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Battery Charger PC-100HB T


Instow

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HELP PLEASE I have a Hobby campervan fitted with a CBE PC-100 HB T battery charger. With the engine switched off, and no hook up, the fan on the battery charger continues to run when the battery isolating switch is in the off position which is draining the habitation battery. Unfortunately there are no Hobby dealers anywhere near where I live and very little knowledge, if any, that I can find on these particular chargers. The problem has resulted in having to replace the habitation battery. Has anybody suffered a similar problem or any ideas as to cause please.
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Welcome to the Out&AboutLive forums.

 

The CBE PC-100HB-T reference you have provided relates to a set of components (a ‘kit’) that, together, form a motorhome’s electrical system. Documentation can be found here

 

http://www.marcleleisure.co.uk/store/pdf/PC100_PC200_DS300_ENcircuits.pdf

 

Complete kits comprise a control panel, battery charger, 230V 'consumer unit’, 'distribution box’ containing various electrical gubbins, fresh-water tank sensors, waste-water tank 'full' detector, and connecting wiring harnesses.

 

When kits are provided to a major motorhome manufacturer (eg. Hobby), they are normally tailored to suit that manufacturer's models. Your Hobby is fitted with a CBE PC-100HB-T system and the control-panel will carry the word "Hobby". The CBE instruction booklet will also be "Hobby"-marked and include details of PC-100HB and PC-100HB-T control-panels, with the latter being differently shaped and carrying a switch+symbol for a waste-water tank heater instead of a switch+symbol for an awning light.

 

The battery-charger itself will very likely come from CBE’s “500” range and may well be the CBE516 model.

 

http://www.cbe.it/en/content/cb516

 

http://www.cbe.it/sites/default/files/CB510-516.pdf

 

It will be seen from the diagram on Page 31 of the marcleleisure link I provided above that the battery-charger’s 230V input comes from a ‘consumer unit’ with MCBs and an RCD (example here)

 

http://leisurelines.net/cbe-ds120-s-mains-consumer-unit-double-pole-13a-2040-p.asp

 

and the charger’s ‘ouput link’ goes to a DS300 distribution box

 

http://www.grasshopperleisure.co.uk/cbe-12v-ds300-distribution-box-307-p.asp

 

That’s essentially it - a 230V AC power input-cable and another cable linking the charger to the DS300.

 

Inside the battery-charger is a 230V fuse and a 12V fuse. There is also a switch that allows the appropriate charging regimen to be selected according to whether the leisure-battery is wet-acid or gel. On the upper surface of the battery-charger’s case is an On/Off push-button that illuminates red when the battery charger is operated.

 

I owned a 2005 Ford Transit-based Hobby T-600FC with a CBE PC-100HB-T system and CBE516 battery-charger, but I freely admit to not knowing exactly what the relationship is between the battery-charger and the DS300 distribution box.

 

You say that the charger’s ventilation fan continues to run even though your motorhome is not connected to a 230V mains power supply and also when the vehicle’s motor is stopped. And this happens despite the battery-charger’s On/Off push-button switch being turned Off (and presumably it also happens when the battery-charger’s On/Off push-button switch is turned On.) What should happen, of course, is that the ventilation fan should only run when the battery-charger is operating, and the battery-charger should only operate when it is switched On and is receiving 230V power.

 

The fan will be 12V DC type and, as the charger will not be producing 12V output when the motorhome is not connected to a 230V mains power supply, the fan must be being powered by a 12V feed from the DS300 distribution box. I am minded to think, then, that the problem may well lie with the DS300 distribution box rather than with the battery charger.

 

I’m not sure what’s the best way forward with this. If the battery-charger were replaced with a new one on a like-for-like basis and the fan still ran, you’d know that your present charger was not the cause of the problem. But there’s already a fair chance that’s the case.

 

If the DS300 distribution box has developed a fault I’m doubtful that it will be repairable, but you don’t want to replace the DS300 if the cause of the problem is elsewhere. It ought to be possible (maybe) to test the operation of the battery-charger with it disconnected from the DS300, but testing the DS300 would be another story.

 

All I can suggest is that you contact this firm

 

http://www.aandncaravanservices.co.uk/contact-us.php

 

to see if they can advise.

