autotrail/fiat split charge relay?

[Scout]

Autotrail scout 05 fiat base

I noticed my 12 volt fridge lights not coming on and I heard a chattering under the dash, so I’m thinking my split charge relay in cycling and not locking on, the battery charge light is going out on the dash, so presumably power is there ok?

I didn’t have time to investagate last night, but any pointers as to were this beastie lays would save me time later this week.

Thanks

 

[Terry]

Hi chances are the relay will be off the alternator wire close to the battery :thumb: protected with a in line fuse :thumb:
terry

 

[sinbad1]

Link Removed

as Terry say's shouldn't be difficult to find, see attached

Regards

 

[pappajohn]

on our kontiki its just above and to the left of the battery, fixed to the inner wing panel.
seems to be a popular place for them.

if its chattering, start the engine and feel the relays....they are both there, fridge and charge, side by side...you will feel which one it is.

 

[Scout]

Link Removed

as Terry say's shouldn't be difficult to find, see attached

Regards

thanks to both, its easy to find, looking closer it was the 20amp leisure batter fuse had blown (fuse number 3, third down as both 3 & 4 are marked 3?) I replaced this and it blow striaght away, so somethings wrong, I'll have to look futher later this week as its late now (double shifts) .

What I cant figure is why the leisure battery fuse shuts of the fridge?, looking the diagram

1: the alternater powers the relays
2: the relay switches on the power from the brown battery feed to

A: the 15 amp fuse red/yellow(no2) to the fridge
B: the 20 amp fuse brown/blue (no3) to the leisure batteries

I cant grasp how the no 3 fuse has anything to do with the fridgeoh:

over to you guys, please make it simple

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[gazznsam]

simples, never trust wiring diagrams 100%, it's a very simple matter for the installer to have put the connections for the fridge on the leisure battery fuse and vise versa,

you have a short somewhere in the system, if it is the feed ot the fridge, could be a chafed wire, or could be the heater element in the fridge had died and shorted to earth,


if you cant find the short easily.... make up a buse, this is a 10 watt halogen bulb connectod to a blown fuse, idealy soldered, but on some fuses you can push the bulbs prongs down the body to make contact with the terminals.

you plug the buse into the fuse holder with the fault, and the bulb will glow brightly, this indicates a short... but the bulb will reduce the current so you are not burning any wiring out,

you then go along the wires moving them about, someone else will hve to watch the buse as your fuse holder location is in the bonnet, and you will be under the van i imagine tracing the wires along the chassis rails.

but when the bulb glows dimly, you've removed the short... then you can locate it and fix it, and replace the buse with a normal fuse again, which wont blow this time.


also chech the fuse holder hasnt melted whilst your in the bonnet, it used to be a very common problem with those vehicles, basicaly the small automotive fuse holders used can't really handle 20 amps for such a long period of time as the split charge/fridge is on for when driving, not enough contact area so there's some resistance at the terminals of fuse holder, which causes it to heat up and melt,

the solution is to replace the standard automotive sized fuses and holders with 'maxi fuses' these are the same style as the origionals, but 3 times the size, and rated to take 80 amps continuosely,
maplins used to sell em, but they were gold bloomin plated as they sold them to the boy racers for stereo installs, and hence were silly prices,
but places like vehicle wiring supplies, or lucas electrical shops sell em,

i use them for all my higher current fusing needs in my van, my iveco even uses a few of them as standard in the fuse box for the glow starter (5th injector combined with a glow plug that sprays hot diesel into the inlet manifold below 2 degrees C) and lecky fans etc.

BUT autotrail may have sorted the melting fuse holder thing out now, sounds like they de-rated it, as i recall my friends had a 30 amp fuse for the split charge fuse, and 25 for the fridge.

 

[sinbad1]

Does sound as if there is a short somewhere , if you look at the diagram both fridge and auto step are wired (ie when the engine starts the 12v fridge is energised and also the relay for the step to retract should it be in the extended position) could be your fridge is ok and the fault may be with the step mechanism.

Regards

 

[Scout]

Does sound as if there is a short somewhere , if you look at the diagram both fridge and auto step are wired (ie when the engine starts the 12v fridge is energised and also the relay for the step to retract should it be in the extended position) could be your fridge is ok and the fault may be with the step mechanism.

Regards

so tonights exercise is

1:turn off fridge
2: replace fuse with new
3: start engine WITH step extended

if fuse blows fault lays with step relay? (the power line to the step is on a differant fuse)

 

[Scout]

All fixed..

I emailed autotrail, who passed it on to Sagent electrical systems, who phoned me (what good service) we when through all the possibilities and the fault was.....


Although it was the leisure battery fuse blowing (20amp blue/brown wire) the fridge needs a feed from this line for the electronics in the fridge to "pickup" the power from the fridge relay to work, so no leisure battery, no working fridge.

The reason the leisure battery fuse was blowing was because I’m a NUMPTY:Blush:,

I'd turned of the charger on the first night out, to stop the fan keeping me awake and FORGOT to turn it back on, the batteries went down really low, I never checked them, the power needed on first start-up to charge the (2) batteries exceeds 20amp, so the fuse was blowing and the fridge could not work, SIMPLES

After at of checking to make surer there’s no chaffed wires, Sargent said as long as I test it over then next few outings just to make sure there’s no repeat (possibly a wire break that’s be missed) it will be ok the up the leisure battery fuse to 25amps to stop a repeat in the future.

 

[DESCO]

Hi

Glad you seem to have found your problem.

Remember" he who never made a mistake never did anything.":thumb::thumb::thumb:

Dave

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