Dumb electrics question (1 Viewer)

[ericonabike]

After six months ovwnership I still seem to be finding things I don't quite understand...like this one. When I hook up on site I have the big illuminated rocker switch on the consumer unit switched to 'I' [in rather than 'O' for out] as I was told on handover that this 'switches everything on'. It also switches on an irritating little fan within the unit, which is loud enough to be a nuisance at night. Out of interest, I switched the rocker to 'O' and found that all the mains equipment still worked. And so I have assumed that the switch doesn't 'switch everything on' but puts the battery on charge.

Is this correct? And if I leave it off, so that the battery isn't charging, am I draining the battery when using the 12v kit? Or is the mains transformed down to 12v whilst on hook-up?

 

[TheBig1]

the fan is there to protect the charging circuit, but should be pretty much silent in use. Switching off the charger as you suggest will mean that using 12v circuits in the van will discharge the battery.

I recomend you either get used to the annoying fan whistle or get the unit serviced and fan changed for a new silent one, These are the same as used inside pcs, so easily available and quality ones are totally silent in opperation

 

[schojac]

Just a footnote; the symbols you refer to are 1 and 0 and not I and O. 1 means on, 0 means off. As already stated the fan is the cooling fan for the charger. You could try some silocone spray if the fan requires lubricating.

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[ericonabike]

Thanks folks. Will try the spray idea, but at least I now know what exactly the switch is for. If the fan continues to annoy, then leaving it off at night shouldn't be a problem since we're using no power after bedtime! And especial thanks for pointing out the '1' and '0' meaning! For years I've assumed that the symbols stood for In and Out, as On and Off couldn't be reduced to their initial letters.