Back to dealer - One thing after another!

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We are taking our Broadway back to the dealer this week with a list of things to be rectified or at least we hope will get rectified. We have a multitude of issues going on which puts the replacement furniture board I was unhappy about when we first got it as insignificant, incidentally we are still waiting for the panel but with all our other issues I’m no longer really bothered about it.

I posted sometime ago about the control panel beeping & showing a warning that we were on hook up while engine is running, when we weren’t, it turns out this is a fault in the Sargent EC700 which they seem well aware of & confirmed by by their technical support. Since then we now have a number of issues with the EC700 which is now causing all kinds of electrical problems. The latest being the solar panel barely working despite the control panel reporting a crazy 25.4 amps, the fuse at the leisure battery now keeps blowing & has been replaced 3 times in as many days. Hoping the dealer is going to swap out the EC700 as they’ve suggested. 

The AS monitoring service are ringing us up daily several times each day & at all hours (3am on one occasion) saying alerts are being triggered for the tracker, these range from low vehicle battery voltage, low leisure battery voltage & multiple vehicle alerts whatever that means? (Battery levels are fine when checked so these are errors) This is despite switching off the battery alerts in the AS Monitor settings. We are hoping the replacement of the EC700 will solve this & the other issues, but worrying that a 5yr old power supply would fail like this, our last Broadway had the Sargent power supply fail also so starting to think these Sargent units really are not fit for purpose, never mind the life of a motorhome.

Went to use the bathroom black out blind a couple of weekends ago & just as it got it less than half way up the whole thing just flew to bits in my hand. Other things hopefully being done are the cooker extractor which has now completely died, the Thule habitation step on Thursday starting operating intermittently by sometimes coming out but then not going in & vice versa then that also failed completely later in the day while away at the Malvern show. 

As mentioned previously the hab door gas strut has to be replaced as it has zero resistance. And of course we still have the 45% damp reading inside the near side under bed locker to be investigated further. The water pressure switch is clicking which I guess is just an adjustment & I’m sure there are other things I’ve missed as it’s hard keeping up with what’s working & what isn’t.

Just when I thought we were moving in the right direction feeling Kinda deflated with everything & lost all confidence with this vehicle, also worrying that our miserly 3 month warranty is now just about up but as these issues have all been reported within the timescale should be covered, feel like a more thorough PDI inspection by the dealer could have picked up some of these things, very concerning going forward though & not what I expected for £60k

Can anyone advise what size fuse they have fitted at their leisure battery, mine is fitted with a yellow 20amp fuse & have just looked in the EC700 manual for info & it says that up to a 40amp fuse can be used if it’s a single battery but if it’s a pair of batteries only a 20amp fuse should be used.

It sounds like you are having a really bad time here.  With your warranty poised to expire soon, might it be worthwhile to get someone to do an independent assessment of the vehicle - as you would do if you were buying?  Hopefully that helps to pick up any other important issues which can be reported BEFORE your warranty expires.
Just a thought....

CC wrote:Can anyone advise what size fuse they have fitted at their leisure battery, mine is fitted with a yellow 20amp fuse & have just looked in the EC700 manual for info & it says that up to a 40amp fuse can be used if it’s a single battery but if it’s a pair of batteries only a 20amp fuse should be used.

So sorry to hear of all your continued problems.  My van/EC700 is a similar vintage to yours and has a 20A in-line fuse close to the single lead-acid leisure battery.  I have heard of this being uprated to 25A but my understanding is that this is for the later models fitted with Li-Ion leisure batteries.

Impressed with your patience, backs my theory they turn vans round and hope for no claims under warranty for any problems. Suspect you are rapidly eroding their profit in the sale but have no sympathy for them, should have made sure can was fit for purpose before offering for sale.
As long as they are willing to fix the identified issues you should end up with a van you are happy with, but just in case might be worth speaking to Citizens Advice about your rights if they get awkward

As a postscript when we bought our WXL in 2020 it was six years old and Perthshire Caravans gave a 12 month warranty on both hab and mechanics

Thanks for the replies, as deflated as we are we’re hoping that getting the Sargent EC700 replaced will solve a number of the issues we are encountering. The dealer has advised they have a replacement EC700 ready if ours proves to be faulty, as Sargent themselves has told us without any doubt ours is faulty I’m hoping they just swap it out rather than mess about investigating if it’s faulty, also not sure if it will be a new unit or a refurbished unit as these EC700’s are now over £500 yikes! (Remember moaning when I had to pay just over two hundred pounds for the EC328 in our last Broadway when that went) so like everything else they’ve gone up in price considerably. 

Billbobaggins I have no reason to think the dealer won’t resolve our issues as they’ve been very good whenever contacting them, have to admit I do feel the 3 month warranty is very mean though & wish now I’d pushed for a minimum of 6 months, our last camper which was also 60k came with 12 months warranty & in the few months we had it needed nothing doing, as I understand it the dealer sold the Broadway on brokerage for one of their customers who bought the vehicle from them new, maybe this is why it came with such a miserly warranty period, certainly wouldn’t make this mistake again if I were to buy again, the only saving grace is the warranty is with the dealer not a third party company where you have to fight to get things done which does make getting repairs carried out a much better experience.

