Newby, please help! (1 Viewer)

[dawny]

Hi Everyone
I am sure that you are tired of Newbies coming on and asking daft questions! Unfortunately I am one! I have just bought a Firebrand 630 for the kids and I. Unfortunately I cannot seem to get the plugs working for the tv (need this for the kids as they will drive me mad at bedtime if I cannot wind them down) Sounds sad I know. Anyway I have changed the fuse etc and still not working, both plugs. Does anyone have any advice?

 

[tonka]

When you say plugs working, do you mean power...
Bit more info would help........

If its the mains plug, have you connected the hook up cable to a mains supply,? do you have mains power elsewhere ie the fridge ?

 

[Carol]

Hello and welcome to Fun, we all started out as newbies, ask as many questions as you want, usually someone is along with a awnser. Just a thought you are pluged into the mains electric hook up when you try to run you TV other wise you will need a invertor.

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[slobadoberbob]

a inverter!!!! not such a newbie any more

Hello and welcome to Fun, we all started out as newbies, ask as many questions as you want, usually someone is along with a awnser. Just a thought you are pluged into the mains electric hook up when you try to run you TV other wise you will need a invertor.

I would say you are not such a newbie now Carol.. words like inverter... boy that is not newbie talk.

OK.. what is an INVERTER... it is a unit that converts the 12v battery power to 230v (i.e mains power) it converts the 12v up... it can only do that for a short time as the batteries are not designed to discharge like that for long. So the more domestic batteries you have the better.. most european motorhomes have one or two batteries from 80 amp (hour) to 200 amp (hour).. some have a lot more batteries and American RV's (Large motorhomes from the USA) may have many many batteries or a lot of amps.

You in effect plug the tv into the inverter and can watch the tv (if a mains type).. however a lot of motorhomes have tv's that run on 12v as well as a built in DVD player.

Of course if you want to run the mains you need EHU (Electric Hook Up).. a suitable cable from the motorhome to a power tree as you see on camp sites (in the UK most are 16 amps... in Europe they range from 6 to 16 amps)... easy to trip them if you overload them.

Where you not demonstrated how to work the equipment? if a company sold the motorhome you should have been shown where everything is.. If sold by a private person then perhaps you need to contact them and ask.

But please give as much information as you can to enable someone to give you help on the forum.

Anyway welcome to the forum and we hope you get it sorted soon.

Bob, Sue and Ezzie the St Bernard.:thumb:

 

[Terry]

Hi Dawn, my first thoughts are the same as the others-have you plugged into the electric ?You should have been given a electric cable with which to plug into the mains thereby giving you power to 240v sockets--
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Link Removed
the above is just an example of what you need (not the cheapest you need to search)the second one will allow you to plug into the mains at home then into the van so that you can try things out.
If it is not the case get back to us :thumb:
terry
edit BTW welcome -we were all newbys once

 

[Wildbill]

give them a good active day and a long walk before bead and thay will soon wind down

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[f6c]

welcome

Welcome aboard

 

[dawny]

But please give as much information as you can to enable someone to give you help on the forum.

Anyway welcome to the forum and we hope you get it sorted soon.

Bob, Sue and Ezzie the St Bernard.:thumb:[/QUOTE]


HI
Thank you so much for all your help. The two plugs are in the rear lounge of the motorhome. Also the rear parking camera is not working and the toilet flush so maybe there is an electrical problem? I bought this from a car dealer who had received it as a part ex for a range rover and knew less than i do! I took it out over the weekend and lets say it was a good experience to learn what not to do! I unfortunately used my sat nav which took me down a few narrow roads which had low bridges. Anyway I have changed the fuses and the three pin plugs in the rear lounge still do not work however there is a 12v plug next to them that does??? which is confusing. I am going away this weekend to stay at a nature reserve, which I have been given persmission to do, however it has no hook up etc so I have arranged for the van to be given a full test at the local caravan dealer. Hopefully all the problems will be sorted. The question is can I run the tv without hook up? can I run a microwave from hook up? I have already flattened my battery. I wonder whether it is a bit beyond me as there is only me and my girls (age 9 & 11) and it is a bit daunting to be honest.

 

[s7ev0]

Hi Dawny, and welcome to the forum.

