Trouble shooting and Handy hints for the Jayco FD19 Ducato Campervan - 26 April 2018
The Jayco FD19 Ducato Campervan is a B-Class Motorhome and comes with a huge pile of manuals. A dedicated B-Class manual for the FD19 is not included and getting help over the phone can be quite challenging. You may be given the runaround due to vans brand new design and hence I saw a need to jot down some handy hints to accompany the handover process.
Fellow campervaners please note, this is an amateur guide. It is not authoritative and I will accept no responsibility for any errors and/or damages, please do your own fact checking.
----------------------------------------- THE DUCATO CHASSIS ------------------------------------------------------
D1- Driving the Ducato incidently in limp mode
The Ducato handles well, is fun to drive and purrs like a kitten. BUT a huge challenge is the stalk switch assembly with the blinkers on the left side of the steering wheel where it competes for the drivers attention together with a separate stalk switch that activates cruise control and speed limiter. So newbies may set off the wiper instead of the blinker and the fumble for the blinkers and mess with the speed limiter unintentionally (see Fiat user manual pg 56). It happened to me on an 80 road where I ended up limping at a speed of 30 ! I didn't even know that was possible !
D2- Break down recovery
If for any reason your campervan / motorhome breaks down on Australian roads it pays to be prepared. You may hit a kangaroo or a pothole or end up with a punctured tyre (we got one from a twig). Some remedial actions are shown below:
- No reception - carry a second phone on a different service or a satellite phone
- Unable to pull van over due to deep ditch - carry extra battery operated warning lights
- Fuel cut off switch has disabled engine on impact - learn how to reset it (Fiat manual pg62)
- Dashboard warning light ON / no mobile carrier connection for help - carry a diagnostic transmitter plug and self diagnose on your mobile phone
D3- The Ducato looses power above a certain speed
Check that the speed limiter is not set to anything less than 110km/h and that it is not activated on drive off ! The symbols that flash up in the dashboard for cruise control and speed limiter look confusingly similar (Fiat manual pg 62) !
WARNING !!! Turn the switch wrongly and speed control gets activated. It may be preset to as low as 30km/h. Even if it was preset to 100 km/h holding down the lever decrements the speed limiter towards the lowest setting of 30 km/h !
D4- The Ducato door locks do not activate
Slam the sliding door a bit harder and press lock button again. It may not have been closed properly with a small 2mm gap which is almost impossible to spot.
D5- The Ducato sliding door is hard to open from inside
Use your knee and/or left hand to push the door outwards while sliding it sideways with your right hand.
D6- The Ducato rolls back on a gentle slope
This is normal. Move your foot fast from break to gas in less than 2 seconds or use handbrake support if the slope is too light for the hill start support to kick in.
D7- The auto transmission plays up or shows fault codes
It is possible to press the break and gas pedal simultaneously with your right foot. Learn to move your right foot between the pedals in a distinctive motion. Avoid lazy sideways slides of your foot between the pedals. Yes it is possible to press both pedals UNINTENTIONALLY with the right foot !
D8- Water ingress into the motor bay
No longer a problem on latest models, BUT always clean autumn leaves out of the drainage ducts, and in the summer heat check for warping of the drainage system and that it neatly abuts the wind screen over the full width of the van !
-------------------------------------------------- The Jayco Cabin ----------------------------------------------------------
J1- Hotwater System (HWS) - Gas Power "Error light on"
"Error light on" on new vans is most likely caused by user error. Make sure that you understand the system and switch it on again in the proper order as per manual. Then wait up to 45 mins for the water to get hot. The "rapid" hotwater system is not rapid. It's 14 liter tank gets heated with electricity or gas or both. It requires unrestricted water flow (from mains or the tank) to automatically fill up or top up the units own hot water tank !
HWS operation modes
- Electric Heating Mode: A properly operating electricity connection with a) HWS switch ON and b) 240V Fuse ON and (c) Unit Switch OFF (= No gas)
- Gas heating Mode: A properly operating gas system (a) remove the exhaust cover on the drivers site of the van (b) open the gas bottle and (c) switch on HWS switch and (d) switch the Unit switch to 60 degrees or 70 degrees. You may check the burner at night by looking at the flame or by day by feeling a bit heat at the burners exhaust outlet.
- Combined Mode: Set up both 1 and 2 with Unit Switch on 70 degrees.
Note: The HWS utilizes all available energy sources in accordance with the setup conditions. If at home check the fuse in the adaptor cable box as well.
J2- The 240V system does not work
Check fuses, both outside and inside the van (under the bed). Don't forget the one in the power cable adaptor if you operate the van in your driveway. Consider that vehicle inclination may cause problems for some devices to operate properly. Fridge comes to mind.
J3- Can the fridge be switched off separately when camping off grid ?
Yes, the FD19 campervan's 12 V fridge does have an on/off switch ? Where ? Pull out the lowest drawer and rotate the temp switch to the Off position ! It's a little secret, even Jayco didn't have the answer when I called ! Really the fridge should be wired up to the JHub. It does not run on gas and puts a huge drain on the battery.
J4- Draining the grey water tank, but forgot to carry hose with me.
No problem, just open the tap underneath the vehicle (at drivers side not too far from fresh water inlet) .
J5- What was that loud bang ?
The shower head fell down while driving. Now we leave it on the floor on a towel.
J6- The van rattles !
It's doing all right when packed properly. Use some foam matting !
J7- Noisy a/c
Probably normal - buy ear plugs !
J8- Off Grid Camping
Will the battery last through the night ? I am not sure, testing now ! It's 5pm and the predicted discharge time is 9 hours.
Test:
Mains off, no solar. Everything else on. Current 8 Amperes, Batt 100 Ah fully charged. JHub prediction 10 hours ! The load balance is 8 Amperes negative (discharge) Load breakdown:
- 8 A Fridge + Light Circuits 1+2
- 4 A Light Circuits 1+2
- 2.5 A Light Circuits 1
- 0.6 A JHub All Loads Off. only Battery Power Switch On !
J9- Where are the fuses ?
Consult the manuals - negative. Look under the bed ! Bingo !
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G1- Off grid camping
Learn all about battery management and monitor your loads and battery status !
Consider our advise above.
G2- Gas empty ?
No problem, we carry a little back up camping cooker which uses cartridges. Useful to make coffee and no need to go outside and open / close the big 4L gas bottle.
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Some useful essentials to carry along
- Spanner & Screwdriver set
- Warning lights / Torch
- Firt aid kit
- Satellite phone or two phones set up with different carriers
- Duct tape
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