More fun and games with the bloody Sargent in the Autotrail (1 Viewer)

[Jaws]

And you guessed right..
Last night around 20:30 hours.. out she came !!!
I should have kept my gob shut

It would appear that once again I was given false hope.
I try something, and on occasion I find a genuine fault.. think that it MUST be that..
It stops misbehaving for days and days.. then SUDDENLY the issue returns

I am off out there again this morning.. I have two things to try having studied the maps again..
One is a diode that is used in conjunction with the the internal porch light and is on the same circuit as the step, the other is to isolate the cab from the hab area to try and reduce the possible areas the fault could lie in

 

[Jaws]

Diode replaced ( it is just a 1N4002 ).. It looked fine, checked out perfect, but with what has been going on... for the sake of 14p !

Also left the step switch disconnected.. It still works on the key fob so no issue
No logic behind the move as such.. Just one more thing to eliminate

Unwilling to do anything else as if it does stop happening I will not then know what the hell is/was causing it..

 

[Jaws]

I just realised something..
All this old squit I am posting.. I suspect folk might be getting a little pee'd off with it now !!

I am doing it as a sort of blog really. It is allowing me to look back and review what I have tried,,, what issues have been found and helps focus the mind as far as the next possible step ( there's that word step again !! )

Sorry if its getting tedious folks.. but it really does help me ( if you see what I mean )

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[Floydster]

Don't worry about it mate, you carry on.


There's a lot to be said for care in the community and the help it provides.

PS Good luck with sorting it out.

 

[Terran]

Please keep going, this is better than a Dan Brown thriller, Da Vinci Code has nothing on this saga! Will it be solved before you reach sunnier climes? Will the whores' drawers impersonating step trip up John? Is it the diode, the loom or the PCB? Fascinating stuff. You are educating, thrilling, intriguing, and beguiling many. If only we could record it on our new DashCams - would make a great movie. Please keep going!

 

[Jaws]

Changing the diode did what I expected really.. not a lot !
But with the step control button disconnected I have ( I think ) eliminated at least part of the loom..

Tonight I felt like the guy out of 'The Abyss'

Do I cut the blue wire or the green wire ? In the light of the led head torch they both looked blue green !!

Why am I cutting wires ?

Welllllllllll
I have started to wonder if the fault is not in the hab wiring at all.
If the system is getting an erroneous signal from the cab it will activate the step.. Does not really explain the external light thing but I am starting to get desperate !!
Wire was cut at 18.30 tonight.. So far so good..
Only time will tell I guess
If it IS something from the cab doing the biz my first suspicion would be the rather expensive alarm system that was fitted several months ago
No idea why it should suddenly play up and to be fair it is just a niggly thought at this stage

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[Gellyneck]

See, told you to shut up!
Anyway, are you sure the guy next door doesn't have the spare set of keys and is having a hilarious time watching you?
Don't you dare stop the reporting! It'll be like the tv company pulling the last episode of the series or them not extending the broadcast for the pen.

 

[Jaws]

LOL !!
You know, that has crossed my mind more than once !!
But.. the van does not unlock, the outside automatic light does not come on ( though it STAYS on randomly when it is supposed to go off after 2 minutes ), it is just the flip flop f00ing step that activates !!!
And that has not popped back out since I cut the blue wire...

Gonna go out and have a fiddle with some other stuff ( unrelated.. just want to change the scart lead to the tv and maybe look at making a half decent mount for the hard drive I have plugged in to it ) today and see what happens

 

[Gellyneck]

LOL !!
And that has not popped back out since I cut the blue wire...

Have you checked the countdown clock since you cut the blue wire?

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[Jaws]

Yes.. it has stopped at 1.5 seconds as in all the best movies !!!

I do have a bit of an update though I am afraid it is just getting more and more baffling

Since cutting the wire I have not had a single flappy step incident..

Been out there again just a few minutes ago and to start with everything seemed normal..

The step stayed where it was supposed to ..
BUT..........
I then started checking other things and low and behold the sodding step still plops in and out if I turn on or off the entry light or if I turn the fridge fan assister on.. In fact the only thing that does NOT move the step is the step switch

Reconnecting the blue wire made no difference to this issue.. Left it connected and within a few minutes out popped the step again !!!

Sooooooooooooooo
I now THINK I have a definite albeit temporary stop for the step coming out when its parked up but there is still the over all fault
I honestly do not believe the problem lies in the EM 50 now.. I can clearly hear the relays firing when I turn the switch for the light on or off..
I have also double double checked all earth feeds and connectivity between the cab and hab and all the wires that are supposed to be earthed are indeed checking out as earthed ( though I am going to actually put a load of about 1amp on them using a bit of wire and a bulb rather than rely on the meter reading just to confirm it is actually all ok and not breaking down under load

I am coming to the conclusion once again that the issue HAS to be somewhere in the damned loom.
If the weather holds out early next week I am gonna don my crawling around on the floor gear and see what I can see underneath the van

 

[Gellyneck]

OK so I know absolutely nothing about auto electrics but given your comment on the fridge fan assister is there something in the bus that operates intermittently that's firing the step? How the heck it can do that but ...........

 

[Jaws]

I have actually unplugged everything at one stage.. Still the same..

