'Urban Camper' from East Dulwich - electrics??

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Just_Kitt
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'Urban Camper' from East Dulwich - electrics??

Post by Just_Kitt »

Hello all, maybe a long shot but who knows!

I own a so called 'urban camper' which was fitted out by East Dulwich Campers (now long gone) way before I owned it and the previous owner gave me little to no paperwork.

The van runs pretty well and I don't have a lot of issues with him, but i'm starting some interior re-ferb work and some of the electrics have got me a little puzzled. Therefore I was wondering if any one has ever owned one of these, or knows any one who has, and might know if I could get hold of a block wiring diagram for the electrics? Or could just give me a few hints on where things lead, it would save me a lot of time chasing wires!
GokVan: 1990 LHD, Pop-Top, Golf GTI 2.0L engine running duel Petrol and LPG.
Instagram: @Gok_Van

RogerT
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Re: 'Urban Camper' from East Dulwich - electrics??

Post by RogerT »

Phew, radical stuff.

I wouldn’t have a clue, I’ve a “rural camper”. Totally different...
Have you ever seen an unhappy fool?

88 Transporter with hitop camper conversion, 1.6td.

Just_Kitt
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Re: 'Urban Camper' from East Dulwich - electrics??

Post by Just_Kitt »

Hahah yer, he's a complicated beast! - seems like over the years just about everything that can be re-jigged has been, and I'm only adding more to the confusing with my work!
GokVan: 1990 LHD, Pop-Top, Golf GTI 2.0L engine running duel Petrol and LPG.
Instagram: @Gok_Van

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LeeME3
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Re: 'Urban Camper' from East Dulwich - electrics??

Post by LeeME3 »

I'm assuming you mean a wiring diagram for the camper side of things as opposed to the 'host' vehicle. Chances are there won't be a wiring diagram per se. And even if there is it will be so out of date as to be useless, borderline counter-productive.

Best solution is a cheap multi-meter and a lot of patience! When I fitted a new stereo to mine I had to remove the remnants of at least 3 previous stereo installs - tempting though it was to re-use some of that wiring in the end I went for a clean install as that way when you get subsequent issues like live wires flapping around and leaks to earth at least you aren't having to eliminate a load of old stuff first.

Pretty much the first thing I'd do is work out a basic 'map' of what is happening. Starting with does it have a leisure battery in addition to the vehicle battery? Once you know that have a look at how the leisure battery is getting charged - 3 most common options are a split charge relay allowing it to charge from the alternator, mains hook up and solar panels (or a combination thereof).

Then work out what devices are running off what battery system. Eg stereo would originally have run from vehicle battery but many have been switched to the leisure battery over the years. Internal lights where triggered by door opening will likely still be on vehicle battery but any additional lights for the camper section are probably on the leisure battery. As a general rule, get as much of the non vital stuff as possible onto the leisure battery - a working water pump for the sink is nice, a vehicle that starts in the morning is better!

Oh and find the earth crown under the left side of the dash / just above the fusebox. Chances are it will be rusty and crusty - many electrical faults are caused by bad earths so clean that up first. You also then know you have a good earth to attach new things to if you need to. Bear in mind that whilst the vehicle and leisure battery systems are separate they will share a common earth - the vehicle! There are also various earth straps on the vehicle that are worth checking - eg from the battery to the body / chassis (petrol vehicles have the battery located under the driver seat, diesel in the engine bay) and underneath for the starter motor. Worth checking these as well.

Loads of helpful info in the wiki on here - both for vehicle and camper electrics. Being a 1990 yours will be the later fusebox (blade fuses as opposed to ceramic). Being LHD and having had an engine transplant there is also likely to be a fair bit of non-standard wiring compared to a stick van...and there will be yet more wiring for the LPG side. Mind you, a golf engine with LPG sounds nice - you probably get just about the best fuel economy of any of us (bar the diesel guys who don't have turbos - they might get 100 mpg but top speed is 5 mph :wink: )

Sorry if this is all a bit of statement of the blindingly obvious but it is the approach I took and worked for me!
1986 1.9DG WBX LPG, 4 spd manual. Westy poptop. Renogy lithium leisure. 175W solar. CR50 fridge. Propex. RX8 seats.

Just_Kitt
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Re: 'Urban Camper' from East Dulwich - electrics??

Post by Just_Kitt »

Thanks for the reply! And no worries about running over the obvious, that's always the best way to start and I'm pretty new to this still!

I've worked out 90% of the leisure battery set up - short of one extra fuse that seems to control nothing at all yet has a current and wires running from it under the body some where! - it's split charged just of the alternator currently so keep an eye out in the future for more questions when I try and add some solar pannals in there!

It's actually the set up behind the dash that seems to be the real mess that I can't work out, I think I'll do as you say though and basically strip it all back and start from scratch rarther than trying to work out what has been modded over the years, your right it's probably the easiest option at this point! Thanks for the tip about giving some attention to the earth crown as well, I didn't know that and definitely sounds like a good idea!

And yes, the fule economy is pretty sound on LPG, and he gets a good speed up too!
GokVan: 1990 LHD, Pop-Top, Golf GTI 2.0L engine running duel Petrol and LPG.
Instagram: @Gok_Van

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