Hook Up Problems

[filbay]

Hi, I have had my 1986 camper about a year and although we,ve been away in it on several trips have only decided to use the Hook Up this last week on a trip to Swanage. This was because my daughter and grandson came with us so we thought it would be good to use the fridge. I connected up the hook up cable , switched on , the light on the Zig unit came on and the fridge got cold. However after about 2 hours the light went out and the fridge wasn,t working . I noticed that the sites hook up unit had tripped but despite resetting it there was no improvement. Since returning home I have checked all the fuses and connections but cannot find anything obviously wrong. I double checked by connecting up to our mains supply but still no joy. Anyone any ideas on things to look for, or failing that anyone know of any specialists on this sort of thing in the Hampshire area ? Any suggestions would be gratefully received.........

[ewenmaclean]

Hello,

do you have an RCD in the van itself? Obviously it would be good to find out what caused the circuit to trip - best way to do that is to isolate each circuit from zig onwards, but not knowing your van layout it's hard to say. Certain electrical items have a habit of tripping switches when they go - halogen lights for example can often draw a high current just before they blow....

Ewen

[filbay]

Hi, Thanks for your advice. Yes, it does have RCD,but I realise its difficult without knowing the layout. I will have another look tomorrow but I do find auto electrics a bit of a black art ! thanks again...Phil

[1664]

If something caused the site hook up RCD to trip then it will have tripped yours too. Anything else on the mains besides the fridge and the Zig?

[billybigspud]

i take it the fridge element is 240v and you were not charging a battery which was supplying the fridge if you know what i mean?
if it is 240v you need to break the circuits down.
disconnect the fridge, check it,
diconnect socket, check
systematically ( is that a real word ) work back towards your main rcd.
if both have blown then i would expect it to be after your rcd. if just the site one blew then inspect the cable between your hook up and mains board or your hook up cable itself including inside the plugs.
if you still dont have any luck than i am only down the road so if you pm me i will find out what the prob is for you. may not be able to fix it if it is your fridge, zig but will tell you what it is.

[filbay]

Thanks for your offer of help, really appreciated. When I get home from work tomorrow I will have a look at the things you suggested. If I don,t have any luck then I will contact you again during the week if thats ok ? Cheers.........

[billybigspud]

no worries.
240v probs are easy as they will have a dedicated neutral instead of a common -ve with the 12v stuff.