After spending 4 days or more with no power thinking it was caused by the solar regulator, I finally got into Echuca for the big job of replacing a few faulty items.
What I thought was going to be a very expensive exercise turned out to be a shock.
I am very lucky to still have the van as it was not the regulator and not the solar panels but the wiring between the two. The guy at the Echuca/Moama Caravans worked on all the problems for quite a while and corrected them all.
The wiring which was in behind the roof padding had a burnt out / melted fuse and fuse box and wiring. He said could have burnt the van to the ground. I have kept the offending part and had it all replaced and tidied up with a circuit breaker attached.
The Fiamma fan in the ceiling hatch had a loose plug which had worked itself out, once secured back in place, all good now and working.
The fridge could be another matter but for now has been re-adjusted on that stupid digital thermostat and should last for a while. Will see what happens. Kevin, they couldn't even understand the paperwork, mumbo jumbo they said, so you were not alone.
If it fails again will ring Cadels Sydney number for help.
All up it cost me 196.00, most of which was labour, but better than the amount I was dreading with the replacement of units.
Scary to think I could have lost the lot. Didn't you smell burning, they asked. Nooo! I said.
valnrob said
08:56 PM Jan 6, 2014
Thank goodness all ok now......scary, Marj
Sheba said
09:12 PM Jan 6, 2014
That was a close one Marj. Another reminder about having the Unit properly covered by insurance.
Cheers,
Sheba.
milo said
12:17 AM Jan 7, 2014
struth... hope it gets all sorted out Marj..
shekon said
08:28 AM Jan 7, 2014
Wow, Marj, so glad that you have had it all sorted out. You are a lucky lady, but those things are placed under things and behind things and just don't get looked at.
Thank goodness all sorted and you can be on your way again. Stay safe lovely lady.
_wombat_ said
08:30 AM Jan 7, 2014
Hmmm, somebody said you were hot stuff.
all fixed now I hope, and back on the road again.
jules47 said
08:51 AM Jan 7, 2014
Crikey Moses!!!!!! How lucky are you that it didn't burn out! Hope all is well now - just goes to show you never know when some things are going wrong - the charges sound pretty reasonable, and hopefully any new wiring he has used is a heavier gauge and all will be fine now.
As to the fridge - bit of a mystery - but at least it is going now.
Take care - see you soon.
GaryKelly said
09:24 AM Jan 7, 2014
Very fortuitous indeedy! Wiring worries me, so I'm glad I have a mobile auto sparky who's checked out all the stuff done by the previous owner. One installation was a death trap, and a disaster waiting to happen. A couple of GNs warned me about it (after I posted a couple of pics), and my sparky fixed it. I would advise anyone buying a used van to have it checked over by a qualified electrician just for peace of mind.
Gerty Dancer said
09:39 AM Jan 7, 2014
So glad it worked out as it did, HW, all fixed and now you know for sure its properly done.
We had a fault with the wiring in the Jayco van from new, as the 2-way fridge didn't work while plugged in to the vehicle. 2 different Jayco blokes made all kinds of explanations but didn't fix it, a 3rd one got it to work by saying we just had to switch it off then on again when plugged into a different source. Hmmm...
Eventually the wonderful bloke at the "Ulladulla RV spares and repairs" got it sorted as it should have been in the first place.
Its very difficult to find a repair-person who actually knows what they are doing.
Ontos45 said
10:33 AM Jan 7, 2014
Hope you brought a lottery ticket HW? Very lucky, glad it's fixed.
justcruisin01 said
01:47 PM Jan 7, 2014
Some just have no idear on how to do a setup & should leave things alone.
Happywanderer said
03:34 PM Jan 7, 2014
Totally agree JC. So much black tape wrapped around everything as well.
Fridge still not a goer. Woke this morning to frozen dog food at minus 10 deg, so now taken to turning off for a few hours at night.
oldbobsbus said
04:12 PM Jan 7, 2014
Geee HW I am glad for you that you had it checked out.. wiring coming from solar panels has power in them whenever there is sunlight about..
Sounds like the fridge has a faulty thermostat or broken capillary tube..
Happywanderer said
04:35 PM Jan 7, 2014
Bob, the fridge has a weird digital thermostat externally, the previous owner having pulled the internal one out.
Nobody can understand the instructions for this external one.
Looks like the previous owner did a lot of dodgy repairs over the time.
The good news is I'm getting 9 litres of diesel per 100 ks of travel. Can't complain about that.
oldbobsbus said
04:55 PM Jan 7, 2014
Happywanderer wrote:
Bob, the fridge has a weird digital thermostat externally, the previous owner having pulled the internal one out. Nobody can understand the instructions for this external one. Looks like the previous owner did a lot of dodgy repairs over the time.
The good news is I'm getting 9 litres of diesel per 100 ks of travel. Can't complain about that.
That works out at 11.11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111kls per ltr...ROFL...
It could still be the sensor probe that is faulty..
Maybe you need to have a new original thermostat put back into the fridge
native pepper said
05:18 PM Jan 7, 2014
Happywanderer wrote:
Bob, the fridge has a weird digital thermostat externally, the previous owner having pulled the internal one out. Nobody can understand the instructions for this external one. Looks like the previous owner did a lot of dodgy repairs over the time.
The good news is I'm getting 9 litres of diesel per 100 ks of travel. Can't complain about that.
