hi all I have just bought my first caravan its a elddis connoisseur 2 berth
I'm having a bit of trouble with the electrics and the water,
on the mains or the battery the CD player won't work, and on the mains when I turn on the water pump switch nothing happens but when I put it on battery the water pump switch lights up when I open the tap but still no water? Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks lee
Is the 12v charger switched on? Always best to have a battery fitted even when on mains. It helps prevent surges and gives you lights and water if there is a power cut.
Firstly you have to determine what is operated by 240 volt mains and what is operated by 12 volt power.
12 volt power is available by the towing vehicle when the specific lead is plugged into the towing socket which is the Grey plug if you have twin 7 pin sockets and a 13 pin socket already incorporates the 12 volt power to the caravan.
The other method of obtaining 12 volt power is when the towing electrics are detached from the towing vehicle which you then switch over to the caravan leisure battery. The power from the leisure battery will only operate some of the interior lighting, the awning light, CD/Radio and the water pump.
240 volt mains will operate when connected via the appropriate lead connected to a mains supply which will operate the remaining interior lights, all of the 3 pin sockets and the onbaord battery charger to keep the leisure battery charged.
Thanks guys i can't hear the water pump so dose this mean it's broke? Still still unsure of the CD player all the other electrics in the caravan work! Could it be a fuse? Many thanks
You need to check with a volt meter first if you have a fully charged leisure battery because if the reading is below 12.7 volts then this will be enough power to illuminate the pump light but not enough power to activate the pump itself. This sounds more likely to be the cause of the problem but you need to come back with the results of that test first and then see what other advice can be given. If the battery voltage is very low then this will prove why the lights and CD/Radio are not working either.
The other thing too check with is that if its a submersible one, make sure the little hatch on the outside of the van is pushed fully down (its the hatch that you connect the pump to the van)
I made the mistake of not fully pushing it down on my first trip, took me a good ten minutes or so to check it.
After pushing it all the way down the pump worked fine.
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Topic: Caravan electrics
