How To Deconstruct Australian Ex-Amublances

The easiest is Brake Clean in a spray can.......nothing sticky and/or gooey lasts with it.

I have tried lots of things, it is not sticky or gooey, razor blade had no affect, have tried ajax and gumption, glass cleaner and cutting compound. It is almost like the sticker has etched itself into the glass, you can only see it when the glass is wet, dewy mornings that kind of thing so will not worry too much about it. Just don't want anybody thinking I will be any use in an emergency, not good about blood and stuff

I know what you mean binnie, I have it on my widows too, but I haven't tried to remove it yet. I was thinking cutting compound on a proper buffing power tool would do it - like how I'm gradually removing the same traces from the paintwork. Is that what you already tried?

didn't try it with a tool just with a bit of rag, will try it with a buffer and let you know

so I am back again with another question, we have a Cole Hersee solenoid under the bonnet and as we are looking at installing auxillary battery here we are trying to find some information. Does everybody have these or is it something added on by the ambulance builders ?

Solving wiring problems... After going through the normal dramas of trying to solve the problem of cut wires etc (and many phone calls) we found our way to Caravan Electrical Solutions in Campbellfield in Melbourne's northern suburbs. For a very reasonable price they rewired, including restoring the 240 volt outlets in the back with external power, to run normal equipment, and fitting an inverter and cut out switch, so the entire electrical system can be shut down if the vehicle is left for an extended period. Best thing is that the work was all carried out by qualified electricians and has all the necessary paper work. You can check them out at www.caravanelectricalsolutions.com.au.

Binnie said:

another question if I may. When the windows get wet you can see where the sticker / signs have been. Have tried regular cleaners but it is still there. Anybody have any ideas on how to get rid of the emergency paramedic outlines on my windows ?

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The best glass cleaner is fine steel wool. It sounds crazy but it's what the professionals use. Must be fine-grade though not the kitchen version. You can watch Youtube clips of people cleaning with it. You could add some alcohol type fluid to get any gum residue off, like using Isopropyl alcohol.

thank you for that will give it a try tomorrow, we have been out for the first reasonable drive in our girl today. Went for a 400k round trip through SE Qld and NSW nthn Rivers, my oh my , what a lot of water.Went like a dream, so exciting to have a modern vehicle.

Hi everyone, we've just bought a 2009 QLD 318 Ambo today, which we'll pickup and drive back down to Melb on the weekend. Not having a garage or workshop, de-constructing may be a bit too tricky for us. Is there anyone on here that lives in Melb that might want to strip it for some cash? By the sounds of things, I'm sure someone thats done it before will get through the job in half the time I would!

Thanks to all the previous posters on this and other threads for the great info. The generosity of people with their knowledge on this site is one of the reasons we chose the Sprinter for our camper conversion.

Cheers,

John & Tam

http://img.virtualshowroom.com.au/FP1300/AUB01MANF/item/49485/494850215O.JPG

John.
There is a lot of work in restoring an Ambo. To do it at normal rates would be thousands of dollars, best you do it yourself, it is mostly undoing screws and cutting silastic. Do as much as you can yourself and then post any tricky bits on here and we will talk you through it. If you want to bring it to me to talk about it that's OK but I can not do the job. Eric.

Eric Experience said:

John.
There is a lot of work in restoring an Ambo. To do it at normal rates would be thousands of dollars, best you do it yourself, it is mostly undoing screws and cutting silastic. Do as much as you can yourself and then post any tricky bits on here and we will talk you through it. If you want to bring it to me to talk about it that's OK but I can not do the job. Eric.

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That's for sure. It took me months to remove stuff as our 3 bay shed is full and had to work outside in all weather.

I'm still removing stuff even to this day when adding roof items over old sealed holes etc. Like if I put something on the roof that needs ceiling access I use an existing hole. Usually under the plates put on from ambulance days, there's old wires or stuff.

My van is a camper and I've utilise some of the ambo cabinets to my advantage so I haven't needed to remove all the gear.

e8hffff said:

My van is a camper and I've utilise some of the ambo cabinets to my advantage so I haven't needed to remove all the gear.

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I utilise most of the ambo equipment, although I use the ex ambo as a mobile laboratory.

If was to turn one into camper, I would keep the upper cabinets, lights & 240V equipment.
The ambo switches & associated wiring can easily be moved and remounted. Wiring for removed ambo equipment can be used in the future for camper equipment as long as it is tagged & safely terminated. This is based on buying an ex ambo that has not been extensively stripped of ambo equipment.

Sockeye770 said:

I utilise most of the ambo equipment, although I use the ex ambo as a mobile laboratory.

