I have returned to the UK by air for a week leaving my 684 in the alps with the heating on. I hope when I return on Sunday I don't find a pool of water and a blob of alloy!!

Bill

Bill your unit just may have liquified and be auditoning for the next Terminator film when you return.

Gas has just ran out so I'm off to spend a fortune again to last another 3 days! Ouuch

I removed my Sargent PCU (power control unit) this morning and checked everything. It all looks okay and now understand more what others were talking about. The orange mains input lead terminates into a large hi-ampage black three-way connector. Mine was running cold and was pressed firmly into the socket on the PCU - BUT, there is no interlock on this connector it's inverted. It seemed secure on my installation. Maybe with vibration and gravity this could have worked loose and could have created a bad connection? I'm going to look into trying to lock it into place by either using a cable tie to secure it with some other cables or mount a block and a P-Clip from behind. Either way, it'll be worth others checking theirs from time-to-time, disconnect the mains and make sure the connector is pressed hard up into the PCU.

I'm pretty sure that is what happened with mine. I think a we don't need new PCUs, just that one connection replaced to some kind of a positively clipped or screwed-in connection and not just held in by gravity. IMHO anyway, and I'm no tecchie.

Are you ready fot the latest tale of woe?

New PSU came but with NO connector! As the other one had melted I was less than impressed. Ant at tEbay was fumeing as he had specifically asked for one to be sent out by Sargent. Any way 2 days later and the connector arrived from Airstream. They always come to the rescue

Fitted new PSU which has had a modification made to try and hold connector securley. This magnificent fete of engineering was to increase the size of a shard of metal from 1/2 a cm to 1 cm width. This shard is slightly raised to hold the connector in place and is frankly a waste of some engineers brain power.

New PSU sat in place and everything tightly plugged in I left for a night out with some hot chick I had set the scene for my return....usual fairy lights on, 'Duff' Beer neon and a brand new set of 'Universe' fairy lights set-up over the bed in the newly renamed 'Planet Pleasure Cosmic Station'. Upon my return......yes you gussed it.....the most awful smell of burning

By the powers of deduction I concluded that:
A, Too many fairy lights draw too much electricity into the PSU
B, The connector is not up to the job of any form of heat
C, The PSU never seems to trip out to avoid a fire. How hot does something have to get to melt plastic
D, I'm still incabable of impressing a lady

I now have another new connector fitted and 2 spare in my spares box. Speaking to Ant it doesn't look like this item can be redesigned.....I thought maybe a better grade plastic was all that would be needed.....over to Sergent then. Sergent better pray nobody dies.

Shocked and stunned by these connection problems. I'm not familiar with the Sargents system but isn't it just a
battery charger that can be hard wired somewhere?

19 days after posting about the importance of selecting reliable heavy duty electronic equipment for fulltiming, our
"Mastervolt" PSU/charger broke[i][/i]. Hmmmmm. It's been operating for nearly 10 years, 24 hours/day. Decided
not to send back for repair but to replace.

Today I fitted a unit that is designed for marine use and is manufactured by Sterling Power Products. All went OK. Also
fitted a remote controller for the unit - now I can sit & watch the battery voltage and amps fluctuating up & down - its too early in the year to watch the grass grow!!!!!

Just need to sort out the rat's nest of cables under the sofa!!!!

FYI an SOB on my site today caught fire. Fire brigade and site evacuated and fortunately nobody hurt. But the caravan is a write-off. The fire was caused by an electrical fault, albeit to the cassette loo. Can't be too careful folks, but either way best check the batteries to your smoke detectors :-/