I am totally new to the caravanning world and ask why there are 2 cables with anderson plugs ending at the draw bar.
There is a cable for the caravan lights and brakes and there are 2 separate cables each with an anderson plug.
Caravan is to be towed by our 200 Series Landcruiser Sahara - in which there are 2 batteries, which I am told 1 is for starting - but dont know which of the 2 is for this purpose.
Questions:
1. what are the 2 anderson leads for?
2. which battery/batteries do I connect to?
Thank you.
oldbobsbus said
07:15 AM May 12, 2014
If you are unable to trace them back to where they go then and work out what they are for then you may need to get an auto electrician to suss it out for you.
deverall11 said
10:00 AM May 12, 2014
Why not ask the person you got the van from.
dorian said
10:31 AM May 12, 2014
In the absence of any obvious visual clue, then one way to identify your starting battery would be by monitoring the voltages at the terminals during cranking. Cranking voltage is usually less than 11V, and can go as low as 9V or even less.
-- Edited by dorian on Monday 12th of May 2014 10:34:06 AM
KFT said
10:34 AM May 12, 2014
The only way to know for certain is to trace or test the cables.
I would suggest that the most likely setup is this
1. one Anderson plug is for the battery charging connection
2. the second may well be to run the fridge whilst mobile
are the cables to both the same size?
frank
oldtrack123 said
12:51 PM May 12, 2014
KFT wrote:
The only way to know for certain is to trace or test the cables.
I would suggest that the most likely setup is this
1. one Anderson plug is for the battery charging connection 2. the second may well be to run the fridge whilst mobile
are the cables to both the same size?
frank
HI
Ditto
PeterQ
Legendts said
06:45 PM May 12, 2014
KFT wrote:
The only way to know for certain is to trace or test the cables.
I would suggest that the most likely setup is this
1. one Anderson plug is for the battery charging connection 2. the second may well be to run the fridge whilst mobile
are the cables to both the same size?
frank
I reckon that's right too. As I have solar on the van plus a Ctek charger I opted for one Anderson plug for the fridge and run the battery charging from the tug via one of the large pins on a 12 pin plug.
digitalis49 said
07:20 PM May 12, 2014
Thank you to you all for your replies.
I followed the cables - 1 went to the battery and 1 cable went to the fridge.
I no plan to visit Mr. Toyo's dealership to find out what each of the batteries do.
Unknowingly, I ran a h/duty cable pair from one car battery to the rear of the car and wired 2 Anderson plugs to it.
This would explain why I had serious battery drain of the van's batteries - even after a long haul.
Again, thank you all so very much.
Andrew.
Plendo said
09:04 PM May 12, 2014
Andrew I suspect the role of the two anderson plugs on the van may have changed over the years, so if your van is reasonably new and heavy you MAY find that one of your plugs supplies power to your trailer brake systems, ESC if fitted, and the charger for the breakaway brakes, again if fitted.
As an example our van has two 50A andersons, one to supply the power for the brake systems, the other charges the 12V house battery, and I believe it also powers the fridge directly.
As for your dual batteries in your tow vehicle, one will be your vehicle battery (starter, lights etc), the other is an auxiliary power source, but there are so many combinations as to how they are fitted together, and to your external plugs, it would be foolish to guess.
Good luck in working it out.
landy said
11:20 PM May 12, 2014
Hi try disconnecting one battery and then try to start your vehicle, If it starts its not the cranking battery. Landy
deverall11 said
04:20 PM May 13, 2014
digitalis49, you may find some answers and more regarding your Cruiser on LCOOL.ORG.
Larry
digitalis49 said
04:58 PM May 13, 2014
I am humbled by all of you who have taken the time to help with my query and I have, accordingly, made an executive decision - with some not insignificant influence of "the other" half - to take the beast to an auto sparky. It is only this way that I don't embarrass myself any further and not waste your time.
sincerely, thank you, all, for your guidance.
andrew.
oldbobsbus said
05:56 PM May 13, 2014
digitalis49 wrote:
I am humbled by all of you who have taken the time to help with my query and I have, accordingly, made an executive decision - with some not insignificant influence of "the other" half - to take the beast to an auto sparky. It is only this way that I don't embarrass myself any further and not waste your time.
sincerely, thank you, all, for your guidance.
andrew.
Very good decision Andrew,
Unless you are familiar with electrics you can do lots of harm in a split second connecting it up the wrong way..
