Powrtouch Problem

[Maffffster]

we've been having a few problems with the motor mover as there keep stalling and cutting out. At first I thought It might have something to do with our shingle drive being to deep and putting strain on the motors, so after our weeks holiday at longleat I thought instead of hook the car and caravan straight up I'd play around with the mover on Tarmac and again it stalled and cut out. Any ideas ?

 

Secondly we have just arrived home and I back the caravan on the drive, unhooked it ready to motor move the caravan in to position and the leisure battery was flat - not having much luck, would the motor movers of drained the battery that much before the journey home ? But surely the battery will also charge on the way home

 

Any thoughts ?

[thomasoes]

Get your battery checked out

[Brecon]

The symptoms you describe indicate that your leisure battery is at fault, either not being charged, or a failing cell.

 

The drive from Longleat to home would not be enough to fully charge the battery.

Have you checked that the van charger is actually working?

 

Have you checked the battery voltage? both without any charge input and with the van charger ON?

Edited December 31, 2013 by Brecon

[ericfield]

Have to agree.

 

I was experiencing the same stop start performance with my powrtouch.

 

Today I removed the battery and to my surprise the electrolyte in ALL cells was below the plates!!

 

(I niaively thought the battery would have been checked in the annual service!)

 

 

I've topped up the cells and it's on a desulphonation charge cycle. ..it remains to be seen if It's going to recover.

[Maffffster]

Ill get the battery tested and check the charging unit and report back

 

Thanks

 

Happy new year

[kiaboy]

we've been having a few problems with the motor mover as there keep stalling and cutting out. At first I thought It might have something to do with our shingle drive being to deep and putting strain on the motors, so after our weeks holiday at longleat I thought instead of hook the car and caravan straight up I'd play around with the mover on Tarmac and again it stalled and cut out. Any ideas ?

 

Secondly we have just arrived home and I back the caravan on the drive, unhooked it ready to motor move the caravan in to position and the leisure battery was flat - not having much luck, would the motor movers of drained the battery that much before the journey home ? But surely the battery will also charge on the way home

 

Any thoughts ?

 

Just a thought, do you make sure the red key is removed from the socket after you have finished using It? this will cause a battery drain.

 

Typical symptoms of a duff battery if you have removed the key.

Edited December 31, 2013 by kiaboy

[chapmag]

Change the battery in the Remote. .... I had those symptoms and it was caused by a 7 year old battery in the remote!

 

That doesn't explain the flat caravan battery but that could possibly be a separate matter especially as it was working, albeit it, sporadically prior to the trip!!

 

G

[ericfield]

Just a thought, do you make sure the red key is removed from the socket after you have finished using It? this will cause a battery drain.

 

Typical symptoms of a duff battery if you have removed the key.

Remove it?

 

Mine is just an on/off rotation?

[kiaboy]

Remove it?

 

Mine is just an on/off rotation?

 

You should have to remove it to connect the 240V plug, if it is fitted correctly

[ericfield]

You should have to remove it to connect the 240V plug, if it is fitted correctly

Will look at that as well! Thnks Edited December 31, 2013 by ericfield

[kiaboy]

(I niaively thought the battery would have been checked in the annual service!)

 

 

On my last service (Nov 2013) my dealer recorded my battery was low on charge after carrying out a drop test and would need charging, They did not tell me the plates were showing above the water level though which I had to put about 3/4 ltr of Demin water to bring the level back to normal.

I wonder if they did check it but did not find your battery low enough to record it, might be a good idea to check your paperwork and/or call them to see if they did.

[gravon42]

Remove it?

 

Mine is just an on/off rotation?/

 

 

 

Same here. I never remove mine.

 

H A P P Y N E W Y E A R T O E V E R Y O N E !

 

 

,

[Marks]

You don't say what model you have, or how it cuts out, does it stop dead then start up again, or does it go slower and slower, if it stops dead and you have the white remote, you have radio interference, this was cured with the blue remote. Another issue can be the bushes, like any electric motor, they liked to be used, the advice from powertouch is to run the motors without engaging the movers on the tyres for a a short time in each direction to give the motors and the bushes some exercise. Other than that, the movers are exposed to all sorts of horrible weather under the van, so check the electrical connections for a good connection and the battery end, and also a good battery.

[langers8]

I posted about this problem a while back in fact a few problems including bolts coming loose. My motors use to stall badly but i ended up sorting it out myself, now i get the odd stall this is due to a poor/ weak signal in my view ."Powertouch" they just gave up with mine. I had the powertouch techies at my house 6 full days in 3 mth 6 controll units,2 remotes,1set motors, plus a new battery. stripped all electrical devices from the van even removed the battery's from smoke alarm, pir, Co alarm, etc. As they thought it was electrical disturbance. Then came the man from sheffield ( if he cant fix it no one can ) h'a he went away with his tail between his legs so powertouch just gave up they havent a clue. Leaving the isolator on does nothing to the battery as the units disconnect after 20min or so i allways leave mine on and never a problem with battery drain. there is a problem with the battery drain in the remote this was relayed to powertouch through their technician we went through 3 batterys each time he came out to try and fix my movers.

also mine still wont work on the umbilical cords, they will work singly on ither set of motors but not as a pair that too has them baffled .

