Complete system failure

[Natgreen]

My mechanic has had my van for over a week. I'm guessing he had it inside the whole time with no charge plugged in. The refrigerator was on the whole time.I went to pick up some items and the whole system was dead. It was sitting outside in the sun and even the charge controller had no power. Could it be that the batteries are just completely dead or worse?

 

[Elbear1]

Yeah it could be. Do you not have a converter to plug in? Probablly going to have to get some way to charge off 120v now. I like my powermax 55 amp. Like $120 adjustable voltage 3 stage or fixed. FYI

 

[Natgreen]

I still don't have my van yet. I just stopped by to get some paperwork out of it

 

[Elbear1]

See if he will plug his charger into it for now. Surely a garage has a charger.

 

[jimindenver]

Is there a battery disconnect?

 

[highdesertranger]

first off put a voltmeter on the battery. you should have let the mechanic know about your system he/she could have taken steps to prevent this. why has the mechanic had it so long? highdesertranger

 

[Natgreen]

The engine fuse block needs replaced. It's a 93. They said the part is discontinued and they are having trouble finding one

I went bqck after hours and tested the panels. They're good. I disconnected them from the controller and put wire nuts on the wires. The batteries are definitely dead. I don't know about the controller. I got a spare battery paying around but I need the damn thing to run first. I did tell my mechanic. He was acting weird when I showed up yesterday. He was half shaking when he talked to me. Ugh.

 

[Natgreen]

No battery disconnect

 

[Elbear1]

A whole fuse block went bad....thats a first for me.

 

[Master Mechanic]

My mechanic has had my van for over a week. I'm guessing he had it inside the whole time with no charge plugged in. The refrigerator was on the whole time.I went to pick up some items and the whole system was dead. It was sitting outside in the sun and even the charge controller had no power. Could it be that the batteries are just completely dead or worse?

there is a minimum voltage needed for controller and inverter to work. charge battery u should be ok.

 

[Natgreen]

A whole fuse block went bad....thats a first for me.

The windshield is starting to rust. There's a huge leak dumping water on it. They need to find the part and relocate the block

 

[highdesertranger]

if it's a Ford they are known for the leaky window ruining the fuse block. highdesertranger

 

[wayne49]

Could be the main power input is shot, rendering the entire fuse block inert.

Single point of failure for the entire block.

 

[Natgreen]

While I have people's attention. Anyone know where I can get a decent class B?

 

[Master Mechanic]

fuse block check salvage yards they surely have it.

 

[B and C]

When I was shopping for my B, I figured out exactly what I wanted first and then scoured the country (south of the rust belt) looking for one (on the internet). Figured I could fly there and if as presented, drive back. If not, fly back. Part of the cost. I lucked out and found mine less than a hour away but it took almost a year.

There are a lot of decent B's out there. It all depends on how far you are willing to travel and what your budget is. The smaller the budget, the slimmer the pickings.

 

[maki2]

The first rule when trouble shooting electrical is always check the physical connections first.

 

[Natgreen]

Found out why my mechanic was so shaky the other day. They completely ruined the VAN electrical system. Brought it in because of the fuse block. The fuse for the fuel pump was too corroded. I didn't think until afterwards to just put an inline fuse on it. Well, whatever their tech did it's a complete mess now. He stopped halfway so there s disconnected wires everywhere. Not sure why when a new fuse block would have been fine. I tried....long story short...its a catastrophe. 10x worse then when I brought it in. And I have to try to back track some one else's shitty work. They told me 2000$ to fix it. About 10 hours of labor. I'm dead in the water now.

The good news though. The solar is fine. Well....the batteries did completely discharge so that's bad but I got a little charge on them enough to get the controller working again.

I don't know what to do.

 

[Natgreen]

fuse block check salvage yards they surely have it.

Yea. Tried that. Apparently leaking water onto the fuse block is a common issue with these vans. All the ones in the salvage yards are ruined too.

 

[highdesertranger]

my guess is it's a Ford. very common issue. this was a problem with Fords all through the 90's and 00's. highdesertranger