Electric heating not working

[bobbo23]

Hi, we have a 2010 Swift Challenger, we cannot get the electric heating to work. The fuses all look good and when the button on the under seat control box the indicator lights up OK but no heat comes out of the vents. The fans just blows cold air. Any suggestions on
what may be the cause would be welcome

 

[JB1]

Hi have you ever had the heating working? Which element setting have you put on, are you connected via EHU. .

 

[Jcloughie]

Hi bobbo23 and welcome.

Does this happen on all heat settings?
Might be an element, or a thermostat failure.

John

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hi, we have a 2010 Swift Challenger, we cannot get the electric heating to work. The fuses all look good and when the button on the under seat control box the indicator lights up OK but no heat comes out of the vents. The fans just blows cold air. Any suggestions on
what may be the cause would be welcome

As you can see from the responses so far, we don't have enough information to be able to offer any cast iron answers, se we are basically working blind.

It can really help with questions to have more detail such as make model and year of caravan and the appliances causing a problem.

JB1's comment is very relevant. I'd ask if you have read the user instructions?

I hope you are aware that the electric heating (water and space) will only work when the caravan is hooked up to a mains supply. The 12V battery does not have the capacity to run any high wattage heating appliances but the circulation fan does run on 12V.

If you are on a mains hook up, and all the circuit breakers in the mains consumer unit are on (switches pushed up) then if the heater is not responding to its controls, then it might be wise to call an mobile Approved Worksop Scheme technician who can run hands on tests to establish what the problem is.

 

[audiorob]

As the master switch that you have turned on glows and the fact that the fan operates indicates that you have both mains power and 12v connected. Have you set the Trumaheat controls (assuming this is present in your van)? You need to select one of the three heat levels (500/1000/2000kw) and turn the thermostatic control up a bit (max is 9). On the top of the fire turn the control left to the 'eyebrow' and set the fan speed. You will find that it takes a short while for heat to be felt and for the air to be warmed from the vents. Once warm you can turn the fire control to A (automatic). and adjust the combination to a comfortable level. I don't know whether this is common but I find the heat output from the vents on the fire is reduced markedly when the blown air is in operation.

 

[otherclive]

I used to use the electric element to warm the fire through before turning on the fan for blown air, but preferred to leave the fan on a manual setting and then let the thermostat control the heating output.

 

[Dustydog]

I wonder if we will get any
feed back from Bobbo 🤔🤔

 

[bobbo23]

Hi everyone, thanks for all your questions. We would confirm that we have owed this van for 10 years, we always if possible connect to a EHU and yes it certainly worked for many years. Bearing built in behind the gas fire l cannot visionally inspect the heating elements. we are used to selecting one of the heat settings (500/1000/2000kw) and also turning the knob on top of the gas fire to an appropriate position. I have sat with the operating manual on my lap and tried everything to get any heat from it. I wondered if it might of overheated sometime and maybe lock out, we are out of ideas what to do apart from calling in a caravan engineer.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Thankyou for giving getting back to us. However you still haven't told us what make and model of heater your having difficulty with.

 

[Beachball]

Hi everyone, thanks for all your questions. We would confirm that we have owed this van for 10 years, we always if possible connect to a EHU and yes it certainly worked for many years. Bearing built in behind the gas fire l cannot visionally inspect the heating elements. we are used to selecting one of the heat settings (500/1000/2000kw) and also turning the knob on top of the gas fire to an appropriate position. I have sat with the operating manual on my lap and tried everything to get any heat from it. I wondered if it might of overheated sometime and maybe lock out, we are out of ideas what to do apart from calling in a caravan engineer.

Hi bobbo welcome to the forum i would get AWS mobile caravan engineer in he will tell you what is wrong .

 

[Buckman]

Isn't there a 1.5v battery that needs to be replaced for the fire to work on gas? I think it is located at the bottom of the grill and underneath.

 

[Dustydog]

Isn't there a 1.5v battery that needs to be replaced for the fire to work on gas? I think it is located at the bottom of the grill and underneath.

He never mentioned gas but good point. If it is aTruma Ultraheat I’d check the element with a multi meter. If ok look to the two TODs

 

[Buckman]

He never mentioned gas but good point

My thoughts were that if cold, any port in a storm. LOL!

 

[bobbo23]

Hi everyone,

Our van is kept in a secure lockup and l will go there tomorrow and get the make and model information asked for. The gas fire works fine and the battery is easy to replace so no problems with that item. For us if the electric heater elements are at fault it looks like an awful amount of work needs to be unscrewed before an engineer could access it.

 

[Jcloughie]

Hi everyone,

Our van is kept in a secure lockup and l will go there tomorrow and get the make and model information asked for. The gas fire works fine and the battery is easy to replace so no problems with that item. For us if the electric heater elements are at fault it looks like an awful amount of work needs to be unscrewed before an engineer could access it.

Someone who knows what they are doing can identify the problem using a meter. Fixing the problem is possibly a different matter.

If it is the type of fire I think it is, the whole thing should lift off the wall quite easily for servicing. There may be something on YouTube.

John

 

[ProfJohnL]

Lets wait until we get the make and model before jumping to conclusions which might confuse the issue.

 

[Jcloughie]

Conclusions???

 

[Dustydog]

Removal of any dual fuel heater is not a task to be taken lightly. As a minimum it will involve breaking the gas feed , flue and mains 230v. Failure to replace the flue gasket with new will have serious consequences with CO poisoning. And then once refitted crucial life saving tests must be carried out to ensure all is well.
Never mind the make and model it seems to me, with all due respect, the OP may not have the technical knowledge to safely complete the work.
There are various You Tube vids but how do we know they cover the technical safety aspects?
Sorry to say imo get an AWS expert involved

 

[bobbo23]

Hello everybody,
The electrical heating we have is provided by the Truma S 3002 P,
I take to heart the safety advice given by Dustydog, l personally would not try to repair the heating elements or the flu etc. I was just hoping there may be a simple answer. For example I once accidently turned on the hot water heater without having water in the tank, stupid l know but by simply pressing a button it was back in operation. It would seem that's not an option in this case. So I guess it's a job for a AWS expert. Thank you all for your comments.