Split Charge Relay Location ?

Update :-

It`s 3 weeks today since they received my items for repair and i `ve just rung them up to check progress and amazingly the engineer has just started work on it today.

So, please be aware that if you want a speedy repair done you have to pay a premium of " £50 + VAT " for the " Fast Track Service " that they offer then you get a 2 - 3 day turn around.

I didn`t pay because it`s costing the thick end of £300 when you add VAT to the Fixed Price Repair of £220 and then the return postage is extra o_O
 
They have arrived back and to be honest i cannot for the life of me see what they`ve done :unsure:

I`ve removed both PCB`s from the DS520 box and the PC200 panel to see the reverse sides where all the soldered joints are and they all look exactly the same.

No sign what so ever of any new solder and definitely no new items on either PCB.

The email invoice i received just said " Repair and Upgrade of DS520 and PC200 " with no mention of what the problem was or any individual parts fitted, maybe because it was a " Guaranteed Fixed Price Repair "

It`s bloody freezing up here now so i`m not even going to attempt to refit them yet although tomorrow is forecast warmer.

I`ll report back when fitted how it`s gone.
 
Does it matter really what they have done as long as it is repaired and works properly with a warranty as well - part probably only cost pence anyway
 
Wooie1958 said:
They have arrived back and to be honest i cannot for the life of me see what they`ve done :unsure:

I`ve removed both PCB`s from the DS520 box and the PC200 panel to see the reverse sides where all the soldered joints are and they all look exactly the same.

No sign what so ever of any new solder and definitely no new items on either PCB.

The email invoice i received just said " Repair and Upgrade of DS520 and PC200 " with no mention of what the problem was or any individual parts fitted, maybe because it was a " Guaranteed Fixed Price Repair "

It`s bloody freezing up here now so i`m not even going to attempt to refit them yet although tomorrow is forecast warmer.

I`ll report back when fitted how it`s gone.
Click to expand...
did you not make little marks on the components to see which got replaced?

Ref solder, you don't actually see it done very often, but it used to be the case where the boards were 'washed' with a cleaner to remove flux residues and the like after being worked on and that dulled down any fresh solder so hard to spot reworking.
 
wildebus said:
did you not make little marks on the components to see which got replaced?

Ref solder, you don't actually see it done very often, but it used to be the case where the boards were 'washed' with a cleaner to remove flux residues and the like after being worked on and that dulled down any fresh solder so hard to spot reworking.
Click to expand...

Yes and the marks are still there, i didn`t know they did that to the boards after repairs.

i`m ok with fairly basic electrics but when it comes to removing / adding componants to the PCB`s i`ll leave it to the experts thank you very much.

Very very cold and still damned raining here so i probably won`t get it fitted back in today either because putting heating into the motorhome will mean having to having something open and running an extension so the fan heater will work.

It`s awkward enough where it`s fitted and there`s no give on the cabling which will be very stiff due to the cold weather, the 3 bolt connections for the main cabling to and from the PCB are hidden by the spagetti tangle so they are fitted blind by feel and i can just about get a stubby 10mm spanner up and behind it to tighten them back up without the added problem of numb fingers.

It`s almost like Compass pulled all the wiring tight before doing the final connections as i found out when replacing the outside EHU socket a few years back when the sprung flap cover broke off ........ i`ll just pop a new one on i thought, 10 - 15 minutes, what can go wrong ................................ famous last words o_O

I took the 4 screws out from outside but the socket wouldn`t come more than 2 or 3mm away from the body as if something on the inside was holding it back.

I ended up taking the whole fridge out and dismantling half the bloody kitchen units, that`s when i saw how much tension was on the main EHU cable from the back of the socket to the main taped up wiring loom and was trapped behind the cupboard next to the fridge and had a staple in it.

I replaced it with the same 3 core 2.5mm2 cable that was already on it but gave myself and extra 200mm or so to play with so that if i needed to replace the outside EHU socket again i could do so purely from outside which would then take the 10 - 15 minutes i originally thought.
 
The wiring can be very awkward to refit :(. On my system, I literally have to use a mirror to see behind a panel and a pair of pliers to hold a connector to push in into place. A right PITA!

Ref the cleaning ... People used to do that when board repairs were routinely carried out in a repair shop rather than just thrown away as new ones were so cheap (when I was a bench engineer though, I didn't clean solder up as didn't even use solder! I used to have to repair wire-wrap boards (they pre-dated printed circuit boards and still used into the 80's))
 
Wooie1958 said:
Yes and the marks are still there, i didn`t know they did that to the boards after repairs.

i`m ok with fairly basic electrics but when it comes to removing / adding componants to the PCB`s i`ll leave it to the experts thank you very much.