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Derek,

Thank you so much for taking the time to produce such a comprehensive reply giving me a lot to investigate. I have carried out a number of checks already on the units as I initially had a charging problem and they appear to be working correctly, except for the fan operation. In response to my query with CBE, they have stated that for a short period a diode was fitted,by Hobby, between the battery charger and the 12v fuse box. The diode is not shown in the information I have, so to be investigated.

Again, thank you for your time and effort. I shall keep you posted on progress.

Kindest Regards

Instow

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I’m in no position to contradict CBE’s advice about the diode, but the PC-100 system has been used by lots of motorhome manufacturers (not just Hobby) as much as anything because the system is relatively cheap and is straightfoward to install.

 

It seems odd to me that Hobby would have found it necessary to modify the standard system by fitting a diode between the charger and distribution box, and odder still if Hobby only did this for a short period. Why would there be a need for a diode?

 

It sounds like you have got a grip on the problem, but (It has to be asked!) are you 100% certain that the charger’s ventilation fan runs when the motorhome is not connected to a 230v mains power supply?

 

When my Hobby was connected to a 230V hook-up and I switched on the charger, I could hear the fan start to run: after that I couldn’t hear the fan. I don’t know how you know the fan is runnning ‘spontaneously’, but I think I’d want to confirm what’s happening by taking the top off the charger and actually see the fan spinning round. Perhaps you’ve already done this, though...

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The fan is definitely running continuously, not spontaneously, without power supplied and battery isolating switch in the OFF position as I can hear it run up and stay on.

CBE are saying the diode was fitted by Hobby as a modification due to the way that the battery isolating switch had been fitted. I have yet to locate the diode!

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Could you provide more details of your Hobby motorhome, please?

 

I assume from your " PC-100HB-T” reference that it is Ford Transit-based, but it might be helpful to know its year of manufacture and the exact model as several other forum-members have experience of Ford-based Hobbys with CBE systems and may be able to assist.

 

I also freely admit to not fully understanding the problem.

 

Plainly the battery-charger’s fan cannot run ‘spontaneously’ in that, if the charger were physically disconnected from its input and output cabling, there would be no possibility of the fan being powered. But the fan apparently runs continuously despite there being no 230V power-supply to the charger (which is clearly wrong) so must be obtaining power via its ‘output cable’. And, if that’s happening, it would be logical to assume that there must be something odd in the DS-300 box that’s allowing it to happen.

 

What’s this “battery isolating switch”? I don’t recall there being any switch in my own Hobby that would fit that description, so is this the On/Off push-button on the battery-charger case’s upper surface or something else?

 

With my own Hobby, causing the leisure-battery to be charged merely involved connecting the motorhome to a 230V hook-up and making sure the battery-charger was switched on. This resulted in an LED on the PC-100 control-panel illuminating and the leisure-battery receiving ‘full’ charge, with a ‘trickle-charge’ being sent to the starter-battery.

 

As far as I’m aware all Transit-based Hobbys had a similar battery arrangement, with a Ford-supplied starter-battery beneath the driver’s seat and a gel-type leisure-battery under the cab passenger seat. The CBE DS-300 box and battery-charger were also located under a cab seat, though which seat Hobby chose varied according to the model and year of manufacture. In my Hobby’s case the DS-300 and charger were right next to each other and, if the mysterious Hobby-fitted ‘diode’ had been present, it ought to have been straightforward to identify unless Hobby had put in inside the DS-300 or inside the charger.

 

Incidentally, how do you mamage to stop the fan from running continuously?

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My Hobby is a van exclusive, Ford transit based and first registered in Sept 2009. The engine battery, charger and distribution box is situated underneath the driver's seat, whist the habitation battery is below the passenger's seat.

 

The battery isolating switch is fitted on the driver's seat mount, on the door side and is turned to the "ON" position, by means of a key, which isolates the habitation battery from the engine battery as well as isolating the 12v supply to the control panel. it is NOT the "On/Off" push button on top of the battery charger.

 

I agree that without the 230v hook up supply and the engine not running that the battery charger fan should not run, and it does not if the battery isolating switch is such that the batteries are connected, under the control of the distribution box, and the 12v supply is enabled to the control panel, ie the isolating switch is in the "OFF" position. It is when the battery isolating switch is then turned to the "ON" position, with the key removed, that the fan starts to run. It seems to me that as soon as the isolating switch is turned to the "ON" position that 12v is being feedback from one of the batteries to the charger and that may have been the purpose of the diode to prevent that feedback.

