All habitation electrics cutting out

[Yorkcov]

Hi
I am trying to get advice from Ctek as to whether a fault in their
D250SA/Smartpass 120 charger system could be the cause of my problems.
Unfortunately, to date they have not answered my email, or an email from
Roadpro. Also, others on Facebook and Twitter have found their technical
support and customer service somewhat wanting!

Could any techie on the list spare the time to have a look and give an
opinion as to whether a malfunction in either of these units COULD lead
to a complete loss of habitation power please? I am deperate to solve
this problem because my Murvi is currently virtually unuseable.

Regards

Alan


> Hi
> I have a 2015 Murvi Morello with 330Ah leisure batteries, a CTEK D250SA
> battery to battery charger connected to a Smartpass 120 and 180 watts of
> solar
> In the first month after collecting it from Murvi I experienced total
> loss of the habitation electrics on a couple of occasions. It came back
> on by itself after an hour or two.
> There was no recurrence over the following year and Murvi could not find
> anything amiss during a habitation check.
> Recently it has started happening regularly. I nearly missed a ferry at
> Calais when it went with my step out, so couldn't drive because of the
> warning noise. The power came on just as the breakdown service arrived
> and went off again just after they had left! luckily I had put my step
> in so could drive to the ferry. Power was back on by the time I arrived
> at Dover.
> It's gone a couple of times at home with the van not being used. I can
> tell because the Webasto needs resetting.
> For the past week it has gone every night while I have been staying in
> it. The pattern seems to be it goes about 2 - 3 hours after I put the
> Webasto water heating on. I can get it back by running the engine for a
> minute or two but it then goes again if I turn the heater on.
> Anyone any ideas. I'me awaiting a reply from CTEK to see if there is any
> cutout in their products that can explain it and I will be talking to
> Murvi. At least now I have discovered a pattern whereas before it was
> intermitent. It's now ruining my use of the van. I certainly wouldn't
> dare trust it in the winter and even in Summer I need hot water to wash
> my hair before I dare face the world!
>
> Regards
>
> Alan

 

[QFour]

All the CTEK electronics do is manage the charging etc of the batteries. Your batteries must be charged otherwise power would not suddenly come on again.

If you don’t use the Webasco water heater what happens ?

If it suddenly just stops and is getting worse it could be a loose wire somewhere or a trapped wire or loose earth wire. What make is the control panel for the Murvi.

It really sounds like the Murvi electrics are playing up. Nothing to do with CTEK. I suppose to prove the point you just remove the CTEK bits and leave it to see what happens.

It’s certainly not going to be easy to find. You will certainly need a multi meter and wiring diagram. Take some readings with it working and then same again with it stopped.

 

[Yorkcov]

All the CTEK electronics do is manage the charging etc of the batteries. Your batteries must be charged otherwise power would not suddenly come on again.

If you don’t use the Webasco water heater what happens ?

If it suddenly just stops and is getting worse it could be a loose wire somewhere or a trapped wire or loose earth wire. What make is the control panel for the Murvi.

It really sounds like the Murvi electrics are playing up. Nothing to do with CTEK. I suppose to prove the point you just remove the CTEK bits and leave it to see what happens.

It’s certainly not going to be easy to find. You will certainly need a multi meter and wiring diagram. Take some readings with it working and then same again with it stopped.

Hi - Thanks
It does not happen so reliably without the Webasto coming on but does still happen. There is no single control panel, separate switches. There is a Victron battery monitor which defaults to 100% charge after the electrics have come back on.
The batteries, wiring etc are crammed in so tightly that I can't even get a multi meter probe in! I will be getting Murvi to fix it but last time they couldn't find anything so am seeking some combined wisdom before taking it to them!

Regards

Alan

 

[Admin]

The first things I would check.


1) Are you using the "out" terminal on the smartpass to feed the habitation electrics? If so move the cables up to the battery terminal on the smartpass to stop the CTEK being able to cut the power.

2) It sounds like a bad connection that is overheating when you put on the water heater and then cooling later. This could be a badly seated fuse, but it has to be somewhere between the leisure battery and the habitation fuses.

 

[Yorkcov]

The first things I would check.


1) Are you using the "out" terminal on the smartpass to feed the habitation electrics? If so move the cables up to the battery terminal on the smartpass to stop the CTEK being able to cut the power.

2) It sounds like a bad connection that is overheating when you put on the water heater and then cooling later. This could be a badly seated fuse, but it has to be somewhere between the leisure battery and the habitation fuses.

