caravan electrics!!

[marky2222]

hi guys i have just bought a abi globetrotter 4 berth carvan from a guy
he told me everything was working on it.

i have never had any caravan
experience so dont now how they usually work but i have been told there is a 240v and 12v system setup in them
i pluged the exteral lead into the mains and the sockets were working
the fridge switch light was on but the fridge wasent on none of the lights were working and the water pump wasent working

i was then told there was a battery under the seat that worked the lights
so i lifted the seat to find a leisure battery disconnected so i put the clamps on it and the control panel light went green and the lights came on great
but still no water pump or fridge so i diconnected the battery

the next day i want the lights on again i connect the battery again
but this time the control panel light was red and the lights were sort of making a whisling sounds and flickring i presumed the battery was flat so i hooked it up to a 12v charger and charged it for around 7 hours till it said fully charged then hook it back up to the caravan and the control panel light was still red and the lights were still making the faint whisling screeching noise and flickring

could anyone with any caravan experience give me some advise on this
cheers
mark

 

[madkayaker]

The 230v should have a charger so it charges the battery when you have hook up. The fridge probity doesn't run off the leisure battery but runs of the tow car when then engine is running (white plug) lights fizzing is low battery voltage. It's possible the battery is goosed especially if it's only getting charged with a car battery charger the chemistry is different and really needs a different charger.

 

[silversurfer]

caravan electrics

Hi. The fridge will NOT run from onboard battery. Power consumption is enormous and there will be none for lights etc. Fridge on 12v ONLY from dedicated power from car when towing. Caravan should be wired so 230 input charges battery. 230v also runs fridge when static (best) but will also run on GAS. How old is the van ??

 

[marky2222]

hello thanks for responce i carnt seem to get the fridge going even when the mains is connected looking at the ones on ebay looks as if its around 1988

 

[madkayaker]

There fairly simple things so the age should not be a great issues. Depending on your electrical skills you can diagnose the. Easily. Check for voltage at the fridge and for loose terminals.

As caravans are basically a metal box that you then park in a wet field the wiring regs are very specific on wiring and I would recommend getting a competent persons to safety check the wiring and the gas.

 

[Norm]

Is there a switch on your fridge marked 12v 240v and gas ? if so it needs to be set depending on whether your hooked up to mains or running off the battery or gas, if not look on the electric control panel for a fridge setting switch, failing that try and trace the wire from the fridge is it connected to a normal 3 pin socket via a standard plug, if so is the socket switched on and is the fuse in the plug ok ? sorry its difficult to offer advice without seeing the actual set up, caravan fridges can take a while to start cooling.
Hope that helps if not post some pictures and I am sure one of the members will be able to help

 

[marky2222]

thanks alot for your help i had added some pictures i have tryed all theys button on and off and nothing seems to make a diffents the fridge button is the bottom left red 1 that one lights up when connected to the mains but still the fridge dont come on as for the other buttons on the brown unit i dont now as the text has been rubbed off
cheers

 

[Norm]

It looks like the rocker switch square one on the fridge is off at the moment will it push up to the plug and wire symbol, the round knob is the fridge thermostat you need to rotate that round to number 6 and it should start, try that and see if that works
Regards Norm

 

[marky2222]

yeah the rocket switch does work i have had it on the plug and on the battery and neither work i have also had the lighting strike kind of sybol knob right round and yet still nothing...

 

[Norm]

OK as a basic check to start with switch the square button to the plug side, turn the "lightning strike"Knob round to number six and leave it for an hour then check if inside the ice box inside the fridge has gone cold.

It also looks as if the connection unit in the picture by the tea / coffee tins has a cracked face / is possibly missing an indicator light. For your safety I would strongly recommend you get both the gas and electrical side of things professionally checked I appreciate it is an added expense but you can't put a value on your families safety
hope that helps and you enjoy caravanning, you do realize that the top gear team will now hate you
Regards Norm

Edit the above is with the van connected to a mains supply

 

[octo0072000]

could take up to 24 hours for the fridge to work if it's not been used for a long time
the van must be level older fridge won't work if not level 3%max off level
you sure you connected the battory the right way round ?

 

[Wedg1e]

If that's one of the Electrolux fridges that uses a heating element (or gas flame) to create a thermosyphon effect then the refrigerant (ammonia, I believe) has probably settled. Extract fridge, turn upside down for 24 hours, turn right way up and reinstall. The refrigerant redisperses into the pipepwork and normal service will be restored
I had the gas/12v versions in my trailer tents and had to do this at the start of every season.

 

[TechnicAl]

Thew fridge will take a few hours to cool down. Is it level, it wont work at all unless its reasonably level.
Obviously from the switch it is designed to run 12V,230v or gas...its usually gas that causes the problems
Ive been caravanning since the 80s so Ive had a few.
Go on a dedicated cravan site like CARAVANTALK there are loads of experts on there

 

[marky2222]

caravan seems fairly level it is just sitting on the jocky wheel at the moment
do theys fridges make a big noise like house fridges
maybe i am expecting more of a noise

 

[madkayaker]

There fairly silent leave it n a few hours and look for ice in the freezer bit

 

[octo0072000]

caravan seems fairly level it is just sitting on the jocky wheel at the moment
do theys fridges make a big noise like house fridges
maybe i am expecting more of a noise

no noise at all

 

[moose]

When you plug in to the mains it must have a battery connected as some one has alread said it is also a charger.

These fridges as someone else has mentioned do take a time, if it will not light on gas the normal reason is spiders etc have blocked the flue take the fridge out turn upside down shake, fix back in and being careful, while fridge is out make sure vent in floor of caravan is clear of rubbish and is open.

 

[marky2222]

There fairly silent leave it n a few hours and look for ice in the freezer bit

hello as stated here i left the fridge for around 1 hour and the freeze box was as cold as ice :-D i was just expecting to much noise it dosent make a sound at all
glad i gave up half way threw on trying to remove it as it would of took ages theres so many pipes and tight connections on it as for the battery its working the 12v lights now perfect when connect to the main with what i presume to be the chargeing switch turned on but even after being left over night once the mains is switch off the lights go dull and the red panel light comes on so i susspect the battery isent holding any charge :-(

only thing that isent working now is the water pump is there any special method to getting theys going or could the yellow end pump just be nackered

cheers

 

[ibrooks]

Is there water in the system? and is it primed?

Our old Abbey's water pump only worked on a pressure drop when a tap was opened. You connected up the water tank, opened a tap and then had to pump it through manually with a bellows pump on the floor under the sink. Once you were getting just water and no bubbles with every press on the bellows you closed the tap and the leccy pump would pressurise the system. That meant there was a risk of the pump running dry if the water ran out so it obviously had some system to stop it when there was no water in the system (I'd guess a float switch somewhere but it never caused a problem so it was never investigated).

Out narrowboat had a very similar system but the water tank was above the pump so it self primed.

Iain

 

[iwoo]

Stick a few pics on of the water system so we can tell what type of system you have.