Why I decided NOT to wait for the GC

Good to see another Boxdrive owner on board, welcome transportnw. How long have you had yours? Got any pics? I'm guessing NW stands for North West, where you from?
 
Just checked the brochure, I think I do have the Energy Pack, as I wasn't expecting additional 230v socket and 12v socket in the garage and wasn't expecting the digital control panel, so think I may have won another watch... :)
 
transportnw said:
Hi DNR, can you tell me if you have a battery under the bonnet (n/s) please. I'm trying to establish if the one I refer to is a habitation battery or a VW fitment. Any help with sourcing an English Boxdrive manual would be much appreciated.
Thanks itscalledbob for your battery info.
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I have an English manual. I will bring it into the office tomorrow and try and scan it onto hear, unless there is another way? Is it not the done thing to share email addresses on a public forum?
 
I see camper van elastic have a grand California. fully loaded it cost them over 100K on the road. wow. £1225 per week to rent in summer. wow.
 
DNR said:
I have an English manual. I will bring it into the office tomorrow and try and scan it onto hear, unless there is another way? Is it not the done thing to share email addresses on a public forum?
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The starter battery is under the n/s mat. Remove cover for jack etc and slide rubber floor covering to centre of cab then pull up and slide off the hard plastic cover, I'm 99% sure this is the starter battery fitted by VW but what's confusing is the second battery under the bonnet is identical and has a load of fuse's & relays attached. As previously mentioned the Dometic charger (near the rear garage battery) appears not to utilise the second habitation battery charging circuit (provision for 2 on the unit) neither the specific trickle charge circuit for the starter battery for some reason. Utilising the full potential of the Dometic charger would charge & maintain all three batteries far better I would have thought unless Knaus know better. I was intending to change the two habitation batteries for gel type for better performance but leaving well alone till its checked by knaus.

My vehicle not registered at the moment, as we're busy for most of Jan/Feb. intending to register in March. Consequently without transporting or trade plates it's on the drive in North Wales till then.

By your photo's you do have the energy plus pack which is a big advantage though I'm not sure what all the components (expensive) of that pack are located.

I'm new to this forum writing and too not sure of correct protocol but what the heck transportnw@+++++++.com thanks all with any help with the English manual.

DNR said:
I have an English manual. I will bring it into the office tomorrow and try and scan it onto hear, unless there is another way? Is it not the done thing to share email addresses on a public forum?
Click to expand...
 
knwldgeseker said:
This sounds very like the issue I have, my Solar installers (Sunstore, very good and highly recommended) are also auto electricians and I'd asked them to give a quick look at it but not make any changes or put too much time in as it was going to be a warranty issue. They identified the problem quickly, this was what they reported:

''The van has a D+ signal to the control board. This works correctly..
However then it is attached to the board with - (neg) . the relays close and join the batteries for charging.. the step retracts and the fridge turns on. So when the engine is off.. the step holds closed.. the fridge power turns on.. and the batteries join.. this appears to be a reverse of what it should be.. the relay switched with negative feed to D+
Turn the engine on and D+ is 12v.. the fridge turns off.. the step works fine and the batteries are disconnected.. and not charging.
I think there must be programming error here. can we reprogram it for the customer.. ?
Also, once this is solved the fridge must be addressed as it is a compressor fridge and should run on permanent 12v not on ignition d+ only..''

I have to wait until I get a chance at the end of March to get it into a dealer to get this addressed. Knaus' Quality Control/pdi is atrocious, there is no excuse for it.

As I said in an earlier post I have an English manual (but no scan) and am happy to post photos of any specific pages for you but after Tuesday lunchtime I'm gone for three weeks or so. But I don't think the manual is going to help you in the slightest from what I can see...............
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Thanks for the info, I too will not have the opportunity to have van checked by Knaus before March but will keep you posted. I'm not interfering with any electrics (including vehicle specific towing wiring - no factory fit VW towbar ordered ) till then. Regards
 
transportnw said:
The starter battery is under the n/s mat. Remove cover for jack etc and slide rubber floor covering to centre of cab then pull up and slide off the hard plastic cover, I'm 99% sure this is the starter battery fitted by VW but what's confusing is the second battery under the bonnet is identical and has a load of fuse's & relays attached. As previously mentioned the Dometic charger (near the rear garage battery) appears not to utilise the second habitation battery charging circuit (provision for 2 on the unit) neither the specific trickle charge circuit for the starter battery for some reason. Utilising the full potential of the Dometic charger would charge & maintain all three batteries far better I would have thought unless Knaus know better. I was intending to change the two habitation batteries for gel type for better performance but leaving well alone till its checked by knaus.

My vehicle not registered at the moment, as we're busy for most of Jan/Feb. intending to register in March. Consequently without transporting or trade plates it's on the drive in North Wales till then.

