Newbie Needs Help Please - Control Panel

[treasuredgiftsuk]

Hi, we bought a 1995 Fiat Ducato Wineberg Toskana motorhome yesterday. It is the first one we have ever owned and we do not have a clue.

Unfortunately the owners handbook is in German and despite trawling the net have been unable to find any help regarding an English edition.

What I am totally baffled by is the control panel and what the different switches are for. Does anyone have one of these or something similar that could help me out with this problem.

If posting an image of the panel would help I could take a photo tomorrow.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Terry]

Hi Terry, they do not appear to be lights but red buttons that you can push in a spring straight back out again.

We are in Portugal so taking it to a specialist would be a bit of a problem with the language barrier so will maybe have to wait till we get back to the UK

Can you twist them? it may reveal a fuse
somebody mat be along who can understand the wiring diagram and shed more light on the subject :thumb:
see if they have a mobile caravan,M/H guy? the camp-site may have a number?
terry

 

[treasuredgiftsuk]

Are you talking 240V mains sockets ?

These are nothing to do with the 12V Calira panel.

Those resettable breakers with the red buttons will pop out if they get an over current on 12V.

Any 240 sockets must have something like you are used to in your home for protection, probably not far from when the hook up cable plugs in.

The red buttons are out even though there is no electric switched on at the moment and they do not stay in when pressed.

Yes I am talking about the 240v plug sockets, do these not work off the leisure battery then?

 

[Wildman]

left rocker switch = water pump with 'on' indicator light above

centre rocker = fresh/waste water level and battery state. press lelt hand for fresh and waste....green light ok....red light = fresh low/waste nearly full. press right hand side for battery state...green ok/ red low volts

right rocker = heater on/off

green indicator....could be panel on/off indicator

lower buttons may be mini brreakers, not wired fuses.

left (1)= fridge
next right (2) = heater control/ignition and lights
next three (3/4/5) = ? (could be 12v sockets, aerial booster, cooker ignition etc)
large rocker turns off breakers 3/4/5

truma vent rotary knob = fan speed...red slide switch position = up for manual fan speed control, centre = fan off, lower = auto fan speed control

truma boiler rotary knob = temperature selecter.....red light = flame out/failure, green light = boiler lit



dont rely on the water/waste indicators being anywhere near accurate, they very rarely are.

well done john, answer to the missing details are here
http://www.calira.de/de/tools/anschlussplaene/46.pdf

 

[hilldweller]

The red buttons are out even though there is no electric switched on at the moment and they do not stay in when pressed.

Yes I am talking about the 240v plug sockets, do these not work off the leisure battery then?

I think they will pop out a lot more if tripped.

No, the 240V sockets will work only when on hook-up

If you want 240V off the leisure battery you need an inverter and then you will have a very limited amount compared to being on hook-up -- no kettles, cookers, microwave, hair-dryers.

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[Terry]

It sounds like you have cracked the 12v side of things :thumb: and the red buttons are trip switches :thumb: The sockets will only work on EHU as Hilldweller says :thumb: you should have a distribution box/control board on the inside where the leccy comes into the van.Check the trip switch on that if you have no 240 v power-it may be wise to check your EHU lead if you still have no power or borrow one to try it out,that way you will know if the lead is faulty
terry

 

[treasuredgiftsuk]

I think they will pop out a lot more if tripped.

No, the 240V sockets will work only when on hook-up

If you want 240V off the leisure battery you need an inverter and then you will have a very limited amount compared to being on hook-up -- no kettles, cookers, microwave, hair-dryers.

OMG if I had only known what question to ask in the first place. Now it all becomes clear. I have not checked the plugs on hook up so if they work then there is no problem. I have spent all day researching and am nearly bald. Thank you for saving the few remaining strands.

 

[hilldweller]

Now it all becomes clear.

It's so easy when you know. But why shouldn't you expect the sockets to work, there are never labelled "Not Working on 12V".

Many folk take "Mobile Home" far too literally. Fresh water, waste water, toilet waste, electricity and gas are all very limited resources. Treat them with care but used sensibly you can manage quite nicely.

Showers are a killer of the water capacity.

We manage 3 or 4 days without problem on one battery charge.

We manage a week to months on one gas tank depending on the weather.

 

[treasuredgiftsuk]

It's so easy when you know. But why shouldn't you expect the sockets to work, there are never labelled "Not Working on 12V".

Many folk take "Mobile Home" far too literally. Fresh water, waste water, toilet waste, electricity and gas are all very limited resources. Treat them with care but used sensibly you can manage quite nicely.

Showers are a killer of the water capacity.

We manage 3 or 4 days without problem on one battery charge.

We manage a week to months on one gas tank depending on the weather.

Thanks for that Brian. They certainly don't make things easy and when your home does not come with instructions. The only vehicle book we have is for a Ducato van.

It is all becoming clearer and I expect we will learn the rest by trial and error. Thank you for pointing me in the right direction.

After weighing things up and what you told me it seems quite obvious that there are two different power sources and that if you want electrical appliances to work off the leisure battery they have to be 12v. I wondered what the small round sockets were for so I guess that is it.

We have already discussed the use of water and to be conservative we shall just lather up and then rinse off rather than luxuriate under the shower. Will save that for when we are at a site with a shower block.

We plan to do a lot of cooking on the BBQ even in cold weather. Wrap up warm and keep nipping back indoor for a warm up etc etc.

The whole idea of living economically and eco friendly excites me and I really look forward to the challenge.

We had our first drive out today in the old girl and that was after lopping off tree branches, with owners permission of course, down the narrow lane where we live. When we brought it home we nearly lost the top box off the roof with a low branch.

The fuel tank was nearly empty so we went to get diesel and discovered a couple of problems that we need to get looked at. One of the wheels is making a squeeking, squealing noise which may be a bearing or just dust in the brakes. The hazard warning lights only work if you hold the button in and when depressing the brakes with the indicators on the brake lights flash as well.

Going to take it to the garage soon to get it checked and sorted out. Hopefully there will be no great problems as it was MOT'd in August and then driven out here, by its previous owner, in September and has just been parked up since. They have moved out here to live and realised they probably would not use it and decided to sell.

Thank you for all your help!

 

[treasuredgiftsuk]

It sounds like you have cracked the 12v side of things :thumb: and the red buttons are trip switches :thumb: The sockets will only work on EHU as Hilldweller says :thumb: you should have a distribution box/control board on the inside where the leccy comes into the van.Check the trip switch on that if you have no 240 v power-it may be wise to check your EHU lead if you still have no power or borrow one to try it out,that way you will know if the lead is faulty
terry

Thanks Terry, yes think I am gradually getting to grips with what does what thanks to you and the other helpful funsters. Thank you.:thanks2: