T25 Leisure battery problem !!!!!

[MarkCharlotte]

New here, we have just bought a VW T25 trident autosleeper 1988, but the only problem is with the leisure battery. Our fridge and plug socket only works on hook up and there is no water supply despite the pump working when you turn the tap on. Can any one help with any suggestions please

[hally75]

Hi there...
Have you got 12v ...do your various inside lights work etc...or just dim?
Sounds like your 12v fuse may have popped?
The water....if your pump definitely running ..dont want to state the obvious...have you got water in the tank?
Your 240v socket will only work when on mains hook up.
Your fridge should also work on gas.

[MarkCharlotte]

Thank you for your reply. The lights are all working brightly and working correctly. where would i find the 12v fuse? The fridge is 3 way but only appears to work on hook up- it won't ignite even though the gas is working and all connected etc- the light on the switch just flickers, am I missing something obvious? It also doesn't work from the leisure battery- is it meant to or only when the engine is running? the water tank is full and I tried blowing into the tap earlier and you can hear the water bubbles in the tank, which I presume indicates there is no blockage? New to the camper van world so any advice gratefully received!!

[hally75]

If your lights work you have 12v.... So its not the fuse!
The fridge on gas....the light flickers till its ignited....make sure the gas valve is on...select gas button and keep the ignition button pressed in till the light stops flickering....you can usually hear a faint pop when it kicks in.
The 12v or battery button for fridge only for when engine running ideally....and not as effective as hook up or gas.
The hoses for the tap may have come undone somewhere....any water leaks anywhere? Does the pump make whirring noise...or is it really noisy?
I'll ask the bro in law about pump and possible problems!

[MarkCharlotte]

Thank you so much for your advice, its much appreciated! The fridge is definitely not igniting- have pressed button down for over a minute and still not working- any other reasons? I suspected as much regarding the battery and as we are going away to a site without hookup in a few weeks time I am hoping to resolve the fridge gas issue. Someone suggested an issue with a microswitch could be causing the drought from the tap?! Thanks again

[Mocki]

If you can hear the pump running when you turn the tap on, it's NOT the micro switch .

Solve one problem at once !
Make sure the battery is fully charged via a seperate mains charger , then you can fault find from a starting point .

[baj25]

Have you got a zig unit? There are about 6 different circuits separately fused in there (fuses are behind cover on LHS). If some 12V equipment is working and others not, could be simple as a fuse. HTH, Bri

[MarkCharlotte]

Thanks re the pump, any other ideas ? According to the electrical control panel the leisure battery is fully charged the van has been stood for a long time with its previous owners, I don't know whether this is relevant to any of the problems?

[MarkCharlotte]

Thanks Bri It's the black and gold control panel and all of the fuses on there are all fine.

[baj25]

Again may sound obvious but still caught me out once - the control panel has a 12V on/off switch, that needs to be on for fridge to work on gas and for water pump to work. There is another switch to turn pump on, both need to be on to run pump. There are different ZIG units, this applies to mine (in a 90 Autosleeper). HTH, Bri

[MarkCharlotte]

I've fixed the water problem it was air in the system still can't get the fridge to run on gas tho turned both taps on and the cooker works fine. Thanks for your help guys

[mark]

turn the gas knob to 3 the one (with flame on) push it in and turn the orange switch on should start clicking. hold the knob in until the clicking stops and for a further few seconds after. to check its lit there is a small clear window in the bottom left hand corner of the interior of the fridge, you should see a small blue flame. on 12 volt the fridge only works when the engine is running small red button far left, on 240volt when connected to a hook up large green button far left. if your planning a trip set the fridge running the night before, have a mooch through campers pages there is an autosleeper thread with lots of info and different layouts etc

mark

[MarkCharlotte]

Thanks for that Mark I will have a look around, I've tried getting to light again there is a flame but it goes straight out again, might need a good cleaning out from the air vent side of the van

[Oldiebut goodie]

Keep the gas knob held in whilst it is lit - this activates the thermocouple which holds the gas valve open, once the thermocouple has heated up release the gas knob and it should stay lit. If it doesn't either the thermocouple needs replacing or the tip isn't in the flame correctly. Just buy a universal one off ebay if needed, no need to pay camping shop prices.

[MarkCharlotte]

I've been out there all day, and again this evening holding down the gas knob down for a couple of minutes each time and repeating this for 10 minutes or so but no change it doesn't light at all Thanks for the tip