When to get an Electrician

You don't need to be a "registered" or "licensed" electrician to work on 12 volt systems. You could have fixed the plug yourself 100% legally. If you follow the standard colour coding and pin diagrams you can't go wrong - unless someone has stuffed up elsewhere. A quick check of the lights when you finished would tell you if you got it right or not.

You are quite right about the 240v stuff.

George

Just a couple of quick questions, if you don’t mind.

Are you colour blind?

Can you clearly read simple instructions?


And for the record, you do not need a qualified Auto Electrician to wire up a simple 7 pin plug for your car or van.

As for the $150 that you were charged, the guy must have been Ned Kelly and said to himself, here comes another sucker.

Hi George s3
I'll be the first.
When I take on these repairs I have a blank sheet of paper and a $5 test lamp and draw a diagram of the colored wires and which one lights the lamp.
Firstly the plug terminals are numbered and a quick google will identify which wire goes to where.
Earth the test lamp to the car body and have wifey start the motor while you use the probe on each bare wire. Tell her r. indicator l. indicator and so on and as the test light illuminates screw it into the appropriate terminal one at a time.
For the trailer side you may need a 12v battery and a short length of cable to power up and identify each lamp.
I like to know this stuff in the event of of what happened to you happens in some isolated backwater.
Not rocket science

It looks like no one is prepared to own up, or otherwise, to connecting a plug or socket to an extension lead, 240v
Cheers

George.
Rule No 1. unplug before unhitch.
If left there and driven away, the trailer wiring could short and blow fuses etc anyway as it forcibly rips apart. A bit puzzled as to the "more than normal" wire count you saw when trying to reconnect. You could add a simply "pull apart" plug for future occasions! Yes, people do replace plugs etc., as Stephen mentioned. Why, because the electrician may cost very nearly 1/2 of a person's weekly income. Of course some are not concerned with cost.
Why are you trying to force people to admit or reveal what they do?

Thanks to Alan for you very detailed reply.
This will now clarify the situation regarding components connected with the 230v supply by handy men.
Hopefully this will now finalise this discussion.
Cheers

So here is my take on the situation as a Licensed Electrical Worker & Contractor.

We have to be licensed and that licence has to be renewed every 3 years for a Worker & every year for a Contractor - this is part of our costs. At the completion of each job we need to log on and fill out a Certificate of Compliance - again another cost in time spent.

Again, we need to operate a kitted out motor vehicle to get to the premises, capital cost + registration + insurance, again a cost.

Tools, calibrated meters etc etc., again a cost.

When you start to factor in all the costs to run a business, maintain the electrical licence etc etc, it adds up and we need to offset those costs through our charge out rate. So the rate George was charged seems very reasonable to me and he did the right thing.

Additionally, good operators will carry Liability Insurance for the work that they carry out - this is important, this is another cost. If a premises, for example, should burn down the first thing the insurance company will do is to investigate who did work and did it contribute to the event, they don't just pay out they will seek to minimise their financial exposure, at the completion of each job, the Certificate of Compliance tells the insurer who did any works and what work was done and if any defects were observed, if we observe a defect, advise you and you fail to have it remedied then it is on you.

Now if you were to do your own electrical work, and it contributed directly or indirectly to the fire, the insurer now has the ability to reject your claim, and the Electrical Authorities could charge you for illegal work.

I have read many conversations on here giving advice on electrical wiring and sometimes I just shake my head, I provide advice to clients, but I also pay Professional Indemnity Insurance to cover me in the event my advice is either incorrect or not followed to the letter, again another cost to my business.

Now on the 12V front, perhaps you don't need to be an Auto Electrician to do the work however, if there was a fault in the work carried out, say the brakes failed to operate on the caravan or the anti-sway, and it caused a serious accident, the insurance company may reject the claim as the work wasn't carried out correctly or by a licensed auto sparky who they could potentially hold liable and recover costs.

cheers

$150 well spent. We all cant be trailer wiring gurus, those of us that think its easy, are naturals at it, and dont realise how hard it actually is to grow a third hand and not stab yourself, let alone get all those small wires into the recepticals. What other option did you have? illegally drive on the road without lights?? It takes 5 seconds to kill someone with 240 volts....many professionals have died climbing through roof cavities....yes you can have a go, consequences may be severe or none at all...