240V

[fergie74]

HI All,
I have an ACE Award Brightstar 2003 been using for 2 year no problems.
However last night my power tripped, all the trip switches ok, the site power box had tripped, so i unpluged and reset still no power. I checked power lead, the plug going into the van has burn marks!!!
I put a new lead in tried different positions on the site power box still no power.
Are there any big power fuses that could have blown?
Does anybody have some good advice, is this an easy fix?

 

[Grey13]

Please be advised, unless you know what you are doing it is a dangerous area to fiddle with.
When you see or smell burn marks it clearly tells you there is a problem in that area. Typically a bad, worn or loose connection has broken power supply. Perhaps a good idea to get an electrician to have a look at it.

My passing comment, you will probably need a new socket fitted on the van.

 

[Damian]

As the plug has burn marks on it there is a dead short circuit, or a very heavily overloaded system.
to find the cause you need to start at the power bollard and check that there is power there, it may be that a trip has gone further back , then with all mcb's off, connect power to the van and set the main circuit breaker and see if it holds, then one at a time try each MCB.
Before you start make sure all electrical appliances in the van are turned off.

If you end up having power to the van with everything turned off, then try switching each appliance on and see if the power holds.

Failing that you need an electrician to sort it out

If you are not familiar with working on 230v then get a qualified electrician to do it, make a mistake and it will either set the van on fire or kill you, or both.

 

[fergie74]

Thanks for your help, I am an ex-Aircraft fitter but mechanical, I have an electrical engineer coming to help me look for the cause and he suggested exactly what you said with the MCB.
Looking at the electrical lead he thinks the wiring van side may have burnt out too, he isn't hopeful hmy:

 

[Damian]

Good luck with finding and fixing the problem, please let us know the outcome.

 

[ProfJohnL]

No one on the forum will be able to accurately diagnose your problem, but we might be able to give you some pointers.

Firstly do you have any means of proving whether there is power at the sites bollard, for example is any one else using power from the same bollard?. If any one else has power then it does isolate the problem to your equipment. If there's no power at the bollard, then you need to contact the site warden.

As you have obtained a new why cable and the problem hasn't been resolved it tends to suggest the problem is in your caravan.

To try and isolate what it might be, unplug every electrical appliance you have and those you can't unplug turn them off. Then try to turn on and reset all the trips. If they won't reset, it points to a wiring or installation problem and you will need to call an electrician to test and repair.

If the trips hold, then it points to an appliance being faulty. One at a time, plug in and switch on each appliance. When you switch on the faulty appliance the trip should operate, and that will identify the culprit.

Depending on which appliance is faulty will depend on whether you simply need to replace it or get it repaired.

Edit it seems others beat me to the replies

 

[Thingy]

If your old hookup lead has burn marks at the caravan end, dont just assume its the hookup cable. You will also need to check the connector on the caravan. But as Damian suggested, go right back to the beginning with the site supply and take each step in turn logically.

However, I cant stess enough, if you are not competant, or in doubt, GET AN ELECTRICIAN.

 

[fergie74]

Hi Guys,

Quick update All resolved it seem the was a bit of water ingress in the plug caravan end which has caused a small short and burnt both connectors. Caravan connector replaced and hook up cable replaced.
The van now functioning correctly.
Thanks for all the advice and tip muchly appreciated cheers

 

[Thingy]

 

[Grey13]

Well done, always glad to be of help!

Quote:

My passing comment, you will probably need a new socket fitted on the van.

 

[Thingy]

Never saw that, beat me to it

 

[Damian]

Thank you for updating on the problem, I am glad it turned out to be relatively minor, but still a nasty surprise