My first thoughts are that the 3 pin plugs normally only work on hook up, whereas the 12v plugs will normally work from the leisure battery.

You can run a 12v TV when not on hook up, from your leisure battery (I even run mine from the 12v dash socket and the cab battery), but I think you can only run a 240v TV on hook up, unless you have an inverter (see slobadobadob's post above).

Sorry, no suggestions for the loo or camera except for the usual fuses and connections :Sad:

Steve

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[Terry]

HI
Thank you so much for all your help. The two plugs are in the rear lounge of the motorhome. Also the rear parking camera is not working and the toilet flush so maybe there is an electrical problem? I bought this from a car dealer who had received it as a part ex for a range rover and knew less than i do! I took it out over the weekend and lets say it was a good experience to learn what not to do! I unfortunately used my sat nav which took me down a few narrow roads which had low bridges. Anyway I have changed the fuses and the three pin plugs in the rear lounge still do not work however there is a 12v plug next to them that does??? which is confusing. I am going away this weekend to stay at a nature reserve, which I have been given persmission to do, however it has no hook up etc so I have arranged for the van to be given a full test at the local caravan dealer. Hopefully all the problems will be sorted. The question is can I run the tv without hook up? can I run a microwave from hook up? I have already flattened my battery. I wonder whether it is a bit beyond me as there is only me and my girls (age 9 & 11) and it is a bit daunting to be honest.[/QUOTE]
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Hi again Dawn In most cases you will need EHU for the 240 v sockets to work also to run a microwave.Better to get a 12v tv :thumb:Not going to confuse you with inverters at this point
terry

 

[slobadoberbob]

already done that Terry

HI
Thank you so much for all your help. The two plugs are in the rear lounge of the motorhome. Also the rear parking camera is not working and the toilet flush so maybe there is an electrical problem? I bought this from a car dealer who had received it as a part ex for a range rover and knew less than i do! I took it out over the weekend and lets say it was a good experience to learn what not to do! I unfortunately used my sat nav which took me down a few narrow roads which had low bridges. Anyway I have changed the fuses and the three pin plugs in the rear lounge still do not work however there is a 12v plug next to them that does??? which is confusing. I am going away this weekend to stay at a nature reserve, which I have been given persmission to do, however it has no hook up etc so I have arranged for the van to be given a full test at the local caravan dealer. Hopefully all the problems will be sorted. The question is can I run the tv without hook up? can I run a microwave from hook up? I have already flattened my battery. I wonder whether it is a bit beyond me as there is only me and my girls (age 9 & 11) and it is a bit daunting to be honest.

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Hi again Dawn In most cases you will need EHU for the 240 v sockets to work also to run a microwave.Better to get a 12v tv :thumb:Not going to confuse you with inverters at this point
terry[/QUOTE]

Already did that Terry with the Inverter in an earlier part of the post.

The picture I see at this moment.. could be wrong.

This a a european motor home that would have an EHU (Electric Hook up) .. that being a orange lead with a blue plug on the end with three ROUND pins and the other end perhaps a normal 230v hours type plug... this goes from the house or a power tree on a camp site... to a flap in the side of the motorhome.. when connected power will be able to enter the motor home system.. some sort of control panel which may have an on and off switch... the same panel may allow the habitation battery or batteries to charge.

The tv if on the motor home will either be one requiring 230 volts power or is a 12v power unit. If there is no 230v power coming in to the motor home then it follows the TV if a 230v mains unit will not work.. same with a microwave.

You should be able to turn on the internal lights... they will be running off the 12v habitation battery.

You need to know if the battery is any good.. have it tested. check the number of amp hours it has... if being replaced it needs to have a high as possible (allowing for size) amps.

Often habitation batteries are charged from a split charger from the engine battery to charge them under way.. or via a 230v mains EHU when on a camp site.

So obtain the size of the battery... is there more than one in the habitation area.???

Establish what power runs the TV? 12v or 230v?

The microwave is 230v ... so we know that required 230v to run ... that draws a fair bit of power at start up and will need the EHU connected.

Backup camera .. check to see if there is a dash switch to turn it on... on my RV I have an override switch.... but could be a fuse, a loose connection, of dirty connections. Make sure the monitor has the wire connected at the back of it.

