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wiring for vehicle and caravan

Submitted: Friday, Jun 26, 2009 at 14:25

meerkat

Article Overview - Battery Power
In this article we explain why you might need an additional power source independent of the starting battery installed into your vehicle and we look in detail at types of batteries, how and where to mount them, the role of isolators and the different View Full Article...
Hi I am in the process of undertaking some auto elec work but as I am getting conflicting advice from auto elect, hoping some fellow form members can shed any light before I embark on this common issue. The vehice is a GU Nissan Patrol with standard 7pin plug and the van is a Jayco Eagle Outback with onboard 100amp battery and fridgeswtich.

What I assume:
Car powers fridge whilst on the move but does not charge the van battery.

What I want is:
Car to charge van battery and power 12v fridge when travelling
Install a 2nd battery in van with inverter

What I think I need:
Upgrade vehicle wiring and run heavier cabling (6 or 8mm twin) through a separate socket (ie Anderson Plug).
Upgrade existing 7 pin plug with h/d 12 pin as standard 7 pin connector has a “loss factor” due to terminal size and amperage capacity so I am told.
Upgrade if necessary van wiring to match.
Should fridge wiring be run directly to the car battery via a fuse (is fuse in car or van?)

Do I still need a battery isolator (say Redcarc) fitted to the car as the fridgeswtich automatically disconnects when the car is stationery but what manages the charging to the van battery - is this why I need a separate isolator?

Any assistance will be greatly appreciated. It will help when I go to get quotes as it appears not all auto elect actually understand caravan wiring???
ThreadID: 70170 Replies: 6
Views: 994 FollowUps: 11
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AnswerID: 371957   Submitted: Friday, Jun 26, 2009 at 15:49

briann532 replied:

Meerkat,

Have a look at this thread...............
Check out the last reply.
I think you will find it answers all your questions.

Brian
Reply 1 of 6
FollowupID: 639245   Submitted: Friday, Jun 26, 2009 at 15:50

briann532 posted:

http://myswag.org/forum/index.php

Sorry I forgot the thread...........
FollowUp 1 of 3
FollowupID: 639247   Submitted: Friday, Jun 26, 2009 at 16:13

Nomadic Navara posted:

Brian

You only gave the link to the forum and not the thread. Please supply the link to the exact thread you are referring to.

PeterD
FollowUp 2 of 3
FollowupID: 639319   Submitted: Saturday, Jun 27, 2009 at 08:43

briann532 posted:

Sorry about that, here it is.

I have a "mud map" wiring diagram as well that I can email you if you would like.

Just send a request to

bandj at ihug dot com dot au

Heres the link............

http://myswag.org/forum/index.php?topic=2941.0
FollowUp 3 of 3
AnswerID: 371958   Submitted: Friday, Jun 26, 2009 at 15:50

briann532 replied:

Meerkat,

Have a look at this thread...............
Check out the last reply.
I think you will find it answers all your questions.

Brian
Reply 2 of 6
FollowupID: 639287   Submitted: Friday, Jun 26, 2009 at 21:45

meerkat posted:

Hi Brian, I opened the link but it only takes me to the forum site. Can you direct me to the actual thread.....
FollowUp 1 of 1
AnswerID: 371965   Submitted: Friday, Jun 26, 2009 at 16:25

Member - Rod N (QLD) replied:

Check this out for some ideas.Van Battery Charging This is from Derek's site. I use this and power the fridge from the van battery thru a fridge switch. Works OK for me.
If you click on the pop up for the battery article it gives you info on batteries. Written by Derek.
Rod
Reply 3 of 6
FollowupID: 639288   Submitted: Friday, Jun 26, 2009 at 21:51

meerkat posted:

Thanks Rod, this does give me some insight as to the setup
FollowUp 1 of 1
AnswerID: 371976   Submitted: Friday, Jun 26, 2009 at 16:59

Member - Vince B (NSW) replied:

