Hook up help please.

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180Sunseeker

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Hi. I'm after some advice please.

When I connect my motorhome to ehu there is no power getting into the van or it doesn't seem to be. I've tried different sockets, leads and adapters but last night I plugged my phone charger into the mains and nothing. I turned off the rcd and then back on after a minute and I had power just for a few seconds but it cut out again. It is not tripping the rcd from what I can see.

Would anybody know what would be causing this? A faulty rcd or some other forums have mentioned leaks to earth?????

Thanks for any help.



20240125_175558.jpg
 
Sounds like a faulty RCD if the power is going off but it's not tripping. Have you got a multimeter to check power in and out of it?
 
The RCD may be tripping with an earth fault .. so it's a process of elimination ..

Unplug anything that is plugged in .. and switch off heater, charger , fridge etc

Switch off both MCBs .. then reset the RCD .. to reset, push down then up.

Then switch on one MCB at a time to establish what circuit is causing the problem ..

form that you can then look at the kit on that circuit to establish what is causing the RCD to trip

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Last edited:
You'll have checked this, so...............:doh:

The bollard at the other end is not tripping?
 
Start at the beginning.
If you know how to do it safely

Test power at bollard if this is ok
test power at end of lead, if ok (all connections)
remove in van consumer unit cover, test input
test outward side of main breaker
and this will show where your issue is.
 
I had the same problem on my Autotrail Apache 632, I’m a qualified spark and it stumped me, tested all the RCD’s breakers, unplugged everything etc etc. Forgot the most basic thing to check. Is power actually getting into the board? I thought about this, I had a multi meter so checked the EHU and it had power, plugged the lead in, it had power, plugged the lead into the inlet socket in the side of the MoHo and checked the incoming side of the main on/off switch….. NO POWER!! I took the back off the inlet socket in the side of the van, it was all melted and burnt and crispy, a loose connection. Bought a new inlet socket with lid from Screwfix for about £12 and fitted it. Robert’s your Mother’s Brother!! Happy days!! Fixed!!

The moral of the story is work from the known good source of electricity along all the supply routes to the fuse board/consumer unit, checking everything has power. If still no joy then consider the items connected to the system, lighting, sockets, microwave etc etc. It is VERY unlikely that the RCD/main on/off switch has failed, but it is possible. Switch off all the breakers then switch on the RCD, is power going in? Is power coming out when it’s on? Switch on a breaker at a time to establish which circuit is causing the problem. MoHo’s are very susceptible to loose connections caused by vibration.

Cheers!

Russ
 
Brize said:
Are you on a club site? On some bollards you need to insert the plug and twist clockwise. You will hear a click.

Regards,
Click to expand...
No, just from home but thanks

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RustyRuss said:
I had the same problem on my Autotrail Apache 632, I’m a qualified spark and it stumped me, tested all the RCD’s breakers, unplugged everything etc etc. Forgot the most basic thing to check. Is power actually getting into the board? I thought about this, I had a multi meter so checked the EHU and it had power, plugged the lead in, it had power, plugged the lead into the inlet socket in the side of the MoHo and checked the incoming side of the main on/off switch….. NO POWER!! I took the back off the inlet socket in the side of the van, it was all melted and burnt and crispy, a loose connection. Bought a new inlet socket with lid from Screwfix for about £12 and fitted it. Robert’s your Mother’s Brother!! Happy days!! Fixed!!

The moral of the story is work from the known good source of electricity along all the supply routes to the fuse board/consumer unit, checking everything has power. If still no joy then consider the items connected to the system, lighting, sockets, microwave etc etc. It is VERY unlikely that the RCD/main on/off switch has failed, but it is possible. Switch off all the breakers then switch on the RCD, is power going in? Is power coming out when it’s on? Switch on a breaker at a time to establish which circuit is causing the problem. MoHo’s are very susceptible to loose connections caused by vibration.

Cheers!

Russ
Click to expand...
Thanks very much. I'll get somebody to help me that knows a bit more about electrics and run through what you have mentioned.
 
Landy Andy said:
Start at the beginning.
If you know how to do it safely

Test power at bollard if this is ok
test power at end of lead, if ok (all connections)
remove in van consumer unit cover, test input
test outward side of main breaker
and this will show where your issue is.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I'll hopefully try that today.
 
Thanks to everyone for their advice. I'll hopefully get a multi metre on it today and track down the cause.
 
You can test the RCD with it's button. If it trips on test then the land side of the electrics are OK so you would then only have to check both MCB circuits in the van.
 
I've pressed the test button and it trip's the mains isolator.

I've hooked the ehu cable to the van and I'm getting power to the van as its showing on the voltage meter in the van. I'm getting power to the fridge and the water heater is working perfectly. Which must mean it's a fault with the sockets and the MCB circuit.

I'm waiting for somebody to come over with a multimeter to help me check the mcb but its odd that if i turn it off and back on again i get power for about a second before the power is lost but its not physically tripping the mcb. Thats the bit thats confusing me.

I'm not confident with electrics at all some I'm going to ask a silly question I'm sure. What's the best way to test the mcb with a multimeter before I go ahead and buy a replacement.

Thanks again for everyones help.

I

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180Sunseeker said:
its odd that if i turn it off and back on again i get power for about a second before the power is lost but its not physically tripping the mcb. Thats the bit thats confusing me.
Click to expand...
Can you be more specific about exactly what is and is not tripping? Are you saying that if you turn the 6A MCB off and back on again, the power comes on for about a second then the power is lost without physically tripping the MCB, and also the RCD and the other 10A MCB don't trip either? And when you say power is lost, is that power to everything or just the items on the 6A MCB?
 
autorouter said:
Can you be more specific about exactly what is and is not tripping? Are you saying that if you turn the 6A MCB off and back on again, the power comes on for about a second then the power is lost without physically tripping the MCB, and also the RCD and the other 10A MCB don't trip either? And when you say power is lost, is that power to everything or just the items on the 6A MCB?
Click to expand...
Hi. Thanks for the reply.

That's correct, if I turn the 6a mcb off and on again I get power and its lost. I know this by plugging my phone on charge and the charge light comes on and off straight after about a second. The mcb does not physically trip. Its only lost power to the 6a mcb which is for my plug sockets as the other equipment is on a different mcb and none of these trip either.

Thanks
 
Note that if you are replacing the 6A MCB, it is a double-pole type, as required in motorhomes and caravans. It is different from the single-pole MCBs you find in a domestic consumer unit in the UK. You probably won't find a replacement in a standard DIY store, you'll have to go to a specialist store like CEF, or maybe a caravan accessories shop will have one. If you have a choice, get a C6 type like the one you have now, rather than the B6 type which is also common. Not much difference, but the C6 may be less susceptible to nuisance tripping.
Something like this one:
www.12voltplanet.co.uk

GACIA 6 Amp Double Pole MCB

6A double pole MCB providing protection in the event of over-current or short-circuit conditions. Disconnects both live & neutral & is DIN rail mounted.
www.12voltplanet.co.uk
 
autorouter said:
Note that if you are replacing the 6A MCB, it is a double-pole type, as required in motorhomes and caravans. It is different from the single-pole MCBs you find in a domestic consumer unit in the UK. You probably won't find a replacement in a standard DIY store, you'll have to go to a specialist store like CEF, or maybe a caravan accessories shop will have one. If you have a choice, get a C6 type like the one you have now, rather than the B6 type which is also common. Not much difference, but the C6 may be less susceptible to nuisance tripping.
Something like this one:
www.12voltplanet.co.uk

GACIA 6 Amp Double Pole MCB

6A double pole MCB providing protection in the event of over-current or short-circuit conditions. Disconnects both live & neutral & is DIN rail mounted.
www.12voltplanet.co.uk
Click to expand...
Thanks very much. I appreciate your help. I'll probably order one up at that price.
 
What’s connected to the 6amp circuit?
Either there is a large draw on it or there’s a wiring fault to trip/fail a 6amp circuit

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180Sunseeker said:
Only the 3 pin sockets. Nothing else from what I can see.
Click to expand...
Why are the mains sockets on a 6amp circuit.
are all these sockets empty so nothing can trip them.
if all empty then wiring needs checking.
best not done with mains lead plugged in!
 
before you order a new mcb, each manufacturer has a different profile, what you'd do best is get someone (knowledgeable) to remove the existing mcb from the ccu and take it to a local ELECTRICAL wholesaler to get the correct profile
 
Could you have a main isolator switch somewhere thats been turned off, we had one in our first van that would turn off all electrics even on EHU so might be worth having a look.
 
don't order a new one without pro help, as mcb's have different profiles from all manufacturers, get someone to take it out and visit a wholesaler

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bigalw35 said:
don't order a new one without pro help, as mcb's have different profiles from all manufacturers, get someone to take it out and visit a wholesaler
Click to expand...
Does that mean that a C6 MCB from a different manufacturer could be so different from the existing MCB that it could be a hazard?
 
Note that the MAXIMUM you can consume in your MoHo is 16amps. 6amps per circuit sounds very small but in reality is around 1400watts. A hairdryer, a microwave, an air drier, even a small kettle. What do people run on their 240v sockets? Laptops? Phone chargers? The Memsahib’s hairdryer is probably the biggest load, as I implied earlier, what have you got plugged in? And I mean EVERYTHING on the circuit. Roughly every 230watts of load is an amp. Look at what’s plugged in and do some maths.

Cheers!

Russ
 
autorouter said:
Does that mean that a C6 MCB from a different manufacturer could be so different from the existing MCB that it could be a hazard?
Click to expand...
NO, it's like saying that a 13 inch tyre will NOT fit onto a 15 inch wheel, they have different profiles, if you go to a wholesaler you will see the difference

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