Burnt out Sargent EM40 unit (2 Viewers)

[Cockers]

Well our road trip has come to an unexpected halt Today travelled down through France and into Spain driving passed Albox on the E-15 A-7 heading toward Almeria and smelt the dreaded electrical burning smell and smoke started coming from the drivers side footwell, we had a very quick stop and switched everything off.
contacted Sargent and explained what had happened, explained the earth wires from the vehicle battery in side had melted and burnt out. I asked if if they could send me a new unit which I’m waiting to find out if they will send a unit to Spain. Strangely they said I would need a new EM40 unit and the repair wiring harness, i found it strange they have a repair harness to hand, which makes me feel there has been a problem with their wiring. I asked if it’s happened a lot to be told a few have had this issue.
really interested if anyone else has had the problem. And if anyone know of anywhere in Spain that may be able to assist.
by unplugging everything from the unit I can still drive the van but nothing is working in the hab area. The van is an Autotrail Dakota 2015.

 

[Lenny HB]

I hope you get it sorted.
looking at that pic I expect the plug & socket were making a poor connection and it was arcing.
If you can use a soldering iron you could make a temporary repair after a trip to the local Chinese bazaar.

 

[Cockers]

Thanks Lenny, I knew if anyone had an idea how to fix it, it would be you.
I’ll see if I can salvage the pins and have a go

thanks mate

 

[Lenny HB]

Thanks Lenny, I knew if anyone had an idea how to fix it, it would be you.
I’ll see if I can salvage the pins and have a go

thanks mate

I was thinking solder the wires directly onto the PCB.

 

[iain26]

I have had the same issue, more than once!
I have removed the red and black connectors that feed the fridge when the engine is running. Added new cables from the battery and reconnected the fridge feed wires and adding an inline 20a fuse. This then feeds the fridge direct from the battery without going through the EM40 unit and allows everything else connected to it to run as it should.
The fridge has its own D+ relay so switches on when the engine is running anyway so there is no need to route it through the EM40.
The issue is caused because the fridge heater is 15a+ and these connectors are not really man enough for the service especially when running for a number of hours on long trips. Sargent however will not accept responsibility and keep making a fortune out of selling the spares.
Good luck whatever you decide to do.

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[Cockers]

Hi iain26
thank you so much for this info. I couldn’t work out how it could happen when the red wires come directly from the vehicle battery, nice to know it’s not something I’ve done.
Excuse my ignorance, the new wires I run from the vehicle battery do I connect it to the black connector or the green connector as they both say fridge out. The black connector has 2 fairly thick white with black stripe and a small yellow wire.The green plug has 2 red wires connected to it.
sorry I’m getting excited that our trip may be able to continue without having to head for home
regards
Graham

 

[iain26]

Sorry, feeding you duff info. It is a while since I did it so thought I would have a look.
The theory is the red plug carriers to 12v supply from the battery. Reducing the demand on this plug by removing the fridge heater supply means the RED plug is carrying a lot less current.
So I have removed the GREEN plug.
I have a red wire from the battery +ve connected to the TWO Red/Yellow wires.
I have a Black wire from the battery -ve connected top the TWO White/Black wires. These were removed from the Black plug which is still in situ but just with the small yellow wire connected.
Photos to follow in a minute.

 

[iain26]

 

[Cockers]

You are a superstar, thank you so much for taking the time to dismantle you van for the pictures. If we ever meet up at a show or event I owe you a large drink, I’ll get so Wago connectors tomorrow and see how it goes.

 

[iain26]

Doesn’t have to be Wago connectors, chocblock would do if you are stuck, so long as it’s at least 20amp rated.
You still need to get your Red connector working with those cables. I believe the black and red cables come via a connector which is in the door pillar. That is possibly the new harness Sargent are talking about.
Or chop it off and have a good blob of solder on them as Lenny suggests.

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[GeoffnDee]

If it is any help , The Sargent Electrical website shows a photo of the replacement harness for an EM40 in their shop ( Fuse box and control units section ).

 

[Camper634]

I had a dodgy connection on the red EB connector which resulted in me not having any road lights at the back of the van Including the indicators.Bought a new EM 40 and harness from Sargeants, although the original one does not have any obvious damage I daren't take the risk with a trip to France coming up next week.I think mine was caused by the connector not correctly snapped in to the other half on the PCB.Probably been like that since new.I think I was lucky finding it before any real damage was done.

 

[Just smiffy]

Shouldn’t something like this be a recall situation….

 

[iain26]

Shouldn’t something like this be a recall situation….

Yes! But Sargent wont acknowledge it is a problem (although they provide the spares), It will take a proper fire before anything is done about it I suspect.

 

[Al n Val]

This is a very common problem and I mean very very common which Sargent and Autotrail simply will not admit to.

The connections are simply not up to the current going through them

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[Cockers]

Well I’ve managed to get everything working except the fridge so I removed to outside vent to have a look and found another bit of great quality wiring luckly it’s only the bit from the connector to the fridge 12v input the 240v wiring is fine so I just need to re make this short section and hopefully that will be it.
iain26 you were correct about the fridge wiring being the problem.
I’ve just down loaded the install manual and it say the fridge draws 14.4v when the heater is enabled, and the wiring should be 2.5mm or 3.5mm I don’t think the burnt remains were ever that size. Such shoddy wiring.
if I Cant salvage the connectors I’m not sure where I can get an new harness, and idea greatly received.
but on a positive side we can carry on with our travels but no where to keep the beer cold

 

[Lenny HB]

Well done, those fridge wires are about half the size Hymer use.