 

Presently, the battery isolating switch is left in the "OFF" position, ie the batteries are connected, and the fan Is not running but this causes the engine battery to drain quicker than it should.

 

Unfortunately, visitors are currently preventing any further investigation.

 

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How long have you owned your Hobby Van, please? And has this fan-running thing always been present during your period of ownership, or only reared its head recently?

 

I don’t recall a battery isolated switch being fitted to any new motorhome as part of its standard specification, though there are several on-line references to this type of switch being retro-fitted by owners to prevent a vehicle’s starter-battery gradually discharging when it is long-term stored.

 

If the switch had been fitted by Hobby when your motorhome was built, I could well believe that an additional modification might have been required to ensure that the CBE system functioned properly. If the switch was retrofitted, I can equally well believe that the CBE system might react unpredictably. An example of a motorhome’s electrical system doing this was highlighted here

 

http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Leisure-Battery-Isolator-Switch/19418/

 

It’s possible that retro-fitting an isolating switch in the manner in which yours is installed will result in any CBE PC-100HB-T system’s battery-charger fan running continuously when the switch is turned ON unless something is done to prevent this (the elusive ‘diode’ for instance).

 

As everything apparently works OK when the switch is OFF, what you obviously need to know is how to stop the fan running when the switch is ON.

 

As my Hobby did not have a battery isolating switch, and I can’t inspect your motorhome to see how your switch is fitted, all I can suggest is that you install a second switch that would allow you to isolate the habitation-battery from the CBE system. If neither battery can provide 12V power to the system, it stands to reason that the charger’s fan won’t be able to run.

 

(I’ve PM-ed a forum member who has a 2010 Hobby Van Exclusive and asked if he can comment on this.)

 

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...the battery isolator switch is a standard, factory-fit item. (It exists on my 'van, and is described in the Hobby manual).

 

The addition of an additional diode is news to me, but sometime today I'll go and look under the driver's seat and see if I can see anything obvious.

 

I quite like CBE electrics, as they are relatively simple and compact (and usually quite reliable - though I did have to have a CBE charger replaced from very new in my Rapido!).

 

My experience is that the cooling fan doesn't run all the time in use, so I suspect it must be controlled by something like a thermistor, which should cut in when the internal temperature of the charger reaches a certain threshold.

 

Without a circuit diagram, it is difficult to be certain, but if this is the case it would probably be sensible to power such a fan from the "battery" side, as this would allow it to continue to run for some time if the input mains connection were removed when the unit was hot (and would also allow use of a 12v fan).

 

Failure of said thermistor (or other temperature-sensing capability) to be permanently on) might cause such an issue as the op describes.

 

If I spot anything in my installation, I'll come back.

 

 

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Robinhood - 2015-03-16 9:11 AM...................My experience is that the cooling fan doesn't run all the time in use, so I suspect it must be controlled by something like a thermistor, which should cut in when the internal temperature of the charger reaches a certain threshold.

 

Without a circuit diagram, it is difficult to be certain, but if this is the case it would probably be sensible to power such a fan from the "battery" side, as this would allow it to continue to run for some time if the input mains connection were removed when the unit was hot (and would also allow use of a 12v fan).

 

Failure of said thermistor (or other temperature-sensing capability) to be permanently on) might cause such an issue as the op describes. ............

I'd second the above. We also had a Hobby Van (2007), transit based, and the CBE kit was installed beneath the front passenger's seat (LHD).

 

When new, the fan in ours was clearly audible when it ran. This was usually when first connected to mains, but it would cut in from time to time if the van was in use on EHU even if it had been static for a few days.

 

The charger is of "intelligent" type, and seems to allow the battery to become partially depleted even when on hook-up, following which it will commence charging. I always assumed these subsequent bursts of fan activity reflected these subsequent charging phases, resulting in the charger heating, and therefore requiring the additional cooling.

 

I also noticed that ambient temperatures influenced the frequency, and duration, of the fan running. That is to say if it was generally hot, the fan was more active than when it was cooler. I'm pretty sure the fan also ran at more than one speed, being faster at first and then tailing off (at least, that is what the noise did!).

