Electric problem

kalamitty55
kalamitty55 Forum Participant Posts: 82
edited January 2023 in Caravans #1

after installing a battery after one completely discharged when the van was not on hookup,  12v  circuits working fine, the 240v mains plugged in, and nothing working on mains no fuses tripped,,  the adle heater control panel is blank,  i have checked the fuse in the green holder on top of boiler, checked the fuse panel  all ok, seems no 12v going to boiler, i replaced the mains hookup cable and still nothing working   think i will have to get a mobile engineer out.

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  • Dave Nicholson
    Dave Nicholson Forum Participant Posts: 408
    edited January 2023 #2

    Get yourself a multimeter and systematically check you have a supply from wherever you’re plugging your Electric hook up cable into then work your way through the caravan until you loose the power. There will be circuit breakers on the 230V side, have you checked them? There are so many possibilities that its difficult to suggest where the fault lies but it’s likely to be something simple. Hope you sort it, come back here if you can’t.

  • SteveL
    SteveL Club Member Posts: 12,300 ✭✭✭
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    edited January 2023 #3

    You say the 12 volt circuits are working fine, but the Alde control panel, which is blank, works off the 12 volt supply. Otherwise you wouldn’t be able to use it on gas if not on a hook up.

  • Cornersteady
    Cornersteady Club Member Posts: 14,426 ✭✭✭
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    edited January 2023 #4

    I'm trying to think which 12V circuits do you mean? The lights?

  • kalamitty55
    kalamitty55 Forum Participant Posts: 82
    edited January 2023 #5

    The lights work fine on 12v, battery got good reading I have been using multimeter,  the fridge lights up 12v but not on 240v have got it booked in for service and they said they’ll sort it same time, tried using 240v sockets no power  when it stops raining going have another look.

  • Unknown
    Unknown Forum Participant
    edited January 2023 #6
    The user and all related content has been Deleted User
  • Cornersteady
    Cornersteady Club Member Posts: 14,426 ✭✭✭
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    edited January 2023 #7

    I hope it's gets sorted out for you quickly. Please post back as to the problem as it may help some else. Is the battery charger working?

  • young thomas
    young thomas Forum Participant Posts: 11,356
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    edited January 2023 #8

    Any MCBs tripped?

  • kalamitty55
    kalamitty55 Forum Participant Posts: 82
    edited January 2023 #9

    No MCBs had tripped,  I can’t get to check it more fully till later in week I’ll check hookup with a multimeter  but it’s heavy rain for a few days the van is a coachman vip 460/2 2016 model,  had a look on line and the vids I’ve seen on YouTube show 2 glass fuses in green housing but mines only got one I can see, the glass fuse was fine  I will report back when or if I find problem the engineer is calling on the 24th Janel service van and see if they can fix it.

  • young thomas
    young thomas Forum Participant Posts: 11,356
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    edited January 2023 #10

    If you get 12v lights and 12v at the fridge control panel then I'd guess the fridge will work off gas?

    with the fridge not working on 240v nor the mains sockets, I'd suggest a large mains fuse has failed OR (as you are checking) no mains is actually getting into the van, despite a change of EHU cable.

    even if this were the case, I'm surprised the ALDE panel doesn't light up from 12v and I'd expect the heater to work from gas without mains.

  • peedee
    peedee Club Member Posts: 9,383 ✭
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    edited January 2023 #11

    Sounds to me as though you have two faults, no mains and no 12v to the Alde. Make sure you have found every fuse connected to the Alde and check it with a mucltimeter not by eye. With the 230v mains, while you have checked it is switched on try tripping it with the test button. Does it trip off? If not you probably have no mains to the distribution box or the switch is not working properly. Try switching it on and off a few times to see if the switch itself is causing a problem. I suggest the latter because I have had a similar problem and swithing it on and off has restored the power. Whether it is down to poor contacts or something to do with the trip mechanism needing to be reset I have no idea.

    peedee

     
  • SteveL
    SteveL Club Member Posts: 12,300 ✭✭✭
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    edited January 2023 #12

    Hopefully the Alde is something simple like a fuse. When our panel wouldn’t light up the fuses were OK but not the PCB on the boiler. Unfortunately they are not cheap.

  • mickysf
    mickysf Forum Participant Posts: 6,474 ✭✭✭
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    edited January 2023 #13

    There is a trip button on the unit, well there was on ours. Just remove the electric cover and it was located somewhere on the board, can’t quite remember where. This happened to ours and a reset solved the issue. 

