Is there supposed to be 12v or there about at the Anderson plug at the front of the caravan? Im talking about when the van is disconnected from tow vehicle.
Radar said
08:38 PM Mar 15, 2022
rgren2 wrote:
Is there supposed to be 12v or there about at the Anderson plug at the front of the caravan? Im talking about when the van is disconnected from tow vehicle.
In our case a big yes as the Andersen plug is connected to our caravan house battery.
It is my back up when my battery is low because of low solar imput after a few days of inclement weather but now after 5 years we have never used the Andersen plug to recharge the battery but I could from the car.
rgren2 said
08:44 PM Mar 15, 2022
Mine has no power, looks like some investigation needs to happen.
The Travelling Dillberries said
09:16 PM Mar 15, 2022
No, not if it is powering the fridge only.
TravellerBob said
09:32 PM Mar 15, 2022
You will probably find that there is a dc dc charger or an isolation switch in the van that prevents the backflow of power back to the anderson plug from the van battery. Thats how mines set up
Mamil said
09:52 PM Mar 15, 2022
It completely depends what it's connected to.
If like Radar it's connected direct to the house battery with nothing in between then yes.
But if it only goes to the fridge, or through a DC/DC charger, or via a fridge switch or ignition switched relay, then the answer is no.
Try and trace the wires to see where they go and that will give you your answer.
PeterD said
11:15 PM Mar 15, 2022
Or to put it another way, there is no standard for wiring a van apart from the navigation lights (stop, tail & signal) and the brake line.
Stretch60 said
12:06 AM Mar 16, 2022
Quite normal if there is a direct connection. Electricity flows both ways unless it is stopped by a switch or controller.
bratboy said
12:30 PM Mar 16, 2022
Could even be a portable solar input , nobody knows you really need to trace the wiring to be sure .
rgren2 said
02:19 PM Mar 16, 2022
I didnt check it originally, the fridge (compressor) has power, I had the multi meter in my hand as I walked past one day and just decided to check. Going to endeavour to do some tracing. Another project.
Bobdown said
04:05 PM Mar 16, 2022
rgren2 wrote:
I didnt check it originally, the fridge (compressor) has power, I had the multi meter in my hand as I walked past one day and just decided to check. Going to endeavour to do some tracing. Another project.
Very interesting Rod, as a matter of fact checking I did mine as well...........13.5V
I thought it was only one way traffic, volts in only, as from the car when driving. I do plug the portable solar panel into the Anderson plug and know it goes to the PWM controller, because when combined with the fixed panels, it has occasionally gone over the voltage input and shut down the whole system, probably when all are in full sun.
I have heard of some nomads plugging their caravan movers into the front Anderson plug to power the unit, so it must be two way.
Cheers Bob
dabbler said
07:08 PM Mar 16, 2022
I have 3 Anderson on my TD drawbar. One for alternator input to a DCDC, one for solar input to DCDC and one connected directly to TD batteries which can be used to power things like electric jockey wheel, various 12v chargers, fans etc or accept a regulated solar panel.
rgren2 said
09:00 PM Mar 16, 2022
Going to get a voltage tracer device. Lots of cables all the same size. Will post the results.
Cuppa said
04:23 PM Mar 19, 2022
rgren2 wrote:
Is there supposed to be 12v or there about at the Anderson plug at the front of the caravan? Im talking about when the van is disconnected from tow vehicle.
Depends upon how it is set up. On mine there is a circuit breaker/switch between the aux batteries in the car & my anderson plug, so it needs to be switched on before any voltage can be read at the plug. (But I have no battery in the van).
Sometimes, with the anderson cable connected to the vehicle's crank battery there is a VSR (Voltage Sensitive Relay) which will disconnect the power supply to the anderson plug a short time after the motor is switched off (ie. when the crank battery voltage drops to a pre-set level).
If there is power at the anderson plug all the time (ie. cable goes directly to crank battery) & it is plugged into the van it is possible to flatten the crank battery inadvertently and be unable to start the car when needed. (unless there is a dc to dc charger in the van which protects the crank battery from being flattened similarly to a VSR.
-- Edited by Cuppa on Saturday 19th of March 2022 04:29:25 PM
Is there supposed to be 12v or there about at the Anderson plug at the front of the caravan? Im talking about when the van is disconnected from tow vehicle.
In our case a big yes as the Andersen plug is connected to our caravan house battery.
It is my back up when my battery is low because of low solar imput after a few days of inclement weather but now after 5 years we have never used the Andersen plug to recharge the battery but I could from the car.
No, not if it is powering the fridge only.
If like Radar it's connected direct to the house battery with nothing in between then yes.
But if it only goes to the fridge, or through a DC/DC charger, or via a fridge switch or ignition switched relay, then the answer is no.
Try and trace the wires to see where they go and that will give you your answer.
Very interesting Rod, as a matter of fact checking I did mine as well...........13.5V
I thought it was only one way traffic, volts in only, as from the car when driving. I do plug the portable solar panel into the Anderson plug and know it goes to the PWM controller, because when combined with the fixed panels, it has occasionally gone over the voltage input and shut down the whole system, probably when all are in full sun.
I have heard of some nomads plugging their caravan movers into the front Anderson plug to power the unit, so it must be two way.
Cheers Bob
Depends upon how it is set up. On mine there is a circuit breaker/switch between the aux batteries in the car & my anderson plug, so it needs to be switched on before any voltage can be read at the plug. (But I have no battery in the van).
Sometimes, with the anderson cable connected to the vehicle's crank battery there is a VSR (Voltage Sensitive Relay) which will disconnect the power supply to the anderson plug a short time after the motor is switched off (ie. when the crank battery voltage drops to a pre-set level).
If there is power at the anderson plug all the time (ie. cable goes directly to crank battery) & it is plugged into the van it is possible to flatten the crank battery inadvertently and be unable to start the car when needed. (unless there is a dc to dc charger in the van which protects the crank battery from being flattened similarly to a VSR.
-- Edited by Cuppa on Saturday 19th of March 2022 04:29:25 PM