Heating problems

Whilst we were away last weekend the heating stopped working on mains. At the time I switched to gas for a while to keep the chill off until bed time.

When I got home I checked further and noticed the LED on the switch wasn't lit. The RCD hadn't tripped so my next check was the fuse next to the switch. The fuse holder wouldn't come out until it fell apart. It had melted into the switch housing. When I took the switch out of its mounting I found a couple of corroded crimp on terminals and one that was the wrong size.

My local motorhome part supplier, Magnum Motorhomes, had a switch. To my surprise it was only eight pounds. Re fitted the switch with new terminals and all seems ok. I can only assume these troubles are due to old age. Why the wrong size terminal was fitted I have no idea, perhaps they ran out of terminals during the build.

I had all kinds of nasty thoughts of big bills for fixing the heater so hopefully this is the only problem. We are going to be off grid during our next trip and using gas for heating but I couldn't leave it not working.

The problem with the heater switch melting its fuse holder has me puzzled.
We have just been away for a week off grid until the last two nights. When I sorted the problem at home I only had the heating on for long enough to feel the heat coming from the vents. On site with hook up I had the heating on for an hour then the fuse blew again. 
As a matter of interest I swapped the fuse for one in my spares box. The heating worked fine for the rest of the two days. The fuse that came with the switch when I bought it was the same rating as the replacement so I can only think the original fuse must have been faulty.  . 
During the winter we have often had the heating on gas to boost the heat. Last night there was frost on the roof vent and the heating seemed to keep us cosy without the gas boost.  .

Great to see you have sorted your heating  out Dave. Still chilly at nights ,ourold Truma system in the Sigma used to keep us toasty warm.
Boaby

Have had a similar problem with our 2013 Worcester on the Truma Combi 4. Twice now it has blown the main fuse on the PCB. First time had it fixed at East Coast Caravans in Bridlington who showed me how to get at the fuse and sold me a bag of the fuses.

The next trip out it occurred again and I managed to access and replace the fuse which carried on working for the rest of the trip. However, the N3000 series fridge/freezer kept switching from 240v to gas (on AES) then sometimes back to 240v.

Not sure if these are linked in some way but have it booked into Leisuretech NE on Friday to try and trace any possible faults whilst the van is still under warranty. One other thing that may have a bearing is that if the van sways (Mercedes based) when anyone steps in, there is sometimes a noise like a relay clicking on/off which also appears to be behind the fridge/freezer.

Look forward to finding/resolving the issues.

David

rventhusiast wrote:. One other thing that may have a bearing is that if the van sways (Mercedes based) when anyone steps in, there is sometimes a noise like a relay clicking on/off which also appears to be behind the fridge/freezer.

Look forward to finding/resolving the issues.

David

That is interesting David we have exactly the same thing happens in our Worcester and has done so since new. Seems to be more prevalent when the van is completely level. Never had an issue with the fridge freezer so have no idea what the noise is and since everything works fine eventually just ignored it since it happens rarely! I seem to recall our last Autocruise van did the same

I think the clicking is a relay which controls the level switch in the fresh water tap, hence the click when the van sways and the water surface moves.

I think we are talking about different fuses. Our Rienza is an older system with a fused switch on the wall next to the glass cupboard not the fuse on the heater under the wardrobe floor. When the heating is on hook up the LED in the switch comes on unless as mine the fuse blows.

Peter Brown wrote:

PLOUGHLIN wrote:I think the clicking is a relay which controls the level switch in the fresh water tap, hence the click when the van sways and the water surface moves.

This is the relay, mounted behind the EC500 in a

It certainly sounds like a relay and only occurs intermittently so could certainly be related to the levelling - which I don't get too fussy about so long as we don't fall out of bed!


Peter - any idea what may be causing the Truma fuse to blow or the fridge to revert to gas when on EHU?


David

I had a problem with our fridge sporadically switching to gas and then back to 240V on just one occasion. The switching was accompanied by a clicking relay. The cause was low voltage on the EHU due to inadequate site wiring that could.not cope with the demands when everyone was using power at around 7pm.
Might you have a poor or corroded connection somewhere in your 240v systems?
The water relay will only click when the tank is very full.

