14' Series 2013 14.44-4 questions

[Prydey]

Hi all, officially an expanda owner now, although won't have it in my drive for a couple of weeks yet.

Its an unmolested example, which means there are a couple of things I need to do short term, which are 12v pump and solar. Both things that have been done many times before. Before I get to that though, I have a question regarding factory wiring.

Do these come factory wired to power the fridge through the 12pin plug? The sales person, although not directly saying as much, seemed to infer they did, although she could have been referring more to new vans. The van I have bought does have a 12pin plug though. I have 12v power to pin 9 (pre wired years ago but never used) but no ignition switch yet.

Also, Jayco I believe wire pin 2 as Aux power, but my car has pin 2 wired as reverse lights. Do I need to do something about that, or it won't really matter? In the swan I disconnected the jayco wire, and actually added a reverse light to the bumper of the swan, and wired that in instead.

Do these vans come with any sort of pre wiring for solar. I'm thinking this is a no, esp for 2013 model. I guess I'm going to have to be brave and drill a hole in the roof. Plenty have trodden this path before though so plenty of info available.

This is probably personal choice, but where do you mount the 12v pump? I'm hoping there is a convenient spot under the sink, where all the pipes are, similar to the swan.

I'm sure there will be many more questions along the way but for now, that will do. Looking forward to getting it home first. I'm in Adelaide, van is at Jayco Mt Gambier.

 

[mfexpanda]

if you have a look on the roof of the van you will see a white elect box if it is prewired for solar

 

[Prydey]

if you have a look on the roof of the van you will see a white elect box if it is prewired for solar

Cool thanks. We did a virtual tour with the dealer, but didn't check the roof top. I'd be surprised if it is, but would be a nice bonus.

 

[Drover]

If its original then the 12 pin will be wired for the fridge to run off your tug while driving, they don't/cannot operate on 12v otherwise gas or 240v only when camping .....
When the day of pick up approaches I would ring them and have them turn on the fridge on 240v the day before so you can check if its working when you pick up, check fridge first, then shut down the 240 and fire it up on gas while you check that everything else is working, no dodgy draw latches, lights all work etc, feel the exhaust vent if its nice and warm still then gas is good, then I would turn off everything in the van just plug it in to tug, make sure turns and brake lights work then bolt for home and spend time checking the circuit on the 12 pin with a multi meter to see whats what, any changes its usually just a simple move of a wire, if you leave it to the dealer it takes longer and never sure what happens.

Some good threads on here about doing a water pump refit, on my 14.444 I moved my pump from under the cupboard to under the floor, less chance of a lek and made room for a nice wine rack.................... https://expandasdownunder.com/threads/drovers-14-44-3.4502/page-3 ...............................you may also find later on you will want a little bit more ground clearance if you drag the bum on laybacks, a reasonably easy job to do............

 

[Prydey]

Thanks. The van went through their workshop and I was assured the fridge and everything else worked. Always pays to double check I guess. All the latches etc are good.
I'll have to get a fridge switch put in to the car as my pin 9 and 10 are wired direct to the battery (fused).

 

[Boots in Action]

Hi all, officially an expanda owner now, although won't have it in my drive for a couple of weeks yet.

Its an unmolested example, which means there are a couple of things I need to do short term, which are 12v pump and solar. Both things that have been done many times before. Before I get to that though, I have a question regarding factory wiring.

Do these come factory wired to power the fridge through the 12pin plug? The sales person, although not directly saying as much, seemed to infer they did, although she could have been referring more to new vans. The van I have bought does have a 12pin plug though. I have 12v power to pin 9 (pre wired years ago but never used) but no ignition switch yet.

Also, Jayco I believe wire pin 2 as Aux power, but my car has pin 2 wired as reverse lights. Do I need to do something about that, or it won't really matter? In the swan I disconnected the jayco wire, and actually added a reverse light to the bumper of the swan, and wired that in instead.

Do these vans come with any sort of pre wiring for solar. I'm thinking this is a no, esp for 2013 model. I guess I'm going to have to be brave and drill a hole in the roof. Plenty have trodden this path before though so plenty of info available.

This is probably personal choice, but where do you mount the 12v pump? I'm hoping there is a convenient spot under the sink, where all the pipes are, similar to the swan.

I'm sure there will be many more questions along the way but for now, that will do. Looking forward to getting it home first. I'm in Adelaide, van is at Jayco Mt Gambier.

@Prydey, there have been several posts on the possible wiring for tug to van including connection of 3 way fridge. If original from Jayco, you will find (or should???) that the fridge is connected to pin 9 on 12 pin plug with the heavy earth return on pin 10. These are heavier pins that are rated to 35A. All the other pins 1 to 7 are much lighter, as is the wiring, and are rated to only 15 or 20A.

