Truma Ultraheat 2007 Nuevo ES

Looking for advice on the problem of our Truma Ultraheat unit not working, its the 2000, 500, 1000 model. Heater works fine on gas but never managed to get it going on 230 v since we bought the van in May.
Checked all the switches are turned on properly and tried several time without success.
I'v spoken to the dealer we purchased from and he was 'sure' it was working when he did the habitation check, but to be honest I'v  take that with a pinch of salt, they were evasive when it actually came down to the 6 month warranty, they put in their advertisement, I'v been waiting for them to contact me with a slot for the work to be carried out since May.
So I prefer to sort things out myself and know they have been done properly, the lesson being not to have your judgment clouded by the excitement of your first motorhome and read the small print in warranties very carefully !!!
Any advice or recommendations regarding the unit would be gratefully received .

Have you turned the heater switch on. Mine is in the cupboard. lf you have you might need a new unit. A good mobile engineer will be able to tell you

And is the thermostat turned up? I know these things are obvious, but even though I've owned this van for many years I was once perplexed when the electric heater wouldn't work, and the cause was that the inside of the van was too warm already!
Al.

Isn't the electric heating controlled by the switches on top of the convector heater on these.?

Paulmold wrote:Isn't the electric heating controlled by the switches on top of the convector heater on these.?

Not on mine. Heater switch for electric in cupboard then on unit to 500/1000/2000 which ever heat you need. On the convector heater are two switches. On one side_ fan,  auto or in the middle just heat. Switch on other side no.1-9 for gas.

rose49f wrote:

Paulmold wrote:Isn't the electric heating controlled by the switches on top of the convector heater on these.?

Not on mine. Heater switch for electric in cupboard then on unit to 500/1000/2000 which ever heat you need. On the convector heater are two switches. On one side_ fan,  auto or in the middle just heat. Switch on other side no.1-9 for gas.

You're right of course, I'd forgotten.

Thanks for your replies, I have checked that the mains switch hasn't tripped, the isolation switch in the wardrobe is on, tried various combinations on the operating switch on the walnut no green light.
I did wonder about the temperature in the van being the cause, but now it has cooled down I don't think that's it.
I spoke to the dealer some time ago and his advice was to leave the unit turned on for several hours as this sometimes rectifies the problem, needless to say, it didn't.
I seem to remember reading some time ago that a circuit board on the unit is often a problem or perhaps a burnt out element, does anyone know how much of a job either of these would be and if too complex, any recommended mobile engineers local to Wiltshire.

Can't recommend any as l don't live in Wiltshire but Google mobile caravan engineers Wiltshire.

My guess would be that if there is no green light on the walnut [what a splendid name for it!] then you may be looking at a power supply problem.  I would expect that if an element was burnt out you would still get a green light, and you should still hear the heater "ticking" in and out as you turn the thermostat up and down.  I'm not sure how the remote thermostat communicates with the heater.

Alternatively, perhaps the thermostat itself has failed.  Unfortunately, I don't feel as safe as I used to taking things apart and twiddling two wires together  for fear of damaging some fancy electronics that's never supposed to go wrong.  But I can't imagine a thermostat being much more than a temperature controlled on/offswitch, so it might be worth a try

We find that the thermostat needs to be set fairly high.

As for [immobile] dealers in glorious Wiltshire, there is a motorhome centre in Warminster, or Tilshead Caravans near even more glorious Salisbury.  Needless to say, neither would be cheap.

I assume that other 240v stuff is working OK?

Nick.

Thanks Nick, yes all other 240v stuff is working correctly and I might try having a look at the switch panel, where I assume the stat would be and after turning off the supply of course.
I have a suspicion that the motorhome stood unused for some time, so it might just be a case of finding the relevant contacts and cleaning them up:rolleyes: perhaps.

If you are still looking for someone fairly local to look at your heater, you could try giving a chap called Miles a ring on 01179270045
Not sure what part of Wiltshire you are from, but he has a workshop in Redhill on the A38 just the other side of Bristol. Worth giving him a ring, very helpful and doesn't mind sharing his knowledge.

