I purchased a ducato mh 2.8 non turbo 1999. I have noticed that some of the original ducato instruments stay live even with key removed ie blowers, wipers, radio, headlights etc. Can anyone tell me if that is correct or is there a fault ?
Technical Live equipment
- Thread starter CharlieC
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Technical Live equipment
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Hi CharlieC
There's no way of telling what a motorhome converter has done, unless you can get hold of a schematic. However, it sounds rather unusual to me to have all those items functioning without the key in the ignition and turned on or to the accessory position.
It's not unusual for the radio power arrangements to be different in a motorhome, because people are more likely to listen for long periods. So you may find the radio is powered from a permanent 12V feed from the vehicle battery, or sometimes from the habitation battery.
One thing you could try is to temporarily disconnect the habitation battery, and see if the circuits you mention are still live. If they go dead, it would point to a wiring error in the motorhome part rather than the vehicle.
There's no way of telling what a motorhome converter has done, unless you can get hold of a schematic. However, it sounds rather unusual to me to have all those items functioning without the key in the ignition and turned on or to the accessory position.
It's not unusual for the radio power arrangements to be different in a motorhome, because people are more likely to listen for long periods. So you may find the radio is powered from a permanent 12V feed from the vehicle battery, or sometimes from the habitation battery.
One thing you could try is to temporarily disconnect the habitation battery, and see if the circuits you mention are still live. If they go dead, it would point to a wiring error in the motorhome part rather than the vehicle.
Communicator
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It seems very unusual to have vehicle accessories permanently live, but in veteran vehicles the side and headlamps were controlled by a single separate switch.
On my 2006 x244 Ducato, most of the accessories are controlled via relays. The positive side of the relay coils is energised via the ignition switch, while the negative of the relay coils are connected to earth via the individual switches.
I cannot remember what applied on my 1990 2.5TDTalbot Express, but it did have a collection of relays hidden behind the instrument panel. At least some of these relays were not associated with engine control.
If disconnecting the habitation battery produces no change, I would speculate that perhaps a previous owner has made the radio permanently live by bridging connections on the rear of the fuseblocks, and consequently made the other accessories live.
On my 2006 x244 Ducato, most of the accessories are controlled via relays. The positive side of the relay coils is energised via the ignition switch, while the negative of the relay coils are connected to earth via the individual switches.
I cannot remember what applied on my 1990 2.5TDTalbot Express, but it did have a collection of relays hidden behind the instrument panel. At least some of these relays were not associated with engine control.
If disconnecting the habitation battery produces no change, I would speculate that perhaps a previous owner has made the radio permanently live by bridging connections on the rear of the fuseblocks, and consequently made the other accessories live.