[VOLVOVANNER]

Marks made a good point above, is it just one motor which is stalling/stopping or all the motors doing this? I had a problem with 1 motor doing this and turned out to be the spade connector onto the motor had come adrift slightly (i then noticed the cable tie which shd have prevented this happening was missing), I pushed it back on and has been no problem since. i then had aproblem with the 'pulse' feature which meant caravan would not turn, Powrtouch sent their local engineer who fitted a complete new control box + remote (it was originally a Mk 2 4 wheel mover system and the new control box upgraded it to a Mk 6 and the difference/improvement is HUGE). Very impressed with Powrtouch and will have another on next caravan.

[matelodave]

Go for the obvious before taking it all to bits - most problems are due to an undercharged or failing van battery. Van batteries don't last forever and they slowly lose their ability to deliver sufficient current to drive a motor mover even though they may have been on charge for a week or so. Something like a TV or a couple of lights only draw 3-4 amps whereas a motor mover can pull 80 amps or more on start-up and the battery just might not be able to sustain that sort of load.

 

The Powrtouch website has a lot of fault finding info and specifically states that the mover mover requires 12v when running under full load for satisfactory operation. If you've got a multimeter and are very careful that you don't run over your feet or hit anything you can measure the voltage across the battery whilst the motor mover is moving the van. If it goes below 12v then it's probably on it's way out.

 

Make sure the battery is fully charged and the connections are clean, tight and not corroded. Replace the battery in the handset if its more than a couple of years old.

Edited January 1, 2014 by matelodave

[percysybil]

Check the big red fuse connection that will be somewhere near to the battery. ..

 

I had the same problem as you and went all around the houses with it but eventually worked out that the red fuse wasn't totally secured and once it was, all worked well.

[Guest]

First of all look at the LED's on the control panel when it's tripped, they give you reasons why it's tripped eg over current, over temp, low input voltage etc, armed with that info you can then fault find with some clues.

 

Here's the chart:-

 

 

J

[Caravanmedicswindon]

Have to agree.

I was experiencing the same stop start performance with my powrtouch.

Today I removed the battery and to my surprise the electrolyte in ALL cells was below the plates!!

(I niaively thought the battery would have been checked in the annual service!)

I've topped up the cells and it's on a desulphonation charge cycle. ..it remains to be seen if It's going to recover.

If the workshop is a part of the Approved Workshop scheme I hope you followed the correct complaints procedure as it is a part of an Approved Workshop service that the electrolyte levels are checked & topped up.

[Maffffster]

Thanks everyone for the advice. The charging unit was changed about a year ago so hopefully that's still ok. When I get a minute I'll double check the battery and go through all the other advice and help everyone has suggested

 

Thanks and happy new year

[wigelywoo]

 

Just a thought, do you make sure the red key is removed from the socket after you have finished using It? this will cause a battery drain.

 

Typical symptoms of a duff battery if you have removed the key.

 

It Shouldn't

The control box switches off after 15-20 mins of no activity

To re-set, Switch off for a few mins then back on

 

HNY

[kiaboy]

 

It Shouldn't

The control box switches off after 15-20 mins of no activity

To re-set, Switch off for a few mins then back on

 

HNY

 

I know the new system does, (as I have had to reset it when I dawdle about), but I had an older version on my other van which did not. I only added my comment as the OP does not state which year/model it is.

HTH's

HNY to all

[Paul_B]

 

It Shouldn't

The control box switches off after 15-20 mins of no activity

To re-set, Switch off for a few mins then back on

 

HNY

 

Even after switching off unless the key is removed power is used, its a bit like leaving the tv on stand by

[Maffffster]

Even after switching off unless the key is removed power is used, its a bit like leaving the tv on stand by

If the key is off but not removed, that surely isn't using any power ?

[Paul_B]

If the key is off but not removed, that surely isn't using any power ?

 

You'd have thought so, if you check out the powrtouch website it explains

Its worth remember to remove it when we put our caravans in storage or go off hook up,

 

1. 2. 1 PLEASE NOTE: ISOLATION SWITCH

When the Powrtouch is not in use it MUST always be turned off at the Isolation Switch

and the key removed. If left switched on it will stay live for 20 minutes (approx.) before

the electronics control box will go in to a hibernation mode. The electronics control box

can only be reinitialised by turning it off, to do this turn the isolation switch key to the

off position and remove the key from the switch for a minimum of 20 seconds. Then

reinsert the isolation switch key; switch on the Powrtouch and then turn on the handset

(see paragraph 1. 5 below