You're certainly having no luck, maybe time to go through the whole vehicle system yourself and become familiar with it, so you can make temporary or permanent repairs, if you need to on the road.
Make some diagrams or ask your repairer to do it as they go. That way you will have something to work from, so you can trace your problem. A multimeter, or one of those small screwdriver type test lights for 12v are good to have, then you can see where power is and isn't happening. They cost about $10 and are well worth the trouble to carry, all auto electricians use big versions of them.
I reckon everyone who buys any vehicle for travelling should demand a full wiring, body and mechanical diagram, especially if you are getting a new van or vehicle. For big rigs especially, maintenance schedules and full safety checks. You may not be able to understand or work with them, but if you have a problems on the road, you can give them to the repairer and they can use them. It would make it quicker to fix, cut down your costs and if you wanted to, you could become very familiar with your home on wheels and keep it simply maintained and safe for you on the road.
Frozen dog foods easier to handle than frozen or hot beer, our dogs love playing with ice blocks. We have 2 fridges, use one as a freezer, the other, fridge. There have been times one has stopped for some reason, so having two means always cold beer, if you have power. We have a really good Waeco 35lt which goes in the car and is the freezer in the bus, takes no more room than an esky, but provides a backup. My mate does the same thing, he has a van and carries the same one as ours in the car, in the van, it's the freezer and their wonky old 3 way keeps the beer and food cold. Might not be feasible in your set up though. Hope you get it all fixed soon.
After spending 4 days or more with no power thinking it was caused by the solar regulator, I finally got into Echuca for the big job of replacing a few faulty items.
What I thought was going to be a very expensive exercise turned out to be a shock.
I am very lucky to still have the van as it was not the regulator and not the solar panels but the wiring between the two. The guy at the Echuca/Moama Caravans worked on all the problems for quite a while and corrected them all.
The wiring which was in behind the roof padding had a burnt out / melted fuse and fuse box and wiring. He said could have burnt the van to the ground. I have kept the offending part and had it all replaced and tidied up with a circuit breaker attached.
The Fiamma fan in the ceiling hatch had a loose plug which had worked itself out, once secured back in place, all good now and working.
The fridge could be another matter but for now has been re-adjusted on that stupid digital thermostat and should last for a while. Will see what happens. Kevin, they couldn't even understand the paperwork, mumbo jumbo they said, so you were not alone.
If it fails again will ring Cadels Sydney number for help.
All up it cost me 196.00, most of which was labour, but better than the amount I was dreading with the replacement of units.
Scary to think I could have lost the lot. Didn't you smell burning, they asked. Nooo! I said.
That was a close one Marj. Another reminder about having the Unit properly covered by insurance.
Cheers,
Sheba.
Thank goodness all sorted and you can be on your way again. Stay safe lovely lady.
Hmmm, somebody said you were hot stuff.
all fixed now I hope, and back on the road again.
As to the fridge - bit of a mystery - but at least it is going now.
Take care - see you soon.
We had a fault with the wiring in the Jayco van from new, as the 2-way fridge didn't work while plugged in to the vehicle. 2 different Jayco blokes made all kinds of explanations but didn't fix it, a 3rd one got it to work by saying we just had to switch it off then on again when plugged into a different source. Hmmm...
Eventually the wonderful bloke at the "Ulladulla RV spares and repairs" got it sorted as it should have been in the first place.
Its very difficult to find a repair-person who actually knows what they are doing.
Some just have no idear on how to do a setup & should leave things alone.
Fridge still not a goer. Woke this morning to frozen dog food at minus 10 deg, so now taken to turning off for a few hours at night.
Sounds like the fridge has a faulty thermostat or broken capillary tube..
Nobody can understand the instructions for this external one.
Looks like the previous owner did a lot of dodgy repairs over the time.
The good news is I'm getting 9 litres of diesel per 100 ks of travel. Can't complain about that.
That works out at 11.11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111kls per ltr...ROFL...
It could still be the sensor probe that is faulty..
Maybe you need to have a new original thermostat put back into the fridge
You're certainly having no luck, maybe time to go through the whole vehicle system yourself and become familiar with it, so you can make temporary or permanent repairs, if you need to on the road.
Make some diagrams or ask your repairer to do it as they go. That way you will have something to work from, so you can trace your problem. A multimeter, or one of those small screwdriver type test lights for 12v are good to have, then you can see where power is and isn't happening. They cost about $10 and are well worth the trouble to carry, all auto electricians use big versions of them.
I reckon everyone who buys any vehicle for travelling should demand a full wiring, body and mechanical diagram, especially if you are getting a new van or vehicle. For big rigs especially, maintenance schedules and full safety checks. You may not be able to understand or work with them, but if you have a problems on the road, you can give them to the repairer and they can use them. It would make it quicker to fix, cut down your costs and if you wanted to, you could become very familiar with your home on wheels and keep it simply maintained and safe for you on the road.
Frozen dog foods easier to handle than frozen or hot beer, our dogs love playing with ice blocks. We have 2 fridges, use one as a freezer, the other, fridge. There have been times one has stopped for some reason, so having two means always cold beer, if you have power. We have a really good Waeco 35lt which goes in the car and is the freezer in the bus, takes no more room than an esky, but provides a backup. My mate does the same thing, he has a van and carries the same one as ours in the car, in the van, it's the freezer and their wonky old 3 way keeps the beer and food cold. Might not be feasible in your set up though. Hope you get it all fixed soon.