By your photo's you do have the energy plus pack which is a big advantage though I'm not sure what all the components (expensive) of that pack are located.

I'm new to this forum writing and too not sure of correct protocol but what the heck transportnw@**+**+**+**+**+**+**+.com thanks all with any help with the English manual.
Click to expand...

Your email address is garbled. Cant read nor copy and paste. I have the transportnw@ and .com bit, could the missing bit be +++++? ;)
 
Excuse me if I'm stating something here that's already well known by you guys but it was news to me.
Sunstore (see my earlier post) also told me that for emissions reasons manufacturers no longer implement proper B2B charging, that only a token amount takes place. For that reason I had them install an upgraded aftermarket B2B charger.
 
@DNR it sounds like you got somebody else's van................. :)
 
  • Haha
Reactions: DNR
DNR said:
I have an English manual. I will bring it into the office tomorrow and try and scan it onto hear, unless there is another way? Is it not the done thing to share email addresses on a public forum?
Click to expand...
Email addresses in type can be picked up by "bots" and used for spamming etc:
One way round is to take a photo of the address and post that.
 
transportnw said:
The starter battery is under the n/s mat. Remove cover for jack etc and slide rubber floor covering to centre of cab then pull up and slide off the hard plastic cover, I'm 99% sure this is the starter battery fitted by VW but what's confusing is the second battery under the bonnet is identical and has a load of fuse's & relays attached. As previously mentioned the Dometic charger (near the rear garage battery) appears not to utilise the second habitation battery charging circuit (provision for 2 on the unit) neither the specific trickle charge circuit for the starter battery for some reason. Utilising the full potential of the Dometic charger would charge & maintain all three batteries far better I would have thought unless Knaus know better. I was intending to change the two habitation batteries for gel type for better performance but leaving well alone till its checked by knaus.

My vehicle not registered at the moment, as we're busy for most of Jan/Feb. intending to register in March. Consequently without transporting or trade plates it's on the drive in North Wales till then.

By your photo's you do have the energy plus pack which is a big advantage though I'm not sure what all the components (expensive) of that pack are located.

I'm new to this forum writing and too not sure of correct protocol but what the heck transportnw@**+**+**+**+**+**+**+.com thanks all with any help with the English manual.
Click to expand...
Normally Leisure Batteries are wired in parallel, so only 1 Charger output would be used. The 2nd output "could" be connected to the Engine/Starter Battery.
 
DNR said:
Took me a while, but I’ve got it, I’ll scan it over to you tomorrow
[/QUOTE

That would be great, many thanks. Did you find the vehicle(starter) battery in the n/s footwell. Most of the wiring to the additional battery under the bonnet in mine is VW, only Knaus wiring here appears to be limited to be + -e feeds to second battery or charger in the rear. ]
Click to expand...
 
Yeah, I said in another post, it’s the vehicle that keeps on giving, I have their third battery. Can’t believe how jammy I am :}
 
DNR said:
I have an English manual. I will bring it into the office tomorrow and try and scan it onto hear, unless there is another way? Is it not the done thing to share email addresses on a public forum?
Click to expand...

best way to share emails is through DM but your account doesn’t allow me to DM you.
 
How u all doing with your boxdrives??
 
Jay20cali said:
How u all doing with your boxdrives??
Click to expand...

Ha, just looking at it at the moment. I did lay some polish on it last weekend. Can’t wait to get out using it again.

It has been very good, we last used it beginning of March, 1200 mls trip to Southampton and London. we had one problem, it went into limp mode with 200 miles to go, so that was a bugger. Fixed now, I hope... As for the Knaus bit, nothing but praise from me and anyone whose seen it.

Still love it!
 
DNR said:
Ha, just looking at it at the moment. I did lay some polish on it last weekend. Can’t wait to get out using it again.

It has been very good, we last used it beginning of March, 1200 mls trip to Southampton and London. we had one problem, it went into limp mode with 200 miles to go, so that was a bugger. Fixed now, I hope... As for the Knaus bit, nothing but praise from me and anyone whose seen it.

Still love it!
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D08FEE28-9550-4684-8096-D5E4D8201009.jpeg

23AE93C8-EDD3-47FD-8530-065FA85E2B5F.jpeg
 
Must admit although I have a 6.1 cali sat on the drive with only 200 miles on the clock and I must add I absolutely love it,it’s a beautiful thing.... I still have a passion for a crafter ? with bfgoodrich and an off-road look ...
Can’t help it :) I think it’s the landrover in me :) :)
after spotting a Celtic vans conversion at the nec in Birmingham while waiting for our california.. we sort of fell in love with them
it keeps niggling away at me!!
 
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