coach2000 Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Well it's that time of the year again for me to go over to France and as usual the gremlins have struck.. I give the van a good run on Thursday to make sure everything was working ok and the the 12v control panel would not turn on. The symptoms are the green led lights whilst you have your finger on the button and then goes off when you release. after a few goes it normally sets itself and then you have the same in reverse to turn the power off. This has been happening for a while and sometimes you have to turn off the 12v Habitation Battery Isolator to knock off the power. I could cope with this. Well that's the background until today. On checking the fuse and relay box behind the driver's seat, the Fridge fuse had melted, this had always got hot but with no ill effects. Last trip I changed it to be on the safe side and it looks like I have put in a cheopo by mistake. On trying to get this out, it broke into little pieces and left the pins in. What a job to get the bits out. Well the problem now I have no 12volt at all in the Habitation part of the van. I stripped the fuse and relay box down to get the broken fuse out and check all the connections and they are all ok. There is no burning on the PCB. There are also two 12volt feeds there and neutrals although I have a feeling there may be a fuse that has gone as I accidently touched a metal probe between the fridge fuse and the seat base. Before I started the Heater would work without the control panel being switched on but now there are no lights showing on the switch. Can anyone tell me if there is a small rated control fuse that come from the Starter battery, ie Door step relay and where it is. Are there any more control fuses that I should be aware of. As well now my solar panel is showing fault. This normally happens when I turn off the Hab. Isolator. If everything fails does anyone know the best place to go for someone experienced in CI wiring in the Preston area. I have only 3 days to go before my ferry sails. Here's hoping Clive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spospe Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Try Todds in the Preston area, they are a pretty good motorhome dealer. http://www.toddsmotorhomes.co.uk/ Sorry, but I have no personal knowledge of your type of 'van Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Clive, Is there a 'Main' fuse located close to the leisure battery as you may have blown this with your accidental short. If not then it certainly sounds like something else has blown and by your limited description I feel it is time to call in the professionals. Sorry I can't be of more help. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coach2000 Posted January 4, 2014 Author Share Posted January 4, 2014 Hi Spospe, I will give them a ring If I don't get it sorted. Thanks. Keith the main fuses from my leisure batteries are ok, I have not yet checked the one from starter battery as yet to find. I suspect that it will be a small rated control fuse if anything from the charging circuit from the alternator to the leisure battery if there is one. There was only a small spark on the short, nowhere near what a 50amp fused circuit would make. Tomorrow I plan to try and find any fuses from the starter battery and check one for the 240-12volt output circuit. Just as a matter of interest to make the repair easier, I should have asked are their any good Mobile Auto-electricians that have experience of motorhomes in my area. Many thanks, Clive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nasher Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Hi there, there is a firm in chorley called Lion alarms. they have agood reputation. They are on the internet. Also in chorley there is a chap who calls himself Rhino Installs, he did some work on my van and he is mobile and also good. hope this helps John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 If I understand, you have 12V power to the control panel, because it is live and showing "fault", but no 12V power to anything else. In view of time, why not put back your ferry by an extra couple of days, to give yourself extra fault finding time? What is the correct fuse rating for the 12V fridge circuit? There may be two, one for the power feed to the cooling circuit heater, and another for internal light and possibly controls. The former will probably be 10A or more, the latter probably 3A. However, I doubt the fridge fuse is your problem, as this is fed from the alternator only when the engine is running, so should have no effect on the habitation side. Coincidence, I suspect. You say you have checked the fuse at the + battery terminal, and it is OK, but what you describe sounds, as Keith implies, very much like a failure of the main feed to the fuseboard (assuming the control panel is independently fed from the habitation battery). Do you have a multi-meter? I would get one if not (Maplin or similar). Then test the voltage of the habitation battery at its terminals, then at the 12V inputs to the fuseboard, and then down each circuit in turn until you find the faulty circuit/s. You'll then have to work along the fault circuits looking for cut, pinched, or disconnected, wire, and make the necessary repair. You can also test fuses with the multi-meter, to be sure they are intact, and check for voltage at the fuse terminals on the board, to be sure power is getting that far. It is trial and error in a logical pattern, and may take some time, which is why I suggest putting back your departure for a couple of days. It is more or less what any electrician will have to do and, although someone who recognises the problem because he has encountered it before would undoubtedly be able to arrive at the solution quickly, someone who has not encountered the problem before will be in exactly the same position as you, and you will have to pay for his time while he eliminates possibilities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coach2000 Posted January 5, 2014 Author Share Posted January 5, 2014 Thanks Nasher. Thanks Brian. if only it was that simple. I have tested further today and all inputs to the fuse/relay board are correct. I have still not found any more small control fuses internal or external to the control system. On checking further today I found a plug on the back of the PCB board had come off. (This pcb board contains all the separate systems fuses, relays, electronics and multi- pin plugs, hence very difficult to test each circuit individually.) Happily now I have got most of the sytems working again. I have 2 separate lighting circuits on 2 fuses that will still not work. The Fuse has 12v going out on both. Is it a neutral fault or a relay? Only time will tell. I have all the test instruments and tools needed, so will be sailing on the booked ferry and will carry on searching for the fault if I have not found it by then. The control panel is a Nordentronicca, made in Italy. There is a place in Conway that does repairs on these and I will give them a ring tomorrow and possibly pay them a visit. Will update when I know more, Clive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 coach2000 - 2014-01-05 8:29 PM..............I have 2 separate lighting circuits on 2 fuses that will still not work. The Fuse has 12v going out on both. Is it a neutral fault or a relay? Only time will tell. I have all the test instruments and tools needed, so will be sailing on the booked ferry and will carry on searching for the fault if I have not found it by then. ..................Clive. That sounds to me a bit like a return that has become disconnected. Is there a common return multi-plug to the PCB that picks up all the indicidual circuits to the main return cable back to the battery? You mentioned a loose plug on the PCB: is it possible this may be another that is loose/not fully in place? Clutching at straws, I'm afraid! Best of luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coach2000 Posted May 6, 2014 Author Share Posted May 6, 2014 Finally got my electrics sorted. I had left it to give me time to find and fit a new rear bumper and also rewire the back lights. I ended up buying a new control box and a new remote push button unit. There was 2 separate faults, the one being that I had trouble turning on and off the power was a faulty push button unit that the fault cleared when replaced. The second fault was that I had no working lights in the habitation area. This fault cleared when I replaced the control box. The new control box had modified plugs and positions from the originals and on ringing Don Amott of Derby, they are now the agent's for CI, from where I bought them and sending them an e.mail photo of the two different circuit boards they replied within the hour with my photo showing the new positions for the plugs. I would highly recommend them for any parts or help with your vehicle. Even the spares prices were reasonable. There was a bag of new connection plugs with the control box but these were not needed as you can just cut off the retaining clip from the old ones. Once again thanks for your replies, Clive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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