Calira EVS 38/20 circuit diagram ?

77293 Views 50 Replies 24 Participants Last post by GMJ, 13 d ago

gm6vxb

Discussion Starter · Jul 1, 2008

Before I get on to the manufacturers wonder if anyone has got a circuit diagram of the Calira EVS 38/20-DS/IU power supply unit.
I have the block diagram and installation and operating instructions.
At the moment the leisure and main batteries stay connected together at anything above 13.2 Volts even when the engine is switched off.
I want to change this to nearer 13.5 Volts. There are pots in the main unit but nothing to say which one does what.
I have several items (satellite being one) that will not operate until the charging circuit disconnects the two batteries ( igniton active error showing) and sometimes it can take 20-30 minutes for the volts to drop, unless I force the fridge into battery mode manually to load up the main battery. Usually I then forget to put the fridge back into automatic and end up with warm ice cream.
Also want to make the LED bargraph display what is actually at the battery terminals as opposed to what is on the wires at the control board end. The bargraph reads 0.2 volts low at present. This may be easier to do as there are only two pots on the control unit but always nice to know which one is the right one.

Martin.

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gm6vxb

Discussion Starter · #21 · Oct 7, 2010

Hawkwind,
You may have a dying leisure battery, or the Calira is not charging the batteries.
I had the same problem, all 12 volt circuits cutting out after about three days of 'no mains' camping.
As you say switching off and back on again and everything works, for a while !.
I would suggest firstly leave the van with no mains supply overnight and then check what the leisure battery voltage is. Use a proper multimeter, not the very poor LED display. Voltage should be 12.5 volts or higher.
Then put mains on and check that the Calira is charging the battery. Battery volts should go up to around 13.9 to 14.2 Volts. If not it is possible the Calira has died but try to confirm this before going any further.
The Calira can be repaired but I do not know if this service is still available, and as you say not cheap.
Another option is to fit a two or three stage battery charger but only do this if the Calira is known to be faulty and you cannot get it repaired or cannot afford to replace it.
Or if you get really desparate send me a PM !!>

Martin, GM6VXB

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dealgan

· #22 · Oct 7, 2010

Sounds like Calira had more than one "design issue" with these units !

My problem was and is simply no charging from the calira unit, which I solved with a totally separate intelligent charger. Everything else works fine, for now.

I spotted on the knaus forum that there is someone in UK that will repair the calira unit for around £170. I think they simply replace the main circuit board, but I havent spoken to them, so that could be wrong.

I can look it up again, if its of any interest.

Cheers,
Declan

roxygeorge

· #23 · Oct 12, 2010

Re: Calira EVS 30/20 DS/IU

oldbutuseful said:
Hi,

I'm a newbie to the forum, and am likewise struggling with sorting out a partially defunct Calira power supply in my Knaus Sun Ti. My failure appears identical to that reported by knaussers in the post on 12 Mar 2009 - all d.c. side is working, but no charging when on electrical hook-up. My unit is 2.5 years old and has been used for around 250 days in the time we have had the 'van.

I've made no progress dealing with this through Lowdham Leisureworld as they seem to have no joy in getting any replacement parts from Knaus. I'm going to contact Calira directly, but I thought I'd check with fellow sufferers if anyone has been successful in dealing directly with Calira (who are now part of the Truma group since early 2008).

Reading the Calira operating Instructions it is clear that, in my Knaus anyway, the unit is not installed in accordance with Calira's instructions. Particularly there is insufficient clearance above the unit for cooling purposes. Calira specify 100mm clearance above the ventilation holes, but in my installation it's around 50mm. The ply seat base over the unit gets warm, and the top (red) casing gets very warm. I suspect that the unit is overheating (a lot of my touring has been in the south of France and Italy this year where air temperatures of up to 38 degrees didn't probably help). I think the unit needs a built-in cooling fan to help remove the heat generated by the process of mains conversion to d.c.

If any forum member has any advice on where to get a repair done or where to buy a replacement unit, if that becomes the only solution, I would be very grateful.

Richard.

roxygeorge

· #24 · Oct 12, 2010

Hi Richard

I am having the same problems of no charging when hooked up. Did you sort the problem or did you have to buy a new unit? Any help with a wiring diagram would be good to as I have a friend who wires up fighter aircraft for a living, i'm sure he could work it out.

mick

rayc

· #25 · Oct 12, 2010

roxygeorge said:
Hi Richard

I am having the same problems of no charging when hooked up. Did you sort the problem or did you have to buy a new unit? Any help with a wiring diagram would be good to as I have a friend who wires up fighter aircraft for a living, i'm sure he could work it out.

mick

http://www.calira.de/de/tools/datenblaetter/94.pdf

English from page 24

richardcm

· #26 · Oct 16, 2010

I have a calira evs 30/20 in my Knaus. Same problem as many,no charging of the consumers on mains supply. Anyway decided to drop the unit off at calira about 6 weeks ago. Arrived about ten past four,everybody bar 2 ladies had gone home.However one spoke excellent English and was very helpful.Left the unit and about 2- 3 weeks later the unit duly arrived by,I think UPS,demanding 232 Euros COD.I should say this was in France! It would appear that a capacitor has been replaced and upgraded. The unit seems to be working OK. But what a price for a capacitor plus labour and profit, nice if you can get away with it. I should say the cost included about 38 Euros carriage.

