hymer1942 Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 Hi all. on a rally at worksop and a friend of mine with an A class hymer is having a problem. on 240 volts the fridge works, the sockets work, but it is not charging the liesure batteries. Has anyone a clue what might be the problem. Barrie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Newell Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 10-1 on the charger has been damaged by a voltage spike. This is where the OVP 01 comes in. Read Peter Rosenthalls article in December (I think) issue of MMM for more details. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
george.a.henderson Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 I had a problem with my swift van, charger not charging when on 240 volts. I was advised by a motorvaner on site that inside the charger was an automatic cut out when the charger had a voltage spike, to remedy this I was told to take of the two connections one at the top and one at the bottom, leave for 20 minutes and reconnect, the charger should by then reset itself, also I was asked if on my control unit above the door the electric switch which I can alter for electric charging and discharge from leasure batteries to engine battery, was this switch set on the leasure batteries as the charger will not charge them if it is not, at the time I did not realise that I can charge the engine battery as well as the leasure battery of the 240 volt, if you leave the switch to neither then neither will be charged. I dont know if your charger is the same as mine but if this is any help I hope you get sorted out. G. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Newell Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 George, while I'm sure you posted your comments with the best intentions the system you have and the sytem as fitted to a Hymer are very different setups and sadly little of what you have said is relevant. The Hymer uses a combined 230V charger/power supply and 12 volt distribution unit made by a company called Schaudt in Germany. your Swift uses a basically similar unit made by Sargent in the UK. The Hymer doesn't have a switch to select between engine or leisure batteries as yours does but it is sensitive to voltage spikes. If a Schaudt unit has been affected by a spike disconnecting it for any length of time will not help as components inside will literally be blown up. The only answer is to remove the Schaudt Elektroblock and send it back to Schaudt in Germany for repair. when you get it back be sure to fit a Schaudt OVP 01 over voltage protector to prevent it happening again. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 The info on a spike is good input, but before I decided the unit was at fault, I would check all the other obvious items; is there a switch or MCB protecting the charger, and is it on?; is there an inline fuse to the charger which is blown? is there an in-line fuse in the circuit from the charger to the leisure batteries that has blown?; are the connections on the leisure battery secure? Only when these have been eliminated would I look at the unit itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
747 Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 The chances are that Dave is right about the Electrobloc. What I have read about on other forums is that there is a small glass fuse inside the unit. Some people have said that this can blow and is easily replaced. I cannot guarantee that this info is correct though. I do not have the surge suppressor on my van so I wildcamp instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hymer634 Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 On my Hymer there is also a small fuse inside the IEC (kettle type) connector which brings the mains supply in to the top of the Schaudt unit. Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted January 1, 2011 Share Posted January 1, 2011 Thats true, there is a small fuse but mostly this blows because the charger part of the Elektroblock has failed. The alternative way is to fit an alternative aftermarket charger, Ctek for example and not bother getting the Elektroblock repaired and fitting a spike suppressor. After all no other motorhome or caravan power supply fails as regularly as these Elektroblocks. I am sure Dave Newell could do a tidy instalation for you if you don,t feel confident to do it yourself. c. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Newell Posted January 1, 2011 Share Posted January 1, 2011 That is a workaround Clive but it loses the feature of charging the engine battery as well as the "mains on" indicator lamp on the control panel. In this instance I do think it is better to have the EBL unit repaired and fit the OVP 01. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted January 1, 2011 Share Posted January 1, 2011 Totally agree its a workaround Dave but the repeated unreliability of the Schaud charger would lead me to do this myself for peace of mind. I guess its not that difficult to tap into the Elektroblock at the right place to maintain the functionality of the features you mention. Its daft, really, the Schaudt system is German so you would expect total reliability, but its not, however the leader in reliability is the CBE kit and that is Italian. Forum feedback is a very good indicator. Guess what that good German company Concorde fit - CBE, same as Murvi and many others. Pick the bones out of that! C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.