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Post by midniteflit on Mar 9, 2018 4:42:40 GMT 10
Hello members,a question for the more technical
Minded among you .I am aware that a licensed
Electrical contractor is needed to sign off on 240volt
Caravan wiring in order to obtain a compliance certificate.Does this apply to 12volt wiring also.I plan to convert all lights etc. above
The waistline to 12volt .can I perform this work myself.thanks.
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Post by gregh on Mar 9, 2018 8:37:10 GMT 10
You can do all 12v work yourself. When it comes to the 240v lights; if you leave the 240v lights in place and just add a 12v light - no problem; you can do that yourself. If you plan to remove the 240v light and replace with 12v, you will need to have an electrician remove the 240v lights.
Greg
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Post by Mustang on Mar 9, 2018 9:18:51 GMT 10
Hello members,a question for the more technical Minded among you .I am aware that a licensed Electrical contractor is needed to sign off on 240volt Caravan wiring in order to obtain a compliance certificate.Does this apply to 12volt wiring also.I plan to convert all lights etc. above The waistline to 12volt .can I perform this work myself.thanks. Just be aware that if you order LED lights online they may not work with plastic fittings. I had this case & luckily I bought local & the seller was invaluable in helping with alternate wiring to get them working. Check out this link to Collyn Rivers books, they are a great source for all things 12 volt. |
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Post by Koala on Mar 10, 2018 11:06:51 GMT 10
A lot of old vans have both 12 volt and 240 volt globes in the same light fixture and 2 light switches usually black for 12 volt and white for 240 volt. Some or all of this original wiring may still be present in your van which would make it easy to get the 12 volt working.
If you only have the 240 volt wiring in your van the I suggest that you could just buy 12 volt LED globes from either Jaycar or online and use the original 240 volt wiring and globe holders for your 12 volt. Obviously you need to remove the wiring from the 240 volt inlet on the van and reroute it to a 12 volt GEL battery under a seat or connect it to a car.
You will need to have some means to recharge the 12 volt battery using either a 240 volt battery charger or a charge facility from a car. I guess that you will want a 240 volt power outlet or two in the van so just leave this in place.
Just make sure to disconnect the lighting circuit from 240 volt and you will be OK without the need to run new wiring.
Koala
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Post by Rattles on Mar 10, 2018 11:31:37 GMT 10
Most Older Caravans use a common Light/Power circuit, however if the Caravan is a Pop Top and as in many poptops there is 2 Cables feeding the Top 3 Core cable with a 240v plug and there is also a 12v Cable utilising in many cases a Ribbon TV plug to supply the 12v in a duel power light fitting, if only 240v and there is a plug it should only need the 240 Plug to be removed and a plug suitable for 12v (see below) and a 12v feed to a matching socket (see below) if using LED, the 240v wiring to the light fittings will be more than adequate and a terminal block on the other end of the wires, the 12v string type run around the side/bottom of the light fitting has been done on other Caravan Forums with great success.  --32V Plug--  - Net Picture disregard the trader name - --32v Socket-- Link for example using LED Strip - ditzygypsy.proboards.com/thread/3060/gavs-new-viscount-van?page=9Image 3-5 on page Rattles NB-: Do NOT be tempted to reuse the redundant 240v 3 Pin Plug and Socket, you can use any plug/socket designed for extra L/V use just NOT 240V ones it is dangerous as someone in the future may plug 240v int the 12v circuit. |
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Post by midniteflit on Mar 11, 2018 0:22:45 GMT 10
Thanks members for your replies,your input is very
welcome and appreciated.My van is a Sunliner and
like others I have seen ,has suffered from water ingress
around the 240v. Inlet socket (being badly scorched).This
has been fixed.On thinking about it more I have decided to go the following way.The 240 and 12 volt wiring run pretty well side
by side .The light fittings have both 12 &240 sockets.
There is one 240volt power point above the sink.The 240 volt
wiring appears in good order.Assuming I replace this outlet with
a double pole one and fit a double pole breaker at the inlet would the
existing wiring be sufficient to carry the 15 amp load?Is the original wiring normally ok to use (1965).I would also like to put 2 new DP outlets below the diner (new wiring from the inlet breaker),for maybe a battery charger etc.Would leave the 12volt as is.Thanks for your help.
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Post by Koala on Mar 11, 2018 7:12:49 GMT 10
What you are proposing is effectively what I suggested. Use a new 15 amp inlet with 15 amp wire running to a Circuit breaker/RCD. I don't know what your original power inlet looks like but if it is a 10amp Bakelite one then it can be replaced with a bit of modification with a 15 amp one which looks similar. This would enable you to use a 15amp power cord to connect in caravan parks. www.caravansplus.com.au/miniature-16amp-circuit-breaker-double-pole-residual-current-device-p-8435.html I always use 15amp extension cord for caravan wiring as it is more pliable and easier to use and make sure that you have a earth wire running from the inlet to your metal caravan chassis. If your existing wire insulation is still flexible and not brittle with age then it should be OK. Although caravans have 15amp inlet wiring, unless you fit a air conditioner in practice the power demands will not be this high. Most likely the appliances drawing the most power will be your toaster, electric frypan or hair dryer. Note that I am not a qualified electrician so you will need to satisfy yourself in regards to your own electrical safety. Koala |
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Post by midniteflit on Mar 11, 2018 13:17:59 GMT 10
Hi members ,thanks again for the invaluable advice offered up by way of the forum.As often is the case with the novice a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing .the forum has kept me very well grounded .The knowledge to be gained by browsing over posts is truly inspiring .It seems to me there is a way around every obstacle buried in these pages .I have used this forum as a manual to follow while restoring my own van.I have tried to do my project as close to the original as possible .given the spares and materials available today ..I have endeavoured to impact on the original van as little as possible and ,yes, sad (but proud )to admit that I DO line all the slots up.The projects completed by members is testimony to the fact that with a bit of thought ,plenty of patience,and good advice ,pretty well anything is achievable.once again ,thanks .and keep up the good work .regards
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Post by lethal on Dec 28, 2019 21:34:42 GMT 10
Hello to anyone who could help I have recently bought a new ranger with a seven pin flat plug which is connecting to my old caravan which has the round 7 pin Well the old vehicle ran all the lights fine now with this new connection I seem to get the back taillights ,brake lights and indicators but nothing for my marker lights and all the 12 V lights inside and fridge reading it with a multimeter it I’m only getting 6 V i’m not sure what I’ve done wrong And I was also wondering are the marker lights connected to the taillights and if that was so why would I not be getting power to 4 marker lights I have an old seabreeze viscounts 89 model if anyone could help with this it would be much appreciated thanks
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