Derek Uzzell Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 1footinthegrave - 2013-12-31 11:23 AM All we need to do now is find the coupler/separator, like looking for a needle in a haystack on my van, unless it's incorporated in the CBE distribution board. Whilst it seems on the face of it brilliant to have a built in battery master type device I can't help thinking all of this stuff is way over complicated, still at least I know what those thumping great wires are connected to the engine battery that disappear into the cab area, but God knows where they end up ;-) perhaps it's buried behind the boiler, which in turn is buried behind the kitchen units. 8-) I'm near certain your Rapido uses CBE's PC-200 system as described here http://www.marcleleisure.co.uk/store/pdf/PC100_PC200_DS300_ENcircuits.pdf As shown on Page 33, this is a modular system with a DS-300 Distribution Box at its core. http://www.grasshopperleisure.co.uk/cbe-12v-distribution-box-ds300-307-p.asp Battery-charging is described on Page 16 and differs somewhat from the way the Scheiber system operates. For instance, although the on-board battery-charger charges both the leisure battery and the motor battery, the latter only receives a maximum of 2A and (although it doesn't say so in the instructions) at a reduced voltage. The "Electronic Battery Separator" (coupler/separator) plus other electronic gubbins are inside the DS-300 Distribution Box. There's a photo here of the Box with its cover removed. http://www.marcleleisure.co.uk/store/distribution-panel-pc100-pc200-kits-pi-4425.html?osCsid=4c777b0abc95ddf7c1519682d6e0922d Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billggski Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Phew! Common sense returns, can we have you lot in Northern Ireland ( the north of Ireland) next please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Billggski - 2013-12-31 3:22 PM Phew! Common sense returns, can we have you lot in Northern Ireland ( the north of Ireland) next please? Just don't let anyone take any flags in with 'em.. (lol) (.."eye of the storm" and all that.. ;-) ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 A PC-200 on steroids. I notice that a new DS-520RA was being offered on e-bay(France) back in September. As it doesn't seem to have sold, perhaps they are not problematical. There's a good photo of the interior with all the connections removed that you might find useful. http://www.ebay.fr/itm/Tableau-de-distribution-12-volt-cbe-mod-DS520-RA-/131002113509 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 1footinthegrave - 2013-12-31 5:16 PM many thanks Derek, you are close, it is in fact a CBE 520ra, looks an absolute walk in the park to sort out what is what, ......if you haven't got a manual, you might find this post useful: http://www.motorhomefacts.com/forum-printtopic-1-137358-90-0-asc-viewresult-1.html (scroll down) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skercat Posted January 1, 2014 Author Share Posted January 1, 2014 Thank you everyone for this very useful advice. I apologize if I am in the wrong forum. I am a lady of mature years who wouldn't have any idea what to do with anything electrical, but you have given me some very practical things which I can manage to do to attempt to at least identify the problem, if indeed there is one. I might go away in the van this weekend for a little wild camping, armed with prints of these pages and links. My ultimate objective is to try and get a decent inverter so that I can run my cpap machine without hookup, so I feel I must be sure that everything is set up as it should be. When my husband was alive we has a Hymer with 2 leisure batteries and a jolly big solar panel, so we didn't really have to think twice about using anything electrical, not that we had much in those days. Now I seem to have so many gadgets which need charging every day. Anyway, fingers crossed that I don't really have an issue to worry about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billggski Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Hope that all helps, skerkat, good luck. And while the experts are listening in, why does my control panel (2009 Dethleffs 5881) show 64Ah when I have a new 90Ah leisure battery, it showed the same with the old 80Ah gel that was on before? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Billggski - 2014-01-01 5:46 PM Hope that all helps, skerkat, good luck. And while the experts are listening in, why does my control panel (2009 Dethleffs 5881) show 64Ah when I have a new 90Ah leisure battery, it showed the same with the old 80Ah gel that was on before? If I remember correctly, some motorhome electrical systems have the facility to 'reprogram' their control-panel readouts when battery changes have been made so that the readouts correctly reflect the Ah capacity of the battery (or batteries). If there's nothing relevant in your motorhome's documentation, it could help if you said what make/model of system you have (eg Schaudt Electrobloc EBL 99). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billggski Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 It's in Cornwall at moment, my son uses it more than me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 .....Derek is correct in saying that the nominal capacity of the installed battery can be adjusted from the control panel/menu for many motorhomes equipped with a Schaudt system. The method of doing so will vary by model. The value used for display is factory set, and will remain at that level despite change of battery (until and unless any adjustment in value is made as above). AFAIR, it is also Schaudt practice to use 80% of the nominal value of the battery capacity as the starting (fully-charged) available value. This would account for your value of 64Ah against the originally installed 80Ah battery (and also the unchanged value after a change of battery). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Billggski It's evident from on-line comments that Dethleffs fit Schaudt kit to their motorhomes. This earlier forum posting refers to an electrical problem with a 2007 Dethleffs http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/ELEKTROBLOCK-EBL-99-CHARGER/10238/ Although the system originally referred to as an EBL-99 turned out to be an EBL-220, Exustrek's posting of 7 January 2008 12:12 PM mentions that his Dethleffs's control-panel has a "leisure battery menu". The figures provided indicate that the control-panel readout can be matched to the Ah capacity of the battery/batteries installed in the motorhome. The Dethleffs UK 1/2009 brochure shows a 95Ah AGM battery as standard fitment for an A5881, but I believe your motorhome is an earlier model-year vehicle converted when a 80Ah gel battery was standard. I don't know which EBL or control-panel your motorhome has, but this MHF forum thread may help with correcting the battery Ah readout. http://www.motorhomefacts.com/ftopict-39971-schaudt.html+pin These are 2005 instructions for a Schaudt control-panel and changing the settings in the battery menu is covered at the top of Page 13. http://www.acpasion.net/foro/archivosadjuntos/obelix/manuales/Schaudt_centralita_DT201_B_Ingles.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billggski Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Perceptive, informative and very detailed, just what the forum does at it's best. I just need to test your information when it gets back. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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