flat leisure battery

[Rider]

Hi..I was an avid motorhomer for years but have recently come over to caravanning…have just bought a 2019 Sterkeman Easy 390.
Being somewhat new to towing, I know I have lots to learn.
My car already had a towbar fitted..7 pin twin sockets, grey and black…however, my caravan has a 13 pin plug..I have an adapter but obviously only plug into the black socket on the car..am I right in thinking that the grey socket is for charging the leisure battery, fridge etc when driving? Do I need to get one of those adapters that have 2 seven pin to one 13 pin in order to charge the leisure battery when driving?…went away for the second time last week but the leisure battery appeared to be flat as the motor mover wouldn’t work..3 days on site on ehu and the battery was still flat .
Any help would be much appreciated .

 

[ProfJohnL]

The Sterkman brand is manufactured in France, consequently it may not follow the normal UK manufacturers approach to the auxiliary connections. I do not know if they provide the wiring for auxiliary power to charge the caravan battery or to run the fridge whilst towing.

The 7N plug only provides the connections for the statutory road lights, and does not provide auxiliary charging or running the 12V fridge whilst towing. You would need the 13pin to 2 x 7pin plugs to access the auxiliary power. and only if the caravan has those wires already connected.

If the wires are not connected I suggest you contact an Approved Workshop scheme (AWS) fitter to help put in the necessary wires.

 

[Deejuk]

Personally I would give one of the two to one adapters a go worst that can happen is it doesnt work and you have to send it back. With regard to the motor mover and the battery charge draining while on EHU this happened to me on CCC festival site we all had been put on splitters from one EHU point so I assume we weren't getting the right amount of voltage to keep things all topped up. We used the van as normal, air fryer on etc but by the end of the 3 days the battery on the van was flat so much so it failed to charge even when I got it home.

We replaced the battery and all has been ok since. So as a hunch, it could be something similar that the French van requires more power from the EHU to keep things charged and topped up while you are using the van.

I am by no means an electrics expert (simply have a go and muddle my way through) but my experience may shed some light on it all, as Prof states if in doubt seek out the services of an AWS.

Good luck with it.