david lloyd

Yes tried that early on Keith but no different and the leads look in good condition. David

No they were just fixated on the battery for some reason. I mentioned other possibilities like starter motor, injectors but they didn’t seem interested - too much lucrative work I suspect. Didn’t press the point any further as my confidence in them had fallen away and thought I would see what it’s like in a week and if still the same get the auto electricians on it. Davif

Update. The MH has been back to Peugeot for another diagnostic check. This time they wanted it overnight so that they could check the condition of the (10 month old) replacement battery from last visit. Then put it on charge overnight and check again. Their verdict was that the battery tested ‘good’ although only charged up to 90%. They couldn’t replicate the difficulty starting so advised I just keep an eye on it for a while - despite my suggesting they move onto other possible causes. So no real explanation from them but they did waive any charges for the further tests. Left it beneath the carport on the driveway from last Tuesday to this morning without hookup. Started out by checking the battery voltage. The panel read SB 12.5v the LB 12.6v although the solar regulator indicated 12.9v for LB - there is no connection to the SB. Under the bonnet I was surprised to find the SB reading 14.2v on the multimeter! So much so I tried it a few times with the same results. Now tried to start engine which sounded like a flat battery really slow to crank over but did start. With the engine running the voltages (with a meter) were - LB steady 14.2v. SB jumped to 15.6/7v but settled around 14.4 to 14.7v. I am a little wary now of taking it back again to Peugeot so have booked it in later this week at a really well respected auto electricians who I know will dig deeper than the battery to find the underlying cause. My money would be on the starter motor/solenoid. David

Yes on mine it would try igniting about eight times (the diagnostic graph shows the eight drops in voltage as it tried each time then returning to 12+v) before it then gives up and turns off at the panel. As I said earlier, mine was not due to a poor battery but a faulty connector block - I presume this increased the resistance? David

Just had our Eberspacher repaired after experiencing the same problems. The diagnostic check (at an Eberspacher agent) showed voltage drop when starting which was traced to a faulty 6way connector near the battery rather than low voltage at the battery. Connecting block was removed and wires permanently joined - all good now. David

There is a decent campsite virtually opposite the small commercial estate that Dave Newell’s workshop is based at. He did some work for me once that needed the van leaving all day but his wife drove us over to the open air museum at Blists Hill (I think they gave us complimentary tickets but can’t be sure) which is a great place to spend the day. Then collected us to go back for the van. The campsite is Severn Gorge Site. David

Yes thanks Brian. I think my confusion stems from the installation advice on the Vanbitz BM which refers to it already having a built in fuse but, if I have to run longer cables than are supplied with the BM (due to the distance between the two batteries) it is sensible to place a fuse at the start of the long run near the battery. Always learning. David

So, what I have gathered so far is that the TEC3M relay in picture one is likely to be for the towbar electrics to allow charging a leisure battery and run the fridge on a caravan, for instance. In picture two the upper relay would be for split charging the leisure and starter batteries. The lower relay is to supply 12v to the fridge when travelling. It was the upper relay that was changed by the Eberspacher agent as the heater fault was to do with low voltage that was likely to be the ill fitting connecting block but I know the pins on the relay were quite corroded so may have been a precautionary measure. Perhaps Alanb could just confirm for me which wires to the split charge relay are starter/leisure battery cables what the three fuses on this relay protect? Grateful for all the interest and advice. David

My sincere apologies Alan. I would never seek to diminish in any way the learned experience and knowledge of any professional. But to me it is nothing short of magical seeing such professionals diagnosing and resolving electrical issues that confound me. It is, perhaps, why the phrase “tricks of the trade” was coined. Please keep advising as it is most welcome by many members of the forum I suspect. David

Yes Alan the Renoir is all but identical to your IH including having the rare 2.8HDi engine. The Eberspacher was part of the original spec for this model. I guess it would be prudent to fuse a long run of cable - so, of the various methods for installation, I have to think which one I (as a confident but amateur DIY person when it comes to electrickery) feel most comfortable with. David

Thanks Alan, it is a 2006 Pioneer Renoir so no smart alternator and I’m pretty sure no B2B. As I mentioned above, thinking about it the new split charge relay in first photo was fitted by the towbar company rather than the Eberspacher agent. Hi were, they did fit a new relay (the LH one in photo two) and removed a wobbly connector block near the leisure battery permanently connecting the wires as that is likely to have been the cause of the low voltage to the heater and yes the heater can be used when driving. However, you are right it is a Sergeant PSU unit - EC200 PSU2007 mated to an EC328. This does allow me to switch the 240v mains charger (which I had changed to a six stage charger by Apuljack Electronics) to charge the starter battery but we rely heavily on solar charging on sites - which only charges the leisure side. All the info I have read about the Vanbitz BM says it doesn’t need fusing at the live connections as it has a built in fuse. David

