17' Series New (to me) 2015 17.56-2 - Anderson Plug Question

[KevD]

Hi
Thanks for letting me join. (apologies if im in the wrong topic forum)
I just put a deposit down on a 2015 17.52-3 (I believe owned by one of the founding members??). I need to set up the elecs on my tow car. The van has 12 pin flat and Anderson. Jayco are saying the 12 pin flat should be able to do everything so the Anderson is probably for external solar to charge van battery. Is there any other reason for the Anderson plug? I just want to get the Auto Electrician setting the car right. If I don't need Anderson no point in paying $$. The van has solar on the roof.
Cheers

 

[mikerezny]

Hi,
there are usually two reasons to have an Anderson plug on the drawbar:

1: To power the fridge on 12V when you are traveling. Jayco standard wiring usually wires the fridge from pins 9 (+ve) and 10 (-ve),
But the current draw is at least 15A and there have been failures in the connecting pins due to this high current draw. It is quite common to take theses two wires out of the 12-pin plug and power the fridge from the car via an Anderson plug. If this is the case, make sure your electrician uses adequately sized cable suitable for handling this current and provides a method to disconnect the power to the fridge when the engine is not running. A continuous draw of 15A or more will flatten a car battery quite quickly.

2: The Anderson plug is wired directly back to the van battery. If this is the case, supplying 12V whilst you are driving will charge the van battery. When you are set up, this a solar panel and solar controller can be plugged into the Anderson plug to charge charge the van battery. This is also a convenient way to supply a source for powering external 12V devices.

Perhaps the original owner will read your post on this forum and be kind enough to message you the details.

take care
Mike

 

[jazzeddie1234]

I think it's a good investment to get the fridge wired to the 12 pin and the anderson on the tug side. That gives you an option to change later and the anderson is useful access to the tug battery for things like an air compressor

 

[Drover]

All the above .............................. Ideally get yourself a multi meter if you haven't already, get familiar with its operation and check all the wiring to see where it all goes, 12v wise that is, then you get to know your van better and having and knowing how to use the meter is invaluable as your travel around....

On some rigs an Anderson will also be providing power to the ESC system...... Many use an Anderson for direct charge to fridge, less so for 12v to van battery...

Having a 12v supply to fridge from tug is the best way to go with a fridge switch so when the engine is off so is the supply to fridge, saves having a flat start battery............ As you explore your van just remember the fridge only works on 12v when plugged into tug with engine running, in camp its GAS or 240v, run fridge for a day or 2 before departure so its all chilled down, can take many hours.. depending on fridge type it may have a very small draw from van battery to power the fridge electronics but not the cooling side...................................................... and your van solar will usually be enough to keep you van battery charged up so a supply from the tug isn't a great neccessity if you haven't got your tug set up for it and if just park camping then really not needed at all ............. My rig is 100% solar charge, not set up for a charge from tug, off grid all the time so couldn't see the need to throw money at it..... if it needed to charge from tug for a few hours driving then how would it handle charging for weeks at a time.....

Anyway welcome on here and we will certainly help you out where we can and share a laugh or two.

 

[macpanda]

Hi All. Great chat. How difficult is it to wire my own Anderson lead through the tow rig, and then to the fridge in the van (neither are set up with and anderson plug at the moment). I have some basic knowledge of electrics, but want to take on some more projects myself to become more familiar/experienced in case i need to trouble shoot and fit things on the road!

 

[MDS69]

Hi All. Great chat. How difficult is it to wire my own Anderson lead through the tow rig, and then to the fridge in the van (neither are set up with and anderson plug at the moment). I have some basic knowledge of electrics, but want to take on some more projects myself to become more familiar/experienced in case i need to trouble shoot and fit things on the road!

It’s not necessarily difficult as such but you might need a second pair of hands to run the cable from the engine bay to the tow bar. Another possible issue is finding a suitable secure spot on the tow bar to mount your anderson plug. Then you want to look at how your new 12V supply is controlled. Permanently active with a suitable fuse under the bonnet or via ignition controlled relay. The former will rely on you either unplugging your fridge at the tow bar/draw bar whenever you stop driving for an extended time ie great than say 20 minutes or fit a fridge switch in your van which is motion operated. The latter is essentially a set and forget.
It may be obvious to most but ensure you make your connections on the tow bar first before making your connection to the starter battery Under the bonnet.
Use a suitable sized cable from the battery to tow bar. I suggest 6B&S which is also 13.5mm2. Wiring from the draw bar to the fridge should be straight forward but you may have issues terminating a larger cable conductor at the fridge.

 

[jazzeddie1234]

Wiring an anderson with heavy cable can be awkward but not difficult. The trick is to make sure the terminals are the correct orientation with the way they will push in before soldering or crimping as the are really difficult to twist after that. I find crimping the easiest but soldering is more flexible if you want to reuse the anderson for another job. Also remember the terminals (and the fat cable attached) have to move slightly when pushing in the other plug so don't (as I did once) silicon it all rigid...

You can get lugs for the other end that are designed to reduce the fat cable to a small pin that can go into a terminal block that a fridge might have - or do what jayco do and use an electrical terminal block that joins the fat cable to a smaller one on the fridge.

 

[Drover]

but you may have issues terminating a larger cable conductor at the fridge.

The easiest way to ensure you can connect to the smaller junction on the fridge is to terminate the large cable with an Anderson and use another Anderson with smaller cable to connect, andersons come in various cable size lugs, same housing, brilliant gear..... this plug can be used as a 12v extension at rear of van if needed.

fit a fridge switch in your van which is motion operated. The latter is essentially a set and forget.

I'm all for fridge switch, makes the whole set up that much easier ........................ hooking up to the tug battery can involve a certain way to connect due to smart alternator and charging regime requirements, so some research is needed......

 

[poor but proud]

no mention has been made of circuit breaker or fuse in the wiring ,if you are putting in heavier cable direct to battery a circuit breaker (or fuse ) is definately a wise investment , any issues ,it just clicks off before you call on the gods of fire and smoke

 

[MDS69]

The easiest way to ensure you can connect to the smaller junction on the fridge is to terminate the large cable with an Anderson and use another Anderson with smaller cable to connect, andersons come in various cable size lugs, same housing, brilliant gear..... this plug can be used as a 12v extension at rear of van if needed.

Brilliant solution

 

[poor but proud]

no mention has been made of circuit breaker or fuse in the wiring ,if you are putting in heavier cable direct to battery a circuit breaker (or fuse ) is definately a wise investment , any issues ,it just clicks off before you call on the gods of fire and smoke

Oops MDS69 did mention a fuse,