Electrical J35c Warranty Issue

[CarlDry]

My story starts with a van that I thought worked pretty well. I was then very disappointed that I needed to replace 2 AGM batteries after about 2 1/2 years. I then had to replace the batteries again after another 2 years. Considering the AGM in the car is over 5 years old and cycles every day the caravan seemed pretty bad. I just finished putting in an upgrade to a J35D and 300amp Lithium. When I replaced the J35c I heard rattling from inside. Photos below

 

[CarlDry]

By the look of the capacitors they had been rolling around for years. No fault indication on the unit while operating. To me this is still a statutory warranty job what do you guys reckon?

 

[Boots in Action]

By the look of the capacitors they had been rolling around for years. No fault indication on the unit while operating. To me this is still a statutory warranty job what do you guys reckon?

Not being full bottle on the setup for the J35C, it would appear that the attaching screws/nuts have come detached from the printed circuit. Looking at the two capacitors, the 400 volt 35mf one would normally be for the smoothing of the 240 volt supply input and the other one 35 volt 2200mf would be to stop the ripple in the current going to the charging of the batteries. Although it is possible for the unit to work without these caps in the circuit, the batteries suffer as some AC current would be superimposed on the charging DC circuit. No wonder the batteries did not like it. Certainly a warranty claim if it can be proven that caps were not properly attached to printed circuit. Note the second last line in the attached.

 

[CarlDry]

Can see where the capacitor on the left has scuffed the surface of the PCB just inside the painted circle. It must have been bouncing up and down while on a corrugated road. The terminals have come loose from the solder and for this to happen I assume there was insufficient flux during manufacture, the terminals have been cut too short for sufficient solder, or the terminals weren't pushed into the board far enough prior to soldering, or a combination of these. Can you think of any other way for the capacitors to fall off the PCB? Or maybe BMPRO is not suitable for semi-offroad vehicles?

 

[Boots in Action]

Can see where the capacitor on the left has scuffed the surface of the PCB just inside the painted circle. It must have been bouncing up and down while on a corrugated road. The terminals have come loose from the solder and for this to happen I assume there was insufficient flux during manufacture, the terminals have been cut too short for sufficient solder, or the terminals weren't pushed into the board far enough prior to soldering, or a combination of these. Can you think of any other way for the capacitors to fall off the PCB? Or maybe BMPRO is not suitable for semi-offroad vehicles?

All of the possible scenarios could have caused the caps to come loose from the printed circuit board. Large caps are quite heavy to have hanging onto the side of a PCB especially if placed in a horizontal plane. Solder alone onto a thin bit of the circuit board is not the best attachment mechanically and the link is easily broken if subject to heavy and frequent vibration. Normally, the heavy caps and other large components are also supported by good slab of a suitable contact adhesive material which holds the unit in place and does not rely on the solder and the strength of the PCB. The BMPRO is still be suitable for off road vehicles I believe, but there seems to be room for improvement. I hope the components in your upgraded J35D don't have the same weakness.

 

[CarlDry]

BMPRO''s reply:
"
I'm sorry to say, but as a qualified electronic technician, capacitor's just don't fall off the (PCB-Printed Circuit Board). They are normally soldered to the track on the PCB motherboard, and could be damaged by external influence.

I'm more than happy to investigate and repair the reported issue, however, the J35 model C system is well out of it's warranty period, and there is a standard repair cost of $148.50 incl GST."


In my case the capacitors were not properly soldered to the track. it's out of manufacturers warranty so BMPRO will not accept statutory responsibility. They did not reply in writing to my second email, but the representative that rang said that the external influence might have been me driving at 100km/hr on a corrugated road. When questioned about the suitability of the product for corrugated roads he talked in circles and then blamed another fictitious external influence, this time the unit may have been submerged in water and there was no way that he could tell if it was.

I must say, he was pretty persistent in wanting the faulty product back.

Anyway...off to the next forum to spread the truth.

 

[Boots in Action]

BMPRO''s reply:
"


I'm more than happy to investigate and repair the reported issue, however, the J35 model C system is well out of it's warranty period, and there is a standard repair cost of $148.50 incl GST."


In my case the capacitors were not properly soldered to the track. it's out of manufacturers warranty so BMPRO will not accept statutory responsibility. They did not reply in writing to my second email, but the representative that rang said that the external influence might have been me driving at 100km/hr on a corrugated road. When questioned about the suitability of the product for corrugated roads he talked in circles and then blamed another fictitious external influence, this time the unit may have been submerged in water and there was no way that he could tell if it was.

I must say, he was pretty persistent in wanting the faulty product back.

Anyway...off to the next forum to spread the truth.

Not surprising the result you have received. Obviously they could not know of how the unit was treated for the caps to break loose, but the fact that they admit that the caps are only soldered onto the very thin copper threads of the circuit board is an admittance that the attachments of heavy components like large caps or other components is not able to withstand much vibration and could be cause for future modifications. Or maybe the unit was not built to specs (no adhesive between cap and circuit board). No wonder they are keen to have the unit back to check if their production procedures were followed or need upgrading. Maybe you can do a deal with them to improve the reliability of their product. Telling a lot of other caravan owners of a potential problem and how the company ignored your feedback is not a good way to promote the reliability of the unit.

 

[Drover]

There are a few vehicles that have circuit boards that suffer the same problem.........................

 

[JBee]

A little of track here, but your questions and responses show you guys know a bit about the BM Pro J35-c.

I may have rattled something loose travelling up the development road to Weipa, QLD. There are a couple of 12v sockets and power supply to the sat tv are not working.

The led indicator on the bmpro is solid red and then a quick green flash. It tells me that an electronic fuse has kicked in?

I've tried contacting Bmpro via email and phone to no response.

Any thought on how best to fix the problem is much appreciated

 

[Drover]

Always best to start on the easy, start at the battery terminals and work towards the BMPro, all connections and inline fuses including earths, same again on the outlets that have failed, eliminate all possible external faults including solar feeds.... Just a short in a light or switch will cause the unit to play up by shutting down circuits....

 

[mikerezny]

Hi,

the J35C user's manual clearly explains what the status LED display means.

If you don't have a copy, it is easy to download a copy from the BMPro website.

Tracking down 12V problems is far easier if you have a multimeter. If you don't have one, now is a good time to get one.

take care
Mike

 

[Boots in Action]

A little of track here, but your questions and responses show you guys know a bit about the BM Pro J35-c.

I may have rattled something loose travelling up the development road to Weipa, QLD. There are a couple of 12v sockets and power supply to the sat tv are not working.

The led indicator on the bmpro is solid red and then a quick green flash. It tells me that an electronic fuse has kicked in?

I've tried contacting Bmpro via email and phone to no response.

Any thought on how best to fix the problem is much appreciated View attachment 68556

Hi @JBee , the BMpro35 has a potential problem with components not mechanically secured strongly to the PCB as recorded in an earlier post by @CarlDry. This situation also occurred after some travel over "rough" road surfaces. A loose capacitor or intermittent contact would play havoc with any circuits requiring a steady filtered power supply of 12 volts. Might be time to disconnect all circuits and see what has possibly broken loose from PCB. From what you have said, it will probably be in the 12 volt power supply to outlets. But try the "easy" checks first before getting into the guts of unit. @CarlDry may be able to assist if you PM him.

 

[JBee]

Hey mate

Thanks so much for your reply

Been off grid for a couple of weeks without the van, so now time to get my head around what's happening with the J35-c.

I'll try the things mentioned on this thread and see how we go....

Thanks again
James