 

Over the time we owned the Van the fan quietened, but was always audible when running. This led me to surmise that the fan is controlled by a temperature sensor on the charging transformer itself. However, I suppose it is equally possible that the output voltage to the battery when charging may have governed the fan speed, as this tails off as the charge level rises.

 

I don't remember ever hearing the fan run when mains were disconnected, which leads me to wonder if the fan power source is the charger rather than the leisure battery. I assume that would be a simpler arrangement in terms of wiring.

 

However, the charger also charges the starter battery when on hook-up, and there is a relay that should separate the two batteries so that they cannot work as one when the engine is stopped. There is an obvious need for the 12V side to be permanently live to the charger windings, but equally for current not to pass around the windings when the charger is not functioning (that diode?).

 

There was a safety cut off on the CBE unit, that isolated most of the 12V when the battery charge fell below a pre-set level, to protect the battery from excessive discharge. Flashing red light on control panel? So, I'm a mite surprised that the fan alone would have caused such damage to the battery (though I suppose it might over extended time off EHU), but do wonder if the means of preventing the battery from "back feeding" the charger coil might have falied (that diode again?). That would definitely have an impact on the habitation battery charge, and might also cause the fan to run, depending on its actual control system. But, I'm merely guessing in hope, and have no knowledge of how these items actually work.

 

Final thought. I never found it necessary to use the on/off switch on the charger to isolate the 12V side. I always turned this off at the control panel, and could always hear a healthy "thunk" form the relay under the seat when doing so. I'm just wondering, therefore, why the OP found he needed to use the switch on the charger, and whether there may be an underlying problem with one, or other, of the control relays?

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Brian

 

In his posting of 15 March 2015 7:00 PM Instow said

 

“The battery isolating switch is fitted on the driver's seat mount, on the door side and is turned to the "ON" position, by means of a key, which isolates the habitation battery from the engine battery as well as isolating the 12v supply to the control panel. it is NOT the "On/Off" push button on top of the battery charger.”

 

Instow’s motorhome is a September 2009-registered Hobby Van Exclusive and Robinhood has confirmed that his 2010 “Van” also has this isolator switch and that it is described in his Hobby manual.

 

As you have not mentioned that your 2007 Van had a battery isolator switch, I’m guessing that (like my 2005 Transit-based Hobby) it did not have one – is that correct, please?

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Derek Uzzell - 2015-03-16 1:43 PM

 

Brian

 

In his posting of 15 March 2015 7:00 PM Instow said

 

“The battery isolating switch is fitted on the driver's seat mount, on the door side and is turned to the "ON" position, by means of a key, which isolates the habitation battery from the engine battery as well as isolating the 12v supply to the control panel. it is NOT the "On/Off" push button on top of the battery charger.”

 

Instow’s motorhome is a September 2009-registered Hobby Van Exclusive and Robinhood has confirmed that his 2010 “Van” also has this isolator switch and that it is described in his Hobby manual.

 

As you have not mentioned that your 2007 Van had a battery isolator switch, I’m guessing that (like my 2005 Transit-based Hobby) it did not have one – is that correct, please?

Hello Derek. I hadn't read that post from Instow before posting. Interesting. I can confirm that our Van had no such isolator. It also had just a single starter battery, and a single habitation battery.

 

From the description of its function per Robin's manual, might this isolator have been introduced for those vans which have the twin "starter" battery installation, one of which was reserved for starting and the other, if I've understood correctly, was reserved for maintaining the on board electronic functions? I'm just puzzled by the reference to the "modular" battery. That term was not used for either the habitation or starter battery in the manual for our Van. The isolator seems to completely isolate whatever is the "modular battery" from all charge/discharge functions, and to be intended for use only when the van is laid up and off EHU.

 

Robin, does the manual still include a wiring schematic, that might show how many batteries there actually are, and where in circuit this isolator sits? The English translation you've reproduced is a bit duff, and the description of its function less than fulsome. I can understand what they say it does (it isolates: hoo-bloody-ray!), but not why it is needed, or which battery it is actually isolating. Beyond that, I really can't begin to understand why its position should cause the charger cooling fan to run or not. Kafka design?

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...my 'van doesn't have the Ford dual-battery system (RWD only, I think).

 

Other references to the 'modular' battery indicate it is the one behind the CBE electronics (which would make it the starter battery), but that simply isn't true.

 

The effect on my 'van is to isolate the control panel and all habitation electrics (and anything controlled by them, including the step) - the vehicle electrics function as normal.