  • mickysf
    mickysf Forum Participant Posts: 6,474 ✭✭✭
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    edited January 2023 #14

    I also recall you had to pull the power connectors out of the socket blocks on the board and wait a few minutes and then plug back in. This forced a hard break and reset.

  • Amesford
    Amesford Forum Participant Posts: 685
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    edited January 2023 #15

    Have you checked the power from the socket  you are plugging in the hookup leads as both leads have not worked

  • mickysf
    mickysf Forum Participant Posts: 6,474 ✭✭✭
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    edited January 2023 #16

    Sorry, should have asked first, is the Alde working on gas with a 12v supply?

    As for the 230volt side when the live cable cable is plugged into the socket on the side of van the main trip in the distribution box will only throw when the test button on the breaker is pressed. If it doesn’t throw then there is no power entering the system. 

  • kalamitty55
    kalamitty55 Forum Participant Posts: 82
    edited January 2023 #17

    young thomas i cant have heater running on gas as you need the alde control panel to work to switch power ie electric/gas,    i have 240v going into  where the cable is plugged into the garage but as the weather is bad i cannot risk playing with electrics in the rain, i want to check cable plugs and caravan inlet.  peedee i will check the mains switch inside the van once i have confirmed power getting to mains inlet. i have a 240v on side of garage to hookup van to so i have traced all inside the garage but need to check the outside up to the van asap,  no rush as it will be a while yet before we can get away.

  • kalamitty55
    kalamitty55 Forum Participant Posts: 82
    edited January 2023 #18

    Update I have power into van, managed to get in with multimeter, went through every fuse and checked each one all fine then took cover off alde boiler to get to fuses mines the 3020 model, I checked the glass one ( only one on mine) that’s fine then checked the one soldered to the circuit board it’s a quick blow sort that was fine.  So as a last resort I have removed the control panel by clipping cover off then 4 screws and pull panel out remove wire plugs and put panel in my air ring cupboard in case it’ s cold or condensation ( it states this in manual ) will update if this works,  but if anyone interested there’s a firm call appujacks of Somerset that can repair circuit boards / charger units I have used them before fore a old swift. 

  • Robert
    Robert Forum Participant Posts: 61
    edited January 2023 #19

    Hi You say you have power into the van does this mean 230 volt sockets etc working now?

  • kalamitty55
    kalamitty55 Forum Participant Posts: 82
    edited January 2023 #20

    yes 240v is working the battery in the multimeter needed changing as well.  at moment the alde control is in my airing cupboard nice and warm as per instructions of the manual i will update soon when i put it back in the van.

  • kalamitty55
    kalamitty55 Forum Participant Posts: 82
    edited January 2023 #21

    update:- today the 24th jan the engineer called to service the van and  he found the problem on the circuit board for the alde boiler,  rather than get it repaired i found a new one online for £199 inc p&p. so once arrives i wil fit it and hopefully everything should work.  plus the caravan was serviced on my drive.

  • SteveL
    SteveL Club Member Posts: 12,300 ✭✭✭
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    edited January 2023 #22

    Glad you got it sorted. That’s not a bad price. You can always get your old one fixed at your leisure and keep as a spare. I was going to do that but we swapped to a MH with Truma blown air heating.

  • KjellNN
    KjellNN Club Member Posts: 8,665 ✭✭✭
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    edited January 2023 #23

    Do you know exactly what the fault was?

    I think we have the same boiler as you do, on our board it was a simple non-resettable fuse that had failed.   Apparently quite a common problem.

    After getting a new board fitted as it was an emergency situation (either pay up or go home basically) I later fitted a new component, which cost me only a few pence, and have the old board as a spare.

  • Ms Val Green
    Ms Val Green Forum Participant Posts: 1
    edited January 2023 #24

    Hi new to this site we have just bought a Swift elegance 480 2 berth 2020

    Had it home for one week went to charge battery today plugged into the van and electric point and the control panel is dead nothing is working in the van have checked fuses any ideas please would be gratefully received

     

  • SteveL
    SteveL Club Member Posts: 12,300 ✭✭✭
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    edited January 2023 #25

    The control panel should work without being connected to 240 volts, if the battery is OK. Worth checking the battery with a multimeter and seeing what readings you get. Hopefully above 12.2 volts and preferably nearer to 12.8.
    You say nothing is working in the van, does this include the 240 volt sockets.

  • Cornersteady
    Cornersteady Club Member Posts: 14,426 ✭✭✭
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    edited January 2023 #26

    Are you new to either this van or caravans in general?

    Our control panel (I assume you mean the one that allows you to set different water/space temperatures and/or electric or gas) won't work unless the 12V system is switched on? Have you done this?

    If you have then please disregard but just in case.

     

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