No ATC and fridge not working after hitching up

bando81
bando81 Forum Participant Posts: 21
edited April 2019 in Caravans #1

When I connected the caravan electrics to the car the ATC did not fire up ( no green light ) and the fridge would not work either .   Lights and  indicators ok  .   On a previous trip we lost lights and indicators on the caravan and had the van  transported back to storage as Green Flag could not fix .   Problem was fixed by local towbar electrics company ;  fault was loose fuse mountings !     Could we possibly have the same problem again .  ATC and fridge on separate fuses ??

Thank you in anticipation for any replies .

Dave Roberts

Comments

  • lagerorwine
    lagerorwine Forum Participant Posts: 310
    edited April 2019 #2

    I believe they should be separate fuses as the fridge draws at least 10 Amps and should be an ignition controlled feed, and the ATC initially draws a heavy current, which should be a permanent 12v feed.

    ATC is pin 9 and the fridge is pin 10, if you have a 13 pin socket on the car

    I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

  • jennyc
    jennyc Forum Participant Posts: 957
    500 Comments
    edited April 2019 #3

    As you’ve been advised, your fridge requires the car engine to be running to work on 12v.

    A common failure of ATC systems is that the green/red warning light fails. There are two types of wiring loom, with sealed lights, in use. If your ATC goes through it’s familiar whirring  sequence, on connection, but the LED doesn’t glow, then you can replace it, complete with its cable which plugs into the van’s harness. BUT you do need the correct cable, because the plugs are different.

  • Boff
    Boff Forum Participant Posts: 1,742
    1000 Comments
    edited April 2019 #4

    For what it’s worth.  The LED on our van’s ATC has just failed.  But I can confirm that the ATC still works because I felt it come on when I hit a pothole.  

  • bando81
    bando81 Forum Participant Posts: 21
    edited April 2019 #5

    many thanks for all replies. 

    the ATC does not make the usual whirring noise when connecting .

    Does this mean its not working.  ?

    thanks

  • EmilysDad
    EmilysDad Forum Participant Posts: 8,973
    1000 Comments
    edited April 2019 #6

    So that probably means that the ATC isn't being powered from your car. Have you checked the fuse(s) that you had problems with previously?

  • jennyc
    jennyc Forum Participant Posts: 957
    500 Comments
    edited April 2019 #7

    The whirring is a self test, so it’s very unlikely that the system is working properly. You might try some 1st aid be cleaning up your plug and socket pins, paying particular attention to the Aux power pin. Our on board toolkit includes a cheap multimeter. However they can deceive you in cases of corroded connections. That’s because enough voltage passes through the connection to register on a meter, but the current is insufficient to energise a load. Electricians overcome this by testing with a lightbulb connected to earth on one side and a test probe on the other. You can buy them cheaply on the net.

  • Waffler
    Waffler Forum Participant Posts: 149
    edited April 2019 #8

    A lot depends on the car. We have 2018 Sorento which has one heavy wire from the car fuse box to a relay in the back. From here the loom provides power to the various bits using sensors on lights etc. Your tow bar guy should have a test board. Ask him to show you everything works. The fridge will only work with engine running at a minimum speed and the ATC lead should remain on all time.

Categories