13 pin caravan

[Percy1]

My caravan does not have a leisure battery it has a 13 pin socket .i bought it in germany i also had my car fitted in germany with the 13 pin socket, i recently fitted a new 13 pin socket on the car, however i now have no interior lighting when hitched, do the germans wire the plug/sockets differently?

 

[Jennifer2]

Is that with the engine running? On UK vans there is a habitation relay that cuts off the power in the van when towing, so no interior van lights will work.

Not sure what the german vans do, but the socket on the car should be standard wiring. Did it work before but not now?

If so, you must have changed something.

I have also heard that on many german cars they do not wire up all the pins as they do not bother with battery charging or running the fridge while towing.

The Volvo Owners club website has some good info and 13 pin wiring diagrams.

 

[RayS]

I think Jennifer has got it - the interior lights are effectively disabled when the car is connected and the engine running (or even just the ignition on without starting the engine.

Continental vans have different arrangements than UK; for example on my Burstner I can leave the sidelights of the van on when car is not running (but of course with side lights on) but the amber marker lights down the sides do not come on until the ignition is switched on. Suggest you experiemnt with the various combinations or engine switch on and off and sidelights on and off.

The 13 pin plug and sockets are much better in the long term than the 12N abd 12S we are used to, but the wiring convention may be different. Ex works some German cars fitted with "works" towbars and electrics give only the equivalent of 12N i.e. road lights. The brochures usually say "trailer lighting" and mean literally that.