T6 Dead control panel - fridge control?

[Badabu]

So, recently bought a pre-loved 2018 Cali T6 Ocean 4Motion. After a couple days, the control unit display went dead, same symptoms as this thread https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/control-panel-dead-on-2017-ocean.38599/
After a day of not working, it came back alive, then dead again another day later. When it was on I checked the diagnostics and no errors were reported.
The buttons seem functional (on-off, control knob make the button lights switch on) but the display shows no information. Had it in the shop today and they said it was probably a faulty unit, needs replacement. I will probably write to the company in the Netherlands to check the options for restoration (or if anyone has any ideas what else to try).

However I have a trip comming up so I'm wondering if it's it possible to control the fridge without the control unit?

 

[WelshGas]

So, recently bought a pre-loved 2018 Cali T6 Ocean 4Motion. After a couple days, the control unit display went dead, same symptoms as this thread https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/control-panel-dead-on-2017-ocean.38599/
After a day of not working, it came back alive, then dead again another day later. When it was on I checked the diagnostics and no errors were reported.
The buttons seem functional (on-off, control knob make the button lights switch on) but the display shows no information. Had it in the shop today and they said it was probably a faulty unit, needs replacement. I will probably write to the company in the Netherlands to check the options for restoration (or if anyone has any ideas what else to try).

However I have a trip comming up so I'm wondering if it's it possible to control the fridge without the control unit?

View attachment 138984

View attachment 138985

If the fault is with the Display screen then the unit might be working behind the scene.
If you press the Fridge button, top R and then the button does the colour change on the top R button. If so the fridge is probably On at the last temperature setting. Any noise from the fridge to confirm not is working?

 

[Badabu]

If the fault is with the Display screen then the unit might be working behind the scene.
If you press the Fridge button, top R and then the button does the colour change on the top R button. If so the fridge is probably On at the last temperature setting. Any noise from the fridge to confirm not is working?

Nothing happens after pressing the button, so I guesd my assumption that only display is at fault is wrong…

 

[vbk1975]

So, recently bought a pre-loved 2018 Cali T6 Ocean 4Motion. After a couple days, the control unit display went dead, same symptoms as this thread https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/control-panel-dead-on-2017-ocean.38599/
After a day of not working, it came back alive, then dead again another day later. When it was on I checked the diagnostics and no errors were reported.
The buttons seem functional (on-off, control knob make the button lights switch on) but the display shows no information. Had it in the shop today and they said it was probably a faulty unit, needs replacement. I will probably write to the company in the Netherlands to check the options for restoration (or if anyone has any ideas what else to try).

However I have a trip comming up so I'm wondering if it's it possible to control the fridge without the control unit?

View attachment 138984

View attachment 138985

There is no way to control the fridge without the control panel as such.

In an emergency situation you can bypass the panel at the fridge and force the fridge on / off, but the temp control is done in the control panel so you would have to manually cycle it. (I can dig out the pins on the fridge panel if you want to do that) but you will freeze the contents if you don't cycle it.

I would contact Ed @ElectronicEquipmentRepair to see if he can fix the panel, he is excellent!

Electronic Equipment Repair - Electronic Equipment Repair - EERepair

Specialising in industrial and electronic equipment - inspection, diagnostic, quote, follow-up support

www.electronicequipmentrepair.com

 

[Badabu]

The plot thickens. Today I was cleaning the van and noticed the tap water pump didn't work. The car was not on EHU for some time and didn't do many miles, so I hooked it up for a while. I measured the two leisure batteries, the one under seat read 14V when on EHU, the one in the rear 12.1V... I checked the fuses again (under seat, behind drink cooler), all good. Then I checked the connections below the cabinet with the sink, in the round hole, and the connector seemed pretty corroded (sorry for the bad quality picture below). I tried to loosen the connection and wiggled it a bit. About a minute later my GF pressed the on button on the camper control panel - and the VW logo showed! We went through all the functions - aux heater works, roof works. But fridge doesn't work. The snowflake on the control panel turns yellow, but the fridge doesn't start. So basically everything in the front works, and everything in the back does not (water pump, fridge, battery charging?).

So first, I guess the panel itself is alive and well.
Two hypothesis spring to mind:
1) The batteries were so depleted that it took a couple of hours to get them to the capacity in which they can power the control panel... seems a bit unlikely, I measured the voltage the panel is getting before and it was 12V. And why wasn't the panel working when driving or on EHU before this? I don't know a lot about car electrics so there might be some logic behind this.
2) The corrosion caused loss of connection between some back components and the panel, causing it to not boot properly?
In any case, I now believe the fault is somewhere in the wiring and not the panel.

 

[WelshGas]

The plot thickens. Today I was cleaning the van and noticed the tap water pump didn't work. The car was not on EHU for some time and didn't do many miles, so I hooked it up for a while. I measured the two leisure batteries, the one under seat read 14V when on EHU, the one in the rear 12.1V... I checked the fuses again (under seat, behind drink cooler), all good. Then I checked the connections below the cabinet with the sink, in the round hole, and the connector seemed pretty corroded (sorry for the bad quality picture below). I tried to loosen the connection and wiggled it a bit. About a minute later my GF pressed the on button on the camper control panel - and the VW logo showed! We went through all the functions - aux heater works, roof works. But fridge doesn't work. The snowflake on the control panel turns yellow, but the fridge doesn't start. So basically everything in the front works, and everything in the back does not (water pump, fridge, battery charging?).

So first, I guess the panel itself is alive and well.
Two hypothesis spring to mind:
1) The batteries were so depleted that it took a couple of hours to get them to the capacity in which they can power the control panel... seems a bit unlikely, I measured the voltage the panel is getting before and it was 12V. And why wasn't the panel working when driving or on EHU before this? I don't know a lot about car electrics so there might be some logic behind this.
2) The corrosion caused loss of connection between some back components and the panel, causing it to not boot properly?
In any case, I now believe the fault is somewhere in the wiring and not the panel.

View attachment 139027

You have 2 Leisure Batteries wired in parallel.
The rear battery has a 75 or 100 amp cube fuse on the red +tve connection. If that fails the rear battery will NOT be charged on EHU hookup.
The Control Panel has, I believe, 2 power sources from the Engine and Leisure batteries. That’s why Ignition has to be On to operate the roof.
I would check the Cube fuse and disconnect that connector and clean it well.