 

[jockaneezer]

I had a similar problem on my Reich eBox, the Lucar spade terminals soldered to the circuit board aren't capable of handling the current required to run the fridge on 12 volt if you're doing a long drive. First time it happened, just after we got the van, I managed to get a complete eBox under warranty and as we were new to vanning, never gave it another thought. It went again a year or two later and damaged the circuit board, but Apuljak sorted it out.

 

[iain26]

I didn’t have an issue with that bit of wiring but I’ve just been out to check that is still the case.
All the wiring is undersized and there are resultant voltage drops. E.g. Sargent volt reading on their panel is say 12.0 when the actual battery voltage is 12.7. Our TV can start flickering if you put too many lights on, move the tv plug to another 12v socket and it works fine.
Appalling wiring design, not only bad practice but also dangerous in places, but you cant retire the whole van just do the bits as you find they effect something.
Well done getting everything else working. When you are on gas or EHU put some bottles of water in the freezer and when having a long drive put these in the fridge - beer will still be cold enough !

 

[Al n Val]

I didn’t have an issue with that bit of wiring but I’ve just been out to check that is still the case.
All the wiring is undersized and there are resultant voltage drops. E.g. Sargent volt reading on their panel is say 12.0 when the actual battery voltage is 12.7. Our TV can start flickering if you put too many lights on, move the tv plug to another 12v socket and it works fine.
Appalling wiring design, not only bad practice but also dangerous in places, but you cant retire the whole van just do the bits as you find they effect something.
Well done getting everything else working. When you are on gas or EHU put some bottles of water in the freezer and when having a long drive put these in the fridge - beer will still be cold enough !

Whilst you’re at it i’d also check the harness between the Sargent unit and the 3d rage charger, that also is prone to burning out

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[Cockers]

Thanks for the photos, looks like it’s a really problem that nobody or company want to admit too.

 

[Cockers]

Looks like you need to do the alteration to the fridge wiring that iain26 had done, he appears to be a really clever guy.

 

[Mick and Ruth]

I am currently stuck in Ireland with the same problem, your pictures could have been taken in my van. I managed to get to my cousins house in Sligo and parked on his drive waiting the delivery of the EM 40 panel. RAC diagnosed wrong as once they ruled out mechanical issues are a bit hit and mis re anything in hab so rang Sergeant whos technician immediately told me it would be EM40 and told me where it was once I lifted it out red fuse was melted. The technician told me the wires just need cutting and crimping and are sending me out a new RASC repair kit as well. I contacted a nearby motorhome dealer to see if he could do a temp job or had one on the shelf and he apologised and said he couldn’t and he asked how old van was I said 2019 and he said he had replaced 3 in last 6 weeks.Do I need to do anything else apart from that? I was wondering is it worth getting a mechanic to do or is is a simple replacement? Thanks in advance
PS one positive is my cousin lives on Wild Atlantic Way

 

[iain26]

It’s a simple replacement to do, however ……. Replacing it doesn’t solve the problem as it will happen again sometime in the future. I would consider it a “get me home” solution and then look for something more permanent (and safer).

 

[Cockers]

I do hope you can get sorted. I purchased the Rast Connector Kit part number TR157Pack as the plugs melted and wouldnt plug back into the new EM40 Unit also the Extractor tool Part No 16896 which makes it really easy to wire the new plugs up.
i would also take of the bottom fridge vet and check the 12v wires haven't burnt out as well.
once your cut the wires off and commit to doing the job it really doesn’t take long.
Good luck and hope you get back on your travels.

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[Terry]

A bit late to this party but some 7/8 years ago I pointed out to Sargent that the wires were not HD enough Paul my electric guy at the time said they should have used 4mm cable at least as recommended on fridge instructions -later read instructions- Sargent make the wiring looms for a few manufacturers that use their control panels Since then we nether used them on any conversion we did

 

[Mick and Ruth]

I do hope you can get sorted. I purchased the Rast Connector Kit part number TR157Pack as the plugs melted and wouldnt plug back into the new EM40 Unit also the Extractor tool Part No 16896 which makes it really easy to wire the new plugs up.
i would also take of the bottom fridge vet and check the 12v wires haven't burnt out as well.
once your cut the wires off and commit to doing the job it really doesn’t take long.
Good luck and hope you get back on your travels.

 

[Mick and Ruth]

Thank you I will check fridge wires did you unconnect battery when doing it?

 

[Cockers]

No when i cut the two burnt red cables from the battery i taped them up until i fitted the new connector once the new connector was fitted there was no chance of a short.

 

[Al n Val]

I am currently stuck in Ireland with the same problem, your pictures could have been taken in my van. I managed to get to my cousins house in Sligo and parked on his drive waiting the delivery of the EM 40 panel. RAC diagnosed wrong as once they ruled out mechanical issues are a bit hit and mis re anything in hab so rang Sergeant whos technician immediately told me it would be EM40 and told me where it was once I lifted it out red fuse was melted. The technician told me the wires just need cutting and crimping and are sending me out a new RASC repair kit as well. I contacted a nearby motorhome dealer to see if he could do a temp job or had one on the shelf and he apologised and said he couldn’t and he asked how old van was I said 2019 and he said he had replaced 3 in last 6 weeks.Do I need to do anything else apart from that? I was wondering is it worth getting a mechanic to do or is is a simple replacement? Thanks in advance
PS one positive is my cousin lives on Wild Atlantic Way

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hi Mick

it’s a very common issue especially on Autotrails, I know quite a few owners had exactly the same issue. I’d urge you to also check the harness between the 3 stage charger and Sargent unit, a completely different issue but once again very common and melted everything

Same thing, crap connectors and inferior capacity carryring cabling, if they charged us another £10 and used quality components this would never happen.

Hope you get sorted soon mate

Al