Thanks Phil
I will pass this suggestion on the Murvi when I take it in, however bear in mind it has in the past gone intermittently when the heating has not been on, indeed when the van has been parked up.
Regards
Alan

 

[Yorkcov]

When the power goes off, does it fade out or does it cut off suddenly?
Do you have a way to read the voltage across the battery terminals?
Do the habitation circuits switch off when you are driving or are they (normally) live all the time?

It cuts off suddenly
Sadly no - the batteries are so hemmed in and tightly wired that I can't get a meter probe onto the battery terminal
In general they are on while I'm driving. I do sometimes turn the water pump off but otherwise they are all on.
Regards
Alan

 

[Yorkcov]

Without being able to see the situation, my only suggestion is that you should get the wiring sorted out properly. Battery terminals should not be used as distribution boards.
There ought to be a properly laid out connector block for all the earth cables, and a fuse box/ distribution board for all the positive cables.
Just a single pair of cables to the battery bank.
I'm sure that's not how the wiring was originally. They tend to be stuffed together without consideration of reliability or maintenance. But getting the wiring sorted out will find the loose connection that is causing your problems, and at the same time give you a better setup.
You could (or get someone to) go through the wires and find that loose connection, but it'd be little easier than sorting it out properly.

Hi hairydog
My impression is that the wiring is sorted out properly. There is only one set of cables to the batteries and the wiring behind the back wardrobe cover, although a maze and beyond me, seems to be fitted very professionally. Despite the problems I am having at the moment I remain impressed by Murvi's award winning build quality.

Regards

Alan

 

[Yorkcov]

Sorry, I assumed that when you wrote "The batteries, wiring etc are crammed in so tightly that I can't even get a multi meter probe in!" you meant something else.

The build quality may well be be good, but clearly there is an electrical fault. Whether it is component failure of poor design or poor workmanship is hard to tell from here. But from your description of the setup, the design does not tend to easy maintenance.

There can only be a few common points of failure for all those circuits. You should work out what they are and check them

Hi Hairydog
Thanks - I suppose there is always the trade-off isn't there between making best use of the available space and specifying the maximum capacity. My van usually comes with 2 x 110Ah batteries. Mine has 3 etc.
I would never attempt a major wiring job on it and intend to take it into Murvi, but given they couldn't find a problem last time I wanted to pick the brains of forum members. I particularly was interested in knowing whether a failure of one of the Ctek components COULD lead to complete habitation failure. I am disappointed that Ctek have not answered emails from either myself or Roadpro, one of their suppliers. This seems to confirm to me the bad reputation they have on social media for technical support and customer service.

Regards

Alan

 

[alcam]

The first things I would check.


1) Are you using the "out" terminal on the smartpass to feed the habitation electrics? If so move the cables up to the battery terminal on the smartpass to stop the CTEK being able to cut the power.

2) It sounds like a bad connection that is overheating when you put on the water heater and then cooling later. This could be a badly seated fuse, but it has to be somewhere between the leisure battery and the habitation fuses.

Exactly my problem (see other thread) . Basically when extra leisure battery was being fitted (few electrical jobs getting done at time of purchase) the fuse and push on connection was left outside the battery box . I assume for ease of access ! Kept thinking I should move that . Forgot all about it when I got same symptoms as yourself .

 

[Yorkcov]

Hi Hairydog
Thanks - I suppose there is always the trade-off isn't there between making best use of the available space and specifying the maximum capacity. My van usually comes with 2 x 110Ah batteries. Mine has 3 etc.
I would never attempt a major wiring job on it and intend to take it into Murvi, but given they couldn't find a problem last time I wanted to pick the brains of forum members. I particularly was interested in knowing whether a failure of one of the Ctek components COULD lead to complete habitation failure. I am disappointed that Ctek have not answered emails from either myself or Roadpro, one of their suppliers. This seems to confirm to me the bad reputation they have on social media for technical support and customer service.

Regards

Alan

Just an update
Ctek have now responded to my email. No solutions yet but they have opened a dialogue.
Regards
Alan

 

[47643]

intermittent power loss from habitation batteries

hi, as said before start of with the basics. i had a quick look at the ctek250sa/smartpass set up
starting at the leisure batteries, i assume they are on the offside, are the connections tight on the battery posts, are the inline fuses connected with tight connections
is the -ve wire connected tightly at the common point. the +ve will go to the fuse panel at the rear of the wardrobe. are all connections tight there?
you say everthing works when power is reinstated, so does not sound like a ctek fault. if it was a short circuit, nothing would work at all.
it is a matter of physically tracing the wires and checking connections, if you do, i think you will find the fault.
if you can "move" the wiring when checking it might be enough to bring the fault on

47643