# Sargent12v habitation power off even when engine not running



## ingram (May 12, 2005)

Equipement:-- 2006 pre-Swift Autocruise. 
Sargent EC 200 electronic control system
Omnistep ( two steps fold out type )

I moved the 'van which had been standing for a few weeks. When I turned the engine off I found that the message:- '12v disabled engine running' was still displayed and there was no 12v in the hab. area.

I swopped over the fridge and charge relays but made no difference.

I then lowered the Omnistep and the 12v came on!

I then raised the step and the 12v went off again!

The step lowered and raised as normal and I checked that it raised when the engine was started.

After lowering and raising the step several times the 12v system 'healed up' and has been ok since.

I'd like to know what the cause was in case it happens again when the 'van is in use.

I have looked at the Omnistep circuit provided by Clive Mott but can't see why the step circuit should cause the 12v to go on and off.

The step switch must be ok because it is the only thing that 'changes' when the step is operated to 'tell' the electronics that it is in or out. ( I think ).

Any ideas folks?

Harvey


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## sennen523 (May 6, 2006)

Hi Harvey,

My Auto-Trail has Sargent electrics, and yours should be similar.

When you start the engine, the step should retract and the control display should say, "12 volt disabled engine running" (as you mentioned)

Sounds if you have an electrical fault somewhere. If you contact Sargent, I have found them very helpful. [email protected]

Hope you can get this sorted OK.

Regards,
Al
sennen523.


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## TR5 (Jun 6, 2007)

Hi Harvey

The hab. electrical supply is operated via a relay, which (I think) is mounted within the Sargent PSU, and activated when you power on the control panel.
I have the exact opposite problem, i.e. the 12v does not go off with the engine running.
I had another PSU fitted, which resolved that issue, but had other unrelated faults, so reverted back to the original unit. 

It is easy to remove the PSU and unplug the leads, and then you can send the unit to Sargent's for overhaul. I think it is about £80 - £90 cost.
I'm a bit confused how the step affects this, but I bet there is another relay somewhere, which is inter-linked, so the step operates to the retracted position when the engine is started.

Although my 12v stays active when the engine is on, the step still retracts, so I would imagine there is another relay near the step, possibly in the back of the table storage area.

There is no reference to the step in the instructions and diagrams you can print off from Sargent's website, relating to the EC200 control unit, and they don't give any detail of the EC200 internals, so........
it is possible the step retraction supply is linked to the fridge 12v supply, which becomes live when the engine is started, so not linked at all to the PSU. You could try disconnecting the fridge relay temporarily to confirm this.

Your hab electrics could be just a sticky relay in the EC200, and not related to the step at all, but just coincidence it started operating after a while. The step is certainly not affected, operation wise, by whether the control panel just inside the hab door is powered on, or not, but the rest of the 12v supply is.

You could also check the link cable connections between and to the EC200 and the control panel, they are just push-on connectors, and one could be a little loose. I had this problem also, but relating to the fresh water tank levels not being displayed correctly.

Hope this helps.

TR5


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## Sargent (Feb 1, 2008)

Hi Harvey if you contact our technical support people tomorrow I am sure that they will be able to resolve the matter. 
Telephone 01482 678981

I suspect that there is a back feed via the step relay (which is located near the step) the circuit takes a vehicle battery feed and uses this when the step auto-retracts via the engine run signal, I believe that there is some inter-connection between these circuit.

I hope this helps but if I can help then please let me know, [email protected]ltd.co.uk

Best regards
Ian Sargent


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