EHU tripping house electrics.

rolling_stone

rolling_stone

♂
T6 Pro
Hi. First time I've tried charging van on EHU in a while. But it trips the house RCD almost immediately.

To be thorough, I've tried three different houses, and two different cables, and it still trips. So it must be something on the van end.

The socket is under the rear bumper. Anyone any ideas? Any things I can trouble-shoot myself? Would it be one of these fuses?? I'm not that electrically-minded, but I'm very good at plain English! Thanks.

1C98A71A-D504-45EA-B06E-613084BC6DBE.jpeg
 
Do you have anything plugged into the van? Have you used it at a campsite without trouble before? New hook up cable?
Could be crossed live/neutral.

The fuses are 12v. Behind the flap are the 240v mcb, I have had one fail before.

18DEC13C-003B-49E7-BB0A-FB38572E7737.jpeg
 
Hi. Thanks for the quick reply. I've have used it on a campsite and the house mains before many times with no issues. The cable is not new and has always worked fine. And like I said, I've tried two different cables so I'd guess it was more van side than the cable.

Nothing is plugged into the 240 sockets on the van - the only thing plugged in is a volmeter/temperature sensor plugged into the cigarette lighter socket on the leisure battery. Could that be it?

What does crossed live/neutral mean?

Which fuse could it be? Or do I have to go through them one at a time? Everything else electrics-wise is working fine: lights, usb chargers, fridge etc.

Thanks.
 
So sounds like the only thing that would be drawing power would be the onboard sergent battery charger.

You could try turning off all the RCD and MCB off in the Sergent panel and then try turning on one by one starting with the RCD
 
If you are pretty sure the cable is good (have tried two different cables).
Do you have a multimeter? If so check the van connection pins between live and ground for continuity, there shouldn’t be any.
If you don’t have a multimeter I would open up the van connection and check for water ingress as a socket under the rear bumper is asking for trouble.
 
rolling_stone said:
Hi. Thanks for the quick reply. I've have used it on a campsite and the house mains before many times with no issues. The cable is not new and has always worked fine. And like I said, I've tried two different cables so I'd guess it was more van side than the cable.

Nothing is plugged into the 240 sockets on the van - the only thing plugged in is a volmeter/temperature sensor plugged into the cigarette lighter socket on the leisure battery. Could that be it?

What does crossed live/neutral mean?

Which fuse could it be? Or do I have to go through them one at a time? Everything else electrics-wise is working fine: lights, usb chargers, fridge etc.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

It’s unlikely to be a van fuse, if it’s tripped on the house side then it implies it hasn’t tripped on the van side. Sounds like you’ve got an actual short, or close to in the mains van electrics.
 
1. Turn off RCD on van fuseboard
2. Turn off ALL MCBS I van fuseboard
3. Connect van from house supply to van

What does the house RCD then do?
 
If the main board doesn’t trip with all MCBs off, turn one MBC on at a time and try each appliance connected to that MCB. When you switch on the dodgy circuit, you’ll know as it’ll trip.

Do you have an electric water heater? Could the element be leaking to earth?
 
Okay, just tried it with all the 240 fuses turned off and it tripped.

And I tried it with the whole sergeant power supply unit turned off. And it still tripped.

Does that help shedding light on it?

Thanks.

Maybe I'll just have to have it back to the converter and have him swap the under-bumper connector for one in a better position ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
So it is between the hook up socket under the bumper and sergeant. Could be cable but my money would be on the socket under the bumper.
 
1. Have a quick visual check of the cable from the van socket to the floor penetration, could be rat damage.
2. Check the van socket for water ingress, strip it down.
 
@rolling_stone have a look at the IP rating on the socket, ideally it will be IP66 or IP67, the second number being the important one regarding it’s water tight integrity.
However if the cable is slack in the rubber gland where it enters the socket the IP rating doesn’t help.
www.electriciancourses4u.co.uk

IP Ratings Explained | IP Codes Chart | Electrician Courses 4U

When installing lights in your home, it's important you understand what IP ratings are what what they mean for your lights. Find out in our IP Rating Chart!
www.electriciancourses4u.co.uk www.electriciancourses4u.co.uk
 
rolling_stone said:
Out of interest, where's the best place for the EHU socket in everyone's opinion? Side of the van?
Click to expand...
IMO under the bonnet next to the vehicle battery, there’s enough clearance for the cable with the bonnet closed.
Drilling holes in the side of the van to fit those square plastic sockets is unneccesary.
 
DXX said:
@rolling_stone have a look at the IP rating on the socket, ideally it will be IP66 or IP67, the second number being the important one regarding it’s water tight integrity.
However if the cable is slack in the rubber gland where it enters the socket the IP rating doesn’t help.
www.electriciancourses4u.co.uk

IP Ratings Explained | IP Codes Chart | Electrician Courses 4U

When installing lights in your home, it's important you understand what IP ratings are what what they mean for your lights. Find out in our IP Rating Chart!
www.electriciancourses4u.co.uk www.electriciancourses4u.co.uk
Click to expand...
IP44!! Oh. Duff job that then!
 
DXX said:
@rolling_stone have a look at the IP rating on the socket, ideally it will be IP66 or IP67, the second number being the important one regarding it’s water tight integrity.
However if the cable is slack in the rubber gland where it enters the socket the IP rating doesn’t help.
www.electriciancourses4u.co.uk

IP Ratings Explained | IP Codes Chart | Electrician Courses 4U

When installing lights in your home, it's important you understand what IP ratings are what what they mean for your lights. Find out in our IP Rating Chart!
www.electriciancourses4u.co.uk www.electriciancourses4u.co.uk
Click to expand...
Show me where you can buy an ip67 16a socket.
 
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