Puddlejumper Posted July 19 Share Posted July 19 Good morning everyone. The sun is shining and we’re hoping to get away but have a bit of an issue. Our 2009 Autosleeper Broadway has decided to have a bit of a dicky fit. We have the Sargent EC328 with their EM50 interface fuse box. The fridge has stopped working on 12V with the engine running and our control panel tells me the starter battery only has 0.7V in it (which it doesn’t, it’s almost new and working fine). I’ve checked the fuses and all are ok but does anyone know where the relay is situated? Or does anyone have any ideas on what else to look at? Looking forward to your suggestions Many thanks Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted July 19 Share Posted July 19 Have you checked the fuses in the EM50 box? Ideally use a multlimeter and check for voltage at both ends of the fuses whilst in situ, and with the engine running, by touching the probes into the small 'windows' at either end of the fuse by the Amp rating. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willum Posted July 19 Share Posted July 19 ........ and if it's blown, replace it with THE SAME VALUE fuse - unlike the previous owner of my motorhome, who shoved a higher and higher rating in until it melted the insides of the box. A note of caution (hard and expensively earned from experience): If it is the fuse and it continues to blow it, the 12 volt heater is probably failing. They appear to frequently end up dying of a dead short. Not terribly difficult or expensive to replace but leaving it to fail completely is likely to cause more damage - worse still, warm beer.☹️ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puddlejumper Posted July 19 Author Share Posted July 19 (edited) 3 hours ago, Keithl said: Have you checked the fuses in the EM50 box? Ideally use a multlimeter and check for voltage at both ends of the fuses whilst in situ, and with the engine running, by touching the probes into the small 'windows' at either end of the fuse by the Amp rating. Yes the fuse in the EM50 is fine but I haven’t checked it for voltage, only continuity. Do you know if there is a relay somewhere to switch on the fridge? Not sure who decided to put the EM50 right behind the drivers seat…….its a right PITA to access🫣 Edited July 19 by Puddlejumper Need to add info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puddlejumper Posted July 19 Author Share Posted July 19 3 hours ago, Willum said: ........ and if it's blown, replace it with THE SAME VALUE fuse - unlike the previous owner of my motorhome, who shoved a higher and higher rating in until it melted the insides of the box. A note of caution (hard and expensively earned from experience): If it is the fuse and it continues to blow it, the 12 volt heater is probably failing. They appear to frequently end up dying of a dead short. Not terribly difficult or expensive to replace but leaving it to fail completely is likely to cause more damage - worse still, warm beer.☹️ Yeah there was a 20A in there and I changed it to a 15A as per specs. Of it is the fridge failing I’ll be replacing it with a compressor fridge, so much more efficient and no problems with vents etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted July 19 Share Posted July 19 1 hour ago, Puddlejumper said: Yes the fuse in the EM50 is fine but I haven’t checked it for voltage, only continuity. Do you know if there is a relay somewhere to switch on the fridge? I thought the relay was in the EM50 ??? Check for voltage on the fuse and go from there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puddlejumper Posted July 20 Author Share Posted July 20 21 hours ago, Keithl said: I thought the relay was in the EM50 ??? Check for voltage on the fuse and go from there. The relay may well be in the EM50, I haven’t had a chance to check for voltage yet but there is a red led on the EM50 that does not light up but I don’t know if it’s supposed to or not Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Labby Posted July 20 Share Posted July 20 (edited) It could be worth checking that the connections on the rear of the EM50 are ok (not loose or having signs of overheating). Edited July 20 by Labby 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Labby Posted July 20 Share Posted July 20 (edited) To add , I believe that the red LED should be on if the EM50 is getting power from the vehicle battery, so it could be worth checking to see if there is a supply fuse near to the positive terminal of the starter battery that is faulty. The fridge fuse in the EM50 was increased from 15a to 20a after 2009. Edited July 20 by Labby 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puddlejumper Posted July 21 Author Share Posted July 21 22 hours ago, Labby said: To add , I believe that the red LED should be on if the EM50 is getting power from the vehicle battery, so it could be worth checking to see if there is a supply fuse near to the positive terminal of the starter battery that is faulty. The fridge fuse in the EM50 was increased from 15a to 20a after 2009. That’s really helpful, I’ll pop out later to have a look. I seem to recall there was a fuse near the starter battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puddlejumper Posted July 22 Author Share Posted July 22 OK I now know I have no power going to the EM50 so I’m trying to discover where the supply to it comes from. All the fuses in the EM50 are fine. I’m assuming the feed to the EM50 must be fused so I’m guessing that fuse has blown. Does anyone know where that feed comes from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Labby Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 (edited) The feed should be from the starter battery , have you checked there , if there is not a separate fuse , one of the midi fuses on the positive terminal connection/fuse plate may have been used as the supply to theEM50. Also have you checked the rear of the EM50 for possible damaged connections ? Edited July 22 by Labby 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puddlejumper Posted July 22 Author Share Posted July 22 (edited) 1 hour ago, Labby said: The feed should be from the starter battery , have you checked there , if there is not a separate fuse , one of the midi fuses on the positive terminal connection/fuse plate may have been used as the supply to theEM50. Also have you checked the rear of the EM50 for possible damaged connections ? That’s really helpful, I’ve found where the interface connection is on the cab. For those interested it’s behind a black plastic panel at the bottom of the B pillar next to the handbrake. I now to trace that back to the starter battery. There are a couple of fuses coming from the top of the starter battery, they all seem ok but I need to check which one it is by removing the cable and checking for continuity. Your info has been really invaluable and it’s all starting to make sense now The internals of the EM50 seem ok, there is a very slight hint of heat damage where the power comes on but nothing else. Edited July 22 by Puddlejumper Added info 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puddlejumper Posted July 31 Author Share Posted July 31 Just to wrap this thread up the fault was caused by the 50A fuse next to the leisure battery failing. It hadn’t blown, it had literally fallen apart when it had been overtightened previously, not sure whether it was the previous owner or some enthusiastic mechanic. Anyway it’s all sorted and working again but struggling with the current heat we’re having. Thank you to everyone who contributed, it’s much appreciated and I now know a lot more about the EM50 than I did before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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