Fuses for fridges

I own a Swift Escape 695, first registered July 2018. As the second owner, it was purchased from a Swift dealer in August 2019, since which time it’s been in regular year-round use, and has its annual dealer service and warranty checks.

On our usual New Year trip we had a problem with the three-way fridge not switching to the 12V engine running mode in transit.

A check of the Sargent EC600 Swift Command box revealed that fuse number 13, a 15A as fitted, marked ‘motorhome fridge D+’, had very badly melted, also melting the side wall of the fuseholder box in the EC600.

Furthermore, the small red light, which should illuminate if there is a fuse problem, was no longer working.

My Swift dealership informed me that it would return the EC600 to Sargent for repair, indicating (realistically) a three to four-week period.

I telephoned Sargent, speaking to the technical support team. It stated that it had told Swift in 2019 to change the 15A fuse in position 13 for a 20A fuse, as the 15A fuse was insufficient for the larger fridges fitted to my model of motorhome.

I was told by Sargent that the EC600 would need to be replaced, at a (reasonable) fixed cost, with a two-week turnaround upon receipt.

Via an affiliated company, Sargent Leisure Services, a same-day turnaround service was offered if I wished to drive my motorhome to its Beverley workshop.

The staff at Sargent Leisure Services were very helpful, and fully aware of this fuse problem and, within a few days, offered a two-hour turnaround to replace my EC600. The work was carried out to complete satisfaction, all systems checked, and all done in a clean manner.

A call to Swift’s helpline led to me being told initially, that it was not aware of any advice to change the fuse to 20A by Sargent. However, it called me back to confirm that Sargent had indeed contacted the company over this issue in 2019. Swift also told me that sometime in 2019 it had informed all dealerships to change fuse number 13 for the higher-rated 20A fuse.

A check back with my Swift dealer, brought the response that it was not aware of this.

I’m left bearing the cost of replacing the EC600 over a problem known about, and having no resort to a warranty claim as the vehicle is outside its warranty period.

I’m concerned that enough heat was generated to melt the fuse and fuseholder. Even a cursory search of social media reveals other owners having this identical problem.

Obviously, there’s been a communication breakdown, but there are owners who could, like me, potentially end up with a costly repair bill.

I think Swift should have communicated this issue directly to registered owners, alongside the dealerships.

I’m grateful that this problem didn’t result in a fire. Sargent Technical and Sargent Leisure Services could not have been more helpful in this matter, and I can highly recommend its excellent service and advice.

Via your good pages, hopefully other owners can simply replace this fuse before damage occurs (as in my case) resulting in the entire EC600 unit having to be replaced.

Vernon Garry Rhodes