Control Panel NE101C3

[Ringy]

Hi, when I push the Test button twice the displays are, I think, for the Van Battery and the Waste/Grey water tank. Per the photo the red light is at the R Level for said tank. I thought this would mean that tank was full but I’ve emptied it and checked that the connector is still attached to the tank - any thoughts peeps? Cheers, Ringy

 

[two]

You could still be right.
Waste sensors corrode and give erroneous readings in time.

 

[Ringy]

Thanks two - I’ll maybe disconnect and reconnect the connectors and see what happens.

 

[rosalan]

I have had problems many times with reading a waste tank. For a while it read 50% then a little later 25%. Rarely does it show 0%. I assume that some detritus is interfering with the reading. My waste tank does have a large removable cap at the bottom for access to cleaning. I have yet to face the prospect of lying in a position to do this.

 

[Ringy]

Thanks rosalan - it’s the sort of thing that will bug me - is it possible to reset and make the bad light go away?

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[Captain Yoghurtpot]

What van is it and how old?
Is your fresh water tank filled to any capacity?
Is your waste empty?
Is there water in your system ie is it primed and is your boiler full?

 

[Captain Yoghurtpot]

This is my control panel.
It is a Nordelecttronica MOD TE 41 L
It is on a 2000/ 2001 model Rollerteam type Coachbuilt on a Fiat Ducato 1.9 turbo diesel.
Although a much simpler version than yours, mine is thus:
The row of lights on the left show my 12v leisure battery status.
The row of lights on the Right are the capacity level of my Fresh water tank (full).
The icon above the fresh water lights row is for my waste tank.
This only lights up in red when the waste tank is full. It has no indication as to its ongoing level of fill.
Your full row of green lights would also indicate I believe your status of your 12v leisure battery.
The light showing red indicates to me that from what I can see, this is your fresh water tank indication, and it is currently empty.
The green light in the icon of the motorhome with the 2 wavy lines indicates to me that your waste tank is empty and good to go.
If your waste tank was then to fill up to capacity, then the icon above the fresh water lights, shown as a tank with several wavy lines and a top and bottom spout, would light up red and the green one would go out, indicating that your waste needs emptying.
I am no expert on this but your panel is not so far removed from mine, so I hope this may be of some help.
Feel free to ask if I can help more.

 

[two]

Thanks two - I’ll maybe disconnect and reconnect the connectors and see what happens.

If it's muck or corrosion, you'd need to remove the sensor and clean the probes.
You may find that, rather than probes, it's a float (and not so easy to refurbish).
I wouldn't expect temporary disconnection to do anything at all.

 

[Captain Yoghurtpot]

Dear Ringy
Personally I think you maybe mixing up your fresh water tank icons and your waste tank ones, and in fact all is working perfectly on both tanks.
You just haven't got the fresh tank filled or the waste tank full.
Before starting to mess with any wiring and indicator probes or connectors in this ever wetter and cold weather, why not try filling the fresh tank in stages and checking periodically against the indicator lights as to the status.
Then when the fresh tank is full, run all the taps etc to fill the waste tank, keeping an eye at when the full indicator light shows to show the waste is full, and your fresh tank lights indicate empty.
You could also at the same time if you so wished, add some white wine vinegar to your fresh tank in a fairly large quantity, run some of it into the boiler to fill it, let it all stand overnight to clean both the waste tank, internal pipes and descale the boiler, then empty the waste tank and refill the fresh tank to full again to wash the entire system through whilst ensuring all the indicator levels are again fully working.
Just a thought.

 

[Ringy]

Thanks so much Captain Yoghurtpot and two for your help - it is a Fiat Ducato CI Carioca 625, 2004 plate. Before taking the photo I pressed the Test Button twice - when you press it just the once the two diagonal columns of lights (detailed from bottom - up as R, 1/3, 2/3 and 3/3) relate to the leisure battery (column on the left with the battery logo at the the bottom, whilst the one to the right (water tank logo) relates to the fresh water tank. When you press the Test button a second time those diagonal columns relate to Cab Battery and Grey Water tank. The manual says that a red light at the bottom of the left column relates to a cab battery with only 10-11 volts but doesn’t indicate what a solid led at the bottom of the right column means. Just a thought, when you only press the button once (when the right column relates to fresh water) a solid red light means the fresh water tank is empty......I wonder if a solid red light (When you’ve pressed the Test button twice) relating to the grey water tank actually means its empty ??? So it could just be my poor brain being conditioned to think that red is danger!! I’ll test tomorrow by rolling the grey waste tank and see if the red light is replaced by a green light when that tank gets more full. Sorry I’ve just re-read the above and it’s a bit of a ramble which I can’t fix - sorry! If filing the tank doesn’t solve it, I’ll try cleaning the probes. Cheers chums!

