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 Topic: University Research - caravan 12v leads
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17/10/2019 at 2:27pm
Location: Llanidloes Powys
Outfit: Skoda Yeti SEL4x4 +Bailey Ranger 460-4
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Completed (negatively) as there not enough details.
And the last question can't be answered when there isn't a NIL option.
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17/10/2019 at 8:43pm
Location: West country
Outfit: Mondeo
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Hi David thanks for that. I am a retired electrical engineer though not specifically for towing electrics. Electrics in buildings is my thing.
I think the 13 pin plug solved a few problems.
They increased the earth for the fridge and battery charging, probably due to caravan fridges increasing in size.
They included pins for reversing light and rear fog light. The reversing light was previously on the grey 12s plug which not all towers had.
The water proofing was much improved and this has probably contributed to the greater reliability of the 13 pin. I'm not sure of the IP ratings of the 7 pin and 13 pin plugs but this gives you a little info on IP ratings.
https://www.rainfordsolutions.com/ip-enclosure-ratings-and-standards
They seem to have improved the cable clamping arrangement which retains the 13 core flex in the plug. A lot of 7 pin plugs didn't seem to have any at all and relied on the cable terminations to hold it in.
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17/10/2019 at 8:52pm
Location: West country
Outfit: Mondeo
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Hi David, done the survey but not the price. I'd expect it to be included in the tow bar wiring and caravan costs.
There are laws governing lights and the wiring on trailers. The caravan road lights etc have to be kept completely separate from the habitation electrics. This is to prevent problems in the habitation side affecting the legally required road lighting etc.
Caravans have a habitation relay which isolates the caravan habitation electrics when the car engine is running and the plug connected. This excludes the fridge and leisure battery charging.
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23/10/2019 at 3:51pm
Location: Llanidloes Powys
Outfit: Skoda Yeti SEL4x4 +Bailey Ranger 460-4
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Going back to the OP's original question, and ignoring the fridge and battery charging side of things, and looking at the Vehicle Lighting Regulations, in which trailer lighting is included, I read it as there must be a DIRECT connection between the trailer and the towing vehicle. That would not be provided by a wireless system and would therefore be illegal.
Additionally, whilst I can see what the OP is looking at, has he considered what would happen if the battery that would be required in the trailer to power the lights went flat, and therefore none of the lights worked? Again that would make the whole towing ensemble illegal.
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04/11/2019 at 7:41am
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If you could design a coupling at the ball joint so that when attached, the electrical connections were made automatically, the world would beat a path to your doorstep.
It would obviate the problems of cables trailing on the road and the problems for wrinklies in having to bend down so far.
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04/11/2019 at 12:51pm
Location: London
Outfit: Lunar Cosmos 524
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Reading into the survey what the product purpose is (a radio remote control link for trailer lights), as a professional design engineer, I'd avoid it like the plague if it were offered to me as an option or add on!
Radio links are notoriously fickle (think of Bluetooth!!!!!), and the hardwired plug/socket is well proven and no great inconvenience, it also has the capacity to be fixed by the majority of vaguely handy people should it be troublesome, a faulty wireless link is a nightmare that even a fully equipped professional technician would likely spend a while fault-finding and fixing, no doubt with relatively expensive components too!
The old adage of 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' is rattling around in my head 
Sorry davidh1996 to rain on your parade, full marks for innovative thought, but can't help but see it as an unnecessary/undesirable product. Don't take criticism to heart, as a professional who has headed design depts and been an independent consultant for decades, 'most' innovation ends up having no future, get used to it as it goes with the job, just learn and move on. As a technical exercise for your uni work it's a perfectly valid 'development' you are going through, any designer of any worth must always have one eye on dead ends and even total failure as a possibility. I wish you well.
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