We are completely new to caravanning and could do with some electrical advice. We purchased our caravan yesterday and after connecting it to the 240v supply all sockets are live and the light on the fused spur to the fridge is on. The fridge or any of the lights do not, however, work. There are 2 switches on the kitchen wall - one says car charging on and off and the other says car battery/off/van battery. We have tried these 2 switches in all different combinations but no luck. The dealer assured us all the electrics were working. At the moment there is no leisure battery connected to the caravan. The lights and fridge are on a 5 amp trip and the sockets are on a 10 amp. Any advice would be greatly received.
No lights on Abi Marauder caravan
- Thread starter DoggyDog13
- Start date
Parksy
Moderator
- Nov 12, 2009
- 11,904
- 2,400
- 40,935
When on 240v ehu switches should be set a) Car Charging off ( this is for towing when a grey 12s plug is connected)and b) van battery.
I'm not sure if the ABI Marauder is equipped with any 240v lights, they may be 12v. Try connecting a leisure battery ( a car battery would do just to try the circit out) to find out if any 12v interior lights come on.
Not too sure about the fridge unless there is a separate switch but no doubt our members will be able to shed some light on the problem (sorry - pun
)
I'm not sure if the ABI Marauder is equipped with any 240v lights, they may be 12v. Try connecting a leisure battery ( a car battery would do just to try the circit out) to find out if any 12v interior lights come on.
Not too sure about the fridge unless there is a separate switch but no doubt our members will be able to shed some light on the problem (sorry - pun
Damian
Moderator
- Mar 14, 2005
- 7,510
- 936
- 30,935
As Parksy has said, when on mains power the car charge should be off and the van/off/car switch to van.
If there are two lights at the front inside, they would be the only mains powered lights, all others are 12v.
You should have a leisure battery installed in the battery compartment and some vans have to have this fo rany of the 12v to work, newer vans still use batteries but can run the 12v without them as they have power supplies in addition to the charger function.
The light on the fridge only indicates that power is available to that point, it does not tell you that the mains element in the fridge is working or not, however, if it is it takes about an hour to feel any real difference in drop of temperature, if it stays the same, the element has probably failed.
Have you got any service history with it?
If not, I would strongly recommend getting a mobile engineer to come and give it a full service to ensure all is safe, and find out what problems you have, if any.
You can find a local engineer here: http://www.mobilecaravanengineers.co.uk/mcea-find-an-engineer.htm
If there are two lights at the front inside, they would be the only mains powered lights, all others are 12v.
You should have a leisure battery installed in the battery compartment and some vans have to have this fo rany of the 12v to work, newer vans still use batteries but can run the 12v without them as they have power supplies in addition to the charger function.
The light on the fridge only indicates that power is available to that point, it does not tell you that the mains element in the fridge is working or not, however, if it is it takes about an hour to feel any real difference in drop of temperature, if it stays the same, the element has probably failed.
Have you got any service history with it?
If not, I would strongly recommend getting a mobile engineer to come and give it a full service to ensure all is safe, and find out what problems you have, if any.
You can find a local engineer here: http://www.mobilecaravanengineers.co.uk/mcea-find-an-engineer.htm
i have had a maraurder and had same probs the battery was u/s even with ehu on i think it was older van and was a inverter.could be wrong some time ago
My ABI has only 2 mains light in lounge all other lights are 12 volt. set switch to van battery when you have fitted one. or plug the 12s (white plug) into the car and set switch to car battery to test the lights, remember you will be using the car battery so dont leave them on for to long or run car engine. my fridge is powered from a 13 amp socket under the seat.
A quick and easy way to test the element on the fridge is working, is to remove one of the outer grills on the outside of the caravan, to get access to the back of the fridge and touch the insulated flue where the elements are connected too, this should be hot as should the metal pipework, but be carefull as sometimes they get very hot.
Pete
Pete
Thanks for you help everyone. Lights working now we have bought and connected a battery. Still no luck with fridge - guessing its broke in some way. Thanks again
hi Your fridge will ONLY work on 12 volt when the gray lead (s type) is connected AND the car engine is running..It is a safety thing to stop you flattening your battery
Tried 240v again with switches set as Parksey and Damian have said above and after 3 1/2 hours you could feel the heat through the grill, the fridge does not seem to be getting any colder though.
Damian
Moderator
- Mar 14, 2005
- 7,510
- 936
- 30,935
Is the van level both length and width ways? If not, it will not work properly.
With the battery, to check that the charger is working, with mains power conected to the van and the charger on, use a multimeter set to 20vDC and measure the voltage at the battery terminals, it should be around 13.5 to 13.8v
With the battery, to check that the charger is working, with mains power conected to the van and the charger on, use a multimeter set to 20vDC and measure the voltage at the battery terminals, it should be around 13.5 to 13.8v
Quick update - finally got caravan to its permanent storage place and made sure it was completely level and thankfully fridge is working fine. Thanks again for all your advice.
Facebook
Twitter