ldenise286 Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 hi there we just recently got an SEA new life 48 motorhome on fiat chasis and have been away twice both times have arrived to find unable to use 12v is it something i am doing wrong or is it a fault can not get my head round it. So went away fr/sat arrived and parked up turned off engine went for a short walk come back to find that the 12v control pad not working had no power so was livid. Then when i left sat driving home the led on panel came on and pressed power button and we had light when i got home turned off engine still had 12v but when turned off control panel and tried to turn it back on would not work it is driving me mad what am i doing wrong....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! please help denise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo3090 Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Have a look through the vans' instruction manual, if there is nothing in that to point out any mistake on your part, then either ring or call at your dealers first thing tomorrow, or are they open on Sundays? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Pure speculation, I wonder if there's not enough power in the battery and control panel is shutting down system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ldenise286 Posted October 11, 2009 Author Share Posted October 11, 2009 i called them sat they were as much use as a chocolate fireguard it went back after the first time to brownhills in swindon i spoke to the workshop guy that worked on it he said he couldn't find a problem but tightened connection to isolator switch under the front seat also looked through manuals under torch light too couldn't find anything surely when parked up 12v should be readily available. just dosen't make sense only had it 4 weeks been back to brownhills for a week and already starting to regret buying it.....please someone help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! denise in kent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 ldenise286 - 2009-10-11 10:57 AM just dosen't make sense only had it 4 weeks been back to brownhills for a week and already starting to regret buying it.....please someone help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! denise in kent That's when it helps to be a born pessimist like myself, things can only get better. Have you tried it on hook up? does 12v work then. Also may help if you post the make/model of control panel if known. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ldenise286 Posted October 11, 2009 Author Share Posted October 11, 2009 yes works on hook up the make of control panel CBE "PC-150EL" thanks denise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyreman Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 I dont know if your van has one but i have a switch virtually at floor level as we go in through the habitation door and this can switch the 12 volt on and off,its probably only something simple like that hopefully Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Denise How frustrating! But don't get fed up with our fantastic hobby. I know very little about electrics, except when my 12-volt system ceased to work, it was the leisure batteries. I would tend to go back to basics and before spending any real money, check the quality of your batteries - are they holding their charge? Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breakaleg Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Just a thought, did Brownhills check to see if the battery is holding a charge? We had to have a new battery on our van after around 6 months old, we had the van from new. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Elswood Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Yes it could be a 'secret' switch that turns 12v power on or off. Or as someone has already posted a faulty 12v aux battery !! Hope it is something simple !! Down side is that it could be control panel that is faulty !! Take it back to dealer asap and get it sorted !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Very few dealers will check and replace a flat battery if they can get away with it as they all seem to much prefer to say that it will be OK once it's done a few miles and been charged. In reality very few batteries that have been completely discharged and left in this condition pending a buyer survive for long afterwards and if there is one thing that I have often had to really chase and push dealers for over the years it is a new leisure battery. To release a van to a customer without having explained fully how the 12v charging system works and then to fail to recheck a suspect system on request is a disgrace and an insult to the customer - but is scenario that seems all too often repeated in this industry. Have you tried phoning, or visiting, Brownstuff and talking to their handover operative who ought to be at least be able to guide you through the 12v process so that you can be sure that it is indeed a fault and not your misunderstanding of how the system works? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter lambert Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 We had somthing similar when we collected our new motorhome from the dealer. An internal light had been left on and the habitation battery was dead flat. When we connected to a 240v hookup the battery was charging at 15 amps, and it only dropped to about 13 amps after an overnight charge. Also, the battery was red hot to the touch. This was a sure sign that the battery was duff and we needed a new one, which the dealer duly supplied. I would suggest that you hook up to a mains supply and check your charging level, then leave it on charge for a few hours and check again. If it hasn't dropped, the battery is duff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motorhomespy Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 Being in the trade I can take a good guess as to what has happened to your battery. The van may have been on display for a a while and generally the batteries are not disconnected so the battery will have lost all its charge through lights being put/left on and not given any charge until its either taken for a test drive or put on hook up for the hand over. Result one dead battery. Did you see the 12volt being used independantly on hand over? As others have said you may have something left on such as a light in the garage or wardrobe. When you are sure that nothing is being left on to drain the battery, take it out , check the fluid levels (if you can) and put the battery on charge. Once charged and stood for a couple of hours check the voltage with a multi meter (quite cheap at Maplins). Leave for about eight hours then check again if the voltage is below 12.7 you have a duff battery and my original thoughts are probably correct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWO Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 Our new motorhome came with duff batteries. One of the things I noticed when we were on hook-ups and the batteries were happily boiling away was the smell that was given off. Something like blocked drains. The chemists on the site would probably know the gas's correct name. But blocked drains is fairly near the mark. I think my motorhome had been standing around in Germany for 9 months which probably did for the batteries. They were replaced by the dealer with no argument straight away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bojitoes Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 Hi Denise i don't know if you have the same problem as we had when we bought our roller team earlier this year. The first time we went out without hook up to electric the 12v hardly worked, closing down after 5 minutes. Problem eventually identified as the Charging Unit not working. To check this,hook up to your mains supply at home and look at your control panel- does the power LED display show charging is taking place i.e. do you have a green light which illuminates each display before starting the cycle again at the beginning? if not your charging unit may be u/s and need replacement under warranty.try it and see , good luck. Bojitoes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Momma Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 Have a look on top of the leisure battery to see if their is a Fuse (!) Had similar problem with my van when I bought it new. First trip out and no 12v and leisure battery not charging. Took a while before I discovered that there was a separate fuse on top of the leisure battery (20amp). Soon as I replaced it, hey presto 12 volt supplies all working again !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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