Very very cold and still damned raining here so i probably won`t get it fitted back in today either because putting heating into the motorhome will mean having to having something open and running an extension so the fan heater will work.

It`s awkward enough where it`s fitted and there`s no give on the cabling which will be very stiff due to the cold weather, the 3 bolt connections for the main cabling to and from the PCB are hidden by the spagetti tangle so they are fitted blind by feel and i can just about get a stubby 10mm spanner up and behind it to tighten them back up without the added problem of numb fingers.

It`s almost like Compass pulled all the wiring tight before doing the final connections as i found out when replacing the outside EHU socket a few years back when the sprung flap cover broke off ........ i`ll just pop a new one on i thought, 10 - 15 minutes, what can go wrong ................................ famous last words o_O

I took the 4 screws out from outside but the socket wouldn`t come more than 2 or 3mm away from the body as if something on the inside was holding it back.

I ended up taking the whole fridge out and dismantling half the bloody kitchen units, that`s when i saw how much tension was on the main EHU cable from the back of the socket to the main taped up wiring loom and was trapped behind the cupboard next to the fridge and had a staple in it.

I replaced it with the same 3 core 2.5mm2 cable that was already on it but gave myself and extra 200mm or so to play with so that if i needed to replace the outside EHU socket again i could do so purely from outside which would then take the 10 - 15 minutes i originally thought.
Click to expand...
I know your pain, it's not just Compass, I bought new replacement original LED front and rear roof level side markers(fitted with flying leads) as some of the individual LEDs had failed. Expected a few minute job, undid the 2 external mounting screws and there was Zero free play in the loom. Pull as hard as I dared but no free cable. Gave up in the end as to get to the inside involved stripping out wall panelling.
 
yeoblade said:
I know your pain, it's not just Compass, I bought new replacement original LED front and rear roof level side markers(fitted with flying leads) as some of the individual LEDs had failed. Expected a few minute job, undid the 2 external mounting screws and there was Zero free play in the loom. Pull as hard as I dared but no free cable. Gave up in the end as to get to the inside involved stripping out wall panelling.
Click to expand...

The cable between the EHU socket at the rear of the fridge and the main wiring loom where it was trapped behind the cupboard next to the fridge was actaully suspended in mid air it was that tight o_O

How the hell it didn`t pull out of the back of the socket in the 9 years we`ve had it from new before the outside flap failed beats me :eek:
 
Wooie1958 said:
The cable between the EHU socket at the rear of the fridge and the main wiring loom where it was trapped behind the cupboard next to the fridge was actaully suspended in mid air it was that tight o_O

How the hell it didn`t pull out of the back of the socket in the 9 years we`ve had it from new before the outside flap failed beats me :eek:
Click to expand...

I guess they pull the cables tight to save money.

I knew a main dealer mechanic who used to do the same with engine oil, what he did not use he took home.

I always leave some slack cable so I have a chance to re-terminate the cable ends. :)
 
harrow said:
I guess they pull the cables tight to save money.

I knew a main dealer mechanic who used to do the same with engine oil, what he did not use he took home.

I always leave some slack cable so I have a chance to re-terminate the cable ends. :)
Click to expand...


I agree a few inches here and there times the hundreds / thousands of motorhomes and caravans they make will add up to a considerable amount.

I also knew a mechanic that did the same, a litre here, a litre there all adds up, the customer paid for say a 5L container even it it only needed 3.5L or 4L.

What ever was left went home with him each night and he had a massive cupboard in his garage at home where he kept all the left over oil once he`d drained like for like to top up the containers which he would sell to neighbours at half price.
 
All fitted back in and everything works perfectly again.

I spoke to Ross from Apuljack Engineering this morning when he rang me to see how it was going so i asked him what they`d done ?

He read the engineers report and said it looked like there`d been a surge from the alternator that has blown a resistor in the battery parallel / split replay circuit.

I have checked the alternator and it working fine giving a healthy and steady 14.46v to the distribution board

I explained i first noticed a problem whilst on EHU when all of a sudden the EHU symbol vanished from the control panel, it was definitiely on when we pitched up because it`s the first thing i check after conecting the EHU lead.

Strangely though the electric fan heater was still running but i still turned the charger off and back on again which put the symbol back on the control panel and i thought that was that but clearly now i know it wasn`t right.

Coincidentally just after i noticed that the EHU symbol had gone out i saw the CAMC site warden walking past with the EHU testing unit obviously going to another pitch.

Anyway all systems are go, so bugger off You Naughty Virus then we can go away again :)
 
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