trying to start it.

Someone I know heard of a similar story and said when the correct size wheel is back on it will right itself, well in a round about way it kind of has done after charging the battery for 24 hours.

Has anyone heard anything like this?

I don't know what to think, I was a mechanic back in the day but its all computers and relays these days so I haven't a clue anymore, I'm a bit nervous now thinking it may let me down with the battery dropping so low.

I love my van and had a T5 for 8 years before this one.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Regards Simon.

 

[Ads_Essex]

Is the puncture front or rear?
What is your full tyre size, both the 20” and the spare 16”?

 

[sizeholly]

Is the puncture front or rear?
What is your full tyre size, both the 20” and the spare 16”?

Hi, thanks for the reply.

I have 275/40/20's all round, the n/s front got the puncture and I put on the spare 205/65/16. Is this the standard size wheel for my van? it looks tiny.

 

[Ads_Essex]

Hi, thanks for the reply.

I have 275/40/20's all round, the n/s front got the puncture and I put on the spare 205/65/16. Is this the standard size wheel for my van? it looks tiny.

The correct thing to do when going bigger with wheels is to have slimmer profile tyres, so the overall circumference stays the same.

However your 20’s are over 7.5% larger than the standard 16’s, meaning one front wheel is spinning at a different rate to the other. I think this is the likely cause of your dash giving Southend illuminations a run for its money.

If your wheels aren’t staggered, I’d recommend you swap fronts with back.



Source:

Alloy Wheel & Tyre Fitment Calculator. Offset, Tyre Stretch and Speedo Error | Will They Fit

Alloy Wheel & tyre fitment calculator - it calculates inset, poke, speedo error, tyre stretch and loads more.

www.willtheyfit.com

(Offsets and width ignored)

 

[sizeholly]

The correct thing to do when going bigger with wheels is to have slimmer profile tyres, so the overall circumference stays the same.

However your 20’s are over 7.5% larger than the standard 16’s, meaning one front wheel is spinning at a different rate to the other. I think this is the likely cause of your dash giving Southend illuminations a run for its money.

If your wheels aren’t staggered, I’d recommend you swap fronts with back.

View attachment 163000

Source:

Alloy Wheel & Tyre Fitment Calculator. Offset, Tyre Stretch and Speedo Error | Will They Fit

Alloy Wheel & tyre fitment calculator - it calculates inset, poke, speedo error, tyre stretch and loads more.

www.willtheyfit.com

(Offsets and width ignored)

This is brilliant, thank you so much for the research and your time spent. Now I have the repaired wheel back on my van normality seems to have returned, I'm staggered by the vans reaction to such a seemingly simple action.
Kindest of regards to you Sir.

 

[Alster]

I sort of get the warning lights but not being able to turn off the lights and getting a flat battery seems bizarre!!