Cannot charge brand new cali!! Help pls!

[JohnGuppy]

sorry 220v socket in 7

 

[DavidofHook]

Have you checked the switch in the rear cupboard? This is the tall cupboard best accessed from the rear door. At the back is a switch which (relay?) which controls electrics coming into the van. It should be up and red, if not, you won,t get any electrics

 

[WelshGas]

I think @Alpy Days! has already stated the Mains socket on the Kitchen unit has power, so the Campsite Post, EHU Lead and Cali RCD are all functioning.

 

[Loz]

Loz - thanks for your reply here - think possibly a fuse issue as checked everything else....we have found a fuse box under the drivers seat, but it doesnt seem to bear any resmblance to the picture in our manual (which is also in french which makes things more tricky....). If I send you a photo of the fuse box, would you be able to pin point anything I wonder...!?

check the green 30A fuses

 

[JohnGuppy]

This is so difficult we are all trying to help our friend who has this problem it happens time and time again
Some kind person took the time to write out a very good hand over check list that covers checking you have all you should have when they collect their new vehicle
I would consider a way forward is to turn up at ones dealer armed with a gas bottle ,, long lead and any leads your require and get the dealer to test and show
it working before you drive away lets face it most vans sold have no problems with there vehicles from one service to another we California owners have so many problems most dealers don't have a clue what they are doing when it comes to fault finding they just replace parts and tell you well it did not fix the problem please come back next week and we with have another part
We give praise to a few dedicated dealers who have taken the time to look further into a problem and fix it and share with others there findings and in most cases they did not sell you your vehicle
Dealers don't sell vehicles for nothing they get there cut make them spend some of there profit on a £20 mains lead and a bottle of gas then they can test everything in the PDI inspection Better still make a cup of tea and show a mains TV working on hand over
All I can say is the two dealers I deal with would have checked everything before handing it to me , if I need more help I ask on this forum before asking VW CS or tec support
Rant over


I recently purchased a 28 year old T25 Holdsworth camper van for my daughter , it still chargers two batteries, has a 3 way fridge 220v 12v and gas has a 240 volt 13amp socket the only difference is when I am driving down the road there is a switch on the dash to turn on the fridge 12v when the engine is running so you don't flatten your battery
all this is still working after all these years The instruction book hand typed covers everything and included in the purchase was a mains lead and bottle of gas all for £15.000

 

[Alpy Days!]

Just a little update - we rerouted our trip togo via Narbonne where our Cali was originally from. The dealer gave us short shrift saying he couldnt look at it until september, we explained we were on an extended trip in the Cali and being without power was problematic. So we drove to Narbonne and showed up anyway and sort of forced his hand to give us a quick once over - he couldnt find the source of the problem and told is they would have to dismantle things to look properly. So we have carried on on our way and are hoping for the best. We have booked Poppy in for a poper fix at the dealership closer to home when we return.
Thanks for all your advice!

 

[JohnGuppy]

That is such crap service it sounds to me these dealers should not be dealers , this is the action of people who don't have a clue , its only a charging system nothing complicated its time to name and shame these dealers surly our friend Alpy Days has struggled and had so much hassle on a brand new vehicle
Come on VW C/S UK help these guys out we know you read these postings show us you care !!

Pulling the kettle type plug from the charger and using a meter to check if 220v is reaching the plug would tell you the mains is working fine and if you have power to your socket then that's is working 5 mins work and shows the 220v is working if so the garage could have lent you a small battery changer and clipped it on the rear battery and you would have lest been able to cope until you return that way your fridge would have worked and you would only have to seek a mains hook up every couple of days

you could even have checked the voltage on the rear battery and the one under the seat and I am sure you would see the same voltage if so you know the 12v is working

Myself I would have taken 15 ins to do these checks and 15 mins fitting a charger as a temp fix I am sure anyone would have excepted but most dealers don't train there staff to fault find these days its fit a new one and oh that don't work we will order another come back in two weeks time

What we want is someone to write up some check lists and to ways of making temp fixes to keep vehicles on the road so when you go along to your dealer show him to give him a clue where to start

To conclude when VW build the California they have a procedure for removing and replacing everything within the vehicle I would have been surprised if most jobs mean removing the whole inside to do most things its this information the dealers don't have and don't share with each other bit like one up man ship

We on this site share everything and help each other when we can