Hook up to mains or genny not happening

[Murphy1966]

I purchased my Compass Avant-garde a few weeks ago to use 90% full time as I work away . I've tried plugging it into my cabin mains at work and on to a genny but to no avail .The only way I can get power to see me through the night is to run the engine for an hour each day. Am I missing something? Is there a secret button I should be pressing?

 

[GeoffnDee]

have you checked that the inbuilt mains supply battery charger/transformer is switched on and its mains supply trip switch set ok. ?
I think you may have a PMS habitation power supply unit and , if it is , it will have a battery selector switch , try it on VAN position to use your leisure battery/mains power supply The CAR position will run your starter battery down if used for the habitation electrical supply

 

[Murphy1966]

No lol ... battery charger?

 

[Murphy1966]

I'll have a look under the seating

 

[GeoffnDee]

have you checked that the inbuilt mains supply battery charger/transformer is switched on and its mains supply trip switch set ok. ?
I think you may have a PMS habitation power supply unit and , if it is , it will have a battery selector switch , try it on VAN position to use your leisure battery/mains power supply , The CAR position will run your starter battery down if used for the habitation electrical supply

The power supply unit may also be there. (or in a wardrobe)

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[Bill-H]

The fusebox, trip switches, battery charger and other 230v elecricity controls are usually placed fairly close inside to where the external mains hookup is located outside

 

[pappajohn]

Running the engine for an hour a day will do the engine no favours.
Even an hour's running without load will not get it to temperature.
Blocked EGR valve
Glazed cylinder bores.
Increased oil consumption.
If you can't fix it buy a cheap smart charger and plug that in to the office socket and direct to the battery .

 

[Guigsy]

Most of your habitation electrics run from the 12v battery. When the engine is running, the alternator tops it off. When you plug in a mains supply, it powers a mains AC to 12v DC charger. It's that charger that's not working. So either a fuse or breaker has popped or tripped on the AC side so the charger isn't seeing the incoming AC. Or it's fused from the charger to the habitation battery. Or the charger itself is broken.

 

[grasscutter]

Could even be as simple as a faulty mains lead.
You need to check if power is getting through the lead.

 

[Guigsy]

Could even be as simple as a faulty mains lead.
You need to check if power is getting through the lead.

Is there anything inside the van that runs directly off the mains you can use to confirm 230v is making it inside? Are there any 3 pin sockets you can check? Your heating -might- also have a mains power. There should be a distribution box just for the mains with a couple of breakers or fuses.

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[meanders]

Our 2003 Autoquest (Elldiss branded same vane) it was in the wardrobe. Make sure the main switch and other trips are all up. Plug something into a 13amp socket, and see if that works. If not track it back.

Open the Ceeform plug and socket (usually blue) on the mains lead (With it unplugged) and check that all the connections are in place and secure. Then remove the inlet point carefully and make sure none of the leads has come loose.

If you can get yourself one of these (many other brands and outlets are available) you can then plug the mains cable in and check at the far end that the power is getting through the cable. (Or borrow a known working cable). ALWAYS ENSURE you do not touch any metal part in the connectors while plugged in, and are on dry ground with rubber soled shoes just in case. Electricity is dangerous so you do not want your body to be the route to earth!

Good luck.

 

[Guigsy]

Our 2003 Autoquest (Elldiss branded same vane) it was in the wardrobe. Make sure the main switch and other trips are all up. Plug something into a 13amp socket, and see if that works. If not track it back.

Open the Ceeform plug and socket (usually blue) on the mains lead (With it unplugged) and check that all the connections are in place and secure. Then remove the inlet point carefully and make sure none of the leads has come loose.

If you can get yourself one of these (many other brands and outlets are available) you can then plug the mains cable in and check at the far end that the power is getting through the cable. (Or borrow a known working cable). ALWAYS ENSURE you do not touch any metal part in the connectors while plugged in, and are on dry ground with rubber soled shoes just in case. Electricity is dangerous so you do not want your body to be the route to earth!

Good luck.

Another tip: Plug in at the power source last. Unplug at the power source first.

That way, there's never any live pins exposed. And if there are any issues with the cable (like some wildlife nibbled it), you are less likely to get a shock. Never coil it up when it's still plugged in.

 

[autorouter]

The first thing to find out is if the 240V mains supply is reaching your van. There should be some 13A 3-pin mains sockets somewhere in the van. Can you plug something into one of those to see if the socket is working?

I have one of these socket testers, simple and cheap, from any DIY store. They show if everything is OK, and they also show up dangerous faults like missing earth wire too.

I also have an adapter from a round blue 16A plug to a standard 13A socket, like this:

I plug the socket tester into the 13A socket of the adapter, and use this to test the site hookup post if it's the round blue 16A type. I can also plug it into the end of the hookup cable to test the cable.

There should be a power distribution box somewhere, probably the type that has the mains trip switches and also the 12V fuses. There should also be a mains charger which charges the 12V leisure battery. The charger may be built into the power distribution box,or it may be a separate box just next to it. There may be a switch on the mains charger, which I usually just leave on all the time.

All your devices like lights, water pump, fridge and heater controls etc will all be powered by the 12V leisure battery. There should be a 12V power switch somewhere, usually on the power distribution box. Can you post a picture of the power distribution box?

 

[Murphy1966]

 

[Murphy1966]

Hi all .. sorry for not getting back sooner .. got day off today so plugged van into mains (house) and pressed some buttons I found under the back seats and plug sockets are now working .. don't know yet if leisure battery is charging off this but we will see .. thankyou to all for help and advice

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[autorouter]

I suspect you have not solved the problem. The Power Inverter is a device that changes battery power (12V DC) into mains power (240V AC). I think that big white double switch is for the battery power into the inverter. If you have the plug sockets working (I presume you mean the mains 13A plug sockets not the 12V sockets) then they might just be working from the inverter powered by the battery. The house mains might still not be connecting.

That 4A charger shows a voltage of 12.1V. To me that indicates that the battery is not being charged. But it would be hard to tell when the inverter is being powered at the same time.

I suggest you switch off the big white trip switch in the photo, and see if the 13A plug sockets still work. If they don't, then they were running off the inverter, powered by the battery. Looking at the voltage shown on the charger, it should rise a bit when you switch off the inverter, maybe to 12.5V.

If the house mains is getting through to the charger, the voltage should rise fairly quickly to at least 13.0V. Then it will rise slowly over a period of hours, to about 14.5V. When the battery is 100% full (may take 12 hours or even 24 hours with a 4A charger) the voltage will drop to about 13.5V, which is the voltage that keeps the battery charged without overcharging it (called the float voltage).

Don't make the mistake of thinking that as soon as the battery is 13V or more, it is charged. It takes several hours to fully charge a low battery, especially with a 4A charger which is quite small. It will get there eventually, but needs a lot of time.

Some further info that might be useful: a fully charged battery has a voltage of 12.6V to 12.8V, depending on the type. As it discharges, the voltage drops, and when it gets to about 12.0V you should be thinking of recharging it. If you see a battery voltage of 13.0V or more, that means something is charging it.