Control Panel for Fiat Ducato Swift Sundance - Please help identify what does what??

Benbecul97 · 11-06-2013 09:01PM #1

Easy when you are familiar with Control Panels but I'm not!

The attached is the Control Panel for the Electrics/Batteries/Water Pump/Water Levels etc for this motorhome.

Just wondering if you could help identify how the Control Panel operates? Don't have any user guides for it. I have marked in A, B, C, D, E and F to help make it easier. I know the middle switch is for the Water Pump, and the right switch is for the Water Levels.

Its mainly the left switch I'm after for Battery Condition/Electrics operation.

Thanks

demoreino · 11-06-2013 09:35PM

Hi Benbecul97 ,
Setting the switch to A will give you a reading of the vehicle battery condition.
Setting the switch to B will give you a reading of the leisure battery condition.

Setting the switch to D will give you the level of your waste water tank .
Setting the switch to F will give you the level of your fresh water tank.

Kevin www.iwmotorhomes.ie

That should read " Setting the switch to " C " will give you a reading for the leisure battery.

Benbecul97 · 11-06-2013 09:43PM

Thanks Kevin!

So is setting the switch to C for mains electric hook up?

Would switch setting A then be for the fridge when driving?

There are batteries under both the driver and passenger seats, I presume both are leisure batteries and operate of B then?

Benbecul97 · 12-06-2013 04:32PM

I think that maybe setting the switch to B is not actually doing anything as this is the 0 or position.

So maybe setting the switch to C will give you a reading of the leisure battery condition.

As this switch is just for Battery Condition I think that setting the switch to B is for mains electric hook up.

Any other ideas?

demoreino · 12-06-2013 06:00PM

The setting for your fridge while driving would usually be on the fridge and not on control panel.
Batteries under the seats may be vehicle or leisure . Have a look under the bonnet to see if theres one there . If not then one of these is
probably it.
There probably is no switch for the hook-up, it just kicks in when you connect.

Kevin www.iwmotorhomes.ie

Benbecul97 · 12-06-2013 08:46PM

demoreino wrote: »

The setting for your fridge while driving would usually be on the fridge and not on control panel.

Yes, it seems it doesn't matter whether A, B or C is selected on the Battery Condition switch, the Red Fridge light will come on if it is set to I.

demoreino wrote: »

Batteries under the seats may be vehicle or leisure . Have a look under the bonnet to see if theres one there . If not then one of these is
probably it.

Yes, there is one under the bonnet and two in the cab. The two in the cab say "Lesiureline" so two leisure batteries. Is it the norm to have 2 leisure batteries?

demoreino wrote: »

There probably is no switch for the hook-up, it just kicks in when you connect.

Kevin www.iwmotorhomes.ie

Yes, electric hook-up just kicks in when you connect. It doesn't matter whether A, B or C is selected on the Battery Condition switch.

13-06-2013 12:05AM

Benbecul97 wrote: »

The two in the cab say "Lesiureline" so two leisure batteries. Is it the norm to have 2 leisure batteries?

More the merrier. 2 batteries = one bigger battery.

They should however be as close as possible to each other with minimal distance between the leads connecting the battery poles together.
At the very least both positive and negative connecting leads between the batteries should be the same length and very thick (like welding cable).
This is to do with cell imbalance. All 12 cells ideally ought to receive equal charge and discharge. On long cable the resistance of the cable causes voltage drop and one battery receives more charge/discharge than the other.

When using two batteries in parallel like this the master positive should be on one battery and the master negative on the other to ensure the circuits use all 12 cells rather than 6 cells buffered by another 6.

Try to avoid having all connections to one battery with the other linked in as an after-thought. This will create problems down the road.

Benbecul97 · 18-06-2013 09:41AM

Thanks alot for the replies lads.

Ok sounds good.
Yep, there is a battery under each front seat so only a couple of feet apart.
Yep, the connecting leads are thick cables. Not sure how the batteries are connected though and if its like the master positive/master negative like you mention. Must check.

18-06-2013 01:16PM

Easiest way to do that is disconnect the battery furthest from the living quarters loom. If everything still works then it's incorrectly balanced.

18-06-2013 02:52PM

Actually no, that test won't prove anything...:o
..sorry if I sent you on a goose chase..:D

You may have to chase the wires. The scenario I imagine to be best is; let's call the battery under the driver seat Battery A, and the battery under the passenger seat Battery B.

The +ive on Battery B should T off to the consumer units +ive and separately to +ive on Battery A. While the -ive on Battery B goes straight to Battery A -ive and then consumer units -ive.
So in this example Battery B has the Master Positive: ie. closest to the circuit. Battery A has the Master Negative (ie. closest to the circuit)

Or vice versa (Master Positive on Battery A, Master Negative on Battery

.

The same rules are to be applied to charging; ideally charge across the bank rather than charging one battery and that battery in turn charging the other.

You want to make the circuit take the longest path within the battery cells to keep them balanced.
If both batteries are going direct +ive to +ive to consumer units +ive, and -ive to -ive to consumer units -ive the battery closest the consumer units with deteriorate faster and start to pull down it's partner.

Of course if both batteries are grounded to the chassis this is more difficult to achieve, were it I wiring it I would only link one to the chassis and the other to it's partner.

It's not a matter of huge importance should you not want to bother with worrying about it. I even confused myself there. Batteries are a learning curve.

20-06-2013 10:42PM

Stumbled upon this. It may explain running batteries in parallel better than I did.

Benbecul97 · 12-08-2013 10:17PM

The red pump isolation switch in the picture above, when parked up at a site

1. should the switch be left in the on position so that water is always available from the tap?
2. Or should the switch only be turned on when water is needed from the tap?
3. Does doing #2 above damage the switch?

