Eura Mobil CBE 38100
A customer wrote to us, asking whether we do caravan control panel repairs. He asked if we’d take a look at his Eura Mobil CBE 38100 motorhome control panel, complaining of faulty switches and some other weird intermittent faults.
A quick look online revealed quite a few people on various motorhome forums trying to get theirs repaired too. The most common complaint was that the on-board NiMH RTC battery eventually leaks, causing corrosive electrolyte to seep everywhere, damaging the delicate circuit board traces.
Symptoms may include:
- Blank screen or missing LCD digits/segments.
- Clock and settings revert to defaults after power loss (i.e. time settings, language settings etc don’t save).
- Switching problems – i.e. doesn’t react to certain button presses. (This could also mean the switches are faulty or dirty)
- Unusual beeping noises.
- External electrical systems don’t turn on and off as expected.
There seems to be no manufacturer (or third-party) replacement for these damaged control boards so understandably people are trying to get theirs repaired. We are not afraid of a challenge so decided to take on the job after advising him that we couldn’t guarantee a fix but we’d do our best to get it running again. He agreed and sent it via Royal Mail Special Delivery.
The CBE 38100 is listed as a ‘Habitation Control Panel for Leisure Vehicle Systems‘ made by Eura Mobil for the C2015 Activa, Contura and Integra ranges.
These motorhome control boards were definitely not designed with repair or maintenance in mind. Even the battery which you would think should be easy to replace, requires complete disassembly of the unit to de-solder it properly. When the battery starts leaking, much of the damaged/corroded areas will be under the LCD screen.
This screen has over 60 legs/pins which are soldered to the board and de-soldering/removal can cause additional damage to the already weakened circuit traces, meaning even more things will need repairing when putting it back together.
Fun fact: We found a well-known electronics repair website listing these as non-repairable.
LCD Screen with over 60 pins
Caravan Control Panel – Disassembly & Inspection
Non-Repairable? Let’s at least try! The first thing we have to do is remove the screen. An electric de-soldering tool is worth its weight in gold here with so many pins to de-solder from the PCB. These tools can be prone to clogging so the suction nozzles have to be cleaned out regularly. The process is also slow because we need to be careful of damaging the traces around the screen pins. Sometimes, the board is so weakened that some damage during disassembly is inevitable but in most cases this can be repaired when re-assembling.
After the screen has been removed, we carefully de-solder the leaking battery. Then, with a mix of distilled white vinegar and distilled water we clean the affected areas with a soft bristle brush, flushing out all the traces of battery electrolyte. We follow up with a wash of distilled water, finally flushing everything out with 99% IPA (isopropyl alcohol)
BGA chips don’t show up much if at all on this range of control panels so we can simply use compressed air followed by a little hot air (about 120C) to dry the underside of the multi-pin chips after flushing all the corrosive electrolyte out. No need for the toaster oven. :)
At this point we do a visual inspection of the circuit board under the microscope, checking for continuity and short circuits with a multi-meter as we go along.
Trace Repair on PCB before applying solder mask
PCB Trace Repair
The damaged solder mask (the green coating that covers the copper/fibre board) is removed and damaged traces replaced with fine wires made from pure copper. We solder these wires to the connection points and ‘vias’, bridging the broken connections. We try to keep to the original length and shape of the circuit traces so as to avoid issues with interference and keep the integrity of the data lines.
In some cases, there may be corroded circuit traces UNDER the main NEC screen-control IC (the largest multi-pin chip on the board) which means we have to carefully de-solder the chip, repair the broken traces and then solder the chip back in place. This can add considerable time to the repair!
After all affected traces have been repaired, we then brush on a solder-mask gel (which is cured using a UV lamp) to insulate and protect the exposed copper.
Replacing the Battery
Once the repairs have been completed and everything checked again, we then solder a brand new 3.6V NiMH battery onto the board. We then take voltage measurements to ensure the battery voltage is reaching the parts of the board where it should be present (i.e. at the RTC chip etc).
Re-assembling the Control Panel
At this point we will carefully replace the LCD screen assembly by soldering it back to the PCB. In some instances, tiny jumpers will have to be soldered in place if any solder points were damaged when removing the screen.
Testing & Final Inspection
Once everything has been checked and reassembled we will then check the push-button micro-switches and make sure they are all working properly. Non-functioning or intermittently functioning switches will have to be opened and cleaned. We use Deoxit for cleaning and protecting the switches.
We then power up the control panel and check it is keeping time (i.e. the clock battery and RTC chip are working) and all the functions can be cycled through. At this point we’ve tested everything we can at this end. There is much we cannot test without it being plugged into the rest of the system in your caravan so the final testing will have to be done after you get it back in the post.
Is Repairing a Caravan Control Panel Worth It?
Since these control panels are no longer available to buy and retrofitting a completely new electrical control system to your motorhome is a (very expensive) specialist job then yes, if you can find someone with electronics repair knowledge and is willing to take on a difficult and time-consuming repair, it’s worth a shot.
If you want me to work on your board, please get in touch but first be aware of the following:
- You will have to disconnect the control panel, package it well and post it to us. We recommend Royal Mail Special Delivery to cover the insurance etc. We will also send it back using this service.
- There will likely be a wait time as I do these on evenings and weekends when I can concentrate on the work and it doesn’t interfere with the daily computer repair jobs etc.
- I cannot guarantee a fix but I have repaired several so far and the success rate has been pretty good.
- I always install a brand-new NiMH battery on each board. If the repair is successful I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU GET THE BATTERY REPLACED EVERY 3 TO 5 YEARS so as to avoid having leaking/corrosion issues in future! This will require soldering and I can do this for you if you can’t find someone local.
You might find this interesting:
We posted a little video about this repair process here: Repairing a caravan control panel
If you’re looking for computer repair in Sittingbourne, we would be happy to help. Get in touch so we can give you a quote!
