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[theboz]

 :-\already looked in help, but can anyone help me find the 12 volt feed for my caravan fridge, i have found the loom in boot and i have one socket on tow bar but need the 12 volt suppy which wires do i use from loom

[Lazydocker]

Ideally you should run a dedicated, fused supply for supplying 12S power

Can't remember the colour but there is a large(ish) 12V feed in the pre wired socket in the boot which, if only running the fridge, should be sufficient.

[Andy B]

.....
Can't remember the colour but there is a large(ish) 12V feed in the pre wired socket in the boot which, if only running the fridge, should be sufficient.

Unsurprising it's red ......  and it needs a fuse fitting in the fuse box under the steering column.  (Fs 27 I think ..... although I'm sure I'll get it confirmed from somewhere in Bristol  )

[Andy B]

:-\already looked in help, but can anyone help me find the 12 volt feed for my caravan fridge,  .......

It would have been quicker looking in the car than in the help section!  There's a square (preface lift) or round (facelift) socket in the boot with all the lighting wiring for your towbar plus a larger red wire that (as said above) just needs a fuse fitting to power it up.

[The Red Baron]

:-\already looked in help, but can anyone help me find the 12 volt feed for my caravan fridge,  .......

It would have been quicker looking in the car than in the help section!  There's a square (preface lift) or round (facelift) socket in the boot with all the lighting wiring for your towbar plus a larger red wire that (as said above) just needs a fuse fitting to power it up.

correct. 

[Andy B]

:-\already looked in help, but can anyone help me find the 12 volt feed for my caravan fridge,  .......

It would have been quicker looking in the car than in the help section!  There's a square (preface lift) or round (facelift) socket in the boot with all the lighting wiring for your towbar plus a larger red wire that (as said above) just needs a fuse fitting to power it up.

correct. 

I know! 

[theboz]

many thanks guys found the sqare socket, there is a wire looped in there, lookes like it just conects back into the pin next to it is this normal, fuse 29 is the one to power it up i think. is the red wire in that soket or the loom  

[Jimbob]

Im looking at fitting an extra 'aux' socket in the boot too...

Presuming the big red is perm live...is there a switched live in there too?
saves too much of a drain while at services etc.

[Andy B]

..... there is a wire looped in there, lookes like it just conects back into the pin next to it is this normal,

Yes, that's correct. It's for turning the caravan's rear fog light off if you use a 'real' GM loom. 

fuse 29 is the one to power it up i think. is the red wire in that socket or the loom

I was only out by 2  If you fit a fuse, then the larger red wire in the socket will have 12 volts at it. 

[RobG]

(Fs 27 I think ..... although I'm sure I'll get it confirmed from somewhere in Bristol

[Andy B]

Im looking at fitting an extra 'aux' socket in the boot too...

Presuming the big red is perm live...is there a switched live in there too?
saves too much of a drain while at services etc.

No.  You could use it to power a voltage sensitive relay ........ 

[Andy B]

(Fs 27 I think ..... although I'm sure I'll get it confirmed from somewhere in Bristol

But was I right or not? 

[Entwood]

..... there is a wire looped in there, lookes like it just conects back into the pin next to it is this normal,

Yes, that's correct. It's for turning the caravan's rear fog light off if you use a 'real' GM loom. 

fuse 29 is the one to power it up i think. is the red wire in that socket or the loom

I was only out by 2  If you fit a fuse, then the larger red wire in the socket will have 12 volts at it. 

Now why would you want to do that The correct way is to turn of the CAR rear fog light when the caravan is connected so as to avoid the reflected glare. Best way of doing that is to use a towing socket (12S or 13pin)with an inbuilt interupter switch, as you connect the towing vehicles electrics it breaks the feed to the car rear fogs.

[Andy B]

..... there is a wire looped in there, lookes like it just conects back into the pin next to it is this normal,

Yes, that's correct. It's for turning the caravan's rear fog light off if you use a 'real' GM loom. 

fuse 29 is the one to power it up i think. is the red wire in that socket or the loom

I was only out by 2  If you fit a fuse, then the larger red wire in the socket will have 12 volts at it. 