 

No wiring diagram or schematic in my manual.

 

 

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...it's late, so I'll leave you all to ponder the PC100 circuit diagram here, which implies an (optional?) diode, and maybe even a thermistor, in the charger to vehicle battery circuit.

 

http://www.marcleleisure.co.uk/store/pdf/PC100_PC200_DS300_ENcircuits.pdf

 

If the (optional?) components failed, it might imply permanent 12v back-current from the vehicle battery (though whether this would run the fan is not obvious without considerably more detailed circuitry).

 

Might explain the comments about the diode, though.

 

 

 

 

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The “modular battery” is the “leisure battery” - this will be apparent from this 2011 Hobby Manual.

 

http://www.hobby-caravan.de/fileadmin/user_upload/service/Bedienungsanleitungen/RM-Ford-engl-12-Komplett-BS.pdf

 

It appears that the function of the ‘circuit breaker’ is to prevent the leisure-battery from being discharged when the motorhome is not being used, though I can’t see why that should happen unless something (like a reading light) had accidentally been left on.

 

I’m guessing that the reason Brian's 2007 Van and my 2005 Hobby did not have this switch but later Transit-based Hobby models do (which seems to be the case) is that Ford may have altered the battery wiring at some point. There’s mention elsewhere of some Transit Mk 7s having a “pre-fuse box” and a “customer connection point” and it may be that this has influenced how Hobby has wired up the CBE system and why there was felt a need to fit the circuit breaker.

 

If a diode is needed to stop the charger’s fan running when the contact breaker’s switch is OFF and the diode has failed, as Robinhood suggests it looks like the fan maight be able to pick up power from the starter battery. But Instow says that, when the circuit-breaker switch is OFF and the fan runs continuously, it’s the leisure battery that becomes discharged.

 

It really needs someone who has a detailed understanding of exactly how a PC-100 system fitted to a Hobby Van with a circuit-breaker switch functions and I’m not sure where one would find that person.

 

(MMM’s “Interchange” consultants might be able to extract more information from Hobby and/or CBE about this.)

 

 

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...the wiring diagram towards the bottom of the Marcle Leisure link above clearly shows a diode, and I would conjecture it is where the op stated he had been told there might be one.

 

It is in a dotted box, so may be seen as optional (and may well be internal to the distribution box, if fitted) .

 

What I would surmise is that the correct functioning of the electrics requires a permanent supply from the leisure battery (to maintain a consistent state of switching, relays, etc.), and if this constant supply is interrupted whilst the vehicle battery is still connected (e.g. by the fitting of an isolation switch - which on mine appears to be absolute in its function), then there is a feedback path from the vehicle battery that can create problems. (hence the fitting of the diode to nullify such effects).

 

Such problems could well include affecting the internal switching of the unit such that a battery gets drained, and the fan runs continuously, but, as you allude to, it is difficult to understand how it would discharge an ostensibly fully disconnected leisure battery - much easier to understand how it would discharge a vehicle battery!.

 

 

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As the leisure battery has been replaced, I wonder if more of the wiring might have been disconnected than simply that to the terminals? There is also a reference to previous charging problems, so might someone have re-arranged some of the wiring to fix one problem, and caused another?

 

Unfortunately, neither diagram shows the isolating switch, so one can only surmise where it is installed. However, logically, I can see no route for B2 to power any of the system if the switch is where it seems it ought to be: between the battery + terminal and the main the control box. I assume the wording "When the circuit breaker is open, the electrical input stage will not engage automatically", is intended to warn that the battery cannot be charged if the isolator is opened (why oh why don't they get a native English speaker to vet their translations? :-()

 

However, if that were the case it plainly could not be discharged.

 

If the 70A separator relay had failed closed and the doide had also failed (improbable coincidence), with the isolator open, all load should go to the starter battery, so that should be the battery in trouble, but it is not.

 

There would appear to be a route for a back-feed via the doide to the side of the charger labelled "S". Might that drive the fan? But, there appears to be more in the dotted box than just the diode (I don't understand "PTC" or "R") and it is unclear what is actually connected to which, or at what point, within that box.

 

It seems that the isolator may be isolating the wrong battery, but why/how could this have arisen? I wonder if any of the internal electrics (lights etc) function with the isolator open? If they do, it should indicate that the starter battery, and not the hab battery, is actually supplying the power.

