CBE. PC380-BS 11380 inoperative

[Campervan man]

Hi I have a VW Transporter 5.1 with a control unit that is dead after a complete drain down of power ( interior light left on for long period)  I have disconnected and individually charged both leisure batteries but after reconnecting it will not display .prior to reading your post on setting the clock I see it has an internal battery can this be recharged . I have been in contact with various electronic repair people (apuljackelectronics ) but they say they do nor repair. Tried to buy a new unit but am only being offer kits probes fuse boxes etc big money . Any suggestions please welcome , I also se on the back of the unit a connector for usb ??  Regards Lawrence 

[Labby]

www.justcaravanparts.co.uk parts list seems to  show that they have a separate  control panel  a CBE PC380-BS (11380) , if that is any help.

Edited April 5, 2023 by Labby

[Campervan man]

Thanks Labby but I have checked with them £281 and only sell complete kit . Lawrence 

[Keithl]

Have you done basic troubleshooting of testing for voltage at the connections to the CBE unit and tested all fuses in the circuit?

[Campervan man]

Thank you Keithl I’m not too good with electronics but my garage did a quick test with a multi meter and there appears to be power up to the control unit , have also checked fuses and they are ok. My main issue is I am unable to use the gas as this is controlled through the control unit, ie no power up to the gas switch that also tells me how much is in the cylinder fitted under the van . Thanks for comments L

[Derek Uzzell]

There are several reasons why CBE equipment is not professionally repaired (at least in the UK). One is that a complete modular 'kit' (control-panel, 12V distribution box, battery-charger, 240V box, etc.) is relatively inexpensive to begin with and it's often cheaper to address a problem by obtaining a new module than spending time and effort trying to fault-find and repair. Another reason is that a CBE system's 'processing' is shared between the control-panel and the distribution-box, so what may appear to be a control-panel problem may be down to the Distribution Box and vice versa.

There's also the fact that CBE systems are commonly 'bespoke', meaning that a PC380 'kit' installed in (say) a Wildax panel-van conversion may be subtly different to a PC380 kit installed in(say) a Carthago A-class motorhome. Consequently, as you have a CBE PC380-BS 11380 control-panel in your VW, to be confident that your system would be fully functional,  you'd need an exact like-for-like replacement.

Probably no real help for you, but I did come across this USA advert

https://www.electrical-sale.com/cbe-pc380-12v-campervan-control-panel-electrical-kit/

[Campervan man]

Thank you Derek , I must admit what you say makes sense ie replace the whole lot. I’m a fair distance from my conversion company and was trying to resolve this with a quick replacement but after much searching for either repair solution or unit replacement which I can undertake myself I suppose it’s time to think about professional replacement. Just one loose end though mention of an internal battery that when the  leisure batteries are completely discharged becomes exhausted ( internal battery). Is it rechargeable?
and the mystery usb port .  Thanks again L 

[Brian Kirby]

Lawrence, you haven't said how old your conversion is, or whether you have contacted the converter for advice/guidance. 

I had a squint at a PC380-BS 11380 manual on manuals.lib, and there is a warning about a need to maintain an electrical supply to the panel.  I'm wondering if this indicates that flattening the leisure battery may have had a greater than expected impact on the panel?  If so, and in view of that warning, I assume the consequences are well known, so am wondering if your converter may know whether there is a re-set procedure. 

The manual I found had no troubleshooting guidance, and didn't explain the consequences of losing power to the panel, but did state that with no input the panel should retain its settings etc for about one week.  Also, if you just do a "Google" search for CBE PC380-BS 11380, there quite a few "hits" referring to the sort of problem you are encountering, so it seems your problem is not unique.

[Campervan man]

Thank you Derek , I must admit what you say makes sense ie replace the whole lot. I’m a fair distance from my conversion company and was trying to resolve this with a quick replacement but after much searching for either repair solution or unit replacement which I can undertake myself I suppose it’s time to think about professional replacement. Just one loose end though mention of an internal battery that when the  leisure batteries are completely discharged becomes exhausted ( internal battery). Is it rechargeable?
and the mystery usb port .  Thanks again L 

[Campervan man]

Hi Brian conversion 4 years old , have spoken to  my converters and they suggested unit replacement …. Cost of unit £165 but can’t find a supplier that will accommodate that request.. vehicle left for 1 month approx with flat batteries so it’s a given that the unit is exhausted I will pursue the possibility of a reset with some more research on Google ,thank you for info L 

[onecal]

Hi 

Have you recharged the internal battery you say that is installed?