The toilet flush??? I presume it is a cassette type that allows the bottom to be removed from the motorhome through a hole in the wall or comes apart in the toilet area? some of the flushes had penlight batteries under the push button... Has it a push button or is it a floor operated version? a caravan shop will be able to tell you what you have and the make and model.. then someone with one can advise... In my American RV we have electric foot operated flush.. but they are different to european motor homes.

Do not give up.. these things take time to sort, but you will get there.

Bob:thumb:

 

[Touchwood]

Hi Dawny - welcome and DON'T PANIC!

You'll always find lots of help on these forums, and you will get things sorted eventually. Most of what you need to know has been posted already by others, but as a relative newcomer myself perhaps I can clarify a few things which may make it all a bit easier to understand.

Your motorhome will have two batteries - one for the engine, as in any vehicle, which starts the engine and provides power for the vehicle electrics, the other normally called the habitation (posh word for the live-in bit of your motorhome) battery. Both are 12 volt, and often either one can be used to power the habitation 12 volt equipment - lights, water pumps and things requiring not very much power. You may find a switch somewhere that is labelled "aux/vehicle" or something similar - this determines which battery is being used for the habitation 12 volt power. (As far as I'm aware it's not usual to be able to use the habitation battery to power the vehicle electrics - but I may be wrong about that.) Clearly you don't want to risk flattening your vehicle battery, so it's best to leave this switch in the "aux" position.

When it comes to electric heating, hot water, kettle, microwave etc. - things requiring a bit more "oomph" - you need mains electric power - 230 volts.

For this reason most, if not all, motorhomes are provided with the facility for an Electric Hook Up (EHU) This is the orange cable with blue plugs as described by Slobadoberbob.

When you 'van is on EHU, this will provide 230v power to the normal three pin sockets in your 'van. It will also charge your habitation battery, and usually (maybe?) the vehicle battery as well. The blue plug that goes into the power tree on sites with EHU won't fit into a normal house socket, but you can get a cable made up with a blue socket on one end and a normal three pin plug on the other so that you can plug into your home electric socket.

Your TV - if it's a 230 volt TV then obviously you need an EHU to run it. It may, however, be a 12 volt TV, and it may be powered by a transformer which you can plug in to a 230 volt socket - many modern TV's are like this. Does the TV have a power lead with a normal house plug and a black box in the lead? Or does the power lead just have a normal three pin plug?

A further thing to be aware of is that your habitation electrics will probably have somewhere a master on/off switch - it's a good idea for a few reasons to always turn this off when you're not actually in the 'van. If this is off, then the water pumps (including possibly the toilet flush) and the habitation lights won't work. If the lights work but the toilet won't flush, maybe the toilet flush water tank is empty? On my van there are two water fill points, one for the main fresh water tank and one for the toilet flush water tank - I assume this is a normal arrangement.

Your reversing camera - I know nothing about these but I would expect it to be powered by the vehicle electrics - if your engine is running it should work. If not then there is a fault, I'd think.

A word on battery power - all motorhome batteries are 12 volts, but they can have different capacities, measured in ampere-hours (Ah) A fully charged 100 Ah battery will provide 12 volts at 1 amp for 100 hours, or 12 volts at two amps for 50 hours etc. The more things you are running from the battery, the more amps are being drawn, the less time it will last before needing re-charging.

A couple of other things you haven't mentioned yet - your fridge and your water heating. I can only speak of my 'van, yours may be different, but I suspect all modern 'vans are similar.

I have two means of water heating (other than a kettle!) One is gas, the other is a 230 volt electric water heater. Dependent on what you have, you may need to be aware of this if you're planning on a weekend without an EHU.

The fridge has THREE ways of working - 12 volt, 230 volt, or gas. The 12 volt for the fridge only works when the vehicle engine is running, and is intended only for use while travelling. If on EHU I can use the 230 volt, if not then it will work on gas.

I don't think I've provided much information that others haven't, but maybe putting things a different way will have helped make things a bit clearer.

Don't hesitate to ask for help on here - there are many, many forumites all pleased to try to give you some answers.

Mike

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[Taran_Las]

Touchwood - a very helpful post.:thumb: