no mains power to cb526

[Scout]

Van carthergo chic 2 c line



After our 1st weekend “off grid” testing new lithium set up on returning home and pluging in the mains, Im not getting any 240 power to the CB516 charger.

I have changed power leads and tested both to the female plug and there is power there.

I have taken the top off the cb516 and physically checked the two fuses both OK

I have checked the power input plug on the cb516 , NO power on mains input

HOWEVER:

We did use the inverter a couple of short times whilst away, I always swich it off afterward after use.

I considered the remote switch might be stuck and cause problems, on testing it worked fine, but I was surprised to find the cb516 powered up whilst the inverter was on, I wasn’t expecting that, but it provers that its OK

What is between the mains side input socket and the cb516 power input is there an exterior fuse I have missed.

NB It was working fine before we left, as I had the fridge on cooling my beers.

 

[AdrianChen]

Dificult to tell from the photos - has it all worked in the past?

So not sure how your inverter is installed (do you have a photo?) - Is there a changeover switch to choose between the inverter and mains supply, and does it supply all the vans sockets?

Finally is the black plug at the bottom of the last picture loose?

 

[Scout]

Dificult to tell from the photos - has it all worked in the past?

So not sure how your inverter is installed (do you have a photo?) - Is there a changeover switch to choose between the inverter and mains supply, and does it supply all the vans sockets?

Finally is the black plug at the bottom of the last picture loose?

Yes it was working before we left, I cooled the fridge on mains

standard fit inverter, yes it powers all internal sockets when on

no the plug dosnt seem loose , I know it looks a bit like like but it tight in

pics

inverter, inverter switch off and on

 

[Jwats]

There’s no fuse in between, the mains comes in the van and goes to a wago plug connection (male to female) this then goes straight up to consumer unit and branches into the right hand side of the 2 breakers. The top 16amp usually just for the heating and the lower 13 for everything else.

 

[Jwats]

Why do you want the cb516 charger to boot up when you have the victron charger?

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[WESTY66]

I can’t help you Phil, on my install I binned the cbe charger black thingy

 

[Scout]

There’s no fuse in between, the mains comes in the van and goes to a wago plug connection (male to female) this then goes straight up to consumer unit and branches into the right hand side of the 2 breakers. The top 16amp usually just for the heating and the lower 13 for everything else.

so the power for the charger goes through the consumer unit?

Ive just been out and checked, with the mains on, the trip on the consumer unit does not function, when on inverter it works and trips out when pushed in,

The charger is connected to the top part of the consumer unit, it come on when the inverter is on, put goes off if I trip out the consumer unit.

It would look to me as if no power is coming in from the inside of van socket to the consumer unit, the only thing in between is the wago plug is that correct?

 

[Scout]

Why do you want the cb516 charger to boot up when you have the victron charger?

Dunno to that , its how its always been I thing it acts as a power supply to the 12 volt but I might be wrong there , off gridd power who did the lithium said leave it on
but there's no power to the Victron charger either

 

[AdrianChen]

there is a plug/socket on some carthagos, behind the main ehu input plug - I wonder if thats become detached....

 

[Scout]

there is a plug/socket on some carthagos, behind the main ehu input plug - I wonder if thats become detached....

do you mean behind the socket on the body, or somewhere at the bottom of pic where there seems to be 3 connectors, or somewhere in between .

It does seems to point to the 240 mains input somewhere

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[Pausim]

Try resetting the trips in the consumer unit. On one occasion my Carthago had tripped but the trip had not moved, I felt it re-engage after moving it to the off position and pushing it back to on.

 

[Scout]

Try resetting the trips in the consumer unit. On one occasion my Carthago had tripped but the trip had not moved, I felt it re-engage after moving it to the off position and pushing it back to on.

thanks Ive been switching them off/on both top and bottom, the test button work only when the inverter is on, but of course it would not work if it senses no mains power ?

I tried to remove this clip over these plugs/ sockets to test them, but I cant see how it comes off , is it just a screwwdriver in the the back of it somehow? there seems to be 3 , with nothing in the front 1, what are the other 2 for ? is 1 off them to power in ?

