Electric Issues.

[haganap]

Ok, so a couple of issues as I start to repair jobs on my Hymer.
Starline 690 on a Merc.

Number 1)
The heating works fine on Gas but is not working at all on Electric. It's an Alde 3010 system I can see nothing on the panel that indicates the electric is plugged in, it allows me to go up to 3kw on the panel. So just before I get my hands dirty or book it in to Alde in Northants , I want to check the obvious.
Electric plugged in - yes
Fuses on the distribution board (when I can find it)
Fuses in the electro block
Fuses on top of the boiler (two slow blow fuses from memory)

Anything else obvious people can think of or offer an explanation as to why if all above is checked it is not working.

Number 2)
Fridge - Initially the issue with the fridge was it appeared to not turn off? (Dometic 8505) However, I can now turn it off but it will not work on (you guessed it) Electric.. Works fine on gas and cab battery when driving. goes nice and cold but when electric is plugged in the Auto goes to gas and when you manually select Electric it bleeps and does it's thing.
Electric Plugged in - yes
So again check distribution board fuse
Check Electro block fuses
Checked the plugs in the back of the fridge, all nicely secure.

Anything else people can think of before I press order on the new PCB board(s) choice of two. or any testing that can be done.

TIA.

 

[funflair]

Hi Paul, have you checked that the 240v is getting to the Alde and the fridge?

 

[rb62]

I'd start by checking the 240v trips, usually the fridge and heating are on one and the sockets on the other,are they functioning correctly ?

 

[TheBig1]

First check for 220v at both appliances, if not work back from there. Seems more than a coincidence that both have mains voltage issues, so may just be a trip or loose wire

 

[TheBig1]

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[DavidG58]

Have you checked there is 240V getting to MH, on our control panel there is an image of a cable with a line through when not connected, or it doesn’t think it is line goes when it sees 240V

We have the Alde 3010, as you expected there should be a plug image on the Alde display if it can see 240V

 

[DavidG58]

If you have the same Reich control box as ours, we have ‘fixed’ a few oddities by switching the Reich unit off, count to 10, turn back on and you might just get lucky

 

[haganap]

Have you checked there is 240V getting to MH, on our control panel there is an image of a cable with a line through when not connected, or it doesn’t think it is line goes when it sees 240V

We have the Alde 3010, as you expected there should be a plug image on the Alde display if it can see 240V

Thanks David, currently arguing with Nikki she does not believe we get a electric symbol on ours.

ours is this one https://shop.caravanclub.co.uk/product/1040712/alde-3010-control-panel-upgrade-kit

 

[DavidG58]

Our Alde has that controller, we added it at an Alde service

Hook up / 240V shown by plug icon

And without

 

[DavidG58]

This is our controller

With hook up

Without

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[Hils and Glenns]

The heating works fine on Gas but is not working at all on Electric. It's an Alde 3010 system I can see nothing on the panel that indicates the electric is plugged in, it allows me to go up to 3kw on the panel. So just before I get my hands dirty or book it in to Alde in Northants , I want to check the obvious.

This maybe a gormless question but............. How do you now the heating is not working on electric? It's really slow to get going on electric and it heats the water before doing anything else. Hmm just realised your water probably isn't getting hot either. So yes it was a gormless question.

 

[Richard n Ann]

Is there any need for all this electronics? In my view it's totally over the top and causes lots of problems, every time a fridge thread starts it's the electronics misbehaving.

Our van is coming up 8 years old and thankfully the only electronics on it are on the whale boiler (yes it's been replaced the electronics wouldn't ignite it) everything else is mechanical switches and has worked without any problem.

Nothing wrong with electronics when made properly by LG or Sony etc but these two bit motorhome companies couldn't wire a plug up .
IMO

 

[chaser]

So how I see it you are talking mains electricity, is the mains element worn out and fused something.

 

[rb62]

Outs is a 3020 but the layout looks the same,I've just been out and checked,the ehu symbol symbol is displayed but not in the menu screen.

 

[haganap]

This maybe a gormless question but............. How do you now the heating is not working on electric? It's really slow to get going on electric and it heats the water before doing anything else. Hmm just realised your water probably isn't getting hot either. So yes it was a gormless question.

As gormless as it sounds, the gormless questions often lead to the easiest of solutions. Hence why I said the 240 is definately plugged in.... seen that mistake before.

Is there any need for all this electronics? In my view it's totally over the top and causes lots of problems, every time a fridge thread starts it's the electronics misbehaving.

Our van is coming up 8 years old and thankfully the only electronics on it are on the whale boiler (yes it's been replaced the electronics wouldn't ignite it) everything else is mechanical switches and has worked without any problem.

Nothing wrong with electronics when made properly by LG or Sony etc but these two bit motorhome companies couldn't wire a plug up .
IMO

Quite agree, to much electric stuff on Motorhomes and when they bump and bounce along on potholes it's no surprise they don't work . KISS springs to mind with designers. In fact the most reliable van we had was our first CI/ Rollerteam, (other than the damp) it was that basic, there was actually nothing to go wrong.

So how I see it you are talking mains electricity, is the mains element worn out and fused something.

Yes mains electricity, it's not worked since the previous owner had it so not a new thing. But all live sockets work and everything connected to it work, Just seems strange it's on the fridge and the heating, could be completely unrelated

Outs is a 3020 but the layout looks the same,I've just been out and checked,the ehu symbol symbol is displayed but not in the menu screen.
View attachment 602525View attachment 602526

Thanks RB, I swore ours used to do the same on our previous 3 vans but Nikki said it never. I don't have that symbol so clearly no power at the boiler so narrows it down.

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[pappajohn]

Could be a faulty breaker so just swap the breakers Paul.
Just take the live wire from one and connect it to the other.
No need to swap neutrals

 

[haganap]

Ok thanks everyone.

pappajohn takes full marks and problem is now resolved.

I hate it on posts when people have these problems and ask for help and then get a load of advice but never come back to say what the solution is or was.

So here's that to help.

Firstly. If you look at the problem, fridge issue and Alde boiler issue yet I said the rest of the van was live with no issues.

This is because the breaker for the Boiler and the Fridge are indeed housed on the same RCD separate to the RCD of the rest of the van, in essence, they share one. A quick reset and it was noted that the RCD switch was faulty, kaput, power in but no power out. It gave the impression it was on but clearly wasn't. A Magic pen as recommended by @thebigone a quick trip to my local dealer and a new RCD fitted installed and all now back to working order. Looks like the switch was faulty somehow.

But all working now, Fridge now working properly as it should be and the heating is allowing me to work in the Motorhome today...

Next jobs to tackle-
Step not working (No Buzzer)
SOG not working.

amazing what you can do with a little bit of ingenuity, determination a group of Funsters and a neighbor whos an electrician to check your work over.

 

[cyberyacht]

I had an "issue" this morning. Plugged in the EHU to pre-cool the fridge. No 240V. Checked everything through, couldn't see the problem. Turned 12V circuits on as well. Still nothing. Went round checking all connections pushed in properly - nothing. Back into the garage to find I'd switched my extension lead on instead of the EHU socket. Must be an age thing.

 

[paddymcc]

Next jobs to tackle-
Step not working (No Buzzer)
SOG not working.

There was a recent thread regarding the step buzzer. If it is just the buzzer it might be that the switch that is activated by the step closing is clogged up and doesn't close the circuit. I seem to remember a clean sorted it.
On my SOG there is a fuse upper left in the cassette compartment which I think might be related to the SOG ( it's not gone wrong so I have never investigated it).

 

[cliffanger]

Ok thanks everyone.

pappajohn takes full marks and problem is now resolved.

I hate it on posts when people have these problems and ask for help and then get a load of advice but never come back to say what the solution is or was.

So here's that to help.

Firstly. If you look at the problem, fridge issue and Alde boiler issue yet I said the rest of the van was live with no issues.

This is because the breaker for the Boiler and the Fridge are indeed housed on the same RCD separate to the RCD of the rest of the van, in essence, they share one. A quick reset and it was noted that the RCD switch was faulty, kaput, power in but no power out. It gave the impression it was on but clearly wasn't. A Magic pen as recommended by @thebigone a quick trip to my local dealer and a new RCD fitted installed and all now back to working order. Looks like the switch was faulty somehow.

But all working now, Fridge now working properly as it should be and the heating is allowing me to work in the Motorhome today...

Next jobs to tackle-
Step not working (No Buzzer)
SOG not working.

amazing what you can do with a little bit of ingenuity, determination a group of Funsters and a neighbor whos an electrician to check your work over.

Paul, is the sog a Thetford one? If it is Thetford, ours stopped working. There was nothing wrong with the fan (which Cliff checked, by putting 12v direct to the the fan).

He changed the control panel. Yours might be different to ours. Ours is a mechanical flush, so it’s a 2 function control panel.

Darren at Brownhills is the man to talk to.

Hope you get it fixed. Glad you got the fridge and heating sorted.

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[TheBig1]

If the step works but no buzzer if you start the engine with the step out, I would suspect the buzzer itself has kicked the bucket. Time to get the digital multimeter out and check that there is 12v across the buzzer itself. If the step is not working at all, check the fuse and then the limit switch on the step itself

The sog may be the contact switch on the slide that opens the trap is misaligned. Take cassette out and look up at the hole and you will see the switch. Have an assistant operate the lever from inside to ensure it touches the micro switch. Tell them not to press the flush though

 

[haganap]

Thanks everyone.
So I am part successful. With the SOG, its a strange one like I have never seen before and I have fitted many . I think cliffanger it is similar to what you may have. It's got a built in button to press for the SOG fan to activate. There is no fuse between this and the fan so ultimately I think it's either the fan or the control panel which I have on order. Was hoping it may be a simple fuse job but not likely.

With the step, I took it out and cleaned it all up, it looks clean as a whistle, it can only be the switch I think, a little 3 plug jobby with 2 wires in to it. Everything associated with the step works, can retract from the front, retract from the door. The Buzzer TheBig1 is a good suggestion but, I think the buzzer works just fine. This is because the starship enterprise as it's now known has a step for the passenger to gently let herself out. When doing this with the ignition on the buzzer works loud and clear. Now I can't be certain, but I think they would be the same Buzzer which leads me to the actual switch itself under the retraction plunger. Time for a new one of them.

Lovely van though, good to get all these little jobs fixed.

After this I have to locate a pipe for filling the washer bottle and a spare alarm fob, and then I am pretty much done I reckon.

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

Most of the sog fans are the little computer type and can just stop working.
if you switch it on and give it a whirl with your finger to see if it runs
It may be that it just needs a clean with a fine brush or worst case ,replacing,only £4-5 off e bay or off an old computer.

 

[fat haggis]

I have a Hymer 655 starline and I have heard my buzzer once and never again. I would love to wire up my step to the door. Door open step down. Door close step up. ?

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

I have a Hymer 655 starline and I have heard my buzzer once and never again. I would love to wire up my step to the door. Door open step down. Door close step up. ?

Would you trust it every time though.

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[TOAD on Tour]

Sounds like you have had a good look around the toilet compartment re: SOG……I had something similar on my previous Frankia van and it turned out to be 2 wires that connected to each other had come loose at their connections. It was a pain to locate, but a quick nip back together and the fan worked again.

 

[autorouter]

Could be a faulty breaker so just swap the breakers Paul.
Just take the live wire from one and connect it to the other.
No need to swap neutrals

That trick might work for single-pole breakers in domestic UK consumer units, but it's not a good idea for double-pole breakers found in motorhome consumer units. If swapping breakers, swap both live and neutral.