As much as we love this motorhome finding out the roof has been replaced along with all the other issues that have happened since getting it have really took the enjoyment away, don’t think this is a Motorhome we will be hanging on to for 10+ yrs like our last Broadway but we’ll see, trying to be optimistic maybe once everything is sorted then it’ll be ok, or at least that’s what we are trying to tell ourselves.

As stated previously a thorough PDI by the dealer should have at least shown the EC700 being faulty as we had that EHU warning issue from the very start, also not sure why the damp reading was not picked up & the hab door strut should have been noticed, at least this would have only left us with the more minor things to correct. 

At the dealers in the morning so Onwards & Upwards as they say…

Caraman wrote:

CC wrote:Can anyone advise what size fuse they have fitted at their leisure battery, mine is fitted with a yellow 20amp fuse & have just looked in the EC700 manual for info & it says that up to a 40amp fuse can be used if it’s a single battery but if it’s a pair of batteries only a 20amp fuse should be used.

So sorry to hear of all your continued problems.  My van/EC700 is a similar vintage to yours and has a 20A in-line fuse close to the single lead-acid leisure battery.  I have heard of this being uprated to 25A but my understanding is that this is for the later models fitted with Li-Ion leisure batteries.

Not only lithium, as mine originally had lead acid (still does at present). The 20A fuse blew once, in April 2022, and Sargent told me to replace it with a 25A fuse. It has never blown since.

My Nuevo is a 2017 model and as much as I would like to update it the horror stories that I read about sure put me off changing it.
I'm a great believer of name and shame as that helps others manage their problems, especially if it happens to be the same dealer ship.
I wish you well with getting the jobs done.

Nue wrote:I'm a great believer of name and shame as that helps others manage their problems, especially if it happens to be the same dealer ship.
I wish you well with getting the jobs done.

Hi Nue

To be fair the dealer has been very good so I have no reason to name & shame, if things go wrong it’s how the dealer responds & fixes things that really matters. We’ve been unlucky with our van with certain niggles but that’s not necessarily the dealers fault.

Just an update to our issues…

Went back to dealer on Wednesday. As posted elsewhere on the forum the issues with the EC700 were blamed on the lithium upgrade we had carried out. The dealer initially refused to replace the EC700 saying the lithium upgrade was incompatible & had caused the EC700 to fail, but thankfully because we could prove the unit was faulty prior to the upgrade by giving the “Engine running while on hook up” warning when it wasn’t, with a dated photograph & confirmed by Sargent that this was a fault we stood our ground & they replaced it on the condition the lithium was removed & despite fitting a new replacement EC700 it came “As is, without any warranty”

Bathroom blind was fixed. Gas hab door strut we discovered is actually ok, checked it against a brand new Broadway in the showroom & that’s just how they are, little or no resistance unlike on our last Broadway.  Extractor fan is now operational again, electric step they got working while we were there but as soon as I got home it had stopped again, they said it was the switch which they had cleaned with some contact cleaner, they said they’d put a new switch in the post… incidentally finding those Berker push button step switches online is impossible, AutoSleeper parts list them but couldn’t find them anywhere else so hope it comes quickly as we are supposed to be going to Europe next weekend & trying to get in or out of the motorhome without a step is a nightmare as it’s so high off the ground, how I miss the low level entry of our Broadway EL that didn't even need a step!

As for the damp in the locker they claimed they couldn’t find it, in fairness I checked with my meter & the most I could get was 24% so wondering if it’s dried out a bit since the service centre at Auto-Sleepers stated 45% but I’ll be keeping a close eye on that anyway & probably get Auto-Sleeper to fit a baffle as they recommended in front of the floor gas drop out vents next time we are that way.

The service guys at the dealers were excellent, the situation regarding the EC700 was a bit awkward when it looked like they were not going to replace it, but thankfully they eventually did which was a big relief.

CC wrote:....electric step they got working while we were there but as soon as I got home it had stopped again, they said it was the switch which they had cleaned with some contact cleaner, they said they’d put a new switch in the post… incidentally finding those Berker push button step switches online is impossible, AutoSleeper parts list them but couldn’t find them anywhere else so hope it comes quickly as we are supposed to be going to Europe next weekend & trying to get in or out of the motorhome without a step is a nightmare as it’s so high off the ground, how I miss the low level entry of our Broadway EL that didn't even need a step!
......

I don't use the push button step switch that often as the step is set up through the EC700 CP under advanced settings to operate with the central locking key fob.  When the van is locked with the fob the step goes in and when unlocked with the fob it comes out. Is yours not set up the same way?  



The step should also retract automatically when the engine is started.  Does that work?

I could never get the step to work on the key fob.

Or the awning lights!

I just use simple switches now. They work fine.

The automatic step and awning lights on unlock don't work on my van. Do they work on any PVCs? I'm at a loss to explain why that would be, since on the face of it they should work, but they do not. The step does retract when you start the engine.