Now why would you want to do that The correct way is to turn of the CAR rear fog light when the caravan is connected so as to avoid the reflected glare. Best way of doing that is to use a towing socket (12S or 13pin)with an inbuilt interupter switch, as you connect the towing vehicles electrics it breaks the feed to the car rear fogs.

Ooops!  It's been a looooong day!
The extra miroswitch was what I meant re a real GM loom 

[steve6367]

Just following this - my handbook says fuse 29 "Terminal 30: constant current for caravan / trailer" 20 amp. On the car there is a 10 amp fuse in 29 which does not make the feed in the boot go dead. I ve tried 27 too but it's not that either.

To save me taking them all out anyone have any experience of this?

Thanks

Steve

[petec]

Hi Steve,  you have probably got this all sorted by now but just in case..... the fridge feed on my 2003 facelift estate is fed from fuse 5 (30A) which also supplies the front seat electrics so the feed to the socket at the back was already live and wasn't anything to do with fuse 29. I fed it through an auto switch to the 12s socket so van only gets juice when engine running (or alternator providing a charge i.e. not idling with lights and air con on .

not sure whether yours uses same fuse but worth a look if not sorted.

cheers
Pete

[Marks DTM Calib]

Not sure why you would want to run a seperate feed for a tow bar given that the factory fit is rated for 20A and a towbar socket is rated at little more than that.

[Entwood]

Not sure why you would want to run a seperate feed for a tow bar given that the factory fit is rated for 20A and a towbar socket is rated at little more than that.

I run a totally seperate ignition switched line direct from the battery (ok .. via a fused relay)  for the fridge line to the 13 pin socket.

Simple reason is modern 'van fridges like a lot of oomph, and the voltage drop using the inbuilt line which comes from a fairly small diameter cable and via lots of other connections, is simply too high. The alternator output may well be in the region of 14.7v, but by the time it gets to the fridge it is often down to around 11-12 v

This causes the in-built fridge relay to cycle, especially at low RPM's, and can be heard by the "clicking" of the relay at the fridge.

Your choice ... I guess it depends how often you use the fridge ....   

[Marks DTM Calib]

Wrong approach though Nige, the correct question is.....what current is the fridge using......and whats the surge current 

Reason being, the cable used is at least 2.5mm2 (I seem to recall its actualy nearer to 4mm)

Assume worst case of 10m (which its not) thats 0.1 ohm on a bad day when you allow for fuses etc.....at 20A the volt drop is 2V max....which any system in a pikey wagon should be able to tolerate with ease.

I suspect its the surge as the motor kicks in on the fridge that is the issue which tells you a few things.

1) Its a poorly designed motor/fridge setup (no surprise as they dont have to meet any specific design standards running off LV DC so will happily take 10-20 times surge current from the vehicle)

2) You have now moved the electrical stress to the van, trailer wire and connector (the connectors are bloody awful design and quality from an electrical perspective, even the newer types).

 

[Andy B]

....

I suspect its the surge as the motor kicks in on the fridge that is the issue which tells you a few things.
 ....

Absorption fridge on a caravan Mark     

[Marks DTM Calib]

Possibly although I know not all are!

Thing is those things can take in the order of 300W for the big ones.....and that is going beyond the current rating of the trailer socket....

[petec]

The standard supply cable to the round/square rear socket on the omega seems quite adequate to supply the fridge in my van but I did find a lot of the electrical connections on my van (1991 elddis) were poor, factory fitted scotchlocks, chocolate block connectors open to the damp etc. The return earth may also be equally iffy although later vans had a seperate eth return for the fridge  wired back to the 12s socket. I had nearly 2 ohms on the eth to my rear lights and 1.5 to the fridge initially which came down to about 0.2 when connections remade. I would suggest checking joints on the cable runs in the van first if there are problems.

[Marks DTM Calib]

I woudl also not be surprised if the gizmo fridges with the 'electronic control' may be a bit fast and hair triggered when it comes to firing the heater on/off.

[Entwood]

I woudl also not be surprised if the gizmo fridges with the 'electronic control' may be a bit fast and hair triggered when it comes to firing the heater on/off.

Spot on 

The independent feed seems to help ..   May not be the perfect answer .. bu it is one that works !!

[Marks DTM Calib]

I wonder if a local capacitor close to the fridge may sort it.

Guessing its the default Dometic type?