In conclusion the price is a scam,but they do provide a service. And in fairness were very easy to deal with.

roxygeorge

· #27 · Oct 18, 2010

calira not charging

cheers for that. my unit went into the workshop today so the lads can have a play and see what they come up with. If they cant fix it I will re install it and add a charger to the system. I will let you know if they can find and repair the problem.

Hawkwind

· #28 · Dec 3, 2010

Re Calira units and Truma;
Also choice of Unit :?: :?: :?: :?:
Not bootomed out my fault as yet, but it occurs to me that with so many problems we should be putting concerted pressure on Truma to be more help.
Can we blitz them with requests for better service?
What are they like on service for their other products used by us all?
How many other manufacturers use Calira and are any other electical control units any better

On a slightly different tack, with Lunars reputation for **** service backup and the fact that they no longer sell motorhomes, what would people recommend if I decided to change my unit for one of similar layout.
Are Swift group, for example, any good for reliability and service?
What about Burstner?
We like the fixed rear bed lay out for a 2+ ocassional others berth unit as well as reasonable sized bath room and do not want an over cab. Size is limiting factor due to access at home and 7m is about max possible.

bazzzer

· #29 · Jan 9, 2012

i have the same problem not charging on mains hook up.im thinking of taking my mh to glossop caravans and letting them look at it (gulp)did anybody manage to suss it themselves?

Morphology

· #30 · Jan 10, 2012

bazzzer said:
i have the same problem not charging on mains hook up.im thinking of taking my mh to glossop caravans and letting them look at it (gulp)did anybody manage to suss it themselves?

Just a thought: Have you checked the fuse inside the unit? In my EVS 20 30 there is a mains fuse mounted on the circuit board close by the mains inlet (Kettle lead socket).

Morph

bazzzer

· #31 · Jan 10, 2012

tried fuse today but it was fine thanks for the suggestion.ive got phil from rhino installs coming on mon to check it out.he says the units are crap but will test everything anyway.

Morphology

· #32 · Jan 10, 2012

Please let us know how you get on.

I think if mine goes, I'd be inclined to replace it with a similar unit by a different manufacturer - though I'd want to do some research first, as I've heard similar stories about Schaudt units!

The-Cookies

· #33 · Jan 10, 2012

watching with interest as we have a calira , helpful to me if fitting an intelligent charger directions were available or which one was used .

john

owl459

· #34 · Jan 10, 2012

I had the same problem of no charging. I fitted an elecsol charger to it . The other functions still work.

andrewball1000

· #35 · Jan 10, 2012

Calira problems are discussed quite extensively on the Knaus Owners website. Trawling it may also be helpful to some non Knaus Owners

http://www.knausowners.com/

bazzzer

· #36 · Jan 23, 2012

rhino installs fitted an extra charger and new battery for£260 both of mine were goosed

HullRLFC

· #37 · Dec 12, 2012

Hi folks, newbie so treat me gently please.

My employer asked me to have a quick look at his Calira 38/20 that wasn't charging his leisure battery when connected to the mains. He'd enquired about repair/replacement and would be shelling out hundreds either way. I suggested to him there might be an easy repair so took it to bits and had a gander inside. It was fairly apparent what the problem was and I managed to get a replacement part ordered from Germany, install it, and have the unit up, running, and working fine in no time. There is of course the chance that there is a design fault and this part may break down again but this particular Calira unit had lasted five years before the problem so hopefully he'll get a fair bit more life out of it.

If anybody has a similar problem and I can be of any assistance, just post on this thread and I'll keep an eye on it.

Morphology

· #38 · Dec 12, 2012

HullRLFC said:
It was fairly apparent what the problem was and I managed to get a replacement part ordered from Germany, install it, and have the unit up, running, and working fine in no time.

Shall I be first and ask "so exactly what was the problem, and what replacement part did you need to order, and from where exactly in Germany?"

HullRLFC

· #39 · Dec 13, 2012

Morphology said:
Shall I be first and ask "so exactly what was the problem, and what replacement part did you need to order, and from where exactly in Germany?"

In our case it was a PCB mounted transformer which showed pretty obvious signs of overheating as the paint had bubbled on top of it. I googled the numbers on it and found a German website that supplied them. Although the website itself was in German, I could fathom enough out to order a replacement and pay with Visa.

Part came in three days costing 13 Euros with p/p, one faulty one out, one good one in to replace it. It involves a bit of soldering and the Calira unit itself is not so easy to disassemble and reassemble but it's worth having a go at if you're reasonably handy and have decent soldering skills.

Like I said earlier, doing a visual inspection of a PCB usually gives you clues as to where a fault may be. Once out of the board, the original transformer showed more signs of overheating on it's base and smelt pretty bad.

This may not always be the fault but the transformer is a 220/240 volt to 12 volt step down transformer and is obviously integral in the charging circuit. Given the number of people with this "none charging" problem, I wonder if it's a stock fault and a more robust transformer should have been used in the original manufacture?

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Morphology

· #40 · Dec 13, 2012

Interesting, thanks for the information. I've not personally had one of these units fail (thankfully), but I'd certainly be interested to know whether it's this component that has failed with other owners.

Thanks for taking the time to pass on the information.

Morph.

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