Pin 2 on van plug is usually connected to the Setec to provide a rudimentary charge to van battery at vehicle alternator voltage and through the power diode which knocks off 0.8 volts from the incoming alternator voltage. If you wish to use this facility, you must run a separate dedicated wire from tug battery to pin 2 at tug socket so that Pin 2 on van plug makes connection to the Setec. The wiring for the reversing lights for vehicle should now be disconnected from the tug plug. That way, you still have the use of the tug's reversing lights as per standard vehicle hookup, but have a separate independent line for some power to the van battery - limited as it is. The other way to connect fridge (and I believe better) is to have dedicated heavy cabling from tug battery to Anderson plug at rear or tug with Anderson plug connection to fridge lines on van with VSR or some other system of disconnecting tug battery from fridge when engine not running. There is a lot of current being drawn through the wiring to operate fridge when driving, and a loose or weak connection through the 12 pin plug (pins 9 and 10) will result in burnt out/melted pins as some members on this forum can attest.

 

[Prydey]

Pin 9 and 10 on my car are 6mm auto wire I believe, straight to battery.

I have Anderson plug also which from memory is 8b&s (maybe 6,not sure). Was done by Auto electrician years ago when wiring in the brake controller. Just got him to run the extra cabling while he had things apart.

Our camping so far hasn't required keeping the fridge running while driving or charging the battery. Unlikely to change in the near future so I have time to fully sort that out.

Maybe in the short term I should disconnect pin 9 and 10 so as not to melt the pins. Having said that the auto electrician assured me they'd be ok as long as the connection was tight. I guess the catch is there isn't a way to make sure it stays tight during travel.

 

[Boots in Action]

Pin 9 and 10 on my car are 6mm auto wire I believe, straight to battery.

I have Anderson plug also which from memory is 8b&s (maybe 6,not sure). Was done by Auto electrician years ago when wiring in the brake controller. Just got him to run the extra cabling while he had things apart.

Our camping so far hasn't required keeping the fridge running while driving or charging the battery. Unlikely to change in the near future so I have time to fully sort that out.

Maybe in the short term I should disconnect pin 9 and 10 so as not to melt the pins. Having said that the auto electrician assured me they'd be ok as long as the connection was tight. I guess the catch is there isn't a way to make sure it stays tight during travel.

You seem to be on top of things with time to really work out what you want and what is required too. Your last paragraph says it all. Should be okay as long as connections remain tight. Hence the reason I believe in Anderson plug connections for high current work. I like the idea of having the fridge running whilst driving as at least what is in there stays cold after loading, even though won't pull down very effectively. Also, your negative connections to vehicle should be onto the chassis , not the neg battery terminal with modern alternators. Your autolec should know that. Last sentence on second paragraph of attached explains why.

 

[Prydey]

Pretty sure territory doesn't have a 'smart' alternator.

 

[Drover]

The thing with the 12 pin I found was if the socket is mounted with the heavy pins were on the bottom then all was good it seems to be if the 12pin plug was mounted so the heavy pins were at the top, then when connected up, the weight of the cable & plug would pull down so the heavy pins would pull out slightly, extra resistance caused a melt down........ My set up on Big Mal has fridge power via Anderson but i don't even have any facillity to charge from tug its all done with solar, I would advise fitting a fridge switch in the van at the back of the fridge, ease of fitting at a point where the cable size reduction isn't an issue.

 

[Prydey]

If the fridge is switched to 'off' I assume it won't be drawing any power from the car? If this is the case, I don't need to do anything in the short term to get my van home and it won't flatten my battery if I stop along the way. I can sort the rest out in my own time. Easier to diagnose with a physical van rather than try to guess what it may or may not have.

 

[Boots in Action]

The thing with the 12 pin I found was if the socket is mounted with the heavy pins were on the bottom then all was good it seems to be if the 12pin plug was mounted so the heavy pins were at the top, then when connected up, the weight of the cable & plug would pull down so the heavy pins would pull out slightly, extra resistance caused a melt down........ My set up on Big Mal has fridge power via Anderson but i don't even have any facillity to charge from tug its all done with solar, I would advise fitting a fridge switch in the van at the back of the fridge, ease of fitting at a point where the cable size reduction isn't an issue.

Agreed @Drover. But my 12 pin connectors (Baxters) do have the heavy pins at the top and the 7 smaller pins at the bottom. I can understand what you mean about the cable weight pulling the connector downwards. However, on my setup, the spring loaded cover on the tug connector actually locks down behind a wide lug on the van female plug and prevents any "drag down" by the weight of the cabling. With the 7 smaller pins at the bottom, a similar latching occurs when I connect a 7 pin plug onto tug for 6 x 4 trailer to go to dump. So not a concern on my connectors whilst spring loaded cover in place. But a good probability of problems if no cover locking in place.