 

[Jwats]

That pic is just a junction for when mains comes out the consumer unit and then splits off to the junctions on each side of the van. All of that is after the mains supply to the charger so doubt an issue there. There is a plug on the back of the mains input socket and the issue could be there. They have probably left the 516 charger in just to provide mains symbol on control panel and hopefully disabled the actually charging part of the 516. Main issue here is your asking for help on a system that is no longer standard and has been messed around with. Need to go back to them who did it really

 

[Scout]

That pic is just a junction for when mains comes out the consumer unit and then splits off to the junctions on each side of the van. All of that is after the mains supply to the charger so doubt an issue there. There is a plug on the back of the mains input socket and the issue could be there. They have probably left the 516 charger in just to provide mains symbol on control panel and hopefully disabled the actually charging part of the 516. Main issue here is your asking for help on a system that is no longer standard and has been messed around with. Need to go back to them who did it really

Thanks for confirming that, I will take off the body socket tomorrow, as its raining here now
Yes I have already emailed them but as its the weekend I don't expect a reply till tomorrow or Tuesday, Offgridd seems a good company so no drought they will be on the case soon, I really wanted to see if there's anything I could do, if it was simple

 

[Jwats]

Shouldn’t have to normally take it off, think there’s only a few models where you can’t access it from the inside, just look on the inside of the van where it and may be able to see it from one of the crevices

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[nigelivy]

Hi Phil

Just seen your email & sent a reply.
We didn’t make any changes to the 230V or the inverter that’s had been installed in your van by someone else. We just worked on the 12v to install the new lithium battery & B2B in, but will see what we can do to figure out what’s happening & if anything needs to be done.

Thanks,

Nigel

 

[AdrianChen]

do you mean behind the socket on the body, or somewhere at the bottom of pic where there seems to be 3 connectors, or somewhere in between .

It does seems to point to the 240 mains input somewhere

Yes the socket on the body - the cable from the consumer unit is joined to a tail on the plastic socket assembly via another plug/socket

 

[Scout]

IM going to look more tomorrow now,

nigelivy hi guys, yes I thought you never went near the mains input, but just checking if you could help out. I havent seen your email yet and didnt expect any contact till next week, donts you guys ever rest. Great service

 

[Lenny HB]

Your inverter is a Multiplus the inverter has to be turned on for the mains pass through to to work.
So if you turn it off you will have no mains in the van even when on EHU.

 

[Scout]

Your inverter is a Multiplus the inverter has to be turned on for the mains pass through to to work.
So if you turn it off you will have no mains in the van even when in EHU.

I think you may have cracked it Lenny

If I switch the 3 way switch for the multiplus to "charger only" it all comes back to life,

If I then turn off the mains shore power it goes off, turn the main back on and theres a bit of a pause but it comes back on,

I was positive the 3 way switch was always set to off unless I was using the the inverter.

If this is all correct , then its down to my user error, Ive only had the van 4.5 years its a steep learning curve.

I must have put it to the off position after using the inverter .

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[Lenny HB]

I think you may have cracked it Lenny

If I switch the 3 way switch for the multiplus to "charger only" it all comes back to life,

If I then turn off the mains shore power it goes off, turn the main back on and theres a bit of a pause but it comes back on,

I was positive the 3 way switch was always set to off unless I was using the the inverter.

If this is all correct , then its down to my user error, Ive only had the van 4.5 years its a steep learning curve.

I must have put it to the off position after using the inverter .

You can just leave it turned to inverter, the inverter will only turn on when the power you are drawing exceeds the mains input current you have set.

If not on EHU I turn the inverter off to save battery as in standby it draws 1.5 amps or in AES about 1 amp.

 

[Scout]

You can just leave it turned to inverter, the inverter will only turn on when the power you are drawing exceeds the mains input current you have set.

If not on EHU I turn the inverter off to save battery as in standby it draws 1.5 amps or in AES about 1 amp.

Thanks Lenny most informative, and echoed by the email below from nigelivy @offgridd who went far above expectations by contacting me several times on SUNDAY NIGHT not many companies would do that, and I cannot fault their customer service and highly recommend them to anybody thinking of having any of this type of work done on thier vans.

"""""Phil

If I leave the cbe on to provide the indicator, when OFF GRID will it draw much current, and is it just advisable to leave it off. // I would leave it off.

Is there a current drain from the multiplus when OFF GRID and its switched to “charger only” and would it be better to switch it to off, and switch it to “inverter” or “charger only” as required to save batter amps // The Multiplus won’t draw power from the battery if it’s in “charger only” mode, so it’s safe to leave it in that mode. It will use power if you put it in “inverter” mode though. You’re safer leaving it in charger only mode and putting it in inverter mode when you need 230V power when you’re off grid.

Hope this helps!
Thanks,
Nigel"""""

The problem occurred after I had used the inverter, I always turn it off after use, this time instead of turning it back to "charger only" I turned it to "off" I would have bet my pension that was correct, good job I didn't , Its surprising when you don't do something very often you can make mistakes easy , it now printed off and popped into my data folder.