Just been out there again ( folk must think I am having some sort of affair with the old girl !! )..

The step button not working at all..
Great ! I have an absolute solid fault.. a solid fault is easy to find.

I had the meter in my hand.. stepped one step to the door. Tried the button just to be sure.. worked absolutely fine and normal !!!!!!!!!!!!

I will now have to wait and actually hope the fault comes back for heavens sake ..........................

I have currently left a thick meaty extra earth line from the battery -ve to the chassis ..
If nowt happens by tonight I shall solder the blue wire back together as that seems to be a bit of a red herring now.

Must admit.. getting close to just giving up now..

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[Gellyneck]

Must admit.. getting close to just giving up now..

No, no, never!
The Moet Shampoo is on ice pending the final resolution. Don't want to have to return it to the wine cellar.

 

[Terran]

Curiouser and curiouser! The plot thickens. This series coul run and run, brilliant. Please keep going.

 

[Jaws]

And after another session I am working my way back to that damned EM50
When the fault appears all sorts of things happen but they are ALL related to the unit
About two hours ago I disconnected just about everything and then just sat quietly reading a book
After about 10 minutes I heard a very distinct click.. Connected stuff back up and the fault was there

Started just pushing down on the board.. saw one of the relays click and all was well again
As I have been over every joint, unsoldered most parts and put them back in I am quite happy it is not a bad joint
Leaves only a couple of options.. The first is there IS a breakdown of one of the through tunnels from one side of the board to the other ( which would be the logical thing ) or really, equally as possible one of the TTL chips is failing randomly

I am going to ring Sargent on Monday to see if I can get a unit prorata ( leaving as big a deposit with them as they want )

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[rolandrat]

Jaws, What make of alarm do you have fitted to your motorhome? No doubt it will be fitted via the ignition key. The fuse box is fitted under the left hand headlight which will need to be removed to gain access to it. Could it be that there is a bad connection in that area? Just a thought.

 

[Jaws]

Already removed it mate.. Disconnected completely ( and reconnected in a different way with the wiring much better concealed I might add ! )
Its a Gemini 7590

 

[rolandrat]

I don't know the model of Autotrail you have but I'm aware that the fuse box behind the drivers seat is where some of the step controls are placed. The wiring loom isn't easily accessible from that point and to do a more in depth inspection might mean cutting a 120mm plug of floor away to get to it. The plug can then be put back in place afterwards.

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[Jaws]

Yup.. The EM50 is the unit that has the fuses in and the three jumpers used to set the step and exterior light functions
And yes, you are dead right about the loom.. If it does eventually turn out to be a break in it I will not mess around, but make up a whole new section and run it completely separately ( a good chance to use up a couple of rolls of the box full of looming tape I have left over LOL !!! )

 

[rolandrat]

Just a thought Jaws, if you aren't the first owner of the motorhome can you see if any one has been doing any drilling in the area close to the loom or messing about with the leisure battery wiring. Have you ever removed the leisure batteries and looked at where the wires are fed through?

 

[rolandrat]

Don't Sargent make the wiring looms for AutoTrail, they might have one already made up in stock?

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[Jaws]

No idea, but with what I have found with the EM unit, that is gonna be my first thing Roly..
At least its reasonably cheap and very easy to swap out !
I am just disappointed I could not find the fault my self, but with something this intermittent it is just not that easy

Of course my BIG worry now is that I send it to them, they do the standard fixes and it checks out fine ( as it does at this very moment ) only for a few days after the refit for the problem to come back..

I really need a service exchange unit but do not think that is possible..
All will be revealed when I speak to them on the morrow

 

[rolandrat]

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised, Sargent are very good with after sales service and advice,they have sent me items by overnight courier which I've fitted and returned the u/s item later the same day with the same courier service. OK there's a cost if it's out of warranty but they get you back on the road in quick time. The last time I used them was for a control box after a very large AutoTrail dealers electrician failed to find a fault with the interior lights refusing to work after stripping all the wires out. I took the motorhome away in disgust and phoned Sargent up outside the dealers gates at 1630 pm, the following morning at 0830 am a courier was knocking on my door with an exchange unit. I was ringing Sergent up before dinner time to arrange for the courier to return and pick up the faulty control box. Fault sorted.

 

[Jaws]

Ok.. part arrived this afternoon..
Its all back in the van and all I can do is hope it has fixed it !

More info to follow if all is well

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[rolandrat]

Let's hope you've cracked it.

 

[Gellyneck]

Ok.. part arrived this afternoon..
Its all back in the van and all I can do is hope it has fixed it !

More info to follow if all is well

Thank goodness for that!
No step report update for nearly a fortnight. Going blue in the face holdin ma bated breath.
Thought you'd thrown in the towel with it.

 

[Jaws]

Let's hope you've cracked it.

THAT is very prophetic actually !!!!

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[Jaws]

Sooo.. 48 hours without incident and I have been out for a couple of small local runs just to be sure it comes back with the movement of the vehicle..
I will give it until Sunday.. if all still well I shall reveal all !!

 

[Terran]

Good work John, fingers, toes and grandsons all crossed! But why? What do you change?

 

[Terran]

Was it the new part?

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