13pin adapters

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ScreenName9D6940D423 Forum Participant Posts: 1
edited March 2021 in Towcars & Towing #1

Hi. Just registered for this forum so not sure where to go. We still have our 2007 caravan with the two 7pin plugs but just ordered towbar for our new car which has to have the 13pin socket. I see there are 2 types of adapter so I'm hoping to get some advice from people who have tried the different adapters. Thanks!

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  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,135 ✭✭✭
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    edited March 2021 #2

    Welcome.

    Why not rewire your caravan to a 13 pin plug? It's not difficult and cuts out the need for a further connection.

    Btw, if you go to your profile you can choose a user name of your own.

  • EmilysDad
    EmilysDad Forum Participant Posts: 8,973
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    edited March 2021 #3

    There are 2 variations. 1 to allow a 13 pin car to connect to a 12N/12S caravan and the other a 12N/12S car to a 13 pin caravan. The single plug type adapters are just to provide lighting to the trailer .... again 2 types depending on where the 12N & 13 pin is

  • Amesford
    Amesford Forum Participant Posts: 685
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    edited March 2021 #4

    Years ago we used the one with the short twin leads which was a pain trying to stop it dangling down but I see  there is a 13 pin plug to twin 7 pin sockets adaptor  which looks much better 

  • Metheven
    Metheven Club Member Posts: 3,987 ✭✭✭
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    edited March 2021 #5

    As Tinwheeler suggested, the best and most reliable way is to rewire the the caravans plugs into one 13 pin plug.

  • eribaMotters
    eribaMotters Club Member Posts: 1,193 ✭✭✭✭
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    edited March 2021 #6

    As above. Re-wire the caravan to 13 pin. You will not regret it.

    Colin

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited March 2021 #7

    I understood that to do as suggested (a rewire) is not quite that simple as the wiring for 7pin plugs is at a bigger size than the modern 13 pin plug wires so plug may not take themundecided

    Bungy straps will keep adaptor wires out of harms way

  • Navigateur
    Navigateur Club Member Posts: 3,880 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited March 2021 #8

    No need for bungee straps, bits of string, or dangling cables if one gets the compact style of adaptor that locks into the 13 pin socket and has the two 7 pin sockets straight on the back.

    A rewire done properly replaces the two plugs and their cables with a new cable and plug from the main lighting junction box. I have looked at doing this on my current caravan but it seems that Bailey start with that junction box and build the rest of the caravan on top of it!

  • Rufs
    Rufs Club Member Posts: 4,072 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited March 2021 #9

    Dont agree, to much hassle, i have an Erich Jaeger made in Germany, connector, fits perfectly on to my tow bar, Kia tow bar, 13 pin connector and provides 2x7 pin outlets fitted 5 years ago works perfectly never take it off laughingI think approx £15 on the web laughingpush on pull down the locking lever job done laughing

  • SteveL
    SteveL Club Member Posts: 12,300 ✭✭✭
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    edited March 2021 #10

    Having rewired a 13 pin plug after I damaged it, I would agree getting two 7 pin cables in and sealed would be very difficult. Unless they make a specifically designed plug. Much easier would be to put a junction box under or in the van and come out of there with 13 pin wiring. 
    I’ve not use one but if using an adapter, I would go for the compact version with no lead. I managed to drag our lead type along the road despite best efforts.☹️

  • Unknown
    Unknown Forum Participant
    edited March 2021 #11
    The user and all related content has been Deleted User
  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,135 ✭✭✭
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    edited March 2021 #12

    Agreed. It's not a hassle but a simple one off job. 

  • Rufs
    Rufs Club Member Posts: 4,072 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited March 2021 #13

    sorry misled you this socket is £26 on ebay with free postage, no wires no wiring it simply pushes on to your existing 13 pin towbar socket and provides 2x7 pin outlets with nice spring loaded caps to keep the pins clean and a very handly locking handle, couldnt be easierlaughing

    saw one at £20 on ebay

  • Lutz
    Lutz Forum Participant Posts: 1,564 ✭✭✭✭
    edited March 2021 #14

    An adapter is always a potential source of a poor connection.

