Electrics, an idiots guide please.
Hi folks,
First of all I apologise if this has been covered before.
Anyhoo like any bloke with a new toy I've been tinkering 
.
All Ive done is replace the 12n and 12s plugs because they were corroded and looked awful.
Now I cant get the charger or fridge to work.
Can someone give me any pointers. Checks, and most impotantly what switches should be in what position for A- charging and fridge on for towing. B- when hooked up to 240v.
Thanks people
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Footnote..... I have read the manual and its just confused me even more!!
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The charger will only work when connected to 240v mains , the fridge will only work on gas or mains when not connected to the tow vehicle,which via the 12s socket should supply 12v supply only when engine is running, the switches and their function are normally make specific
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So lets get this right........
The battery doesnt get charged from the car when towing?
And the fridge doesnt work on 12 volt??
Or, the battery gets charged off the car automatically and theres no need to switch the battery charger switch on?
And the fridge only recieves a 12v supply when towing only?
The Car/Van switch should be on CAR when towing?
and the battery charger switched off?
Will the 12v light come on the fridge when towing?
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Does all this work, on its own? where should the switches be on the control panel when towing?
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The caravan battery should be charging from the car when its engine is running, likewise the fridge should only be powered via the car when the engine is running. The switch settings make no difference. Never looked at the fridge light when hitched, but
would suspect the answer is no.0 -
The caravan charger will only work from mains 240 volts.
The caravan leisure battery will be charged when the towcar engine is running.
The caravan fridge will only run on 12 volts dc from the towcar, and only when the engine is running.
All this should run on its own if everything is connected correctly and normally irespective of switch positions on your control panel, other than switching your fridge to 12 volt position before towing.
Your car/caravan switch is only for instance, on site where you would like to power the caravan from your towcar with engine off, but not the fridge.
The fridge light is always powered from the caravan battery irrespective of whether hitched to car or not.
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Ok, So the fridge does not work on stand alone 12volts?
only from the car?
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Ok, So the fridge does not work on stand alone 12volts?
only from the car?
Correct, in respect of the cooling element, and only with the engine running.
Otherwise, on site without EHU, you need to use gas.
As Dave said, the exception is the fridge light/control panel which is permanently fed by the 12v leisure battery.
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Ok, So the fridge does not work on stand alone 12volts?
only from the car?
A fridge typically pulls around 10 amps ...... it'd flatten a leisure battery as you watched it if it was possile to power it directly from the leisure battery
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Your car should have a relay or 2 relays in the towing electrics that only switch 12v through to the caravan when the engine is running, these supply 12v to the caravan battery,to keep it charged up. And 12v to the Fridge to power the 12v element, this is
on all the time the car engine is running, without thermostat control, the power is coming from the cars Alternator rather than the car battery.0 -
If you have a 12v light/switch on your fridge, it should illuminate when getting power from the car.
Our previous Dometic fridge had a 12v switch which lit up when powered (red if I remember correctly), our current Thetford fridge has a blue light on the control panel. It shows a steady blue when powered, a slow flashing blue when there is a problem.
GC, your best plan is to leave your selector switch to "caravan" permanently if it is not automatic. Then select fridge power as required.
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Ok, great, Thanks everyone,
and K,man
I`ll give it a whirl in the morning
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