 

[MDS69]

In my 2014 OB the water pump is under the front dining seat behind the drawer. My HWS is also there so that may have a bearing on it.
I have a fridge switch fitted to mine and was a very easy job but I wouldn’t do it again. Instead I would leave the factory wiring or separated into an anderson plug and run it through a ignition type isolator supply via the 12 pin or Anderson plug on your towbar. My reasoning is that when stationary the fridge switch will cut supply (simulating parked up as it is designed to do) however having the option to leave the car running when required to keep the fridge powered say in long traffic delays etc or a few other reasons you have that option acknowledging that on 12V you are typically only maintaining temp anyway.
Did I read elsewhere your van is a touring model and not outback?. If that is the case then probably not wired for solar but check for the box as @mfexpanda mentioned. Also check the overhead cupboards above the dining table for a heavyish figure 8 red/black cable. Also with the roof popped look above the dining table against the roof skirt where the other cables will be in corrugated tubing for the same type of cable.

 

[Prydey]

In my 2014 OB the water pump is under the front dining seat behind the drawer. My HWS is also there so that may have a bearing on it.
I have a fridge switch fitted to mine and was a very easy job but I wouldn’t do it again. Instead I would leave the factory wiring or separated into an anderson plug and run it through a ignition type isolator supply via the 12 pin or Anderson plug on your towbar. My reasoning is that when stationary the fridge switch will cut supply (simulating parked up as it is designed to do) however having the option to leave the car running when required to keep the fridge powered say in long traffic delays etc or a few other reasons you have that option acknowledging that on 12V you are typically only maintaining temp anyway.
Did I read elsewhere your van is a touring model and not outback?. If that is the case then probably not wired for solar but check for the box as @mfexpanda mentioned. Also check the overhead cupboards above the dining table for a heavyish figure 8 red/black cable. Also with the roof popped look above the dining table against the roof skirt where the other cables will be in corrugated tubing for the same type of cable.

Yes, mine is the touring model. No hot water so will probably see if there is room under one of the sink cupboards to mount the pump.

When we did the virtual tour I did notice the wiring above the dinette in the roof skirt but not close enough to be able to tell what was what.

Also, are you the same mds69 from Ford forums?

 

[MDS69]

Also, are you the same mds69 from Ford forums?

ha ha yes. I was trying to work out where I had seen your username before.

 

[KECL]

If the fridge is switched to 'off' I assume it won't be drawing any power from the car? If this is the case, I don't need to do anything in the short term to get my van home and it won't flatten my battery if I stop along the way. I can sort the rest out in my own time. Easier to diagnose with a physical van rather than try to guess what it may or may not have.

I generally leave my 3-way fridge switched to 240v, hence there is nil power trying to be drawn from the car, therefore I should never burn out pins. The reason I do this is the longest distance we travel is 5-hours in one go and when I check the fridge/freezer everything is still frozen.

 

[Bernie]

Hi all, officially an expanda owner now, although won't have it in my drive for a couple of weeks yet.

Its an unmolested example, which means there are a couple of things I need to do short term, which are 12v pump and solar. Both things that have been done many times before. Before I get to that though, I have a question regarding factory wiring.

Do these come factory wired to power the fridge through the 12pin plug? The sales person, although not directly saying as much, seemed to infer they did, although she could have been referring more to new vans. The van I have bought does have a 12pin plug though. I have 12v power to pin 9 (pre wired years ago but never used) but no ignition switch yet.

Also, Jayco I believe wire pin 2 as Aux power, but my car has pin 2 wired as reverse lights. Do I need to do something about that, or it won't really matter? In the swan I disconnected the jayco wire, and actually added a reverse light to the bumper of the swan, and wired that in instead.

Do these vans come with any sort of pre wiring for solar. I'm thinking this is a no, esp for 2013 model. I guess I'm going to have to be brave and drill a hole in the roof. Plenty have trodden this path before though so plenty of info available.

This is probably personal choice, but where do you mount the 12v pump? I'm hoping there is a convenient spot under the sink, where all the pipes are, similar to the swan.

I'm sure there will be many more questions along the way but for now, that will do. Looking forward to getting it home first. I'm in Adelaide, van is at Jayco Mt Gambier.

I did mount a 12v pump at the back of the kitchen wall. 1week ago works well.

 

[jazzeddie1234]

If the fridge is switched to 'off' I assume it won't be drawing any power from the car? If this is the case, I don't need to do anything in the short term to get my van home and it won't flatten my battery if I stop along the way. I can sort the rest out in my own time. Easier to diagnose with a physical van rather than try to guess what it may or may not have.

Another option (which I did) was to leave the direct high-current connection from the ute battery to fridge and run a light duty ignition wire thru a spare pin on the 12 pin to the fridge. My fridge has a D+ sense connection on the back which jayco usually hard wire to the fat 12v cable - so power on = fridge on. In my case the 12v high current is on all the time and the ign wire tells the D+ to switch over only when the ute is running.

Others use a motion sense relay connected up behind the fridge to switch the high current 12v