Baffled - Auto Roller 500 Electrics.

[Lysdexic]

Just purchased a nifty Auto Roller 500. Really good van - but it has me completely stumped as to what's going on with the electrics
12 volt stuff only works when the engine is running. Doesn't run on it's own from the Leisure Battery (like you would expect).
When plugged into the mains, all sockets work - and so does all the 12 volt stuff.
Am I missing something here?

 

[Cush]

Probably be a switch or fuse or duff battery somewhere. What does the control panel say on it?

 

[Reallyretired]

Sounds like leisure battery is disconnected or completely dead.

 

[Lysdexic]

Control panel (when running from the engine) says both batteries are fully charged.
Control panel (when hooked up to 240v) says the engine battery is fully charged - but the leisure battery is showing a charging cycle.
Maybe I should shove the leisure battery leads onto another battery (got a 100 amp gel battery destined for work with an inverter - and it's good to go)

 

[Lysdexic]

Used jumper leads to add the other battery to the leisure battery - no difference - still doesn't deliver any power.
This is a transit based model, so, as I was poking around under the passenger seat, I discovered a weird red lever\switch kinda thing. The positive wire enters a housing just behind the switch, then comes back out again. Gave it a quarter turn - no output. It can be removed altogether - did that, still no joy.
Looks like the leisure battery is out of the equation - yet the 12v supply seems to get there when the engine is running (or hooked up to the mains.
Could it be some sort of relay problem?

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[stevewagner]

Was it working when you bought it? Was there a handover demonstration?

 

[autorouter]

When the engine is running, there is a relay that connects the leisure battery to the engine battery, so that the alternator can charge both batteries. With this arrangement, there should be a big fuse near the engine battery on the wire to the relay, and also a big fuse near the leisure battery on the other wire to the relay.

If for example the fuse near the leisure battery has blown, there will be no power from the leisure battery. However when the engine is running, the relay will connect the engine battery to the habitation circuits, so they will all work.

It's a similar story for the mains charger, which will power the habitation circuits even if there is no connection to the leisure battery.

The first thing to do is to check the leisure battery is OK, preferably with a multimeter. Any cheap multimeter from a DIY store will be fine for this. Set it to the 20V DC range. DC symbol is two lines, one solid, one dashed. AC is a single curly line. Plug the black wire into the 'COM' socket, and the red wire into the socket with 'V' in the label. Push the probes onto the battery terminals, red positive, black negative. If you get them reversed, nothing bad happens, but a '-' signs appears in front of the reading. The voltage should be between 10 and 15 volts, ideally about 12.5V.

The control panel display could be misleading if there are bad connections or blown fuses. When you have connection problems you have to start right back at the battery, and work from there.

 

[Lysdexic]

Bought the van during the day.
Drove well, no mechanical issues, MOT for almost a year, interior condition almost like new, 32,000 on the clock, water system working well, gas system working well, hooked up to mains and all electrics worked as expected (they still do).
Its just the independent 12v system that's causing the problem - and now that I think back, that was tested when the van just came back from a trial run - and the damned thing was still running on engine power (so 12v system was seen to be working as expected).
Heaps of extras included (like satellite system, HD telly, etc). It was a steal at £16,500 - so I bought it.
Sold as seen for quick sale - no complaints about that as other vans of this age were pretty dire in comparison.

 

[Lysdexic]

@ Autorouter - thanks for the info, that's nice and logical - I can get my head around that
I'll nip out and investigate the battery/fuse situation and see if anything obvious is causing a problem.

 

[autorouter]

As well as the control panel there will probably another distribution box with all the 12V habitation fuses. What make/model is it? Maybe you could post a picture of it, and the control panel. These items are normally bought in by MH manufacturers, from specialist suppliers. They are very likely used on other motorhomes too. Quite likely someone will recognise it.

Sounds like you got a bargain there. Even if you need a new leisure battery and a bit of wiring fixed, it's not a huge problem.

I see you've used your five free posts, and to post more you need to subscribe. Lots of people get good advice and more from this forum.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Lysdexic]

Yeah, very happy with my new toy - couldn't really pass it up, it ticked all the boxes

Looks like both batteries in good nick - Leisure reads 12.66V, Van Battery reads 12.71V
Leisure battery has been sitting there all night, so I'm assuming no drain over that time.
Looks like there is definitely an isolator switch doo-dah on the positive lead coming from the Leisure battery. It's a red plastic affair. I pushed and turned it (seemed to engage). It's located on the door side of the passenger seat.

I'll get some pics and post them.

 

[autorouter]

Is there voltage at the isolator switch when it's off? And at both sides of the switch when it's on?

 

[Lysdexic]

So, the red thing at the door side of the passenger seat is indeed an isolator switch.
To connect the leisure battery, this device needs to be pushed in, then turned clockwise (quarter turn).
I've checked for power coming from the battery when the isolator switch is set to allow the connection - and it does (made sure the switch was working properly by intercepting power AFTER the switch location).

As far as I can make out, the 12v system draws power from the transit alternator when the engine is running. It uses this to power the 12v system and fire up the battery charger at the same time. When hooked up to 240v, it essentially does the same thing, i.e. feed the 12v system and enable the 12v battery charger.

Looks like the 12v problem is caused by a faulty relay or other component on the control circuit board which is part of the charger/mains unit that sits near the leisure battery (to the rear of the passenger seat in my van).

All fuses are intact, so no quick fix as far as I can see. Might have to book the van into a dealers and let a grown-up bloke in a brown coat have a look at it.

 

[autorouter]

The next thing would be to see if the power is reaching the charger/mains unit. That would probably involve taking the front cover off and accessing the connection terminals, which I appreciate might be a step too far for you. Another thing worth knowing is that these distribution/fusebox units can be repaired by people like Apuljack Electronics, but unless you live near them or can travel to them, you will have to take out the unit, and refit it afterwards. However if you find someone who can do that, it might be an option.

Apuljack Electronics

default meta description (ContentText_DefaultMetaDescription)

www.apuljackelectronics.co.uk