afandy Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 ...Hi i have a 2003 Rollerteam 181 based on a Fiat Ducato 2.8 liesure battery charges off alternater but not via mains plug yet mains sockets work ok.and have checked charger under drivers seat and taken apart changed 30 amp fuse and left glass 5x20 fuse alone as was intact and didnt have new one..been quoted £250 for new one plus vat plus fitting is that about right? It has a Nordelettronica one fitted at the mo...Have checked out this company site but seem to be different models now any Uk help out there.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsandywhite Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 :-D Why not just buy an normal charger and plug it into the Mains supply. You can buy them from around £10 upwards. Just a thought. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afandy Posted July 5, 2007 Author Share Posted July 5, 2007 ...Nice idea and see your point but bit of a bodge...isnt it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsandywhite Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 afandy - 2007-07-05 1:26 PM ...Nice idea and see your point but bit of a bodge...isnt it? B-) Not really. It would give you the opportunity to fit a worthwhile 4 step charger for FULL charging of the Leisure batteries for less than half the replacement cost. IMHO. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afandy Posted July 5, 2007 Author Share Posted July 5, 2007 I have battery chargers in my garage ...also trickle charger for classic cars...would they be anygood? or can you recomend any type.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsandywhite Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 :-D They would certainly be good enough. They would at least be as good as the Internal fitted charger. Lidl were selling some VERY good 3/5 amp 3 stage chargers for £19.95 last year which was perfect for continous charging. The named versions cost around £65. I have one as a back up to my Solar panels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 The charger in my van has just failed for the second time. Fortunately just a week before the 2 year warranty expires. It was replaced just over a year ago. Also my fridge freezer has died and it will cost £300+ to repair it. Unfortunately it seems that you only get 1 years warranty on that so I'll have to fork out. Good hobby this innit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 Ralph - 2007-07-05 5:08 PM Also my fridge freezer has died and it will cost £300+ to repair it. Unfortunately it seems that you only get 1 years warranty on that so I'll have to fork out. Good hobby this innit? Do you know what has failed on your fridge? It's just that £300 sounds a bit steep for the kinds of things that are likely to fail. Have you contacted Dometic, assuing it is one of theirs, to see if they know of a good repairer near you, or is this a dealer's price? If it is a dealers' price, I would be inclined to try a Dometic service agent as well, just to be sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michele Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 ralph, What exactly is wrong with the fridge? How comes you know it would be £300? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonW Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 Have you tried putting a meter on the charger check what is going in or out? These things used to be simple just a transformer with a fuse and relied on the user to switch it off before the battery boiled. Then they added switching from full to trickle charge now its full of electronics to control the output. This is progress everything is getting smarter but it breaks down more often. Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 Afandy: Assuming your present Nordelettronica battery-charger is stand-alone (as its below-driver's-seat location suggests), then the price being quoted for a replacement seems extraordinarily high. A charger that's very commonly fitted to modern motorhomes as original equipment is CBE's CB516 model. This is a switch-mode charger with a 16A output and charging regimens suitable for 'wet' or gel battery types. CAK's (www.caktanks.co.uk) 2007 price-list offers the CB516 at £121.79 (VAT inc). Based on your "classic cars" comment, I'm inclined to think you've already confirmed that your charger isn't working by carrying out the basic check DonW recommends. If you haven't, then that's clearly the first thing to do (including physically testing ALL the fuses). It's quite possible for a motorhome battery-charger to be in working order but the battery fail to receive charge due to a fault down-stream of the charger. For example, this could happen with my Hobby that has a CBE CB516 charger connected to the 230V consumer unit, but with its 12V output being routed via an electronic switching-unit rather than being connected directly to the battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 Andy, Sorry to hijack your thread. Brian, Michelle, Yes it's a Dometic and this is from the Dometic agent. I suppose I was lucky that it only packed up on the last day of our month away so no food was lost. When I got home I plugged into mains and went to bed. Next day went out to empty fridge and it was defrosted. Switched to gas and no difference. The back is getting hot on both electric and gas but the inside remains warm. Took it to the local Dometic repairer and they have said that the cooling unit is faulty. £235 +VAT plus labour. I'm waiting for them to get one in now. Apparently as it's getting hot outside but not cold inside that's the only possible cause? It seems a lot to me but I don't see that I have any option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 Are you certain about your fridge not being covered by the motorhome's warranty? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afandy Posted July 6, 2007 Author Share Posted July 6, 2007 Derek Uzzell - 2007-07-06 7:40 AM Afandy: Assuming your present Nordelettronica battery-charger is stand-alone (as its below-driver's-seat location suggests), then the price being quoted for a replacement seems extraordinarily high. A charger that's very commonly fitted to modern motorhomes as original equipment is CBE's CB516 model. This is a switch-mode charger with a 16A output and charging regimens suitable for 'wet' or gel battery types. CAK's (www.caktanks.co.uk) 2007 price-list offers the CB516 at £121.79 (VAT inc). Based on your "classic cars" comment, I'm inclined to think you've already confirmed that your charger isn't working by carrying out the basic check DonW recommends. If you haven't, then that's clearly the first thing to do (including physically testing ALL the fuses). It's quite possible for a motorhome battery-charger to be in working order but the battery fail to receive charge due to a fault down-stream of the charger. For example, this could happen with my Hobby that has a CBE CB516 charger connected to the 230V consumer unit, but with its 12V output being routed via an electronic switching-unit rather than being connected directly to the battery. .....Yes removed drivers seat and had unit out and checked fuses inside..You would imagine it hasnt got far to travel as the leisure battery is under passenger seat but could well travel through a consumer unit..my next port of call :-| Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 Derek Uzzell - 2007-07-06 9:09 AM Are you