 The subject I originally posted about seems to have drifted from my heating problems to fridge problems . I may have missed something that links both subjects. 
As a matter of interest I have e-mailed Truma Technical to see what fuse they recommend. They have responded and are contacting me once they have checked there data.

Dave 418 wrote: The subject I originally posted about seems to have drifted from my heating problems to fridge problems . I may have missed something that links both subjects. 
As a matter of interest I have e-mailed Truma Technical to see what fuse they recommend. They have responded and are contacting me once they have checked there data.

My apologies Dave418 - I did raise an issue with my heater blowing fuses (but I suspect it is a different problem to yours) and at the same time raised the fridge issue posing the question that, in my case, coukd there be a possible link.

Once again, my apologies, didn't mean to hijack your thread.

David

Dave - just for clarification , are you talking Ultraheat system or Combi system?

:think_smiley_4I have been doing some sussing and boggling about these CBE fused switches. They can be bought rated at 3 amps, 5 amps or 10 amps. The faulty switch with the melted fuse holder is 10 amp, its stamped on the back.  The replacement is also 10 amp. All good so far.
By some odd fluke I kept the fuse that blew when we were away and that is a 10 amp fuse but it is a fast blow fuse, F rated. The ones I bought are slow blow, T rated. This information came via our son, trainee sparky.
When the fuse blew last weekend it was frosty cold, maybe the heater working hard for longer was enough to blow the fuse. This is the point were I want to be out on the road not having time to think of technical things. It was great off grid, gas is easy. If it dont work change the bottle. 

Dave 418 wrote: The subject I originally posted about seems to have drifted from my heating problems to fridge problems . I may have missed something that links both subjects. 
As a matter of interest I have e-mailed Truma Technical to see what fuse they recommend. They have responded and are contacting me once they have checked there data.

There has been a post on the forum previously regarding the fuse type, link here for ease of reference - Re: Gas first . . . is it a myth??
As you can see the subject title is completely misleading and you would never have found it - but it does cover and indeed has a photo of the Truma Slow Blow fuse type you should use.

Sorry folks I meant to say our Rienza is fitted with Ultraheat and Ultrastore systems. I will check the link to gas first.

@ Dave 418: I read thro' quite a lot of your thread before realising that I had no idea what you, or your respondents, were talking about. This was due to the vague thread title (something this forum is spectacularly good at). If you had titled it "Rienza, heating problems"; I and possibly many others, would not have looked at it. Hope you sort out your issue. 

@ Dave 418: I read thro' quite a lot of your thread before realising that I had no idea what you, or your respondents, were talking about. This was due to the vague thread title (something this forum is spectacularly good at). If you had titled it "Rienza, heating problems"; I and possibly many others, would not have looked at it. Hope you sort out your issue. 

Hi Pete, It was a fault that was easy to rectify but hard to understand why it occurred to start with. I couldn't think of a better way of asking for some ideas from fellow users. 
In the processes of sorting the problem I found an oddity in the hand book for our Rienza it says we have a Truma Combi fitted. But the operating instructions are for the Ultraheat and Ultrastore we have fitted, I have checked. .  
No matter what is fitted it is better than the Propex system we had in the Duetto.

Dave 418 wrote:Hi Pete, It was a fault that was easy to rectify but hard to understand why it occurred to start with. I couldn't think of a better way of asking for some ideas from fellow users. 
In the processes of sorting the problem I found an oddity in the hand book for our Rienza it says we have a Truma Combi fitted. But the operating instructions are for the Ultraheat and Ultrastore we have fitted, I have checked. .  
No matter what is fitted it is better than the Propex system we had in the Duetto.

We had an Eberspacher diesel-fired heater fitted under our Topaz (standard A-S fitment). What a diabolical embarrassment! Sounds like a jet engine and really annoys folks pitched nearby... and those not so near.

Don’t forget the awful smell Pete!

Fitted one in my VW camper, cost a fortune and I hardly used it.
On the plus side my van wouldn’t have sold so easily without it!