Tourope Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 While holidaying in Italy recently a fault developed on My 2016 Hobby V65GE whereby the leisure battery failed to charge while driving and would not charge when plugged into the mains. Because I was covered by the Fiat Ducato Camper Assistance warranty I rang them for help. They said electrics were not covered under the warranty but advised me of a nearby authorised Fiat dealer who could do the repair. So that's what I did and paid €225 euros for the work and parts, which I thought was worth it given that the repairer spent all day Friday and Saturday morning doing the repair and allowed us to stay on his forecourt overnight with mains hookup. When I got home I checked the warranty wording and it says the warranty covers "the base formed by suspension, engine, breaking system, chassis and and a number of components tied to the operation of the motorhome". It doesn't say what those components are though. However it should be noted that the leisure battery is located on the base under the driver's seat. So is that part of the Fiat warranty, and if not should it be covered by the Hobby warranty? Worth noting is that the Fiat repairer said he thought it should be covered under the Fiat warranty. Any advice gratefully received. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 Logically, and in my opinion, that which is Fiat is guaranteed by fiat, and that which is Hobby is guaranteed by Hobby. The leisure battery and associated electrics are supplied and installed by Hobby, so I would expect them to be covered under Hobby's guarantee. Fiat, in essence, do the oily bits, the running gear (excepting an AlKo chassis, if fitted), brakes, suspension, and remaining Fiat bodywork and non-AlKo chassis elements. Had the failure involved the starter battery it should have been covered by Fiat, as it is their supply. Whether Hobby will cover the cost of your repair can only be established by approaching the dealer who supplied your van with the receipt. That it took the garage so long to sort it indicates that they may not be familiar with the Hobby installation, so it may be worth asking for the repair to be checked - just in case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 Tourope The Fiat Motorhome Warranty begins as follows: "ACTIVATION OF THE WARRANTY Dear Customer, Your Fiat based Motorhome is made up of: – a base formed by suspension, engine, braking system, chassis (when not supplied by Al-Ko) and a number of components tied to the operation of the Motorhome; – a pod consisting of all the systems necessary for your comfort: beds, shower, cooker, gas cylinders, autonomous heating, etc. Fiat Warranty only covers all the base starting from the delivery date of the Motorhome by the Motorhome dealer (“Seller”). The Fiat Contractual Warranty covers only the whole of the base elements as delivered to the Motorhome fitter, except for the outfitting (pod) or its effects on that base.” The Warranty’s English-language text is hardly crystal clear (It’s certainly clearer in French), but the “base” relates to a motorhome’s Ducato element that was completed in Fiat’s Italian factory and subsequently delivered to a motorhome converter. The base might be a complete Ducato panel-van, or as little as a ‘cowl’ lacking a rear chassis and cab body-panels. Although your motorhome’s leisure-battery is beneath a cab seat and on the cab floor (installed there by Hobby), this does not mean that the leisure-battery is covered by the Fiat Warranty - the cab floor is not the “base” where the Fiat Warranty is concerned. The fault involved the leisure-battery not being charged while the vehicle was being driven, nor when the motorhome was connected to a 230V hook-up. Your motorhome has Hobby’s sophisticated CI-BUS on-board electrical management system (unique to Hobby I believe, so I’m not surprised it took a Fiat technician a long time to fix the problem) and it may be that this system controls leisure-battery charging on-the-move as well as on 230V hook-up. Without knowing what the cause of the fault was, and what the Fiat technician did to rectify it, it’s really not possible to know if the repair should be covered by the Fiat warranty or the Hobby warranty. One might guess it should be the Hobby warranty, but you’ve said that the Fiat repairer thought the Fiat warranty should cover the repair, suggesting that something relating to the Ducato ‘base’ might have provoked the fault. If the fault related solely to the electrical system/equipment installed by Hobby during the conversion phase, the repair will not be covered by the Fiat warranty but should be covered by the Hobby warranty. As Brian has advised, you need to contact the Hobby dealership that sold you the motorhome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tourope Posted July 22, 2017 Author Share Posted July 22, 2017 As I understand it, it was the CI system that was at fault.The repairer couldn't get the part to fix it so he installed another component - a small yellow box - as a workaround. And he suggested contacting Fiat in the UK to get it fixed properly. From what you have both said therefore it sounds like I need to go back to the dealer. I have photos bu they're too big to attach here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monique.hubrechtsgm Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 It is fiat if the fiat dealer can order parts according the VIN number in stage one. AL-Ko also uses this number but are stage two. But their are fiat parts in their chassis. In case of a stage 3 buider like a integral motor homer thing get more complicated: for example your diesel fuel tank fill pipe. Your PDF of your ZFA number Said it all in stage one. Suggest you find out yourselves. In time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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