Electric blinds

[richlizard]

Hi all.

This may seem a daft question, but after a quick search found that it was one that went unanswered a while back so I will give it a go myself...

When I purchased my bongo a few months back, I was delighted that it had electric blinds as my old bongo was manual so I know how fiddly they can be.

The only issue is that they don't seem to work off the leisure battery!! This means that even though there are 4 individual switches in the back, you have to go round to the front to put the key in the ignition to give power to those switches in the back... but there are actually two switches in the front too which activate them all!!

I can't help think this cannot be the norm. Clambering to the front to put the key in seems to defeat the object of electric blinds and I don't see any benefit over the 'fiddly' manual system.

I did read somewhere that there is a switch to transfer power to the rear, which seemed a little daft. But I did find these two switches at the front...



Sadly, neither of those switches seem to do anything whatsoever!!

Any ideas?

[scanner]

As standard most Bongos don't have a leisure battery, so the blinds can't run off it.

Thus the blinds run off the main battery.

[scanner]

As standard most Bongos don't have a leisure battery, so the blinds can't run off it.

Thus the blinds run off the main battery.

PS Unless modified not to.

[richlizard]

Thanks Scanner.

I don't suppose it is as simple as taking wires from main battery and extending them to the leisure battery?

R

[scanner]

Thanks Scanner.

I don't suppose it is as simple as taking wires from main battery and extending them to the leisure battery?

R

No as then everything would work off the leisure battery, you need to rewire at the fuse box.

If you wire the leisure battery to charge via a "Willinton" kit you get the rewiring done as part of the set up.

[salexander]

On my Bongo, the round switch with the tell-tale light is for my rear fog light.

[mikeWalsall]

Willinton does a really neat Bongo kit that hooks the leisure battery into what ever 'camper van' fused circuit you want .. Radio (with it's own on / off switch) .. blinds .. ciggy / power sockets .. interior light .. blinds or what ever ..

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MAZDA-BONGO-L ... 4ac8cde1b6

[al & chris]

Looks like our switch which does turn power and blinds to leisure battery. This was done by Ian Taylor .

[mikeWalsall]

Dunno what the lower switch is for .. but on mine the (top) round switch is for the rear fog light .. which only work when the buses lights are on ..

[amauvis]

Blinds in my Bongo work without the key. Mine is a 99 - I wonder if it's a year thing?

[francophile1947]

Blinds in my Bongo work without the key. Mine is a 99 - I wonder if it's a year thing?

No. yours was probably rewired if you have a conversion or Willinton kit.

Below are some simple instructions on how to rewire the fusebox to get things to work off the leisure battery:-
Look at the fuse board by the drivers right knee.
Remove the fixing screws and wiggle it forwards so that the rear is visible.

Counting from top left to right the numbering goes 1 to 8.

Fuses 1 to 5 are fed by a thick white/red from fuse BTN under the bonnet, which is always live.
(the fuse, silly, not the bonnet!)

Fuses 6,7,8 are fed only when the ignition is on via the thick red/black wire.
6&7 are curtains L&R, 8 is cigarlighter & mirrors.

1] If you do not have a secondary battery:

You can either select just the cigarlighter/mirrors or probably easier and handier select those and the curtains so that you can operate them without the ignition on.

Cut the thick red/black wire going in a couple of inches from the rear of the fuseholder for 6,7,8. Insulate the end that comes out of the loom.
Use a short length of similarly sized wire to extend the end going into 6,7,8 and tap it into the thick white/red that feeds fuses 1-5.

If you want to select just fuse 8 for the cigarlighter/mirrors then you would have to identify the blue wire coming out of fuse 8, cut that and insulate the end coming out of the fuse 8. The blue wire going into the loom would then need an in-line 15A fuse fitting and then tapping onto the aforementioned thick white/red that feeds fuses 1-5.

2] If you have a secondary battery you may wish to feed things from that rather than from the engine battery.

The instructions above are modified only by disregarding tapping anything into the aforementioned thick white/red that feeds fuses 1-5.
Instead you would need to connect it/them into an appropriately fused wire connected to the secondary battery.

While you are at it you could also feed all the internal vehicle lighting from that source as well.
To do so, cut the blue/red wire coming out of fuse 1 and insulate the end coming out of the fuse. Fit an appropriate 10A inline fuseholder to the end disappearing into the loom and connect it to the secondary battery.

[richlizard]

Thanks for all the replies.

I will look in more detail on return from Weyfest. Come say hi if you're there. I am the one in the black plastercast with a broken wrist... probably near the bar somewhere!

Cheers
Rich