# Hobby 750 teething problems?



## peterthebruce

With only a month under our belt we have a list of problems, and from a 2004 motorhome with only 24k on the clock and just one previous owner:
1. After 3 weeks in storage the battery was flat and wouldnt start the engine. The van has been in the dealer's for a few months so perhaps it is a bit weak. I am worried though that the battery may be worn out. When we bought it the dealer said they had tested it and it was OK.
2. Airbag warning light on.
3. Handbrake, even when pulled up to max, struggles to hold van on hill. Has anyone else experienced this?
4. Worst of all, a bad fuel leak from the tank area. You can see diesel dripping from the tank. I hope it is a leak in the fuel line.

I took it back to the dealer today. They have a third party year warranty so I am worried that it is one of the joke warranties that excludes the things that go wrong!

Feeling a bit disgruntled having spent so much on the Hobby when we could have picked up a newer but less well specced van for the same price. It is in the dealer and I hope they will sort it out without any cost to us. They did a full vehicle and habitation check before we purchased it but these things have appeared in one month.

Any advice or even warm words of encouragement would be appeciated!


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## 747

Item 1.....If the battery looks like the original one and the van has stood for a long time, it might just need a good 24 hour charge. There will be a small drain on it from the radio plus an alarm system (if one is fitted). My van is a 52 reg Ducato and the engine battery is fine. The cold weather will soon let you know if it is on the way out.

Item 3...... The handbrake on an AlKo chassis was first designed for use on a Roman baggage cart and never developed further. My advice is to give the van to a good mechanic to sort out the handbrake. Mine was useless and failed its MOT last year. Eventually it was set up correctly and now works. It will probably have an annoying squeak afterwards for months but that is normal.

Items 2 and 4.......A good mechanic will also sort these out.


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## raynipper

The battery problem has been found by dozens of other Fiat, Merc, Peugeot owners for years.
All modern vans have 'parasitic' loads when stood. You either isolate the battery or find some way of keeping it charged. i.e Power supply, solar, etc.

Good luck with getting the dealer to fix the other probs. I can't fault my 2000 Hobby yet. Thats apart from the dreaded shower curtain.

Ray.


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## Kev1

Peter
We are in our first 6 months of owning our first camper and yes it's a Hobby 750 year 2000.
We have had some niggles as well. But overall it's a great van.

If you suss out the Airbag warning light 
Please let us know how
cos ours is on permanently as well.

I can't find where the diagnostic socket is to have it switched off

Chin up mate they are fabulous vans

Kev


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## napoleon

Hi, we have a `98` Hobby 750 and the only thing we would change it for is another Hobby. 
Like you we had the initial problems with purchasing a used motorhome but once we found a good mechanic who knew what to do they soon went away.
Handbrake was a problem on the rear tag axle, found to be adjusted wrong, was corrected and has worked fine since.
I have four leisure batteries which are continually `topped off` by solar panels, well worth investing in, and have had no problems.
As for the remaining problems you have, I suggest you speak to your dealer to try and resolve as soon as possible. 
Then, if not satisfied!!! Find a good local mechanic who knows his way around motorhomes, well worth the trouble looking.
Good Luck :roll:


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## Pusser

I don't know why "teething problems" are not listed under the standard fittings in the brochures and the items that will work listed as options.

At least it would be honest, helpful and you could plan in advance the weeks you wish to leave the m\home in the dealers.


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## raynipper

I know most of these things should be found and fixed by the dealer but unless they fill and spend a night away in the van, the faults might not be apparent.

Of course these might just be the reason the last owner sold or traded up.!!

Ray.


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## peterthebruce

Thanks for cheering me up. This forum is well worth the annual subscription! It is easy to get glum when you have forked out a massive amount of hard earned cash but I suppose there are likely uto be problems when vans sit in dealers' forecourts for months.

I looked in Maplins today and they had 4 different solar trickle chargers that ranged from 2.5w to 5W. The smallest was £20 and the largest £40 but reduced to £25! Apparently they work in cloudy weather and fit into the ciggy socket. I am interested if others have used these and, if so, which one? As I leave it in a storage site, I do not have access to mains power to charge it. I thought leaving it on when stored might just keep the vehicle battery charged more strongly. I do not know if there would be any problem with my alarm (sigma 30) though. Any views more than welcome.


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## javea

My only experience with a solar trickle charger was with one I used in my Smart car when it was parked for months at Alicante airport. It certainly worked well there.

Would think you would need the most powerful one to compensate for drain from the alarm and radio.

Not all cigarette lighter sockets are live when the ignition is turned off, you may need to wire it direct to the battery with a plug so that you can leave the wires in situ when you disconnect the panel.


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## raynipper

Personally I would not expect too much for low wattage solar maintainers. They are just that, maintainers and not chargers.

If your parasitic loads are just one or two amps then you would need a constant 12 or 24 watt panel.
Given the most you can expect is 8 hours of sunlight at about 50% efficiency, then a 80 to 100 watt panel would be needed to keep a couple of batteries from exhausting.

Ray.


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## Yaxley

Best of luck with sorting out the niggles.
The Hobby 750 is a great van and you will have many happy days with it.
I agree with Raynipper that if you are putting it into storage with no access to hookup then a solar panel is the best bet.
Ian


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## gaspode

Just a comment on the handbrake problem.

The handbrakes on these larger JTD series 'vans are only just up to the job at the best of times. Also they are very frequently adjusted incorrectly and/or the shoes seize due to lack of use.

The handbrake is a seperate "top hat" system with a normal disk brake for pedal functions but an internal drum arrangement for the handbrake. These are often adjusted by tightening the cable - which will lead to them wearing out and seizing. They actually need to be adjusted through a small hole in the drum, very awkward and frequently ignored by lazy mechanics. New shoes aren't cheap so I would insist on the dealer stripping the rear brakes and replacing the shoes if required.

More info can be found on the Fiat forum:
http://www.fiatforum.com/


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## peterthebruce

*Leaky tank!*

Well, my week in Norfolk is not going to happen. Rear brakes sorted (new shoes and pads fitted when bought - now re-adjusted), air bag light due to battery being in a poor state of charge and the leak? Well it is a leak in the tank itself at the seams. The mechanic said he hadn't come across this before. In fact he is having a job sourcing a replacement tank so I will have to wait until the weekend. Typically fuel tanks are not covered by the third party warranty but, full marks to SMC Motorhomes in Newark, they are going to pay for the replacement tank.
I thought this might be due to the diesel absorbing moisture as it stands in storage for a long time. But it is hard to imagine corrosion from the inside when the tank is full of greasy diesel! The van is 2004 so not that old. Strange. Anyway, perhaps next week for Norfolk! Looks like it is the shed roof this week....


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## mixyblob

With regard to your flat battery problem, fitting one of THESE would stop your battery going flat enough to prevent your engine starting.
I have one fitted to my Nissan Skyline as it has a high alarm current drain and a tiny battery and gets little use. 
Our Hobby700 engine battery charges when on EHU along with the leisure batteries and has yet not caused us a problem.
A fantastic van but like you, we had teething problems but now they are fixed (apart from the squeaky brakes) we are very pleased with it.


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