I have had exactly the same problem. It’s caused by a small expensive circuit board located which fails. Unfortunately it is inaccessible without dismantling the gas heater element. I engaged the services of a gas safe technician who I would be pleased to recommend if you happed to be in North Yorkshire. I think the circuit board cost about £125. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

Thank you for that matchstickman, I did email a guy over near Chippenham a week ago, but I assume he has plenty of work as I haven't heard back from him.
I will give your chap a call next week and see what he advises.

Thanks for that alancuth, from the reading up I've done on the problem, that appears to be a likely culprit, apparently a company in Nottingham have developed a heavy duty version of the board as Truma's own boards have a reputation for failing again quite soon after replacement.
So you didn't so much bear bad news, as probably confirm it 

I had the same problem and it turned out to be the transformer on the circuit board. The part is available on ebay for about £10 it needs de-soldering from the circuit board and replacing. I did it myself as I used to be a motor vehicle electrician/mechanic, the repair is straightforward but getting at the circuit board is a nightmare. It is a case of taking things off until you eventually get to the circuit board at the bottom of the fire. I did put the post on here about 3 years ago.
David

Thanks for that David, I'll see if I can find your original post.

I have read on a couple of forums that it is possible to get at the PCB board without removing the fire, all be it somewhat difficult, so I am looking to investigate further myself before calling in a company.
I made a start today and removed the wardrobe draw, then checked that the isolation switch in the wardrobe was working correctly.
It was, but I soon realised that with the screw caps missing off the switches cover plate, that someone had been here before me.
In the bottom of the space where the fire and boiler are mounted there was the remnants of what appeared to be insulation from around the fire, white and very fibres, this covered the mass of cables in there and I removed what larger pieces there were and vacuumed up the rest.
I doubt the value of trying to replace the small amount I managed to salvage, does anyone know if this was fitted to protect the wiring behind the fire from heat, or simply to encourage the heat from the fire to go forward into the van ?
Once everything was cleaned out, I managed to trace the feed from the isolation switch to a grey plastic box beneath the fires flu.
 I couldn't actually see it even standing on my head, but managed to get a photo of it.
The mains feed goes in at one side and what looks to be the same wiring as I have seen connected to PCB board on the net appears to come out of the other side.
Time was getting on by this stage and even with a torch it was difficult to see, does anyone know if this is where the PCB board is actually located ?
Someone definitely has been there before me as the fire flu needs moving slightly to enable access to the hosing and the flu has a cable tie, not the original clip, holding it in place a couple of foot up and one of the two clips which keep the plastic housing closed around what I hope is the board, is broken off.
Plan at the moment is to locate the PCB board and sent it off for testing and if necessary repair and then take it from there, any advice or experience of this more than welcome.

Result; We have heat !!!!!
I wasn't happy about leaving any of the bits of insulation material in the bottom of the wardrobe, so my first task today was to check that the electricity was turned off and then I set about cleaning out what was left with the vacuum.
Being able to see things better with the insulation removed, I tried to locate the screws holding the pcb cover in place or work out how to access to remove the board.
As I have read this requires you to almost stand on your head and then its still almost impossible.
I came up for a break from this and shining the torch down the back of the fire, I noticed that the multi plug which comes from the opposite side of the board to where the mains feed goes in, looked as if it was pushed in at an angle.
I managed to reach down and push it in square as it should be and hey presto, when I tested it again the green light came on and the heating worked correctly.
The connection was quite snug once it was inserted properly, so I can only assume that whoever had been there before me must have taken the plug out and not fitted it back in correctly or caught it and dislodged it.
So that's another possible solution for anyone with problems with their Truma Ultraheat to check, many thank for all your advice along the way, hope this may be of some use to someone in the future.
Brian

Excellent.

It's always good to learn how things get resolved, especially when it's cheap!

Our heater space has lots of white dusty insulation in too - an untidy nuisance, and I'm not sure how much use it can really be.

Stay warm!

Nick.