Keith/Labby thank you - very helpful. The starter battery on my x244 based Peugeot is near these relays under the bonnet and the leisure batteries are about midway down the motorhome beneath the near side settee - cable run of about 3 - 4 metres but it may be easier to lengthen the cables than try and connect them into the relay. I have also looked at the Votronic version which only has two cables (one to each battery positive) and delivers up to 3amp but does need fusing and would still need longer cabling whereas the Vanbitz is already fused. Looks like the Vanbitz BM placed inside near the leisure battery and longer cabling to the starter/chassis would be the best bet. David

Actually, I think the TEC3M relay in first picture was installed with the new towbar so may be supplying power to the 13 pin socket. David

Whilst investigating the voltage drop on my Eberspacher heater recently the auto electrician fitted two new relays. The first picture is, I think, a split charge relay to energise the fridge on 12v when driving. Not sure what the two near the front of the engine bay are for - one of which they replaced. I am wanting to fit a Vanbitz Battery Master but not sure if any of these would be suitable to wire it into and, if so, which terminals to use. David

Did as advised by. Colin and the voltage drop (negative battery pole to engine) is 0.05v so seems to be within normal parameters. As I mentioned, the earth cables have been tested and inspected and are fine. I have booked it in again for another diagnostic test, particularly to check the starter motor. David

Thanks Colin will try that. At the last diagnostic test they had tested and inspected the earth cabkes and all were ok. David

How is that done Colin?

Back in December 2022 I had very sluggish starting in cold weather on the Pioneer Renoir we had only had for three months. A diagnostic test at Peugeot identified that the Yuasa Silver 5000 battery was only putting out 609cca instead of the rated 900cca and the recommendation was to replace the battery. New (same type) battery was ordered from Tayna and has performed well through the spring/summer although I wouldn’t say that cold starting was as I would have expected. Now the nights are colder it is back to very sluggish starting. The engine cranks very slowly and feels as if it is going to stop cranking but then at the last gasp fires up. The Yuasa battery is only nine months old and is kept in good condition. Peugeot service manager has advised they undergo the diagnostic test again but will need to rule out the battery again by testing it then putting it on charge overnight and testing again after that. If it proves to be the battery I do have a five year warranty so would hope to get a replacement. My concern is it is not the battery this time and internet searches throw up quite a few examples of the starter motor being the cause with a replacement overcoming the problem. Anyone have experience of this type of cold starting issue? David

Nigel, yes as Keith says it would take much longer to fully charge two 110ah batteries. If your mains charger is charging at 14.3v (this would eventually reduce over the charging period) then it seems to be working. However, you say the solar panel alone only shows a charge of 0.3 - 0.4v even without full sun that may indicate a faulty panel or regulator. If the batteries were not fully charged when you set off and you relied sole on that level of solar output then you wouldn’t get much out of the batteries. Similarly, if the alternator is not putting in a sufficiently high voltage whilst driving then it would have the same effect - hence the need to check a) the voltage AT THE LEISURE BATTERY TERMINALS with the engine running and b) the voltage at the solar panel regulator. David

Spare a thought for the caravaners who bought a new Volvo which, when hitched to a caravan, won’t allow it to reverse! David

It’s still worth checking the voltage at the battery terminals just to rule out any discrepancy between them and the reading on the panel - depending on size of cable, length of cabling etc it’s often the case that there is some voltage drop to the panel but 12.2 does seem low. David

Nigel if you are not seeing anything above 12.5v on the panel with either the solar panel or mains charger operating then it suggests neither are charging the batteries. However, it would be wise to check those voltages at the battery terminals with a multimeter in the first instance - it could be the panel that is not showing the correct voltage. Even in this fairly dull day my two 105ah batteries are showing 13.2v without EHU just from the 100W solar panel which is sitting underneath a clear roofed carport. If the voltage at the battery terminals is the same as the panel I would then try running the engine and check the leisure battery voltage again - this should now be showing something like 14.2v - 14.4v with the alternator charging. If that happens it does suggest a problem with the Sargent charger. David

There are several ‘safety’ systems on our one year old MG4 that I would rather be without. The first is the collision avoidance Brian describes. Although it has not, as yet, activated without sufficient reason it does activate in what I consider unnecessary circumstances. Often this is way too soon as I am following (moving) traffic and it is quite possible that a following driver reading the road ahead would certainly not expect me to be braking to a standstill. Next is the lane control feature which pulls the steering rather fiercely back to the centre line and can easily catch the unwary off guard perhaps over correcting as a result. A smaller but nevertheless annoying feature is the speed limit indicator which can often be displaying an incorrect speed limit. I have come to ignore this completely as I doubt it would a sufficiently robust defence if I were penalised for inadvertently speeding. As for the development of driverless vehicles, well……… David

Hi, I once had a Ducato PVC remapped by a Quantum franchiser at one of the motorhome shows and can confirm there was a noticeable improvement in power and torque. However, they are just ‘generic’ remaps and not tailored to your specific vehicle. So, with this motorhome I used a remapping company near me that put the vehicle on a rolling road to measure the power and torque before developing a unique map to get the best out of my engine. Again this was a huge improvement in both power and torque with graphs of the before and after rolling road tests. It did cost probably double that of a Quantum remap. David

Yes we left this morning - have also been on the Leyburn THS great location - enjoy your break. David