Club 80-90 Forums

hi all, hope you are all well after the xmas break.
i am having a problem with the control box on my 1980 devon. the aux battery is not getting any charge. i have tested the control box and this is the problem. where the feed from the main battery comes in i am getting 12. 8 volts but where the wires come out to feed the aux battery i have no reading. there is an outlet labled non fused service and this is reading 12. 8 volts. i have tried all the control switches in all the positions but i makes no diference. would it be safe to connect the aux battery to the non fused service outlet or is that asking for trouble ? any help would be great. thanks all for reading my ramble hope you can make sense of it. just to say the box has CTF 180 on the front of it.

Any chance of a close up of the control unit. Do you have an literature for it?

I've tried googling it but end up with airplanes, virus' or thermal circuit breakers

I wouldn't recommend connecting anything to an unfused feed unless you can connect it with an in -line fuse in the cable to the battery

hi brenn, thanks for your reply. i to tried to find info on the box through the interthing and drew a blank. i will take a photo of it tomorow and put it on here. think you are right about the non fused outlet, maybe a last resort but will fit a fuse next to the outlet. thanks again. john

hope this helps.

moggymorgan wrote:just to say the box has CTF 180 on the front of it.

Well, I was on a hiding to nowhere anyway as in your first post you described it as a CTF180.

I have since googled "Warner CTF1850" and found this viewtopic.php?f=40&t=71809&p=7511799

Let's get the obvious out of the way first as it just looks like a different sort of 'Zig' unit. Have you tested all the fuses and tried pushing the 'Overload Reset' button? I take it the unfused outlet you're referring to is the ciggie lighter style outlet in the top right hand corner?

Also, where were you measuring your voltages from - connector block at the back of the unit?

hi, yes i measured the voltage at the connection block at the back of the unit. it has 3 connections, one is car battery in and registers 12.8 volts so ok there. 2 is aux battery feed and measures nil volts. 3 is non fused 12 volt feed and measures 12.8 vols. seems to be a problem between the main and aux batteries. think i will have to open the unit and check all the connections inside for any breaks. i have checked all the fuses on the unit and they are ok. maybe a fault with the switch between the two feeds. sorry i got the model number wrong in the first post. cant find any info on this type of zig so i will have to play it by ear. thanks again. john

So are you trying to charge the leisure battery with the van running, or off the mains, or both? Did it ever work to your knowledge?

hi, trying to charge from van with engine running, used to work ok but has now failed. will try to charge from mains tomorow , thanks for being patient, still a bit new to me but hey thats part of the fun i guess. john

Ok best guess. Three position switch should be in the centre position ('Off' as in mains off/'Tow Charge' as in vehicle alternator doing the charging). Start the van and measure the voltage at the starter battery and the leisure battery. They should be in the high 13 to about 14 volt area. If the voltage at the starter battery is up but the leisure battery isn't there's a break in the circuit somewhere, probably an in-line fuse somewhere as the fuses on the control panel (probably) feed the camper equipment like water pump and lights etc and are not associated with the split charge.

done that tody and main battery with engine running is 13.7 aux battery is 0.3 so no charge getting through. as you say a break in the system. i will have to have a good go over the week end. thanks again, i will keep you posted. john

Break could also be within the unit itself. Try it on hook up too with switch in 'Caravan Battery' position. Also try disconnecting the leisure battery at the connections at the back of the unit and measure the voltage - if no voltage fault is probably within the unit (mains and alternator methods)