ATC Indicator LED
At some point in the last week the LED indicator on my 2 year old Al-Ko ATC unit has failed. On inspection, it appears that there is a lot of corrosion on the connection between the cable and the actual LED which has caused a break. It looks as though water has got into the sheathing around the connector.
I have spoken to Al-Ko who have said that I must refer it to my supplying dealer as a warranty claim. This is OK except that they are now 120 miles from where I live which is a very long way to go just for a replacement plug in cable. (I also have issues with the dealer about the quality of their work). Al-Ko are not prepared to send me a new cable, which to me, and for what little they must cost, doesn't seem like good customer relations.
I have heard elsewhere that this is a known problem but has anyone else had experienced this fault and, if so, how did you rectify it?
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Mine was sorted at it's first service under warranty.
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Mine has also failed two weeks ago on a caravan that is not 1 year old. I contacted ALKO as previous posts on here indicated that they would send a new one directly but they told me the part had to be replaced by the dealer directly. They also said they were out of stock and wouldnt be back in stock for several weeks!! My van is due its first service next month so I will arrange it then under warranty but it appears that ALKO have had a change in attitude to supplying the parts directly.
If you really dont want to do the round trip to the dealer the part is available on ebay for £29.99.
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Because the ATC unit was fitted by the dealer and not actually by Lunar, the warranty will not cover the unit even though only two years old. Al-Ko's policy is 1 year if dealer fitted but the full length of the caravan warranty if fitted by the actual manufacturer.
I reluctantly spoke to my supplying dealer who said they could supply me with the cable at just over £40.00!!!. I told them where they could put their cable as they are available as said by others at less than £30.00 online. However, I contacted another main dealer 10 miles away from home and got one off the shelf for £25.00, (still a rip-off for a metre of twinflex cable, a 50 pence LED and a 10 pence connector as MM has already said).
An interesting comment that my supplying dealer made was that "this (corrosion between the cable and the LED), is a known fault" and was confirmed by the dealer that I actually got the cable from. His recommendation was to put silicone sealant around the vulnerable area to keep moisture out. Fitting took about 15 minutes.
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An interesting comment that my supplying dealer made was that "this (corrosion between the cable and the LED), is a known fault" and was confirmed by the dealer that I actually got the cable from.
And the reason that I always use a hitch cover when not towing
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I don't know if this would work but if ours goes I'll be trying:
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/5mm-bi-colour-led-qy83e
Unsure if it's 5mm or 3mm but they do both.
As said, clear silicone and a standard holder, perhaps:
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/5mm-recessed-chrome-bezel-led-holder-n90ax
may well be a cheap fix as the quoted prices are eye watering to say the least.
Can any electronics whizz comment?
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It will be the 5mm version and you wont need the bezzle, just pull the old LED out of the existing bezzle.
The wiring will need sleeving after soldering, Heat shrink sleeving would be best for this. Slide a length of sleeving over the joints and heat with a hot air gun or the edge of the soldering iron.
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/15mm-heat-shrinkable-sleeving-1m-bf86t
If you are not used to soldering small wires get a spare LED, too hot for too long & you will damage it. Polarity is not an issue if you get it wrong it will be red when it should be green, try it before you sleeve the wires or stuff it back in the bezzle. Seal the bezzle with silicon or araldite. this will make a better job than the original and it will not fail again.
This makes the prices mentioned in this post look like the rip off they are.
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Yes its just a two leg inverse parallel led.
When current flows in one direction it lights up red, in the opposite green.
Two things, check that the current is limited to 25ma as per spec, and that the two wires are connected the correct way, if not reverse the wires.
If you do need to reduce the current use a suitable resistor. It might be worthwhile looking at the old led to see if its got a resistor inside.
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You can obtain the LED from ebay,the correct one for the job...You will need a soldering iron or very small connector to terminate LED to twin core cable..I also suggest a sharp blade,I used a stanley knife to cut along the cable to expose the connecting points..Also molegrips to clamp to the cable to stop it falling through hole in the hitch cover...After terminating led connect caravan to car and see if the led is green or flashing green,if not reverse connection and use insulation tape to cover the connection.....Repair complete for £6.75 which is still a rip off for the price of an led but still better than the rip off price of £40 for the complete unit which should really be under a tenner in my opinion....
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Same here, in fact I relocated mine as the cover didn't actually cover it where Swift fit it, Bailey one was ok.
I also apply silicon grease or contralube to the joints, so far I haven't had one fail, Bailey one was 6 years old when it went, Swift is 2 years old next May.
But should it fail I'll make my own using either 2 Leds connected inverse parallel or by a Bipolar one. The problem is getting one large enough so it would be smaller, and you may need a dropper resister to keep the current with in limits, having not taken the Alko apart I can't say if there is one.
then again I don't really need the Led as I have ATC status on the swift App.
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An interesting comment that my supplying dealer made was that "this (corrosion between the cable and the LED), is a known fault" and was confirmed by the dealer that I actually got the cable from. His recommendation was to put silicone sealant around the vulnerable area to keep moisture out.
statements of this sort make me smile, i read this post with interest, bearing in mind i am not a mechanical person in any shape or form, but i do have a 2008 Coachman fitted with ATC and it is still working perfectly with all original fittings, all i do is squirt some WD40 in the general area now and again, and like ET always use a hitch cover.
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