  • Rufs
    Rufs Club Member Posts: 4,072 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited March 2021 #15

    "Erich Jaeger made in Germany, Lutz how could you!!!,

    packed mine with vaseline some 5 years ago, pushed it on locked it down, never had a problem laughing

  • Lutz
    Lutz Forum Participant Posts: 1,564 ✭✭✭✭
    edited March 2021 #16

    There was a system called Multicon WeSt which enabled either a standard 7-pin or a special hybrid 13-pin plug to be connected to a matching 13-pin socket without the need for an adapter for a 7-pin plug. The 7 pins were the usual round ones in their customary location, but the remaining 6 pins were flat and arranged in a circle around the 7 pins. I had it on a caravan of mine in the 90's, but the system never really caught on, probably because it was never adopted in any norm. However, I see that Mutlicon WeSt 13-pin plugs and sockets are still being sold.

  • Navigateur
    Navigateur Club Member Posts: 3,880 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited March 2021 #17

     Then there is the NATO plug . . . !

  • EmilysDad
    EmilysDad Forum Participant Posts: 8,973
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    edited March 2021 #18

    @ Lutz

    I've only ever seen one like that & it was on a Dutch caravan. The owner had damaged the cable & he was rewiring it.

  • EmilysDad
    EmilysDad Forum Participant Posts: 8,973
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    edited March 2021 #19

    Every additional connector is a potential point of failure 😉

  • EmilysDad
    EmilysDad Forum Participant Posts: 8,973
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    edited March 2021 #20

    ISTR someone mentioning a 13 pin plug with figure 8 entry gland 🤔

  • Vulcan
    Vulcan Forum Participant Posts: 670
    edited March 2021 #21

    Do you mean THIS ?

  • EmilysDad
    EmilysDad Forum Participant Posts: 8,973
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    edited March 2021 #22

     Possibly ....looks like it 😉 I just rewired my 12N/12S Lunar, though Lunar made it easy as the black & grey cables came from 2 fuse boxes so it was merely a case of removing them & wiring a 12 core cable with spade connectors & plugging them onto the relevant fuse .. .unlike my Coachman where the 12 core cable is run into a rats' nest behind the 'fuse box'

  • Rufs
    Rufs Club Member Posts: 4,072 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited March 2021 #23

    I will let you know when my fails wink

    "unlike my Coachman where the 12 core cable is run into a rats' nest behind the 'fuse box'"

    yup my Coachman is similar that is why i chose the connector, + i am useless as DIY laughing

  • KjellNN
    KjellNN Club Member Posts: 8,665 ✭✭✭
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    edited March 2021 #24

    I rewired our 2008 Swift group van to 13 pin as soon as we got it, making the mod inside the van via a dedicated junction box, but I believe you can get a cable from Sargents that plugs directly into the existing connectors on Swift group vans.

    On our 1998 van, back in 2007, I had just put the 2 cables into the 13 pin plug, which was a little tricky but worked OK.  Using a new cable was much easier.

     Make  sure you buy a good quality plug.

  • markflip
    markflip Forum Participant Posts: 177
    edited March 2021 #25

    I've been using a compact type adaptor for the last 3 years without any issues at all, I paid about £8 for it from fleabay, I used to remove it and keep it in the car boot, but for the last 2 years it's been left attached to the caravan wiring, so i just have to connect that to the car. I give it an occasional wipe over and squirt of GT85 (like WD40) and ditto the 7 pin plugs at the start of the season. Sure, if my wiring got damaged i'd rewire it to 13 pin [thanks for the posts with the links to the figure eight grommet version], but the adaptors work fine (over 100 nights away and several thousand miles of touring (in 2018-19!) March to October in the UK and France).

  • Casper43
    Casper43 Forum Participant Posts: 1
    edited June 2021 #26

    Hi all

    As a complete newbie who has inherited a 2006 Caravan with a 7 pin , we are having a towbar fitted with a 13 pin plug. Maybe in time we will rewire the caravan, but for now we intend to get a 13 to 7 adaptor.

    However, we have been warned that where the socket is put on the car these days (it will be a removable towbar) it's possible that the lead on the caravan may not reach. We can get a simple plastic  13 to 7 adaptor, or get one with a lead (which I know we'll have to secure).

    Looking online though, the only ones with a lead have both the black lead and the grey lead.  Can you get one with just the black lead?

    Thanks

     

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited June 2021 #27

    Unless the cable on your c/van has been shortened for some reason it should easely reach the car socket ,or the socket on your  car is fitted  Incorrectl

  • EmilysDad
    EmilysDad Forum Participant Posts: 8,973
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    edited June 2021 #28

    are you sure there is only the one black lead/plug on your caravan? I'd have expected a 2006 caravan to have the grey lead/plug for caravan battery charging & the fridge too.

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