david lloyd

Well, as expected, the pump impeller was stuck but, unexpectedly, not for the first time I suspect. The pump has been replaced previously and as you can see in the photo the cistern and pipe work needed a good cleaning too. All done and working again. The question now is will another replacement pump stop this happening again? David

There have been several discussions on this forum about the decline in availability of LPG outlets which could be a real concern for those with refillable tanks. It’s not something that affects us now as the Renoir has two 6kg Calor cylinders and, despite the higher price for the LPG they contain, I don’t plan on replacing them now with refillable - although getting exchange cylinders has also been challenging in recent times but I think that is now easing off. Of much more concern is the lack of renewable energy in the form of sunshine this year. Have upped our solar power from a 100W roof mounted panel by adding another 160W of folding panel which I felt was a better investment and ought to give a better yield overall. But, not without sun to power it! Hope our weather patterns are not headed down this route for good. David

I thought the Scottish government were all about encouraging Motorhomes visiting - this proposal would seem more like a disincentive. David

May have seen you then Joe as we are also on the Whitby THS - small world eh? David

I will check all that out Derek when I get back and retrieve the pump. Although reasonably confident I’m not 100% sure when it comes to electrickery so prefer to stick with OE recommendations. David

I have always used the pink flush and never had a problem with a pump failure but this one is now 17 years old where our others have been either new or nearly new. As I say, I will take the pump out next week and check the impeller first before deciding if a new pump is needed. On the YouTube video I saw showing the repair to the impeller the guy checked the fuse (in the cassette locker) first and found it had blown so replaced it but still no pump so went on to retrieve the pump and found the impeller stuck. That, of course, may have been the reason the fuse blew. He pointed out it was a 3 amp fuse whereas mine is a 5 amp and hasn’t blown - I wonder if it has been changed in the past and should really be a 3 amp? David

Thanks guys - have seen a couple of the videos now - not going to try it in the field but now know what to do when I get home. Hopefully it is just the impeller stuck as it has been stood a few weeks now. Thanks again David

Another trip - another hiccup. The pump on my Thetford toilet is not operating - checked the fuse on the main panel and the one in the cassette cupboard both are ok. I’m guessing the pump has given up the ghost (2006 Pioneer Renoir) as it is quite old - is there an easy test? Are they easy to replace? Can manage this trip with manual rinsing. David

Well said - I think many people forget the history of our ‘membership’ David

Bit harsh Max. David

I have always used Silverscreens previously but this time bought one from Rainbow Screens (who offer a range of designs/colours) and found it to be a much better fit. David

I don’t have a similar age model but find it very hard to believe they would not fit a blanking off cover. David

The Critair areas are constantly expanding and, although you may not intend visiting areas currently covered by it, there could be occasions when you have no choice - a diversion for instance. The process is quite easy with little cost (on the official website) and, once registered, lasts for the lifetime of the vehicle. It is something I would do just for the comfort of knowing it is there. David

Think it has been suggested before that by turning on the headlights during a run it can fool the alternator into increasing its charging output - this may give a better, more even indication of whether the modification has worked? David

Sorry if it was my post that may have offended Jeremy - certainly no offence intended - just my own opinion that whatever the rights and wrongs it would seem like a lot of work for a small return. David

Before Covid we spent several winters in Spain or Portugal. Metered electricity was commonplace, often with the first few Kw included in the low season price. And to cap it all, pitch fees were around ten euros per night - to us it was just as economical to tour Spain for three months in winter than to stay at home. Sadly, we have many sites where you can’t even choose not to have EHU even if your MH is all geared up for it. A big reason why we choose CL/CS and Temporary Holiday Sites now. David

Brian, I don’t know how ‘ lucky’ anyone may feel but having spent £00000’ on a motorhome I just can’t believe anyone would want to go to such lengths to save perhaps £20+ on a trip to France. As a Yorkshireman I'm all for finding economic ways to live but saving £20+ on a six week holiday is beyond my comprehension. David

And for one month how much would you save? Not really worth the risk - accidents (even if not your fault) still happen in France and that would quickly highlight the issue for an insurer. Just enjoy your trip. David

Not wishing to cause more alarm and certainly not sure if this has any relevance to your charging issue but there is a new thread that highlights a recall with KS Energy lithium batteries. Derek has pinned this at the top of the site. Good luck with resolving your engine battery issue. David

You’re welcome witzend, perhaps all too often we never get to hear the end results of posts on the site but if helps anyone in the future it’s worth a little time. David

An update. During the recent habitation check the van had two high readings in a spot where the wall joins the floor immediately adjacent to the rear of the hot water cylinder. The technician found the reason - a leak from the large brass nut that holds the mains heating element in the end of the cylinder. However, they were reluctant to try and ‘nip up’ the nut for fear of further damage and advised I take it to an Eberspacher service agent. I had already booked it in to the original auto electricians I used for the electrical control side to try and resolve the voltage drop issue mentioned above so asked them to look at it while it was there. Have the van back now. On the electrical side they found high resistance in one of the cables in the loom near the leisure batteries . Here there was a six way plastic block and I recall when I was using a multimeter and moved this connector it would sometimes switch the Combitronic panel off but come back on. They removed the connecting block and used bullet connectors instead. Additionally, they have replaced the charge relay with a more heavy duty one and the heater is now working fine. The water leak turned out to be a perished rubber seal. Unfortunately, despite trying a gasket for a domestic element (from a plumbers merchant) and then ptfe tape on the threads, the leak was still there albeit considerably less than before. No parts for this model water heater are available although they are for the heater. So they were at a loss what to do next and advised I contact a good plumber. I had considered using Bos White myself which I use on some fittings on my live steam engines but managed to get hold of a flat sided rubber seal of the right diameter from a friend (who often has something that will complete a job) put that on with the gasket also and overnight no leak detected with the pump left on to keep the pressure up. Thank you to everyone who contributed, much appreciated. David

My own method with the Comfortmatic was to drive up steady and slow whilst leaning out of the open drivers door to give me sight of the offside ramp (it’s more often the case that ramps are needed at the front) and at the point of correct levelling use the handbrake to hold the van. David

I have a MotorhomeWifi external roof aerial and internal router which uses a Huawei MiFi unit. This gives an amplified signal in the motorhome and we use it for all normal internet functions on our phones/laptop but, in addition, I have a Roku TV box for access to Netflix and catchup TV. Installed this one myself as it is fairly simple providing you have the courage to drill through your roof! David

The other issue with them failing while away is you usually don’t get to choose the exact replacement you want if it turns out to be an urgent replacement. David

Thanks onecal. As these are relays fitted by the ‘old’ Autocruise company and not Peugeot I wasn’t sure if a parts supplier would recognise the ‘Pioneer Renoir’ model and be able to advise the correct replacement. As I mentioned earlier, the white lettering on both relays is unreadable and, although they are bound to be a fairly widely used type, I would prefer to replace them with a heavy duty, sealed type. Some good news is that I found an emery card nail file in my wife’s possession which made an ideal tool to clean up the contacts. After that I switched the Eberspacher to diesel, turned off the solar and mains charger, put the heating on and it fired up (once I set the temp high enough) and ran for ten minutes or so without cutting out. The readout on the EC328 panel never went below 12.8v while it was on so this bodes well. I need to carry out further checks but may still replace the relays for better ones. David