Dec
15
2013
At this stage no-one knows what the damage is, but there seems to have been some sort of electrical tragedy with the main brain of the engine.
It is completely dead. Key in the ignition does nothing at all, even after 2 new batteries were fitted, and the main (big) fuses on top of the engine have blown. Even after replacing the blown fuses, the MAN diagnostics computer can't even see an ECU, so it is not looking good. The brakes are locked solid, because there is no air to release them!
The bodybuilders say they haven't done any welding on the chassis since the last time it started OK, but they did attach a mega battery charger to jump start it.
I wasn't cheered by the MAN technician saying that he'd heard of another case like this, and the replacement ECU was about $4,500.
Anyway - it has been taken away on a flatbed back to the MAN dealer to try and get it sorted. Not what I needed the week before I am due to take delivery of it.
The only good news to report is that it has been painted inside and out, and looks very nice.
All the small gaps between the corner aluminium have been filled and painted over which tidies things up a lot.
The inside view shows how the corner pieces blend in much more unobtrusively now.
This is the outside view, with the edges painted.
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