No power to the van at home.

JayDee · Guru

No power to the van at home.

Kebbin · Guru

I would have to say that there wouldn't be a power switch in Australia that would auto turn on after turning it off, it's a bit of a health issue. It would however turn off straight away if there was a fault.

Bill B · Guru

Disconnect lead from van and plug something else into the lead and see if it works, then you will know if the problem is the van.

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

Is there an RCD / safety switch in
Van ? As said check with another appliance to check power ? Elect drill, vacuum
Cleaner etc Seems you have a faulty switch ? Get it checked ? May have a reverse polarity ?!

-- Edited by Aus-Kiwi on Sunday 24th of May 2020 08:04:57 PM

thomas01 · Senior Member

Hi Jay & Dee.

Do you know if it is the main power switch or the safety switch/circuit breaker?

Are you sure which position of the power switch is ON?

Either of them are usually in the ON position when the switch lever is up.

It is illegal for the power to turn itself on automatically so I am guessing that the switch is turning itself OFF rather than ON.

As we don't yet know which switch it is, there may be several reasons for the power not staying on.

I would suggest that you make sure that all power points, lights, fridge, stove/oven, hot water service, battery charger, air conditioner/heater and any other electrical devices are turned off before you try to reset the power. If the "switch" then stays in the ON position, try turning all the other switches/devices on one at a time and see if the power stays on. If it turns off after reconnecting any particular device, try the process again, this time leaving the suspect device off and see whether all other devices are ok. If there is a faulty device, get it checked out or replace it.

If, after turning all the devices/appliances off and resetting the switch the power doesn't stay on, seek professional advice. It could be faulty wiring. It could be a faulty main switch or faulty safety switch.

If you could let us know some more details or maybe a photo of the offending switch that would be good.

Good luck with it.

Robert

Long Weekend · Guru

Most RCD switches are imported from America (at least what were installed in both my Jaycos) and the toggles work in reverse to Australia. that is, UP is on, down is OFF.

So, if the toggle is up (on) and when power is applied the toggle flicks down (off) sounds like a short somewhere.

Murray

Bill B · Guru

If fault is in the van, the hot water system would be my bet as the culprit.

Switch it off and unplug it and see if power still trips.

Old and Grey · Senior Member

Hi Jay & Dee,

Leave the power lead disconnected from the van. Plug a kettle into the lead to see if the lead is working first.

Unscrew the four screws to the power inlet to your van and pull the plug forward.

One or more of the wires may have come lose.

Push any of them that are lose, back into the hole from which it came and tighten all up with screw driver to match.

Re Afix to van and Then plug extention lead back in.

Regards Grey.

DMaxer · Guru

Hi JayDee. I think Bill may be right. I am certainly no sparkie but that is similar to what happened in my van earlier this year. When I hooked up to mains power it shut down immediately. I checked by using appliances on the electric lead and they all worked but as soon as I reconnected it to the van it turned off.

After much detailed searching by the electrician it was a faulty element in the hot water system. I turned off the HWS and all worked okay.

littledick · Senior Member

Old and Grey wrote:
Hi Jay & Dee,
Leave the power lead disconnected from the van. Plug a kettle into the lead to see if the lead is working first.
Unscrew the four screws to the power inlet to your van and pull the plug forward.
One or more of the wires may have come lose.
Push any of them that are lose, back into the hole from which it came and tighten all up with screw driver to match.
Re Afix to van and Then plug extention lead back in.
Regards Grey.

Yes, this happened to us in van park. One of the points had pushed in so no contact. Service bloke came to park and fixed it. I wouldn't have thought of it.

Dick.

Bobdown · Guru

Hi Jay and Dee,

Would be interested to hear if you have solved this issue and if so how?

As suggested, I would test the lead first, then turn everything off and isolate things one at a time.

Cheers Bob

JayDee · Guru

Hi Bob

I have tested the lead and power will be getting to the van. I also removed the inlet power point on the van and all the wires are very secure.

I now need to locate my multi meter to check all the electrical outlets inside the van.

Jay&Dee

thomas01 · Senior Member

JayDee,

It would be good to let us know whether you have fixed the problem. Believe it or not, most people would like to know if their advice was helpful.

We all learn (hopefully) from reading these posts.

How did you get on?

Regards Robert

Warren-Pat_01 · Guru

Hi JayDee,
I have a power point tester that my "assistant" plugs into the closest power point after she has connected the van to the power lead. If the correct neons don't light up, it's my headache!

I recall I bought it from Jaycar many moons ago. They have something similar, a bit more up to date with LEDs - "Power Point and Earth Leakage Tester" - CAT.NO: QP2004 - $34.95 (are offering 10% off with online ordering).

They take up little room in an easily accessible drawer.

Your problem - I suspect the RCD - possibly hidden in a cupboard.