The grey socket is called the 12S which is to run the fridge by 12 volt and the other to charge the leisure battery whilst the caravan is in tow. There is another function which is reversing lights but I doubt whether you have these on your caravan anyway. To make proper use of the fridge you need to pre-cool it first by gas or electric otherwise it will take several hours to get cold on the 12 volt supply.
The S socket needs a permanently live feed which preferably should be taken directly from the battery with a sufficiently large diameter cable to take the power it will be asked for. this should have an inline fuse before anything else is added. The feed should go to a voltage sensing relay which will provide an always on supply to the caravan electrics (post 1997 van ) and a supply that is only live when the cars engine is running to supply the caravan fridge for any caravan. This last supply is also used to supply a charge to the battery for pre 1997 caravans
A good wiring diagram and description can be found at http://www.caravanclub.co.uk/media/1022823/additional-12-volt-wiring-in-trailer-caravans-mo.pdf
For a licence dated 1997 or later you must add together the plated max weight of the caravan and trailer, if the total is 3500 or less you can tow it. You may even tow a caravan with a MAM greater than the cars unladen mass the restriction was removed in 2013
errr i understand about your wiring query ,BUT i don't think you will be LEGALLY able to tow a caravan with a 1.3 corsa ,in fact i guess that with the caravan loaded for a holiday it would be potenially lethal .have you worked out your cars kerbweights and the caravans mass in running order weight .
in fact i have checked on this since initial posting ,the manufactures tow limit for your car is 1000kg ,your actual kerb weight is 1103 kg .the probable weight of your van unladen will be somewhere in the region of 750kg (depending on berths) if you take a normal payload i.e gas bottles ,spare wheel,battery,clothing food ,utensils ,and other bits and bobs your probably looking at in excess of 250-300kg be careful
Quote: Originally posted by the black fox on 19/8/2013
errr i understand about your wiring query ,BUT i don't think you will be LEGALLY able to tow a caravan with a 1.3 corsa ,in fact i guess that with the caravan loaded for a holiday it would be potenially lethal .have you worked out your cars kerbweights and the caravans mass in running order weight .
in fact i have checked on this since initial posting ,the manufactures tow limit for your car is 1000kg ,your actual kerb weight is 1103 kg .the probable weight of your van unladen will be somewhere in the region of 750kg (depending on berths) if you take a normal payload i.e gas bottles ,spare wheel,battery,clothing food ,utensils ,and other bits and bobs your probably looking at in excess of 250-300kg be careful
Post last edited on 19/08/2013 17:52:31
He should have no problem finding a legal outfit, the choice is restrict but there are many many vans out there that match his requirements.
------------- Bill
For a licence dated 1997 or later you must add together the plated max weight of the caravan and trailer, if the total is 3500 or less you can tow it. You may even tow a caravan with a MAM greater than the cars unladen mass the restriction was removed in 2013
Thank for the feed back. We checked all the problems regarding the weights before we even thought about the caravan and towing especialy with are car and even loaded im less than 750kg i no as i took it to a weight bridge last week.
That was one main reason we went for the old van as one same style but newer is over a tone!
She pulls fine and stops no trouble.
------------- She may be old, she may be rough around the edges but she is our home from home and we love it.
Quote: Originally posted by janus on 19/8/2013
The S socket needs a permanently live feed which preferably should be taken directly from the battery with a sufficiently large diameter cable to take the power it will be asked for. this should have an inline fuse before anything else is added. The feed should go to a voltage sensing relay which will provide an always on supply to the caravan electrics (post 1997 van ) and a supply that is only live when the cars engine is running to supply the caravan fridge for any caravan. This last supply is also used to supply a charge to the battery for pre 1997 caravans
A good wiring diagram and description can be found at http://www.caravanclub.co.uk/media/1022823/additional-12-volt-wiring-in-trailer-caravans-mo.pdf
Also many thanks janus for the links most usefull.
Now to kindly talk to my brother who is the electrics man. He has already rewired the caravan and fitted invertor for me.
------------- She may be old, she may be rough around the edges but she is our home from home and we love it.
My caravan had a grey socket (although it needed replacing) but there was neither battery charger or fridge when I bought the van! And only the black one on the car. Knowing how hopeless the 12v is for the fridge, and knowing I could charge the battery either at home or on site, I just bought a charger, and used the fridge as a coolbox (filling with a mixture of frozen stuff and fresh, plus a couple of iceblocks and I've never missed having the grey socket wired into the car.
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