Help confused newbie

Stacetop

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Hello we are about to purchase a carado Motorhome 3 years old it is a private sale. We are confused how the electrics work! There is a control panel above the door with Lt99 on it and a White and blue fuse box in the wardrobe but we can't find a charger. Where are these located?

Is there anything we should know about them?
 
Stacetop said:
Hello we are about to purchase a carado Motorhome 3 years old it is a private sale. We are confused how the electrics work! There is a control panel above the door with Lt99 on it and a White and blue fuse box in the wardrobe but we can't find a charger. Where are these located?

Is there anything we should know about them?
Click to expand...

hello and welcome, sorry i cant help you with your problem, but someone else will be along soon i'm sure of it, you will always get good advice here from genuine people

Jen xx
 
Welcome :wave:

Quite often the 240V to 12V chargers are hidden away. Could be in wardrobe, behind paneling, under seats/bed etc.

But why do you need to know where it is, unless it's faulty? If the van has a 240v external hook up point, it will have a battery charger somewhere. You could try following the input cable from the 240V external hook up point - it will often be located near the charger and leisure battery box.
 
Chargers won't necessarily look like anything you have seen before as often they are built into other units ' if the van is only 3 years old I would expect to see some documents on the Tec,side of the van from the seller, or you could Google questions ?
 
Thanks I just wanted to make sure all the expensive components work. Unfortunately I didn't get to fully check it but when plugged into the mains the battery did go up on the panel when turned off it dropped down again did this mean it's working?
 
probably it does, I have just done some surfing and found lots of info on your van,
 
Unfortunately I've tried google but it's no help with it being a rare german van. The manual is available but I haven't got it yet to study it
 
The panels with lights aren't particularly accurate indicators of voltage, but when the charger is working, all the lights should be lit up showing max voltage (max voltage = about 13.8 or 14v, on alternator or 240V - 12V charger).

If the lights drop down when the charger is switched off, it means the battery is low.

As the battery is used it will drop down to around 12V (min number of lights on, or warning light on).

If there is a volt meter you'll get a better idea.
 
No volt meter but I will take a multi meter when we go to collect it and take some readings
 
It appears that CARADO is made by Hymer and supplied by Brownhills SCREAM SCREAM so you will probably have the blue Electroblock somewhere in the system , this electroblock is the brain of the electrics and controls most everything, water level readout, battery condition readouts and charging etc, it carries all the fuses and relays it costs about £700 to replace so don't mess with it unless you know what you are doing.
 
Thats why I'm worried!! So expensive!! I only saw a white fuse box type thing with blue fuses in it forget to have a close look so much else to look at
 
VERY IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!!Do not hand over any money and take a notebook with you.Tell the seller that you want to see everything working properly and all literature for the van. If he does not have much paperwork for it, then write everything down that he tells you. This will save you hours of grief later on.For all you know, there could be allsorts not working. Spares are sometimes difficult (and often expensive) to obtain. Unless you have a lot of electrical and mechanical skills, it will cost you a lot of money in labour charges.Look at the tyres, there will be a date stamp on them. If they are more than 6 years old, they need changing. Be careful that you are not buying a money pit.Good luck.
 
Hi,
Im not very good on the technical stuff but one bit of advise I would give you is get the seller to show you how everything works while you are there. That way you will know so you dont have to figure it out and it will also be a way of making sure it all does actually work before you buy. If they are a genuine seller they shouldn't mind and as someone has already mentioned take a pad and write it down for future reference.

hope your purchase works out
Lotty
:goodluck:
 
Stacetop said:
Hello we are about to purchase a carado Motorhome 3 years old it is a private sale. We are confused how the electrics work! There is a control panel above the door with Lt99 on it and a White and blue fuse box in the wardrobe but we can't find a charger. Where are these located?

Is there anything we should know about them?
Click to expand...

Ok your van has two completely different electrical systems.

1 The 250 volt AC which is supplied by the cable you plug into the side of the van and into the mains. This supplies the battery charger and all mains sockets within the van. The blue and white box in the wardrobe is the mains switch and the fuses for them. Sometimes there is an ability to use 250 v for the heater/water heater. This depends on the type of heater fitted.

2 The 12 volt DC which is fed by your leisure battery/ies. This supplies all the lights, water heater, pump and other 12 v outlets.

As your van is german in origin it is likely that it has an elecktroblock fitted, and is often found under a seat or in a locker. This bit of kit along with the control panel above the door, contains all the relays used to switch on the fridge to 12 v when the engine is running as well as retracting the step automatically and charging the leisure battery/ies. It also contains the mains battery charger and all the fuses that protect the consumers within the habitation part of your motorhome.
Hope this helps,
Wanderer
 
Thank you wanderer,

I also checked with a dealer and it should be under the passenger seat. I've seen everything working had gas checked all independently just could work out about the charger. Now I know it's an electroblox it makes sence. Will double check it's working again on collection as they are expensive to replace.

Thanks for all tips and comments just wanted to know all ins and outs before sorting finances out!!!
 
Stacetop said:
Thank you wanderer,

I also checked with a dealer and it should be under the passenger seat. I've seen everything working had gas checked all independently just could work out about the charger. Now I know it's an electroblox it makes sence. Will double check it's working again on collection as they are expensive to replace.

Thanks for all tips and comments just wanted to know all ins and outs before sorting finances out!!!
Click to expand...

Electroblock are made by Shaudt in Germany. They do a fixed price repair. Excellent service look on their web site.
Regards,
Wanderer
 
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