certain about your fridge not being covered by the motorhome's warranty? Afraid so. The first thing we did was contact the dealer / importer Hayes Leisure and they say that although the van has a 2 year warranty the fridge is only covered by Dometic's 1 year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 Ralph - 2007-07-06 11:30 AM Derek Uzzell - 2007-07-06 9:09 AM Are you certain about your fridge not being covered by the motorhome's warranty? Afraid so. The first thing we did was contact the dealer / importer Hayes Leisure and they say that although the van has a 2 year warranty the fridge is only covered by Dometic's 1 year. RalphOne cause of that symptom would be loss of refrigerant. A re-fill and re-seal should be possible, unless Dometic do something very funny with their fridges. Have you spoken to Dometic's UK technical department? Since this fridge is nearly new, and as their units are normally extremely reliable (unless it has suffered mechanical damage), I would think they might offer some additional advice or "without prejudice" assistance. It may need to come out first, though, and possibly need to be taken to them.Also, don't forget you may have grounds to insist Hayes carry out the repair, or replace the fridge, at their own expense. These units do not, and should not, fail this early, and I think a claim that this one was "not of merchantable quality" may be in order. The retailer's obligation to supply goods that are "fit for purpose" and "of merchantable quality" stem from statute: this obligation is not limited by anything stated in Dometic's warranty. Have a chat to your local Trading Standards bods, give them the details and ask what they think. Then, on the assumption they agree Hayes has a liability to repair, go back to Hayes armed with the facts, talk to one of their directors if necessary, and ask them what they can do. No need to get "heavy" unless they refuse. If they do refuse I think, with TS's blessing, you could advise them they are in breach of their obligations under the Supply of Goods Act (and/or maybe the Sale of Goods Act), give them time to make the repair themselves after which you will have the repair made and seek to recover your costs via the Small Claims Court. TS should be able to guide and assist throughout if necessary. However, I believe Hayes has a fairly good reputation, so my present guess is that you may not have got to the right person yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 Brian, Thanks for that. I also sent a PM to Dave Newell for advice (thanks Michelle for suggesting it) who confirms the likely diagnosis and also suggested that I should speak to Dometic about it failing so early. Looks like I've got a few phone calls to make on Monday. This forum is more than just addictive... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 Hi afandy, my last 'van had a Halfords battery charger instead of the 'vans original charger. It was there when I bought the 'van. It did have a regulater so that it would not boil the battery. It worked fine, obviously the previous owner found it a lot cheaper than the proper one for the 'van. The charger has gone on the ,van I have now, local workshop quoted £200 for new ZIG X70 charger fit and supply. The dealer I bought it from said too dear, bring it to my workshop, & I will do it under warranty, free. So when the rain stops I will make a date with his technician. On the face of it, I would say the quote you got may be a bit on high side. Have a look into the fitting an ordinary regulated output charger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 Believe it or not the Dometic saga is still ongoing and I'm bloody livid >:-( After much delay I finally got a reply from Dometic offering me £100. I wrote a polite letter reminding them that it had cost me over £300 and asking them to reconsider their offer. Today after more delay I received from Dometic a cheque for £50! Not even a bloody letter, just a cheque for half what they had previously offered. I never intend to buy another of their useless products again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michele Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 Ralph, dont give in phone them up and go mad tell them you want the lot >:-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted November 10, 2007 Share Posted November 10, 2007 RalphIf they offered £100, I assume you have a name and telephone number? It would surely be worth ringing and asking what the £50 is all about. I suppose it is just possible someone thinks you've already had the £100, so has added the £50 for goodwill. Otherwise, it seems a very strange customer care tactic to halve the offer when actually paying! I think there is a cock up, and speaking to them should gain a far better response. I've always found them vary informative and helpful, but then I haven't suffered your circumstances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordonaldson Posted November 11, 2007 Share Posted November 11, 2007 Just noted that the liesure batteries not charging on my Kon-Tiki 1992. Mentioned it to my Electronics Whizz kid and he said give it to me and I'll see if I can repair it via RS and the likes parts. Surprised that no one mentioned repairing unit, or is this a no-no and should I just become a gas and float away. It's quite amazing the electronics you can get repaired nowadays.... Put my foot in it again, right, oops, Gordon..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted November 12, 2007 Share Posted November 12, 2007 gordonaldson - 2007-11-11 7:47 PM It's quite amazing the electronics you can get repaired nowadays.... I'd have said the reverse was true. Nothing gets repaired any more. You're very lucky to have someone prepared to have a go at it as it would be difficult to find a commercial repairer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Newell Posted November 12, 2007 Share Posted November 12, 2007 There are a couple of reasons why electronics don't get repaired any more. Firstly is the high cost of man hours compared with the low cost of replacement equipment (very often). Secondly a lot of electronic equipment these days is made up from ICs (integrated circuits, better known as chips) which are not as easy to diagnose accurately and a damn site harder to replace very often. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Globetrotter Posted November 12, 2007 Share Posted November 12, 2007 Although I agree with the remarks concerning the repair of electrical items, I would add that often the faults within a unit can be due to very simple causes. One that I have encountered in cars and MH's due to constant heat/cold changes is deterioration in the solder on circuit boards. I first encountered this on my Rover 800, which are renowned for electrical problems. The electric windows were very erratic, so I dismantled the "sealed" switchpack and resoldered everything-problem solved. I have also done this on kids toys and various other electrical circuitry. Of course the amateur has to be careful as incorrect application of heat can destroy the component, but the way I figure it is if the component is effectively scrap anyway, it must be worth a try!! I agree with Dave that if chips etc are actually faulty it is almost impossible to diagnose, and of course I'm not sure if resoldering would solve the problems discussed thus far-but its something to consider. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.