If was to turn one into camper, I would keep the upper cabinets, lights & 240V equipment.
The ambo switches & associated wiring can easily be moved and remounted. Wiring for removed ambo equipment can be used in the future for camper equipment as long as it is tagged & safely terminated. This is based on buying an ex ambo that has not been extensively stripped of ambo equipment.

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Cool. I took out the box between the passenger and driver's seat so you can walk between the cabin and cargo section - a must for those living in vans. Also I turned the passenger sliding door storage cabinet top into a range hood gas cooker. The medico's 3rd seat as my boon-docking seat with computer gear on the wall.

I'm currently docked at parents house so I don't have all the gear in place, so I'll take some snaps when back on the road in a few months.

When I got my van it already had most of the 240V stuff removed. The wiring is a nightmare and requires both seats removed to start the clean up. The good thing is you end up with heaps of wire in all gauges and colours, so no need to buy any.

Jumping on a old thread, but I'm close to picking up a Nov 07 build 318 CDI ex-ambo.

How have these models faired? The model I'm looking at has "low" km's for its age but missing any service history, has the usual battered outside from poor decal removal, but everything seems to be running okay including the air-con unit in the rear.

Looks like everything has been removed, but the wiring seems like it has been cut off at two points near the top of the rear right hand door. I guess it's a lucky dip with the wiring and what associate goodies/features still work from it?

Hi DAF

If your new 07 318 is the same as mine, then it should be a good pickup.
There are so many ambo variations, it is hard to give advice without some pictures or seeing it in the flesh.

"the wiring seems like it has been cut off at two points near the top of the rear right hand door", this wiring was probably for the beacon, side flood lights and reversing camera.

Cheers
Andrew

Hey everyone!
New member and brand new sprinter owner 2012 319 CDI, literally picked her up today. I'm just looking for some insight into the battery set up. We discovered today that there are two. One under the hood, the other under the passengers feet. We are assuming due to the fact we had to replace the hood battery that is the aux, as the van wouldn't start until it was replaced. However, when testing the 2nd possible main battery under the passengers seat its voltage was super low.
Any insight is welcome and much appreciated!

Hi Aliraay, welcome to the forum.

All the ex ambos I bought needed new batteries. The ambos had a switch in their ambo accessary switch console to start the engine off the aux battery under the bonnet for when the main battery under the passenger footwell was flat.

Depending how the ambo was gutted out, the wiring setup is a mystery, as their are many different ambo wiring configurations, depending on the ambo manufacturer and city or country ambo.

There should be a relay mounted to the firewall under the Aux batt that connected it to the starter motor. It sounds like the 2 batteries are permanently connected together, so the dead battery is draining the other battery. I would start by disconnecting the positive leads on both batteries and the using a voltmeter to measure the voltage of both positive leads with one battery connected. With one battery connected, there shouldn't be any reading on the other battery positive lead.

If you are in Melbourne, I would be happy to have a look at it.

Hi all, i have already posted a few questions in other threads. We are new owners of a 2016 316 CDI. Most of the old ambo stuff is gone. All that is left is the rear aircon unit, which i want to rip out! Plus the top cupboards are still there but seem a bit in-practical in their design.

I like the idea of having a spot under the bonnet for a aux battery, however its a shame its not a big enough space for a decent size house battery!

Does everyone normally leave the rear arch with the spotlights, installed on the van? Or do you normally remove them?

Again, some great advice here and glad a found the forum

Hi Batz, welcome to the forum.

The aux battery spot under the bonnet is not suitable for a camper, due to poor battery size and a pain in the back to replace.
I find the rear and side floodlights (spotlights) very useful when reversing in the dark.

There is an older thread on this forum that shows the removal of the rear aircon with the size of the hole in the roof, as the member has already done what you intend to do. First of all, you need to establish if the rear aircon has its own compressor, or shares the same single compressor with dash aircon.

Are there any remaining ambo accessories that still work, or don't work?

Sockeye770 said:

Hi Batz, welcome to the forum.

The aux battery spot under the bonnet is not suitable for a camper, due to poor battery size and a pain in the back to replace.
I find the rear and side floodlights (spotlights) very useful when reversing in the dark.

There is an older thread on this forum that shows the removal of the rear aircon with the size of the hole in the roof, as the member has already done what you intend to do. First of all, you need to establish if the rear aircon has its own compressor, or shares the same single compressor with dash aircon.

Are there any remaining ambo accessories that still work, or don't work?

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Exactly what i thought on the battery and also the flood lights ...cheers

I did find one thread on the rear aircon, but yet to find one that shows the hole if the roof...i will keep looking, thanks

No more ambo accessories exist, except for the existing back cupboards. All the wires have been cut to the lights beneath the cupboards and also the speakers. So basically, we have a blank canvas to work with.