Neuvo Vehicle Battery gauge erratic.

A problem and a Fix , all in one topic .I will try to keep this short , however if anything is unclear please contact me.

We have a 2016 Neuvo Ek, with very low miles and an absolute joy to drive and own. So on our first trip away this year i noticed the Sargeant EC 328 Control panel vehicle battery gauge fluctuating showing
reading of 12.6 then 14.0 then 11.7 then 16 . On checking the manual ,i tried the re-calibrating section , that did not work and didnt recalibrate and then the erratic section , were fuses 1 and 2 are removed to allow the system to reboot ( all in the manual). I then checked all the fuses and RCD,s and battery connections. Still the gauge flucuating wildly.

Later in the day the warning bleep sounded (there were a few more bleeps but they were coming from ME !!) Only by switching to leisure battery did the bleep stop , the gauge now reading 9.0 poor and the 00.0.

After checking that the vehicle did start , i put this down to a bad connection and decide would look in depth on our return home as everything else was working fine.

At home after rechecking all possible connections and fuses that were known to me and in the manual , i rang the Sargeant Helpline on 01482 678981 and after giving the build no of the van and age and fearing the worse !! ( new control panel or faulty wiring ) was put on hold for a few minutes, before the very helpful lady came back to say the problem was with EM50 control panel ,which is a small grey box behind the drivers seat, and a micro fuse no 9, 20 amp  was replaced. Although the fuse was not blown, it had a small crack in the prongs allowing movement. A replacement fuse and BINGO !,all was right with the world again.

This EM 50 or EM40 in earlier models, was not in my manual ,only on the pages for the sargeant EC300 and EC500, and this fuse caused all the problems. The moral is always do not overthink it , and ask the Expert in this case the Fanastic Sargeant Helpine.
Hope this helps others . Regards

I had a lot of issues with my previous Nuevo 2015, and it was during lockdown times so got little help from Sargent. Never did find a definitive wiring diagram for my van, they say EM 50 and EM40 are the same but there is not much info about them.
I ended up buying a new EC328 after destroying 2 new Leisure batteries which sorted the issue, since sold van.
I concluded that all vans are differently configured and nobody really able to sort, even the warranty was a waste of time . And i am an electrician !

I am a firm believer that this modern Sargeant is far more of a pain in the * Inappropriate Word * than it is worth

Bigplumbs wrote:I am a firm believer that this modern Sargeant is far more of a pain in the * Inappropriate Word * than it is worth

I thought the EC328 is the reliable one, significantly better than the current model? Unfortunately I also had a fair bit of bother with my EC328 setup and ended up sending it off to a 'we repair anything electronic for caravans and motorhomes' company where they take yours and send you a refurbished one. Less than half the price of Sargent (I seem to remember). I had the same sort of bother with the several peripheral boxes which turned out to be a multi pin plug that had come loose. I hate these new electronics, they aren't half as good as the old 'click' metal-contacts-metal switches. And as for touch screens - - - - SCREEEM
If I want to know what the temperature outside is, I can open the door. If I want to know what the temperature is inside, I can take off my clothes and see if I am cold. I seem to remember that there was a lot of other totally useless bits of rubbish information that you could bring up on the screen. Why do the people at the manufacturer think that anyone wants to know the phase of the moon in Timbuktoo? Who cares? Why do I want to heat my grey water tank? More switches and fuses to go wrong. I don't need hot drain water thank you. I would rather have light switches at elbow height, and not on the ceiling.

As for the customer service at any company, not just Sargent, you can bet your sweet little bippy that there are people there who know what they are doing, and it is pot luck if you happen to be able to speak to them when you call, or leave your motorhome with them for repair. Brownhills were unable to source the fault in the wiring in an electric bed motorhome I had, so after they had it back three times they left it up to me to fix it. I won't be going back there again.

Information on the EM50 for those interested.

https://autotrailusers.nz/ForumFiles/1012/EM50_Tech_Data.pdf

Oh, infirmation like that is worth its weight in Gold Peter.

gassygassy wrote:Oh, infirmation like that is worth its weight in Gold Peter.

I discovered this week that the EM50 is powered by the vehicle battery, at least the step operation part is, may be other functions too, adding to the vehicle battery drain when parked up for periods.

I’m getting a bit confused (not hard!). I’m sure I have an EM40 in my 2018 van but if I’ve read the thread correctly, some of you with earlier vans have an EM50?
I just assumed higher numbers on Sargent kit meant a newer version?

The EM50 is a stand alone unit box. The EM40 is built in?

PLOUGHLIN wrote:The EM50 is a stand alone unit box. The EM40 is built in?

Thanks. 
My EM40 is a separate unit but is flush mounted, some of the features (step for example) now appear to be built into the EC500 and I’m guessing the EC700.