12 pin car connections to SWIFT Alco Caravan

Hi Fergie, Did what you suggested "NO GO " according to the diagram I have , Pin 12 is a spare and not used, Remember this is a 12 Pin oblong socket (Five Large round Pins at the top ) , Pin 8 red/white, is shown as a 12 Volt 30 amp fused permanent output, Pin 9 Orange, 12 Volt + ignition fed via a Voltage Sensitive Relay, 30 amp fuse, and Pin 10 white/black, Earth for position 8 & 9 Looms ? they are the only Pins used for the top row ?? Pin 9 the orange lead is obviously the supply to the fridge via a VSR when the engine is running ? my query is should there be a Voltage on this Pin if the car is not connected to the Caravan ??

Hi SDG, That will be great if you could measure the Voltage's from Pins 8,9 10 straight from the cars socket , with and without the engine running ??? as I want to find out if the 12 volt from Pin 9 which comes via a VSR (Voltage Sensitive Relay ) is on the Pin even though the Van might not be connected to the Car ?? but the cars engine is running ?? as I have no voltage on that Pin at all !! That Pin I believe supplies the fridge ??? That will show me whether for certain the fault lies with a faulty VSR.
Regards Dutchy

Hi.
Checked car and trailer connections.
earth return is on 10.
My power supply is on 9. It is constant through a Sidewinder relay? Turns off when voltage hits a certain point. Car off is 12.79v Other pins no wire connected.

Several suggestions.

Do car and trailer correspond?

Blown fuse at relay. If power, fuse in camper end?

Is the terminal clean?

Is wire connected coming out of VCR? Could have come loose.

Hi Peter D , It was good of you to help, if you read my follow up to Fergie, you will realize our predicament !! all we told the electrician was to wire up a socket to connect to our Swift, ( we actually gave him the connections diagram ) he wired it up originally with a round plug as per an Aussie standard electric brake system, thus it went back and instead of doing the wiring again, they added another two wires ( ONLY ) to feed the Van for Pins 8 & 9, no earth return !!
This seemed to work for our first trip if I connected a thick wire with two crocodile clips , clipping one end on the Van ,the other to the cars tow bar ?? , then what happened was the two wires he put in fell out ( very good job ) and it hasn't worked since ??? Regards Dutchy

Hi Fergie
Thanks again for your follow up , it is really good of you to try and help, when I connected an earth to Pin 12 on the Car and then connected up Van and car , that would have put an earth on Pin 12 to the Van thus putting an earth to the fridge ?? NO GO !! At this stage I suspect the VSR is not operating and supplying a 12 volt ssupply to Pin 9, but where this darn thing is so I can check it is another story . The obvious answer is to talk to the electrician that installed it !! but the trouble we have had with them would make your hair curl !! This is WA , not the Eastern States , You have a vast amount of fully trained and qualified technicians over there, over here, we are as yet to meet one !! It is a long story, only to say we bought our BRAND NEW Van 6 months ago , used it twice for 2 x 2 week tours and are still trying to remedy our fridge fault !! my wife insists we don't take it back to the electrician who wired it in ???? in case they do even more damage, thus why I am trying to fix it myself !! I am a retired British Royal Navy Chief Petty Officer (Radio ) in the good old glass valve days , so know a little about electrics !! the basics don't change much ??? Regards Dutchy

Find your car battery. Follow wires. Should be one going to the VCR, which I have been told by an auto electrician, should be as close as possible to battery.

Dutchy, where in WA are you located?

We are in Lady Brand Lifestyle Village in Greenfields, (Mandurah )

I would not take any notice of what Swift have done with their connectors unless you were using European standard plugs. Dutchy has stated that he is using a 12 pin plug that appears to conform to the Oz standards. If you are using that connector then it should be wired up to the Oz standards.

Australian Standards for Trailer Connectors.

Many Many thanks to all !!!