Rayza said
04:51 PM May 15, 2014
If it's a fairly new van I would suggest that one is for caravan battery charging and one is for ESC if it's fitted. If they are different colour Anderson plugs ie one grey and one red then I would bet on it. It is recommended that if travelling off road then the ESC should be disconnected the easiest way to do this is by pulling a plug. I don't know how they do it if the ESC is wired into a 12 pin plug.
digitalis49 said
07:10 PM May 15, 2014
Thanks Rayza.
Our van is 2 yrs young and both plugs are the standard grey... but, please tell me - what is "ESC"?
Joe50 said
01:20 AM May 16, 2014
digitalis49 wrote:
Thanks Rayza. Our van is 2 yrs young and both plugs are the standard grey... but, please tell me - what is "ESC"?
ESC - Electronic Stability Control - is a system to help control sway and fish-tailing in caravans by selectively activating the van's brakes. It was developed by Al-Ko and initially was available only on new, selected vans but I believe can now be retrofitted on suitable vans.
digitalis49 said
06:06 AM May 16, 2014
Thank you. This is another valuable lesson I have learned from this great Forum.
We bought our van from a family who used it just once to travel to Perth and back. They sold it to us just before returning to the USA.
This will be something I will have to investigate - given the size and weight of the van.
Again, thank you.
PeterD said
12:51 AM May 18, 2014
digitalis49 wrote:Caravan is to be towed by our 200 Series Landcruiser Sahara - in which there are 2 batteries, which I am told 1 is for starting - but dont know which of the 2 is for this purpose.
If your Sahara has not been modified then those batteries will be in parallel and both used for starting.
Some people modify their vehicles. They disconnect the positive lead from one of the batteries. They then install a battery isolator between the two batteries. The one that remains connected to the alternator and the vehicles electricals remains the starting battery. The other one is then used to power accessories you add that you want to use whilst the motor is not running and charging the batteries.
PeterD said
01:10 AM May 18, 2014
digitalis49 wrote:Unknowingly, I ran a h/duty cable pair from one car battery to the rear of the car and wired 2 Anderson plugs to it.
This would explain why I had serious battery drain of the van's batteries - even after a long haul.
Do you have a three way absorption fridge in the van? If so, how long did you run the fridge on the battery without the motor running? The serious drain could be from the fridge running when it should not have been running.
These three way fridges are not made to run off a battery. They are only supposed to be run from the alternator in the tow vehicle. If the fridge is an AES (auto energy select) model there is a high probability that it is wired incorrectly and will remain on 12 V when the motor is not running. Many forum members have reported that their AES fridges were incorrectly wired. If it is a MES (manual energy select) model you will most probably find that the installation instructions tell you to install a relay in the tug that is controlled by the ignition switch. That relay is there to protect the starting battery in your tug from being discharged by the fridge. These fridges will draw anything from 12 A to 22 A when running from 12 V depending on the size of the unit. Absorption fridges are one of the best destroyers of batteries. The will deplete the charge of a battery to the point where you will not be able to start the motor in half an hour (Holden/Falcon) or up to a few hours for a 4WD. When you get the tug wired, ask for the ignition controlled relay to be installed in the fridge line. Perhaps even order different coloured connectors for the fridge line.
digitalis49 said
07:42 AM May 18, 2014
Thanks PeterD. You are absolutely correct - the 2 batteries are shared - as advised by the Toyota service people.
Our fridge is a 3-way auto select. I would have driven approx 4 hours with the fridge "on auto" - so it does seem there is a wiring bug ... so another item to add in my to-do list.
You know, guys, I really thought caravanning was going to be a simple science of hooking up and driving into the sunset ...
KFT said
11:30 AM May 18, 2014
If you are driving into the sunset you are travelling too late in the day. Most would be in a camp by then for several reasons
get a spot before the camp fills up
get off the road before the skippies come out to play on the road
it is time for a driver reviver or two.
I am totally new to the caravanning world and ask why there are 2 cables with anderson plugs ending at the draw bar.
There is a cable for the caravan lights and brakes and there are 2 separate cables each with an anderson plug.
Caravan is to be towed by our 200 Series Landcruiser Sahara - in which there are 2 batteries, which I am told 1 is for starting - but dont know which of the 2 is for this purpose.
Questions:
1. what are the 2 anderson leads for?
2. which battery/batteries do I connect to?
Thank you.
If you are unable to trace them back to where they go then and work out what they are for then you may need to get an auto electrician to suss it out for you.