Thanks in advance

Aidan_M_M · 14-08-2013 09:48PM

The pump switch can be left on all the time you're in the MH , as long as you can't hear the pump continuosly running , ie it should only cut in when the taps are on . I would be in the habit of turning that switch off when leaving the MH , or when going to bed . Neither position will harm the switch,

Benbecul97 · 14-08-2013 10:22PM

Brilliant, thanks alot Aidan, that's what we were thinking but weren't 100% sure.

Nickjf · 19-01-2014 11:50PM

Hi I too have sundance yr 2000' if I turn on red light tap symbol, when hooked up to mains hook up I makes a buzzing noise I have no water in vehicle , I have it sat on drive keeping battery's charged, should it buzz like this all time, or when water is in will it stop? Thanks...nick

Nickjf · 19-01-2014 11:54PM

Hi plus if I want to charge up main battery by switching control panel switch to A will it charge up battery when I have it plugged in to mains hook , up from my house, I have a flat battery at the mo have left it switched on in A position with mains hook up ,hoping it will charge battery under bonnet?

20-01-2014 02:46AM

Nickjf wrote: »

...when hooked up to mains hook up I makes a buzzing noise I have no water in vehicle

To hazard a guess and hoping someone more learned on the matter may correct me if wrong. If it's a pressure activated water pump the buzzing could be the pump trying to prime the water lines. Running a water pump dry in this manner is not advised as it will burn the seals of the pump. Is the buzzing coming from the water storage area or the control panel area?

Nickjf wrote: »

...should it buzz like this all time

I wouldn't think so.

Nickjf wrote: »

when water is in will it stop?

If the diagnosis is correct then yes; the fluid in the system will dampen the noise and if you hear anything it would only be while the pump is running when the pressure is released by an open tap.

Nickjf wrote: »

I want to charge up main battery by switching control panel switch to A will it charge up battery when I have it plugged in to mains hook , up from my house, I have a flat battery at the mo have left it switched on in A position with mains hook up ,hoping it will charge battery under bonnet?

Switch A,B,C is just linked to a voltmeter not a charger, it only allows you to monitor the battery condition.
Where A = monitor engine battery
B = monitor off
C = monitor leisure battery

You can confirm this by setting the monitor to A and connecting/disconnecting the hook-up observing any changes.
I'd suspect your on-board charger is automatic when it is plugged in and switched on.
I'd also expect the on-board charger to only facilitate charge of the leisure battery. Again I could be wrong but you can check yourself by watching the monitor with the charger on and off.

If you are charging a battery and it doesn't accept or hold charge it is dead and further charge will only make it volatile and perhaps explode, especially if you try to charge it from flat if it's frozen.

If the leisure battery is dead I suggest removing it, recycling it as scrap salvage and swapping the engine battery into it's place to receive a float charge from the on-board charger until you decide to replace the leisure battery.
If the engine battery is flat first I'd check that it is not dead by charging it, letting it rest for 24 hours and checking it with a voltmeter. If it holds a charge I would then run jump leads linking the engine and leisure batteries to float charge together.

It'd be no harm to ensure your charger is operational also.

Nickjf · 20-01-2014 09:01AM

Hi thanks for comments and help, another thing my leisure battery seems very low, if I connect 240 to camper , and switch control panel on to leisure battery will that charge it, or are u supposed to leave it in the middle position 0.... ? Thanks....nick

21-01-2014 12:48AM

Generally speaking those inbuilt monitors are very optimistic, if it's saying it's low then I'd reckon it's terminal, I recommend a multimeter over those contraptions.

No. The position of the switch is academic it's just for reference, you can leave it on or turn it off it you want to save a few mA drain on the battery (not an issue while charging).

The switch is just a monitor. Your charger is a separate, probably automatic unit elsewhere likely beside the battery. It may have an on/off switch.

Nickjf · 22-01-2014 12:13AM

Thankyou sir liamalot I have found charger in cupboard when I have 240 connected to van , I switch it off and all power goes off? Is this a sign that charger is working fine, I left mains in van all night and leisure battery seems to be charged a lot now, and seems to hold on the monitor level? Is this a sign that leisure battery is ok too? Thanks liamalot....nick

Nickjf · 22-01-2014 08:50PM

Hi my gears with engine not running are ok , but when driving are quite hard to get into gear can this be adjusted somehow?? Thanks....nick

23-01-2014 01:22AM

Nickjf wrote: »

I have found charger in cupboard when I have 240 connected to van , I switch it off and all power goes off? Is this a sign that charger is working fine,

That's a sign your charger is half working and your battery isn't. The half of the charger supplying power to the living electrics is working.

Nickjf wrote: »

I left mains in van all night and leisure battery seems to be charged a lot now, and seems to hold on the monitor level? Is this a sign that leisure battery is ok too?

This is a sign the other half of the charger is working. If the leisure battery can give you what it says on the tin then that's also working.

EG. if it's a fully charged 100Ah battery it should run for 10 hours at a discharge rate of 5amps before dropping below 12.0v then once disconnected and left idle for 24hours will hold 12.2v. Anything outside of this is a sign of it's health and age.

Don't discharge the battery until it's flat or below 12.2v really you'll damage it.

23-01-2014 01:23AM

Nickjf wrote: »

Hi my gears with engine not running are ok , but when driving are quite hard to get into gear can this be adjusted somehow?? Thanks....nick

Try changing the gearbox fluid, check/renew brake&clutch fluid. Sounds like a mechanical issue though.

Control Panel for Fiat Ducato Swift Sundance - Please help identify what does what??

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