Engel 12V DC Cables
Submitted: Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 16:30
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Gundarooster
Guys,
I'm sick of paying thru the nose for 12 V Engel Power cab les, does anyone know an alternative source of the moulded plug at something approaching what they are really worth (about $10).
Thanks
Gundarooster
Reply By: Member - Roachie (SA) - Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 16:33
Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 16:33
Crikey!!! How many have you gone through??? I still have the original cables for my Engel and they work perfectly after 3+ years.
They are not the sort of thing/s that wear out every 6 months unless you are doing something REALLY wrong.......(I hope you don't use it to tie your fire wood onto your roof rach etc...hahahaha)
What exactly is failing on them? How many have you had to buy over what period of time?
Cheers
Roachie
AnswerID:
226964
Reply By: Member - Oldplodder (QLD) - Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 16:39
Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 16:39
Mine is still working fine after almost 20 years.
One of the original old light green 39l models.
Have cut the 12 volt cig plug of the end and put a hella conection for the car connection thought, about 7 years ago.
You must be roasting them on the fire at night or something?
I keep
mine in the fridge when not in use so I don't loose it.
AnswerID:
226968
Follow Up By: Member - Jack - Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 20:58
Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 20:58
Don't mean to hijack the thread, but my Engel 12v lead has a fuse in the plug. I'd love to put in a better connection, but do not know how to get a fuse somewhere in the line.
Jack
FollowupID:
487843
Follow Up By: Member - Oldplodder (QLD) - Tuesday, Mar 13, 2007 at 09:34
Tuesday, Mar 13, 2007 at 09:34
I ran a new line for the fridge from the 2nd battery, and a female hella plug.
Put a fuse in just after the battery.
If you want, you could also put an another inline fuse in just before the plug.
FollowupID:
487902
Reply By: dawesy - Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 16:41
Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 16:41
If you've got the end left on one of the ones that have died, cut if off and connect it to an anderson plug or other connecter of your choice. Then you just run cable of your choice to the battery and put another connector on it. You can even make up multiple cables to connect to that end. One permanently in the car, on with a ciggy socket end for other cars or whatever.
I must admit I'm curious though, how you going through so many?
Mine a couple of years old and I'm about to do the above to it, but not because it's worn, just because I don't like the voltage drop on the ciggy socket. It is Waeco, but can't imagine it's that different.
AnswerID:
226969
Reply By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 17:08
Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 17:08
I assume you're talking about the later (Fseries) Engel where the wire breaks inside the connector that plugs into the fridge.
To prevent this from happening, I have cable-tied the lead to the rear handle, so theres never any tension on the plug, and it stays plugged in all the time. I leave the 240 volt plug in all the time as
well, and also cable tie it to the handle.
To repair the moulded plug, I've done this twice on friend's engels when we've been away, and had to cut the moulded plug open and soldered the wires up directly - looks dodgy, but got them working again.
AnswerID:
226976
Follow Up By: Leroy - Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 20:35
Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 20:35
Mines suffering from this symptom at the moment. I have the lead in a position where it works. Hasn't let me down yet but I know I need to do something soon.
Leroy
FollowupID:
487835
Reply By: joc45 - Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 17:34
Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 17:34
All I can say is don't bypass it by permanently connecting in a 12v cable and a 240v cable. Buy a new one! When running off 12v, there is nasty 240v AC appearing on the mains side!! And the mains plug is male; ie, exposed pins. Deadly!
Saw a guy at work do this a few years ago. He got zapped and put in a
hazard report on how dangerous it was, when really he shouldn't have tampered with the damn thing in the first place.
Gerry
AnswerID:
226981
Follow Up By: Member - Mal B - Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 19:12
Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 19:12
cut the fridge end plug off the cable and open up if you look only two wires are used note position of wires and colours and crimp on two normal female ends push on to your fridge job done [
mine stoped working after 10 years no reason] used the above short term, had no luck with a replacement plug.engel do not recomend both 240v and 12v plugs in fridge at one time.mal b
FollowupID:
487817
Follow Up By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 20:57
Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 20:57
Gerry,
What you say may be true for the old Engels, which had a plug setup that shared a neg. You could only put in one plug at a time anyway. But if you bypassed the plug like you said, then I can see there may be a problem!
But its not true of the later Fseries which allow you to hook both plugs up together.
"engel do not recomend both 240v and 12v plugs in fridge at one time.mal b"
Mal, not sure where you heard this. I've looked up the instructions for both the older Bseries and also the latest F-series. Bseries makes no mention (because its impossible to do, and the Fseries says:
"Both AC and DC voltages may be connected simultaneously for convenience. Unit will select AC operation when available."
Also I checked
mine with a multimeter - no voltage of any kind at teh opposite plug to the one thats operating.
FollowupID:
487842
Follow Up By: joc45 - Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 23:52
Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 23:52
Must admit, haven't looked at the latest. The earlier Engels had a transformer inside which doubled as an inverter transformer and a mains transformer. When it was running as a 12v inverter, there was full 240v on the 240v winding. The design of the plugs, plus a sliding cover prevented one from putting both cables in the receptacle or coming in contact with the 240v pins. If the sliding cover got broken, the pins were live.
Gerry
FollowupID:
487878
Follow Up By: Member - Oldplodder (QLD) - Tuesday, Mar 13, 2007 at 09:39
Tuesday, Mar 13, 2007 at 09:39
Thanks Phil, I can see what the problem is now.
Must be the newer cable.
Everyone has made some good comments I will keep in mind for future use.
My fridge is not mounted on a slide but fixed.
Wonder if a slide creates more of a problem by flexing the cable on a regular basis?
As some one suggested, tie off the cable to help revent flexing at the socket.
FollowupID:
487903