In the absence of any obvious visual clue, then one way to identify your starting battery would be by monitoring the voltages at the terminals during cranking. Cranking voltage is usually less than 11V, and can go as low as 9V or even less.
-- Edited by dorian on Monday 12th of May 2014 10:34:06 AM
I would suggest that the most likely setup is this
1. one Anderson plug is for the battery charging connection
2. the second may well be to run the fridge whilst mobile
are the cables to both the same size?
frank
HI
Ditto
PeterQ
I reckon that's right too. As I have solar on the van plus a Ctek charger I opted for one Anderson plug for the fridge and run the battery charging from the tug via one of the large pins on a 12 pin plug.
Thank you to you all for your replies.
I followed the cables - 1 went to the battery and 1 cable went to the fridge.
I no plan to visit Mr. Toyo's dealership to find out what each of the batteries do.
Unknowingly, I ran a h/duty cable pair from one car battery to the rear of the car and wired 2 Anderson plugs to it.
This would explain why I had serious battery drain of the van's batteries - even after a long haul.
Again, thank you all so very much.
Andrew.
Andrew I suspect the role of the two anderson plugs on the van may have changed over the years, so if your van is reasonably new and heavy you MAY find that one of your plugs supplies power to your trailer brake systems, ESC if fitted, and the charger for the breakaway brakes, again if fitted.
As an example our van has two 50A andersons, one to supply the power for the brake systems, the other charges the 12V house battery, and I believe it also powers the fridge directly.
As for your dual batteries in your tow vehicle, one will be your vehicle battery (starter, lights etc), the other is an auxiliary power source, but there are so many combinations as to how they are fitted together, and to your external plugs, it would be foolish to guess.
Good luck in working it out.
Landy
Larry
I am humbled by all of you who have taken the time to help with my query and I have, accordingly, made an executive decision - with some not insignificant influence of "the other" half - to take the beast to an auto sparky. It is only this way that I don't embarrass myself any further and not waste your time.
sincerely, thank you, all, for your guidance.
andrew.
Very good decision Andrew,
Unless you are familiar with electrics you can do lots of harm in a split second connecting it up the wrong way..
Our van is 2 yrs young and both plugs are the standard grey... but, please tell me - what is "ESC"?
ESC - Electronic Stability Control - is a system to help control sway and fish-tailing in caravans by selectively activating the van's brakes. It was developed by Al-Ko and initially was available only on new, selected vans but I believe can now be retrofitted on suitable vans.
We bought our van from a family who used it just once to travel to Perth and back. They sold it to us just before returning to the USA.
This will be something I will have to investigate - given the size and weight of the van.
Again, thank you.
If your Sahara has not been modified then those batteries will be in parallel and both used for starting.
Some people modify their vehicles. They disconnect the positive lead from one of the batteries. They then install a battery isolator between the two batteries. The one that remains connected to the alternator and the vehicles electricals remains the starting battery. The other one is then used to power accessories you add that you want to use whilst the motor is not running and charging the batteries.
Do you have a three way absorption fridge in the van? If so, how long did you run the fridge on the battery without the motor running? The serious drain could be from the fridge running when it should not have been running.
These three way fridges are not made to run off a battery. They are only supposed to be run from the alternator in the tow vehicle. If the fridge is an AES (auto energy select) model there is a high probability that it is wired incorrectly and will remain on 12 V when the motor is not running. Many forum members have reported that their AES fridges were incorrectly wired. If it is a MES (manual energy select) model you will most probably find that the installation instructions tell you to install a relay in the tug that is controlled by the ignition switch. That relay is there to protect the starting battery in your tug from being discharged by the fridge. These fridges will draw anything from 12 A to 22 A when running from 12 V depending on the size of the unit. Absorption fridges are one of the best destroyers of batteries. The will deplete the charge of a battery to the point where you will not be able to start the motor in half an hour (Holden/Falcon) or up to a few hours for a 4WD. When you get the tug wired, ask for the ignition controlled relay to be installed in the fridge line. Perhaps even order different coloured connectors for the fridge line.
Our fridge is a 3-way auto select. I would have driven approx 4 hours with the fridge "on auto" - so it does seem there is a wiring bug ... so another item to add in my to-do list.
You know, guys, I really thought caravanning was going to be a simple science of hooking up and driving into the sunset ...
get a spot before the camp fills up
get off the road before the skippies come out to play on the road
it is time for a driver reviver or two.
just thought I would chuck that in
frank