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This article ( not mine by the way) points out the differences between early & late 12S plugs & sockets. It might be worth having a look at how your landy & camper are wired. Up to
October 1997 and the introduction of new wiring standards for caravans and
leisure vehicles, all the 12S system (with the exception of pin 1, yellow,
reverse) relied on one heavy wire (pin 3, white) for the earth return. Pins 5
(brown) and 7 (black) were unused. Since EN1648-1, the central pin 7 (black)
has been allocated as the refrigerator earth return and pin 2 (blue) is now
redundant (previously battery charging circuit). These changes roughly coincide
with the introduction of new larger fridge/freezers which, naturally, draw more
current.
Pin 7 is
an extended male, segmented pin in the plug and acts as the ‘lead’ to guide the
plug into the socket. As such, it is the one pin most likely to suffer damage
in use. This, coupled with the higher current draw and the smaller cross
sectional area of the wire is causing voltage drop, higher resistance, heat
build up and consequently, melting plugs and/or sockets.
You could change your double socket system on car and caravan to one of three
continental 13 pin plug systems (either Jaeger or Feder/West Multicon). This,
however, would entail changing other caravans and trailers that you may want to
tow (though the Feder/West Multicon sockets will accept a standard 12N plug in
the centre),and would prove expensive.
Alternatively,
you could do a minor modification to the caravan 12S plug wiring. As pin 5 is
unused, it is possible to link pin 7 to pin 5 and (provided the brown wire is
earthed in the towing vehicle) share the load between both. Additionally, as
pin 2 is now unused (though still probably connected to the split charge relay)
the same can be done with the feed by linking pin 6 to pin 2.
The
advantages are obvious. The combination of 2 cores gives a greater CSA than
called for in the legislation and the load (feed and return) is shared by 4
pins instead of two. There will be less voltage drop, less resistance and less
heat build up. It is a relatively simple DIY alteration and is inexpensive.
I would
recommend using 28/0.30 (17.5 amp) cable for the linking wire
Supplementary to the above, tests performed by students on the last 3
NTTA courses have produced an improvement in the voltage drop to the fridge of
1.1 volts when using the two links as described. Pieface
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