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Subject Topic: MCB for caravan lights tripped Post Reply Post New Topic
PersonJD123
25/3/2018 at 10:31am
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Hi all, I was using the caravan lights plus an arc light plugged in the caravan, for a couple of hours, then the MCB tripped and will not close, just kepts tripping out so no lights or power to sockets.
I am thinking the MCB has overheated and won't reset, so change the MCB and see if it happens again, if it does it may be a circuit fault, I would appreciate any advice
Many thanks

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JD123


PersonGeoff48
25/3/2018 at 11:34am
 Location: Bolton
 Outfit: Avondale Dart 510 5 View Geoff48's Profile View Profile   Reply to Geoff48 Reply   Quote Geoff48 Quote  
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You have no supply for lights and power - did the RCD trip and will it reset? The MCBs protect the lighting by the lower amp rated MCB and power by the higher amp rated MCB. RCD's are for earth leakage - circuit faults MCB's protect against circuit overload. Does the test button on the RCD work?


Personsaxo1
25/3/2018 at 11:50am
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Unplug everything and see if it closes,if it does then try individual appliances etc one at a time to identify the faulty equipment.
saxo1


PersonJD123
27/3/2018 at 10:01am
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Hi all, the test button on the consumer unit works, it's the smaller trip for sockets and lights that will not close, thanks for any advice

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JD123


PersonGeoff48
27/3/2018 at 10:40am
 Location: Bolton
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You should have separate MCBs for the power circuit and the light circuit so I am a little surprised that both don't work. It seems that neither will turn on try replacing the MCB's, with the electric turned off. A simple Job see Video if you are unsure. If still no joy there is a problem on the circuits. If they have overheated it can sometimes cause the MCB to stick.


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PersonJD123
30/3/2018 at 1:18pm
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Hi all, the 240 now works, it was a fault with the charger, when connected to 240v it just trips the MCB, with the charger disconnected the trip stays in and everything works.
My only problem now is the 12v side, my question is, should the 12v lights work anyway with 240 connected or must I have charger and battery connected also to make a circuit
Thanks for any advice

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JD123


Persontango55
30/3/2018 at 1:36pm
 Location: Lichfield
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You need to have a battery in circuit to stabilise the current but if the charger has malfunctioned then it means that you need to charge the leisure battery imdependently until you replace the charger. However, before you buy a new charger/transformer you need to test it first to confirm that it is actually defective. The way to do it is to get a voltmeter, switch off the 240 volt mains supply, remove the battery connectors, apply the test probes to the positive and negative battery connectors then get an assistant to turn on the 240 volt mains and to switch on the charger. If the charger is functioning okay you will get a reading of around 13.8 - 14 volts but if it's anything less then the charger is faulty. That is the reason for having a battery in circuit because the current is greater than 13 volts which can eventually overload the charger and burn it out.


Personsaxo1
30/3/2018 at 2:03pm
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"remove the battery connectors apply the test probes to the positive and negative battery connectors then get an assistant to turn on the 240 volt mains and to switch on the charger"

Having firstly reconnected the battery.
saxo1


Persontango55
30/3/2018 at 2:38pm
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Quote: Originally posted by saxo1 on 30/3/2018
"remove the battery connectors apply the test probes to the positive and negative battery connectors then get an assistant to turn on the 240 volt mains and to switch on the charger"

Having firstly reconnected the battery.
saxo1


If you reconnect the battery first then you won't get an accurate true reading to show what the charger output is. Remember that it will only take a few seconds to carry out the test so no harm will be done providing that the battery connectors don't make contact with each other. If the test is conducted with the battery connected then you will receive a reading of the battery voltage only which doesn't prove if the charger is defective or not.


Personsaxo1
30/3/2018 at 3:09pm
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A lot of battery chargers won't output a voltage unless a battery is connected,they require a voltage from the battery to analyze the state of charge.
http://www.chargingchargers.com/tutorials/battery-recognition.html
saxo1



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