rienza control panel

please can anyone help? I have recently purchased an Autosleeper Rienza yr. 2005 without many instruction manuals. In the centre of the main control panel is a 3 way rocker switch. The top position is VEH, the bottom one is HAB, ( I think it's that way round ) and the middle position says OFF. As I am able to keep on mains hook-up all the time, which position should the switch be in to keep both batteries on charge ? I will be most grateful to anyone who could help ! Also any ideas where I could get replacement instruction books for this and other panels ?

You have to select which battery you want charged, it can't do both at the same time.

Hi Bill,

Welcome to the site. Paul is correct about the rocker switch. However it is my belief that most lighting and water pump draw 12 volt even on hookup, and therefore you may wish to charge the Hab battery regularly to stop the lights dimming after a period of time.

You may have to charge the vehicle battery if you are stationary for a long period but make lots of use of the vehicle radio/cd player. I also charge both batteries periodically over the winter when the vehicle may not be used for a few weeks at a time.

 Our Rienza is 2006 so it is likely that I could help you with hand book help. The one drawback is that there are manuals for each piece of installed equipment (fridge, water heater, air heater etc) Then there is the 125 page Autosleeper manual (although much of the info is duplicated supplier manual info). Then there is the Ford manual!!!   

I would be more than happy to answer any specific questions or to scan and send you individual manuals, but you will understand my reluctance to do the whole lot.   

The secret is to ask me for something every week.   

Play about with the kit and you will soon get he hang of it, and ask lots of questions here.

You have got a great van so I wish you many happy outings in it.

Davy

Hi Bill....  congratulations, you have bought a lovely van.     Like you , I had mine on hook up at my home and would occasionally switch from "hab" to "veh" just to keep both up to scratch.     I've done all my own maintenance and repairs/modifications, and, like Davy,  happy to help with your queries.     Loads of techi leaflets which can be faxed/emailed.

just ask and Enjoy.   

Incidently, where did you buy it.!

Hi
Just purchased a Ford based 2006 Rienza, really pleased with the build quality.
Unfortunately there is no user manual apart from the usual truma and thetford.

I recognise most of the usual controls from the caravans I've owned.
But the control panel near the wine glass cupboard is new to me.
It has the HAB and VEH for charging but I'm not sure about the others controls.

Does anyone have a manual for sale or know of somewhere for copies or PDF downloads?
Thanks 

Hi...   don't have my Rienza now but from memory there were switches of 12 volt lighting, and the water pump.   There is also a large switch under the sink unit on the nearside floor ...... this is a master switch for the electric hob on your cooker.   Near the entrance door is a switch for the awning light and I think it has a neon warning light as a warning that you have left it on.   I also recall a master switch near the control panel which switched on all the lights at once, as a convenience for toilet visits in the night  (or was it a radio master switch to save getting out of bed in the morning to switch it on in the driver's dept.!!    

There is another "Dave" on here who is an active Rienza owner so he should be more explicit.   Great van 

just remembered - another switch on the panel was for water heater, but the for life of me I cannot remember the functions of the two round dials.

Hi Bob,

We have a 2004 Rienza - excellent motor home used all year around and which I have updated here & there including security.

The motor home has power on all the time with the rocker switch set to habitation and this is backed up by a 100w solar panel topping up the habitation battery as primary and the vehicle battery as secondary.

I also had a problem like others and created my own habitation panel guide (photograph with ID added) - see the url link below

https://i.servimg.com/u/f20/19/54/44/99/rienza10.jpg

Not perfect but hope this helps 

Hope you enjoy safe and happy adventures in your Rienza.

Peter 

Hi Peter.... your excellent photo brings it all back...    hope its of use to Melwoodstudios, who was making the query, on this and on a seperate post.

cheers

Nice to see another Rienza owner on the forum. The amount of Ford owners is growing slowly. As said a great choice of motorhome.
Ours came with a solar pannel and a second leisure battery. To keep the vehicle battery charged I fitted a battery master. When the leisure batteries are fully charged it switches the charge to the vehicle battery. On hook up I leave the switch in the hab position. This means the leisure battery is being charged even on a dull day or at night. So far this has worked well on ours. We have used ours all year without hook up on some trips. So far we seem to have kept the batteries topped.
We have had a couple of minor hiccups with our Rienza but nothing that couldn't be sorted. I have a damp issue that was picked up last habitation check. That wil be sorted next year.
As part of our retirement plans the Rienza is just what we wanted. Comfortable all year travels and easy to maintain and run.

BobK wrote:Hi...   don't have my Rienza now but from memory there were switches of 12 volt lighting, and the water pump.   There is also a large switch under the sink unit on the nearside floor ...... this is a master switch for the electric hob on your cooker.   Near the entrance door is a switch for the awning light and I think it has a neon warning light as a warning that you have left it on.   I also recall a master switch near the control panel which switched on all the lights at once, as a convenience for toilet visits in the night  (or was it a radio master switch to save getting out of bed in the morning to switch it on in the driver's dept.!!    

There is another "Dave" on here who is an active Rienza owner so he should be more explicit.   Great van 

just remembered - another switch on the panel was for water heater, but the for life of me I cannot remember the functions of the two round dials.

Thanks for the info - very useful

Peter Parkes wrote:Hi Bob,

We have a 2004 Rienza - excellent motor home used all year around and which I have updated here & there including security.

The motor home has power on all the time with the rocker switch set to habitation and this is backed up by a 100w solar panel topping up the habitation battery as primary and the vehicle battery as secondary.

I also had a problem like others and created my own habitation panel guide (photograph with ID added) - see the url link below

PHOTO

Not perfect but hope this helps 

Hope you enjoy safe and happy adventures in your Rienza.

Peter 

Thanks for the photo - that explains it all, it may have taken a while to work out the numbered switches
Cheers

Hi am after a little help with regards to Habitat lighting on our Transit Mk 7 Rienza 2006.
Does anybody know which lights are 240 and which are 12v. Our Toilet light which we leave on goes out even though we are Hooked to Mains power. Any info would be great. Thank you

Our 2006 Pollensa is similar and based on a Transit. None of our lights are 240v, all run on the 12v system, even when the hookup cable is plugged in.  As explained above, there's a rocker switch on the control panel that can be set to charge the Hab battery, the Vehicle battery or neither. If set to neither, the lights are running from the hab. battery. If set to Hab. the lights etc. are still drawing from the same circuit, but the hookup is keeping the battery topped up.

Thank you for the info. Most useful. Will be switching to Hab Battery Charge for my next stay away.