Vehicle Maintenance #7of9

1985 Renault, Pilote RV, continued

At the Renault dealer in Merzig, Germany, as they replaced a wheel bearing and did a grease job and oil change, they discovered a need to replace the radial brake shoes on the front wheels. The owner of the Renault garage had said he was going to visit the US in five years. As I paid the larger than expected bill, I said to the owner, “US in two years!”

Instead of going directly to the hilltop town of les Baux, France, we decided to explore the town just below. When we were ready to leave, the Renault starter would not work. We had just passed a Police station, so we walked there, found the station closed for lunch, but a man who spoke a little English answered our ring. He finally understood, and said he would call for help. In a few minutes he called to us and said everyone was at lunch, and we should come back at two o’clock and he would see what he could do. We walked back to the Renault, tried again, and this time it started.

In Arles, France, we found a Renault dealer who checked the starter, but found nothing wrong. They tested this and that, and tightened several things, but all seemed OK. The next morning, as we were ready to leave the Arles campground, we again had the problem, so when it finally started, we went back to the garage.

They took the starter apart and found one of the long bolts holding it together was broken. It would fall down and make a “short” sometimes, and not other times. They called here and there and said they would try to get a starter that afternoon, but could get one from Marseille by the next morning, for sure. They agreed that if they didn’t get it fixed today, we could sleep in the RV in their parking lot.

After we returned from our walk to downtown Arles, we found they had the starter installed. We paid 2000 FF ($330) for the Renault starter. We told them that in California a larger starter, for our Dodge Van, cost only $70, installed. They found it hard to believe we could get one for that low cost.

By the way, that walk through downtown Arles included another visit (we’ve been here several times) to the old Roman Amphitheater, and the Roman Theater nearby. A visit to Arles is always wonderful, starter problems or not.