David B Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 On my Autosleeper Nuevo if the manual step is left down the buzzer warning should work when the ignition is turned on. Mine was not working so I checked the switch and earthing point above the step (a common problem) and it was okay. When I checked the buzzer it was faulty. I fitted a new one from Autosleeper and now the buzzer works when the step is down and the ignition is on or OFF, i.e. it is on all the time. When I contacted Autosleeper (who are helpful with free advice) they could not explain what was wrong or what I may have done to create the fault. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I may have done wrong (?) :$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindiboy Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 Is there a plunger type spring switch which operates when the step is UP, if so it could be stuck in the open position or closed position depending on the circuitry ?[ permanently open /permanently closed contacts ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armstrongpiper Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 The Nuevo we used to own had a problem with the step buzzeer too - the dealer's workshop could get it working (something to do with the earthing connection to the chassis in a vulnerable-to-water position), but never for very long, only for 4 or 5 months at best. We put the step onto the 'What to do before moving check list', and gave up on the buzzer. Neil B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 David B - 2011-11-07 3:46 PM On my Autosleeper Nuevo if the manual step is left down the buzzer warning should work when the ignition is turned on. Mine was not working so I checked the switch and earthing point above the step (a common problem) and it was okay. When I checked the buzzer it was faulty. I fitted a new one from Autosleeper and now the buzzer works when the step is down and the ignition is on or OFF, i.e. it is on all the time. When I contacted Autosleeper (who are helpful with free advice) they could not explain what was wrong or what I may have done to create the fault. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I may have done wrong (?) :$ Logically, you've either mis-wired the buzzer somehow, or (as vindiboy suggests) the switch on the step isn't doing its job when the step is retracted. What you've not said is whether the buzzer has ever worked properly. If it has, then it's reasonable to assume that the wiring circuitry that causes the buzzer to activate is OK: if it hasn't (eg. you bought your Nuevo secondhand and the buzzer has never been operative) and the switch checks out OK, then you may need to check the wiring to confirm that nothing's chafed or loose causing the buzzer to earth irrespective of whether the step-switch is open or closed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David B Posted November 8, 2011 Author Share Posted November 8, 2011 Thanks for the useful comments. To clarify - yes the buzzer did work but we had not noticed it was not working until a Dutch motorhomer stopped us on the road in Sweden to let us know we had left the step out! Now the switch on the step is working - with the step up the buzzer is off. With the step down the buzzer is on - all the time! Derek - your comment about earthing made me think I (you) had solved the problem. The self-tapping screw holding the buzzer had an earthing wire underneath it (I think related to the alarm system as when it was detached the auto door locking would not work properly). I thought I had allowed the earthing connector to touch the contacts on the back of the buzzer. I rushed out to check and made sure it was clear of the buzzer connections - but still the buzzer works with the step down and ignition off. Most of the wiring is behind the dash and virtually inaccessible, but I will check as much as I can for damage. It looks as if I will be disconnecting the buzzer and adding step retraction to the list of to do before moving off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 My Hobby came with a manually-operated step and a light on the dashboard that illuminated if the vehicle's motor was started with the step extended. Presumably Hobby felt that the warning-light would be OK as few drivers are blind, whereas having a buzzer might not provide adequate warning for deaf drivers. I've replaced the manual step with an electric one and added a really loud buzzer. Although I regularly forget to retract the step, I can't say I've ever noticed the warning-light, though the buzzer gives me a very sharp reminder. I wouldn't rely on a 'to do' list as, sooner or later, you'll forget. I once followed a motorhome driving through a French town with its step extended and regularly overlapping the pavement. In fact, I followed the vehicle until it parked and then warned its driver. I asked if there was no warning light/buzzer and he replied that there was a buzzer but it was too quiet to be noticed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Just some thoughts. Originally, it worked as it should. Subsequently it failed, attributed to a dud buzzer. Now, it works all the time. So, we now know that the buzzer is works, and that its power supply is live - even when it should not be! Since the supply to the buzzer is supposed to be ignition controlled, but everything else that is ignition controlled (presumably) switches off when it should, I suspect there is a relay that powers the buzzer, rather than a direct connection. At a guess, that relay is probably actuated by a supply from an ignition switched source, via the step switch. So, ignition on, supply to switch live. Switch closed (i.e. step down) supply to relay live: relay actuates, buzzer sounds. Switch open (i.e step up) no supply to relay: relay stays open, no buzzer. Ignition off, no supply to switch, so relay and buzzer not actuated. The point here being that the actual supply to the buzzer is only switched being by the relay, but is actually fed (presumably via a line fuse) direct from the (presumably) starter battery. So, if you now consider what would happen with such an arrangement if your relay had failed in the closed position, power would be continually available to the buzzer, which would continue sounding irrespective of the state of the ignition switch, or the step switch. Sound familiar? :-) If I'm right, I would expect that relay to be somewhere in the vicinity of the step, rather than somewhere nice and warm and dry, because that may well explain why it has stopped working. I think you need to try tracing the wiring back from the step switch to see if you can locate a relay. I'd also have a look back along that earth connection you think may be from the alarm, because that sounds a bit odd to me - but I do wonder if it may be the earth from the relay actuating circuit, and may therefore more easily lead you to the relay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayjsj Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Don't know the 'Actual' set up of your 'buzzer', BUT something MUST sense whether your step is in/out or up/down either a physical switch or an infrared/electronic one, either way it sounds as though is doing it's job in reverse. Probably wires put on the wrong terminals ?? Do you have a wiring diagram ? or are 'we owners' not to be trusted with useful stuff like that anymore ? *-) Ray I agree that it should be a 'priority fix', as driving 'Boadica's chariot' is not very 'pedestrian friendly'. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Clive has a generic wiring diagram for an Omnistore step on his website. Link. It may help. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David B Posted November 11, 2011 Author Share Posted November 11, 2011 Thanks for all the help provided in the previous posts. I have now solved the problem! When a kind man at Autosleepers explained the wiring and sent me some photos I realised what the problem was. They scotch lock into the positive supply to the 180watt power socket on the driver's side to supply the buzzer from an ignition controlled supply. [The earthing wire I mentioned was a supply to the high level front vehicle lights, and nothing to do with the alarm.] Unfortunately I had modified the power socket by a bridge in the fuse panel so that the socket is live all the time, and not ignition controlled (see link below). (The socket is then useful for charging phones etc when parked.) This was why, of course, the buzzer was on all the time when the step was down. I have now reverted to an ignition controlled socket and the buzzer operates correctly. It must have been a coincidence that I modified the socket when, unknown to me, the buzzer had previously failed. What is that law about unintended consequences? http://www.motorhomefacts.com/ftopicp-1024048.html#1024048 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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