As Keith has asked,  have you really checked supply to the unit and all fuses and connections on your batteries and voltage to same 

Disconnect and reconnect again your batteries and recheck all connections are good 

Try and hold the on and program button for 10 sec and then the twilight button as marked 

The panel may now work

If not 

 Listen for  a faint little buzz from the panel, it may be just a dry joint and of course can be re soldered 

Sometimes just disconnecting and reconnecting re sets 

Without actually seeing , these are first step guidelines to try  

 

[Derek Uzzell]

Regarding a PC380's 'internal battery', this April 2022 forum thread

https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/topic/53738-cbe-pc380-bs-control-panel-clock-setting/

suggests a high probability that the control-panel has a capacitor that acts as a memory back-up for the clock. When vehicle usage has caused the capacitor to become fully charged, there should be sufficient power to maintain the clock's setting for about 2 weeks. Even if the capacitor became completely discharged (or failed?), although the clock would need resetting, I would not have thought a discharge/failure would prevent the panel from displaying. 

A User's Manual covering the PC380-BS panel is here

https://www.12voltplanet.co.uk/user/downloads/CBE-PC380KIT-instruction-manual.pdf

and the Manual includes this schematic.

I'm guessing that the 'USB port' allows a cable from an internal/external temperature sensor to be connected to the panel.

[onecal]

Yes Derek

You are quite right , they do fail and cause a few problems (sometimes one can hear a faint buzzing noise) 

One can as I have advised try a reboot  

You are also correct in your previous post , Many just replace the lot rather than repairing same (so much easier)

[Derek Uzzell]

Where replacements are concerned it will be necessary to confirm whether any of the CBE items on Lawrence's VW are 'bespoke'.

I'm guessing that the "BS" suffix on a PC380-BS control-panel indicates that it is an 'all-purpose' unit, but - as the photos of the rear of two PC380 panels on this link show

https://www.apuljackelectronics.co.uk/Product.aspx?ProductID=477&strReferer=search&PPGR=0

the suffix can vary ("CA" indicates that the panel is for a Carthago motorhome - I'm not sure which make "SK" relates to.) This 2021 MotorhomeFun thread related to an inoperative PC380-CA panel.

https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/control-panel-failure-help-please.235048/

There's also the CBE Distribution box to consider, as some kits include a 'basic' DS-300 box while others include the more complex DS-520. 

[Campervan man]

Hi I have good news I’m back on  … I tried the advice onecal  gave us ie reconnect unit after checking power available to unit ,at this point unit still dead ….. hold power on button together with program button unit comes back to life ,didn’t get as far as holding twilight button. Unit now showing all functions and the connection for the gas is operative . This was a positive result and I am very grateful to you all for your input hopefully this thread sits here and can help others with unnecessary  expense.   Lawrence .   

[onecal]

Hi,

Glad I was able to help

Regards

[Brian Kirby]

Well done Lawrence and Brendan!  🙂 

[onecal]

Never just one or two , Brian ,

Its a team, they can be very awkward to fix and as Derek pointed out your not just dealing with Control panel 

Fingers crossed it stays working for him now 

Hope all is well with you Brian 

Regards

Brendan 

[gassygassy]

On 07/04/2023 at 08:06, Derek Uzzell said:

Where replacements are concerned it will be necessary to confirm whether any of the CBE items on Lawrence's VW are 'bespoke'.

I'm guessing that the "BS" suffix on a PC380-BS control-panel indicates that it is an 'all-purpose' unit, but - as the photos of the rear of two PC380 panels on this link show

https://www.apuljackelectronics.co.uk/Product.aspx?ProductID=477&strReferer=search&PPGR=0

the suffix can vary ("CA" indicates that the panel is for a Carthago motorhome - I'm not sure which make "SK" relates to.) This 2021 MotorhomeFun thread related to an inoperative PC380-CA panel.

https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/control-panel-failure-help-please.235048/

There's also the CBE Distribution box to consider, as some kits include a 'basic' DS-300 box while others include the more complex DS-520. 

Derek - do you know where I can find the wiring schematic for a CBE PC180? The engine battery always shows as dead. I have checked that all the pins in the 16 way connector are intact, but I don't know how the engine battery is wired to the control panel.

Andrew

[Derek Uzzell]

You could try Apuljack Electronics Ltd, as they offer repairs on certain CBE products.

https://www.apuljackelectronics.co.uk/Search.aspx?strSearchText=cbe+

[d42mat]

On 07/04/2023 at 11:16, Campervan man said:

Hi I have good news I’m back on  … I tried the advice onecal  gave us ie reconnect unit after checking power available to unit ,at this point unit still dead ….. hold power on button together with program button unit comes back to life ,didn’t get as far as holding twilight button. Unit now showing all functions and the connection for the gas is operative . This was a positive result and I am very grateful to you all for your input hopefully this thread sits here and can help others with unnecessary  expense.   Lawrence .   

Hi Lawrence. How did you check you had power going to the control panel unit? Do you know which colour wires do what? I have a similar problem in that after swapping my leisure battery the control panel is completely dead. I tried holding the two buttons as suggested above, but to no avail. Thank you. 

[Keithl]

Hi @d42mat,

Unfortunately Lawrence hasn't been seen since his last post in April 2023 so I doubt you will get an answer from him.

Maybe one of the other forum members can answer your question?

Keith.