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12S socket

C

Clive_5040095

Arriving home this weekend after towing 50 miles I noticed that on dis-connecting the 12s plug from the car it was warm.The towbar and electrics have recently been fitted to my new X Trail and this is the first time I have towed with the vehicle. I seem to remember some discussion on this matter some time ago in the forum.Is the problem on size of cables used for the live supply or tightness of pins in the plug and socket?

Would be grateful for further advice.Regards Clive
 
This is due to the load on the earth return centre pin for the fridge and is a combination of a loose fit and poor plug materials. Have a look at www.towitall.co.uk.They recommend using the spare pins in the plug and socket to double up the feed (pin6) and earth lead(pin7) to halve the lead.It is not possible to do this all the way to the fridge via the grey cable on the latest vans as they do not have 7 core cable .But it worked on my van just doing it on the plug and socket.Another person on this site had used 2.5 mm mains cable to make the short bridges and this seems a good method to me.
 
As you say there was a thread on here recently about the same thing.You need to check that the car and/or caravan are wired correctly for fridge & battery charging.Post 1998 caravans have a separate earth for the fridge.If you are a caravan club member see the web page on Technical Info Leaflets-its all on there & you can even download it.
 
Clive, I think I would be looking to change the 12S plug assuming the new socket on your vehicle is O.K.

If the connecting wire from the plug to the caravan was not warm then its not an overload but poor pin connection or corrosion in the plug which would make it get hot.
 
Clive, the problem appears to be the Fridge supply on pin 6 (+) and pin 7 (-). The wires must be a minimum of 2.5mm and the pins must be tight in their respective sockets.The heat can only be produced by a high resistance, which causes a corresponding volts drop across it.
 
Thanks for all your replies and suggestions,will carry out further checks this weekend.

With regard to John G,s comments are you suggesting putting links/bridges of 2.5 mm cable behind the socket into the vacant connections?
 
I had this exactly. The Centre pin on the plug is longer than the rest - it sticks out and can get damaged. Try "spreading" this pin by wiggling a knife blade, or a small screwdriver in the slots in the pin to make it appear fatter.
 
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