 

I think it is pretty much impossible to make further progress without knowledge of what is in the dotted box, and how it is connected, and where the isolator actually sits. Even then, it would require a series of systematic tests with a multi meter, to determine what is live under which conditions, and whether either the relay or the diode have failed. If the Instow hasn't a meter, or lacks the knowledge/confidence to investigate the system further, I think he needs to engage a good auto, or preferebly motorhome, electrician. If Instow says where he is based, someone may be able to recommend one near to him.

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Brian

 

The situation seems to be that, sometime after you bought your “Van” Hobby began to fit ‘circuit breaker’ switches to their motorhomes as standard.

 

There’s information about this switch in Section 7.5 of the 2011 Hobby manuals for both Ford- and Fiat-based models

 

http://www.hobby-caravan.de/fileadmin/user_upload/service/Bedienungsanleitungen/RM-Ford-engl-12-Komplett-BS.pdf

 

http://www.hobby-caravan.de/fileadmin/user_upload/service/Bedienungsanleitungen/RM-Fiat-engl-12-Komplett-BS.pdf

 

The switch is also mentioned here

 

http://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/hobby-battery-switch.99855/

 

You say

 

"I assume the wording "When the circuit breaker is open, the electrical input stage will not engage automatically", is intended to warn that the battery cannot be charged if the isolator is opened ..."

 

Evidently what is actually being warned about is that, when the circuit-breaker switch is in its Off position, the electric entrance-step won’t work!

 

The equivalent French-language manual says

 

"Lorsque l‘interrupteur principal est ouvert, la marche d’entrée électrique ne se replie pas automatiquement.”

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Brian Kirby - 2015-03-17 11:44 AM

 

There would appear to be a route for a back-feed via the doide to the side of the charger labelled "S". Might that drive the fan? But, there appears to be more in the dotted box than just the diode (I don't understand "PTC" or "R") and it is unclear what is actually connected to which, or at what point, within that box.

 

QUOTE]

 

PTC probably denotes a switching thermistor (conventionally either PTC or NTC type), but the R defeats me.

 

The "box" is probably a virtual one, simply denoting that there are additional items that can be added in-circuit (somewhere in the text for the battery charger it denotes that there is the ability to add temperature sensing to the battery (as opposed to charger temperature sensing)).

 

The circuitry certainly isn't simple, however. The isolating switch (on mine) has a double connection on one pole, and a single on the other - all of which are substantial cables!. Unfortunately, everything is so obscured by the seat swivel that it isn't at all easy to figure out.

 

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Robinhood - 2015-03-17 3:44 PM

The circuitry certainly isn't simple, however. The isolating switch (on mine) has a double connection on one pole, and a single on the other - all of which are substantial cables!. Unfortunately, everything is so obscured by the seat swivel that it isn't at all easy to figure out.

 

RH,

 

A simple question, is the isolating switch in the positive or negative wires? This may help others figure out where and why it is located.

 

Keith.

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...the same thing had occurred to me after reading the post on the link Derek posted.

 

So, before your question I'd been out and looked. The units are so jam-packed I can't see where the wires go, (the seat swivel obsures much of it as well) but measuring from a pole of the (un-isolated) isolator to earth gives no voltage, so it looks like it's in the earth (negative) side.

 

It does make me wonder whether, as a result of previous issues, the leisure battery has somehow been earthed elsewhere as well, causing some odd earth-loop through the CBE equipment when otherwise isolated.

 

 

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To Derek: well done for sniffing out the other model manuals. Yes, it does seem these isolators were added to both Transit and Ducato based 'vans post '07. There must be a reason, but it is not obvious to me what it might be. Our van seemed fine without it.

 

Even better done to have looked at the French version, which is absolutely clear. I think the implication of that is that the isolator totally isolates the hab battery, as when the CBE isolator switch is off the step remains operational.

 

To Robin: I removed both front seat swivels on different occasions. I had to remove the driver's to check the electrolyte level in the starter battery, because that was the only way to access it - and the garage wouldn't during servicing. The passengers came out when I discovered that the hab battery had failed prematurely, due to some twit cracking its case during installation. Yes, the batteries are a shoehorn fit - and also very heavy! See below.

 

Thanks for the info on PTC and NTC. I was wondering if R might denote another relay?

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