laimeduck Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 Anyone any sensible suggestions or ideas? On the control panel of my Benimar, I have 6 fuses, the last of which (Fuse 6) is for the electric drain switch - which we do not have (there is a manual drain tap). Against each fuse is a small red warning light, normally unlit. Over the weekend I was away & the light for Fuse 6 was on. The result was that the electric water pump would not work, thus we had no water. I tested the fuse - OK. To be sure I replaced the fuse….no change. I opened a tap and tried to insert the fuse, the pump tried to run, but when I pushed the fuse home, the red light appeared again & the pump stopped. This repeated every time. I then managed to wedge the fuse, not fully home, and everything worked again, until I pushed it fully home when the pump stopped. I have now managed to wedge the fuse, not fully home, and everything is working again, and has done for 24 hrs. I am confused, we have no electric drain tap so why the red warning light & in any event why would that stop the fresh water pump working? Why will the pump work only when the fuse is only partially seated? Why has this suddenly happened (This is a new problem) For Info: The Benimar manual is very basic & the panel described therein is not the panel on my van. Benimar inform me that that is the only manual for my van (it was not updated from previous models) I have talked to a very helpful chap Steve, http://expluginsteve.co.uk/index.htm mentioned on the Hints & Tips forum & he suggests I need to reset the entire system, by disconnecting all batteries, EHU & covering the solar panel & leaving for about 15 mins. (Typical it’s happened when the suns decided to come out and play!) Then he suggests a wiring diagram is a must. I will try to get one from Benimar - not very hopeful though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Dave Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 This is a bit of guess work but might shed a bit of light on the issue. the pump has been connected to fuse 6 for what reason who knows but its just a 12 volt fused supply so no big issue. the red led will most likely be an led which is connected across the fuse holder this will normally be shorted out by a good fuse so no illumination. However when the fuse blows (or is high resistance) the led will light up as current flows through it rather than the fuse. So you probably have a dry joint on the fuse holder or the mechanical tension (or rather lack of it ) in the contacts of the fuse holder is preventing a good contact to the fuse this is probably the case as wedging the fuse cures the issue. So it looks like a strip-down check the soldering on the fuse holder and if that's o/k re-tension and clean the contacts. I suspect the label of electric drain is a red herring (or blue tuna) its all a bit fishy Hope this helps Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laimeduck Posted July 25, 2012 Author Share Posted July 25, 2012 Dr Dave - 2012-07-25 8:57 PM This is a bit of guess work but might shed a bit of light on the issue. the pump has been connected to fuse 6 for what reason who knows but its just a 12 volt fused supply so no big issue. the red led will most likely be an led which is connected across the fuse holder this will normally be shorted out by a good fuse so no illumination. However when the fuse blows (or is high resistance) the led will light up as current flows through it rather than the fuse. So you probably have a dry joint on the fuse holder or the mechanical tension (or rather lack of it ) in the contacts of the fuse holder is preventing a good contact to the fuse this is probably the case as wedging the fuse cures the issue. So it looks like a strip-down check the soldering on the fuse holder and if that's o/k re-tension and clean the contacts. I suspect the label of electric drain is a red herring (or blue tuna) its all a bit fishy Hope this helps Dave Thanks for the guess work - I'll certainly have a look at the fuse holder .... I had also thought a dry joint might be an issue. ( I re-soldered a dry joint in an ancient Saab headlight relay recently which cured the problem), From memory the fuse holder is incorporated into a PCB, and the panel is a bit of a bu**er to remove - I'll try it when I disconnect everything. NB When I say I wedged the fuse in - It's only 10-20% into the holder & could pop out whenever, so my existing cure is only temporary! Thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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