Hi meerkat.
I have just bought a golf off road van.It uses a 12 pin socket & has seperate positive wires for the fridge & battery.The fridge doesn't source power from the caravan battery.
Cheers.
Vince
Tibooburra July 2007
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Accept good advice gracefully - as long as it doesn't interfere with what you intend to do.
Reply 4 of 6
FollowupID: 639289   Submitted: Friday, Jun 26, 2009 at 21:52

meerkat posted:

Hi Vince do you have an onboad battery in the van. Is the fridge wired directly to the car's battery via an Anderson Plug
FollowUp 1 of 2
FollowupID: 639308   Submitted: Saturday, Jun 27, 2009 at 05:48

Member - Vince B (NSW) posted:

Hi Meerkat.
The fridge is wired direct to the car's battery via a 12 pin connection.The caravan battery is also connected via a second wire.
The van originally had an andersen plug but apparently golf now use the 12 pin set up.The top 7 connections carry the normal vehicle lights & caravan brakes & the bottom larger 5 pins handle the aux wiring.
I had this set up on my previous camper trailers & had no problems.
Vince
Tibooburra July 2007
Click Image to Enlarge
Accept good advice gracefully - as long as it doesn't interfere with what you intend to do.
FollowUp 2 of 2
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AnswerID: 372013   Submitted: Friday, Jun 26, 2009 at 20:46

GerryP replied:

Hi Meerkat,

Charge the van battery direct from the car via an Anderson plug and heavy wiring. As you have a Fridgeswitch, there is no real need to disconnect while stationery, unless you have very different battery types in the car and van.

You might want to consider a DC/DC charger such as this one from Redarc... Click here. There are no doubt other makes which would do similar things. These will ensure proper charging of your van battery.

Cheers
Gerry
Reply 5 of 6
FollowupID: 639290   Submitted: Friday, Jun 26, 2009 at 21:55

meerkat posted:

Hi Gerry, thanks for the info.
FollowUp 1 of 2
FollowupID: 639355   Submitted: Saturday, Jun 27, 2009 at 16:05

RV Powerstream P/L posted:

Dont get caught with that Redarc its output is only 6Amps and it will not run your fridge let alone charge a battery also while travelling.

Why choke your alternator down to 6A when it could produce more than that on a plain wire installation.
Ian
RV Powerstream P/LRV Powerstream P/L
Business Member: My Profile  My Blog
FollowUp 2 of 2
AnswerID: 372059   Submitted: Saturday, Jun 27, 2009 at 09:56

Maîneÿ . . . replied:

meerkat,
You have a "Jayco Eagle Outback with onboard 100amp battery and fridge swtich" so the Redarc goes in Vehicle near the Crank battery, with decent fuses at the (+) POS terminals of BOTH batteries. The battery leads go to the 100ah van battery via an Anderson plug, I would suggest using the thickest cable capable of fitting inside the lug in the Anderson plug to avoid Voltage drop.

Maîneÿ . . .
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Reply 6 of 6
FollowupID: 639356   Submitted: Saturday, Jun 27, 2009 at 16:08

RV Powerstream P/L posted:

Mainay you didnt check the output and at 6Amps its nearly as useful as tits on a bull in this application.
Ian
RV Powerstream P/LRV Powerstream P/L
Business Member: My Profile  My Blog
FollowUp 1 of 2
FollowupID: 639358   Submitted: Saturday, Jun 27, 2009 at 16:30

RV Powerstream P/L posted:

A 6 Metre cable run to deliver 20A needs a 6GGE cable giving a 0.325V drop.
A 6 Metre cable run to deliver 30A needs a 4GGE cable giving a 0.306V drop.
A 6 Metre cable run to deliver 40A needs a 2GGE cable giving a 0.257v drop.

0.36V drop is an industry acceptable voltage drop for 12V.

Mainey is right with the bigger the cable the better the charge.
Ian
RV Powerstream P/LRV Powerstream P/L
Business Member: My Profile  My Blog
FollowUp 2 of 2

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