Firstly I'm posting this message from France and the query relates to a French car and van(delivery of the latter not yet taken). We have a C4 Picasso and had a new (Brinkmatic) towbar and electrics fitted by the Citroen dealer where we purchased the car. We took the car to try it with the van before collection next week. It transpires the car has the 13 pin Multicon Feder socket and the van has a 13 pin Volta/Jaeger plug and unless we buy an adapter they are not compatible. Even with an adapter there is no 12V supply for the fridge while on the road. The car dealer reckons Citroen don't fit the Volta/Jeager socket even though it is being adopted as the European standard (I think). He has sent digital photos of the V/J socket(which I bought from the van dealer) to the Citroen factory and will do nothing until he gets a response. He's worried about invalidating the car guarantee - for the same reason the caravan dealer will not interfere. I'm somewhat fed up and if nothing happens soon will simply buy the adapter and stick the milk and marge in a cool box while on the road. Sorry to go on but "long story short" has anyone in the UK had a Volta/Jeager socket fitted successfully?
European 13 Pin Socket/Plug again
- Thread starter Peter_374293316
- Start date
Have you checked whether there is a 12v supply for the fridge between terminals 9 and 13 of the Multicon socket? If not, then the car hasn't been wired up fully. If there is and it's just not getting to the caravan, then the adapter has a connection missing.
Lutz,
On my multimeter I have 13 to 14 volts on Pin 9 both with and worryingly without ignition on. On the wiring diagram I have it shows Pin 10 as the ignition controlled fridge supply. Is this incorrect. In any event there appears to be no supply to this either with ignition on or off! Getting the wiring (via relays) will be the next problem once I persuade the dealer to fit the Volta/Jaeger socket! What a mess.
On my multimeter I have 13 to 14 volts on Pin 9 both with and worryingly without ignition on. On the wiring diagram I have it shows Pin 10 as the ignition controlled fridge supply. Is this incorrect. In any event there appears to be no supply to this either with ignition on or off! Getting the wiring (via relays) will be the next problem once I persuade the dealer to fit the Volta/Jaeger socket! What a mess.
You have confirmed that Pin 9 is always live, with and without ignition on, which is correct and intended for the fridge. Pin 10, which is controlled by the ignition, is the one for charging the battery in the caravan while towing.
There are therefore the following possibilities why your fridge is not getting any juice:
a) The wiring harness of the caravan is set up so that the +12v for the fridge goes to Pin 10 instead of Pin 9, but, as you say, Pin 10 is dead on the car side. This would indicate that the car is not fully wired up.
b) The earth connection for the fridge on the caravan is connected to Pin 11 instead of Pin 13, but there again, Pin 11 may not be connected up on the car.
There are therefore the following possibilities why your fridge is not getting any juice:
a) The wiring harness of the caravan is set up so that the +12v for the fridge goes to Pin 10 instead of Pin 9, but, as you say, Pin 10 is dead on the car side. This would indicate that the car is not fully wired up.
b) The earth connection for the fridge on the caravan is connected to Pin 11 instead of Pin 13, but there again, Pin 11 may not be connected up on the car.
Thank you Lutz
According to the caravan dealer the adapter does not provide power for the fridge and is not designed to do so. Not sure why this is not possible, but I may have misunderstood something in the translation. I still suspect the wiring is not fully completed to my car socket. I seem to remember that in the UK the only people who fully understood wiring for towing were those who fitted towbars and electrics for a living. Car mechanics , or even electricians based in car dealerships, hadn't a clue - unless they were caravanners themselves. We collect the caravan next week and so long as the side lights, indicators and stop lights work we'll give it a go. We have booked into a local site for 2 nights to test everything - then we'll try to iron out the snags before we go away for any length of time. Fingers crossed.
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