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[Captain Yoghurtpot]

Dear Ringy
I think your on the right track!
Yes, can fully understand exactly what you mean, description is perfect.
Yes, try the filling of fresh and emptying to waste and watch the lights.
Your electronic board supercedes my clockwork version
I personally think all will be perfectly well.
Don't panic, take your time and good luck.
Lt us know how you get on.

 

[Ringy]

Will do - loving this forum.....without getting too deep, kinda restores a bit of faith in humanity!

 

[Captain Yoghurtpot]

Will do - loving this forum.....without getting too deep, kinda restores a bit of faith in humanity!

So true!
If you are new to motorhomes, like I was, but have had caravans previously, this forum is and absolute godsend for technical stuff and a whole lot more.
My van is older than yours but built by Ci and is a type very very similar to yours in electrics and habitation side.
I find ours fairly basic, but there is always something new to learn, and a lot of knowledgeable on here who are very helpful.
You just have to ask.

 

[two]

Sadly, I'm not at all familiar with your control panel but I think you're on the right track.
I'd expect the waste to (only) show red when it's full.
I wouldn't expect a green light to ever appear for the waste.
I'd expect nothing to change if you fill the waste up, in which case I'd find the sensor and disconnect it.
The sensor should be (accessible) on the top of the waste tank.
When disconnected, I'd expect the red light to go out.
If it does, at least you will have confirmed that you've found the sensor.
Next, try to remove the sensor and see what state it's in.
It could be that it's a float job and the float has filled with water or even dropped off.
Rather than speculate, let's get those first steps completed first!
(Don't forget that this is all supposed to be fun!)

 

[Ringy]

Once I get this resolved the next task is to work out how to get to the spare wheel!

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[two]

Let's hope that's not connected to your control panel!

 

[Captain Yoghurtpot]

Once I get this resolved the next task is to work out how to get to the spare wheel!

Probably underslung in a cradle to the rear.
Two wind down columns lower the cradle to the floor, wound down with a socket wrench or possibly the winding handle for the jack, which get to a point where 2 latches can then be released to lower the cradle
If like mine, when the cradle is on the floor, the spare is a dead weight to slide off it, and a right pig to get back on, but the cradle is then easily lifted back into the two catches, which are fairly low by now, and then you wind up each pillar to lift the cradle up again!
Simple really, except you are doing this on your back, on the ground, upside down!
Best advice I can offer if yours is the same is before doing anything, get underneath and clean any sand, grit, mud, and road dust of the winding mechanisms and hinge points that the cradle moves against or with, and give then a good dollop of easing oil (not wd40) and leave to soak in whilst you have a cupof tea!
Then go to attempt to lower the cradle.
And when you put the cradle back, give all moving parts a generous greasing.
The underside back end of our motorhome picks up a lot of road muck, although it's fairly high off the ground, and needs well protecting and invariably gets overlooked.
P S.... The spare wheel is Heavy!
Good luck. Your going to be busy tomorrow!
Enjoy

 

[Ringy]

Excellent - I could see the cradle just forward of the waste water tank and was looking for a wind down mechanism but couldn’t see it/them - how/where do you access the wind down columns? The jack kit has some extra bits which I guess make up an elongated wrench.

 

[rosalan]

A word with the previous owner or dealer may clarify the access to the spare wheel, or leave you with a jig-saw of bits as a challenge for the winter. Be aware that corrosion can make this a less than simple task which is one reason some vans have ceased to fit spare wheels underneath the chassis. Good luck!

 

[Ringy]

Captainyoghurt, Rosalan and Two - thanks again for your time and thoughts - took the easy option - ran the garden hose through the kitchen window and into the sink and so partially filled the grey/waste water tank - solid red light remained for a while but was replaced first by green at 1/3, then 2/3. So I stopped filling that tank and started to drain it - stopped and checked - green light now at 1/3, so then emptied the tank and hey presto. When emptied the red light came on! Lot of work to fix something that wasn’t wrong - two upsides, I’m no longer fretting about it, and we now (temporarily) have a small pond in the garden. Thanks again folks!

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[Captain Yoghurtpot]

Captainyoghurt, Rosalan and Two - thanks again for your time and thoughts - took the easy option - ran the garden hose through the kitchen window and into the sink and so partially filled the grey/waste water tank - solid red light remained for a while but was replaced first by green at 1/3, then 2/3. So I stopped filling that tank and started to drain it - stopped and checked - green light now at 1/3, so then emptied the tank and hey presto. When emptied the red light came on! Lot of work to fix something that wasn’t wrong - two upsides, I’m no longer fretting about it, and we now (temporarily) have a small pond in the garden. Thanks again folks!

And a clean waste tank for when you eventually get away.
So, what did you do after Breakfast?

 

[two]

Great to have the feed-back.

 

[Ringy]

Captainyoghurtpot - are you a fan of Mickey Flanagan??? ‘’ double busy ‘’!