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Hi all I'm sure Ive read previously on here about people having had problems with 12 plugs melting, I now have the problem on my new caravan Adria 612UP. We have just spent 3 weeks touring France, on the last trip heading home we noticed the fridge wasn't cool after travelling and found the fuse in the car blown. A quick check revealed an earth fault this was traced to the 12S plug and socket the centre pin had overheated and melted the plastic giving a direct short onto the permanent live.

Has anyone any ideas on this or any ideas as to how to stop a reoccurence. A local french electrician suggested using one of the spare pins to double up the earth, but surely if this was required the manufacturers would have done this??

As far as I can see looking at the wiring diagram the earth is only for the fridge so should surely be able to cope.

See here http://www.towitall.co.uk/faq/faq1.htm

atb

Wizard

Hi adriajohn

only last weekend i notice the same problem when we returned home that the centre pin on the caravans grey wire had melted the base of where it fixes into it socket.

I thought that it was down to maybe having tha fridge on full while travelling as it may have drawn too much power as so to melt the pin into the socket. I find it very strange for it to happen only now as we have had the same car and van for two years now and travelled nationwide without any problems with the electrics. I will get ours tested and post the results of the findings here.

Ian 

Quote: Originally posted by billy on 27/9/2007

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I sounds as if your fridge is drawing to high a current for the thickness on wire in your car. If the towbar was fitted recently I suggest you take it back & complain--If it was fitted long ago take it to a competant electrician & get it rewired with suitable thickness wire.

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 Hi thanks all for your thoughts especially Wizard with your link, as that appears to have been the problem, my local stockist hasn't got any 12s plugs yet but when I replace I will double up on the earth spread all pins to ensure they are tight and use plenty of petroleum jelly. Does seem peculiar that this problem seems to have become noticed since we went to two earths, surely with the reduced current demand on one pin it should have made the problem less likely to happen.

But I'm only a simple fitter and dont start to understand the black magic of electricians.

Quote: Originally posted by JohnG on 01/10/2007

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I would have given the same link to Towitall and since following their wiring using spare pins have had no problem with centre pin melt

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Same here. Tony Maris, the previous owner of Towitall explained to me how to do this as I had, had a problem with battery charging with a previous outfit. From next year caravan manufacturers are going over the the far superior European 13 pin system so eventually this problem will be a thing of the past!

David

Hi

As others have said utilise spare pins to double up on the earth, not forgetting to earth the extra pin to the car chassis.

Tyreman