Caraman wrote:



The step should also retract automatically when the engine is started.  Does that work?

I’ve not been able to access the “Advanced menu” on my control panel Caraman, understand if you press & hold your finger on the settings button on the touch screen it should open up, but it doesn’t ?

Its possible Step Automation only works on the coachbuilts and is linked to the Lippert habitation door lock/unlock and awning light above it.  Both work on my Nuevo but can be turned off under advanced settings.  PVCs only have the doors Peugeot provided it with.

CC,

If Advanced Settings can't be accessed, that's another fault.

CC,

Here are photos of pages 7 & 9 of the EC700 Dealer Technical Guide.  Note that the settings button should be held down for about 10 seconds for advanced settings to appear:

Here is a photo of my key fob:



Pressing the central lock button locks both cab doors and the hab door.  With my advanced settings, it makes the hab step retract and the awning light come on for 30 seconds.  In my case it also arms my aftermarket Cobra alarm.  

Pressing the front cab button unlocks the two cab doors and disarms the alarm.  

Pressing the rear hab button unlocks the hab door, disarms the alarm and with my advanced settings deploys the hab step and turns the awning light on for 30 seconds.

If the EC700 PSU is shutdown with the black shutdown button, the hab step and awning light don't function but the central locking and in my case alarm arming and disarming continue to work.

I was plagued with 12 volt issues for three years, this was due to fuses blowing on my 21 reg Nuevo.

eventually I was told to upgrade all 20 amp fuses to 25 v and then to 30 amp, still had problems had to fit a b to b manager as I had a smart alternator.

eventual it was suggested that the only way to stop the fuses blowing was to swap the factory fitted lithium for a lead acid?.

In the end the fuse was blowing after spending the night on hook up, of course you drove away thinking everything was ok until you parked up and nothing worked on 12v.

After being told to swap to L acid I phoned Sergeant  and the conversation went like this:

You need to fit a B to B
Already done
did they disconnect the relay when it was fitted 
I don't know
go to control panel and select battery type
Not on my Panel
Needs to be updated, we can send you the software.

I phoned Willersea and asked if it had be disconnected
pop the van in and we will update the software.

went over, software updated, selected lithium and then it asks ( disconnect relay) yes / no

yes

since then and several nights away not a single blown fuse YIPPEE
Pete

Caraman wrote:Here is a photo of my key fob:



Pressing the central lock button locks both cab doors and the hab door.  With my advanced settings, it makes the hab step retract and the awning light come on for 30 seconds.  In my case it also arms my aftermarket Cobra alarm.  

Pressing the front cab button unlocks the two cab doors and disarms the alarm.  

Pressing the rear hab button unlocks the hab door, disarms the alarm and with my advanced settings deploys the hab step and turns the awning light on for 30 seconds.

If the EC700 PSU is shutdown with the black shutdown button, the hab step and awning light don't function but the central locking and in my case alarm arming and disarming continue to work.

I should have added that double tapping the lock button dead locks the cab doors.  I don't know if the hab door also dead locks.

breakaleg wrote:Needs to be updated, we can send you the software.

I phoned Willersea and asked if it had be disconnected
pop the van in and we will update the software.

went over, software updated, selected lithium and then it asks ( disconnect relay) yes / no

yes

since then and several nights away not a single blown fuse YIPPEE
Pete

Intresting Pete… Somehow don’t think the same solution will be as simple for us. As I reported to the installer after the work was carried out we had a hot melting smell while driving, this I now suspect was the harness unable to cope, it’s all fine now with the AGM battery.

Caraman wrote:

Caraman wrote:Pressing the central lock button locks both cab doors and the hab door.  With my advanced settings, it makes the hab step retract and the awning light come on for 30 seconds.  In my case it also arms my aftermarket Cobra alarm.  

Pressing the front cab button unlocks the two cab doors and disarms the alarm.  

Pressing the rear hab button unlocks the hab door, disarms the alarm and with my advanced settings deploys the hab step and turns the awning light on for 30 seconds.

If the EC700 PSU is shutdown with the black shutdown button, the hab step and awning light don't function but the central locking and in my case alarm arming and disarming continue to work.

I should have added that double tapping the lock button dead locks the cab doors.  I don't know if the hab door also dead locks.

Hi Caraman

Thanks for the tips, was not holding the settings button long enough it would seem as counted to ten & it popped up when I got to about 11 so was just not giving it long enough. As you can see I now have access to advanced settings but not sure what settings to input? I’m guessing if the step if it auto retracts even if the push button switch is dodgy it’ll still retract?

This video shows the step trying to operate using the switch so power is getting to the step, so clearly not a faulty switch, seems locked & just doesn’t want to come out, any ideas?

PLOUGHLIN wrote:Your previous post showing the control panel, shows step run time value as "0". Should this be about 3000 ms?

May be why step motor switches off as soon as it switches on.

Amazing well done Peter, set it to 3000ms & Bingo it worked straight away, fantastic thank you 

We now have a working hab step for Europe!