RED LIGHT ON CONTOL PANEL

[Anonymous]

HI, HAS ANYONE EXPERIENCE OF A HOBBY TOSCANA 650ES, OR THE CONTROL PANEL “PC-220HB”.
THE MAIN ON / OFF SHOULD GLOW AMBER WHEN IN USE, BUT WE GET A RED GLOW FROM IT INFREQUENTLY WHEN ON HOOK UP, WHICH THEN GOES BACK TO AMBER AFTER A WHILE.
I HAVE A FEELING IT IS CONNECTED TO THE ENGINE BATTERY RECHARGING WHEN ON HOOK UP, AS I AM EXPERIENCING POOR ENGINE BATTERY PERFORMANCE. THE ALTERNATOR IS WORKING CORRECTLY AND RECHARGES THE BATTERY, BUT I AM GETTING POOR BATTERY LIFE, JUST A YEAR BEFORE REPLACEMENT NEEDED.
ANY IDEAS?

STEWART AND SUE THOMSON

Topic

[Anonymous]

David, many many thanks, you have born out all my checks so far. I have also however, rigged up a smart charger direct to the battery to see what effect that has.
The red light seemed to come on when the van had been on a site, and not been moved for a few days, and with a need to put on heating as well as lighting, and of course the kettle.
I think from the readings being obtained from the battery, a new one will be needed.

Stewart and Sue Thomson

[David Lawson]

Hi Stewart and Sue,
The PC-200HB you refer to is manufactured by CBE.
Within our members area / documents / technical there is some information with photos, detailing the charging system and components.
The PSU (power supply unit) / battery charger will probably be under the british offside seat, the leisure battery being under the british nearside seat.
The photos in the technical section show the position of and function of the fuses within the PSU.
If you are confident in removing the cover of the PSU, which would be easier with the seat removed, it may be worth a cursory inspection of all fuses within, payng particular attention to both the leisure battery and engine battery fuses.
DO MAKE SURE that the van is NOT on hook up before removing the cover.
MAINS VOLTAGE exists within the PSU whilst on hook up.
Depending on the year of manufacture, there could be another inline fuse external to the charger in the line feeding to the engine battery and there will ALWAYS be an inline fuse very close to the engine battery.
Depending on the manufacturer of the base vehicle, the engine battery could either be under the floor in front of the british nearside seat or in the engine compartment.
It is always worth checking both these fuses, the main cause of either fuse blowing, being an attempt to start the engine, whilst on hook up, with a partially depleted engine battery.
The main causes of a partially depleted engine battery, whilst the condition of a blown fuse exists, is the use of the van radio, any appliance plugged into a dash mounted cigar socket or indeed the presence of an alarm system.
Even with a blown fuse in the habitation area, with the engine running, the engine battery will receive a charge, which is what you have confirmed.
If any of the aforementioned fuses are blown, the engine battery will not recieve a charge whilst on hook up.
Hope this makes sense, but if all else fails I would recommend that you turn up at one of our planned meets and the problem will be diagnosed correctly. There is also a distinct chance that it will be sorted there and then.
Ambleside would seem favourite if you can wait till then.

[Author]

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