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hi can anybody help been  france several times never had problem with polarity .reading in eurocamp brochure you can get a polarity reverse connector is there such a thing? usually just plug in euro 2 pin socket and away we go 

Hi we must have been unlucky then last 3 sites in france have all had reverse polarity, i just have a short lead with blue male and female sockets on, with the live and nuetral reversed in one end , and have covered it in red insulation tape, to identify what it is , you also need a test plug to put in your  socket inside camper, it has three red lights on the front showing earth, live, nuetral, if all 3 light up it is ok you dont need to reverse polarity, their is a proper name for these test plugs but i cant for the life of me remember it ,

the reverse polarity cable you will have to make up yourself but the socket testers you can purchase, i am sure i have seen them at the larger B&Q stores in their electrical section . I am sure someone will be along to explain it at simpler than i have

One of the sites we visited this year was reverse polarity. We got our tester and two adapters from Towsure. We plugged in as normal when we were set up using the 'normal' adapter, I plugged in the tester and switched on and only got two lights. So switched off, swapped the adapters (this one we had simply reversed the wires and marked clearly),switched the electric back on and the tester and we had all 3 lights - sorted and as simple as that. I had worried about it all before going but after reading posts on here and asking a few questions I was well prepared before I went and really had nothing to worry about!

If it hadn't been for this site, my CC handbook and reading what others had said I would not have known about reverse polarity, so Thankyou ukcs

sorry to sound thick i have a continental site adapter with 2pin plug on 1end and a blue plug on other .is this the end i reverse the wires in many thanks

Have alook here

Electric hookup in France

Hi all

call me numb-nuts. Am totally confused about reverse polarity so here is my take on the matter. Please feel very very free to correct me.

I have polarity tester, 2 pin french plug with a length of cable which goes into normal blue plug and my normal 25 m length of cable with 2 blue plugs.

1) I understand that if the site has a 2 pin socket, simply plug in the 2 pin to the mains and mate the plug from the 25 m cable which would normally plug into the mains to it and the other, as normal, to the van. This assumes normal polarity. Is this correct.

2) Where do i plug in the polarity tester to test for reverse polarity

3) assuming reverse polarity, do I buy a short length of cable and reverse the polarity on the end which plugs into the mains and leave the other end which plugs into the van alone.

Told you I was thick as a plank so any advice (preferably in a descriptive form that a 5 year old would understand) would be most appreciated.

Saving grace is I can do woodwork and metal work - believe me I can! but electics, might as well discuss nuclear fusion with me

Thanks

Michael & Alison

You plug the polarity tester into a 13 amp socket  in the van 

You have a short lead with blue socket on one end and French 2 pin + earth plug on the other which is wired correct polarity.

You plug the French adaptor into the French site box.

You plug the van lead into it and check for reverse polarity inside the van at the 13 amp socket

You then need a short lead with the blue site plug on one end and the blue socket to fit the van lead on the other BUT WITH CLEARLY MARKED REVERSED POLARITY.Just swap the live and neutral at one end.

If you go to a site with the blue Euro hook up you repeat the procedure without the French connection.

Its better of course to reverse the procedure and plug into the site socket last to avoid working with live leads but it seems easier to understand the other way round!!

Hope that helps

John, told you I was thick but that seems to be an excellent way of describing the procedure. Thank you very much for that. Mind you, still expect to be electrocuted at some stage. Thanks again

Michael & Alison

An RCCB as I understand it does not make reference to earth.

It measures the current on the live and neutral like the arms of a balance scale

If the arms differ by a few milliamps the trip trips open.