trailer connection for D4

[DiscoTom]

Hi guys, I am contemplating changing my 2009 D3 TDV6 Se to a D4. In my D3 to get power to the fridge in my jayco outback I used a jump wire from the power point wire on the white trailer connector(left side) to the reversing wire(black) on the black(right side) trailer connector. do I have to still do this for the D4. Hope u understand this query. thanks Tom

[Ozzy119]

Hi,

I used a Traxide kit for rear anderson 12v supply. I comes with isolator and very importantly, decent sized cables. I seriously doubt the internatal wires supplying the white trailer connection set are thick enough to provide sufficient power? I'm no auto elec but very time I read about installing mods it always becomes a debate about cable suitability.

But yes, you could still do it with the D4.

[driftn69]

Ditto on the traxide kit, I fitted the dual battery setup with dual outlets in the rear luggage area and an Anderson plug for the caravan.
A well made kit that was straight forward to install with comprehensive instructions.

Cheers Colin

[Redback]

Hi guys, I am contemplating changing my 2009 D3 TDV6 Se to a D4. In my D3 to get power to the fridge in my jayco outback I used a jump wire from the power point wire on the white trailer connector(left side) to the reversing wire(black) on the black(right side) trailer connector. do I have to still do this for the D4. Hope u understand this query. thanks Tom


Yes it is the same, we use the white plug to run power to our camper to run the fridge, we use it because when you turn the ignition off it also cuts power to the camper off, so no flat battery in the car.

Baz.

[DiscoTom]

thanks for the update Guys.
looks like I have to do the same to the D4.
regarding the size of the white wire, yep probably right, but the fridge is only a 90lt and this power just ticks it over.
from what I understand in the jayco u cannot run the fridge from the battery(not yet installed) whilst underway or parked. anyhow i will investigate this further.
thanks Tom

[Ozzy119]

Hi Disco Tom,

I'm not clear on the Jayco setup?

Does it / will it have a 'house battery(s)' to run 12v stuff? Will the fridge be powered via that source? If so then most people top up charge these whilst driving with power supply from the vehicle. If that is the case then I'd be very surprised to hear that the D4's wires providing power to the trailer or 12v socket in rear are thick enough to top up an auxiliary battery.

I'm in no way an expert here but from previous set ups I've learnt that you need a current well in the 14. volts range to keep the battery charged.

With a proper isolator and power supply you can charge and run what ever you want without worrying about unplugging when not on the run.

[outasight]

I am a little better Jayco savvy & the way they work as standard is they DO NOT run the 12v side of an absorbtion(3 way) fridge off the house battery or inverter/charger, but ONLY off the hot wire from the car plug/loom.

So, if you leave it that way, you need to have an isolator/cut off to protect the starting battery, because they do suck quite some amps, even in the 90L form!(I think it's still around 18Amps from memory).

Personally I've hooked it to the house battery, and use a DC-DC Ctek D250S Dual to help things along in the van when towing ...

If you use the second white plug on the Disco, at least one output is switched on/off with ignition, and one is always on.

If you've got an Expanda, get over to expandaownersaustralia : Expanda Owners Australia (http://au.groups.yahoo.com/group/expandaownersaustralia)
There's a few of us Disco owners from here on there too!

;)

Regards,

Les.

[101RRS]

My Jayco Jayflite camper house a 45ah house battery that the 80l dometic 3 way runs off when I am driving and stopped. On 12v the fridge draws 10amps (from the handbook) so when stopped I have a couple of hours so no rushing to switch to gas when setting up cap.

Pending the installation of a second battery and isolator in the car I have power running direct from the RRS starting battery to an Anderson plug at the rear that recharges the camper battery when driving. This probably gives me about 5 hours all up before batteries start to get a bit low - obviously change to gas as soon as possible but there is not the urgency to switch. When I do install an isolator and second battery in the car then there will be no risk to the car starter battery.

My brother's Jayco is like others in that the camper fridge will only run on 12v when the car is connected. I do not like this system as all the load from the camper fridge is carried by the car battery, where in my system the load is shared between the car and camper batteries giving a little bit more of a safety margin.

I always carry a 18ah jump start battery pack for those little emergencies.

Garry

[john_paul_128]

Yes it is the same, we use the white plug to run power to our camper to run the fridge, we use it because when you turn the ignition off it also cuts power to the camper off, so no flat battery in the car.

Baz.
Redback,

When you say you run your fridge from the white plug, do you also take the earth from pin 7 on that plug? Or use earth on pin 3 of the black plug?

Thanks, John

[gghaggis]

Redback,

When you say you run your fridge from the white plug, do you also take the earth from pin 7 on that plug? Or use earth on pin 3 of the black plug?

Thanks, John
If you're pulling power from the 12S (white) plug, you should take the earth from the dedicated earth pin in the same plug. If you're powering from pin6, then use pin7 for earth.

Cheers,

Gordon

[john_paul_128]

Great thanks Gordon for the clarification. I used pins 6&7 on the 12S plug.

[john_paul_128]

Actually I have just realized that the Jayco 12 Pin plug uses pin 2 for auxiliary (lights and trickle charge). I assume I would then use pin 4 (or pin 6, but already using this for the fridge) on the 12s connector.

I am not sure what earth return to use on pin 3 of the 12 pin plug - either from the the 12n pin 3 or the 12s pin 3, or both?

The cable white cable going to the van on pin 3 of the 12 pin plug is same size as that on pin 2, much heavier than park lights, indicators etc.

Any advice appreciated. Thks

John

[gghaggis]

Just to clarify - what "lights" are you talking about on the aux circuit of the van?

If you are sticking with the existing wiring/battery/plugs on the LR, it's not advisable to use the car to charge the van battery. Pin 4 in the white plug is permanent 12V (and you must use pin 3 in the same plug for the associated earth) - being constantly powered you have to be vigilant with regards to flattening the cranking battery.

Sounds like you may want to look at a dual battery set-up, or else don't worry about trickle-charging the battery (what would it be powering whilst you're driving anyway?).

Cheers,

Gordon

[john_paul_128]

Gordon,

To clarify, the lights i am referring to are the internal lights in the van.

It seems that Pin 2 on the 12 Pin is going to the Aux 12v input on the Setec power supply in the Jayco:
http://www.setec.com.au/images/pdf/ST-II%20User%20Manual.pdf

I assume I would then use pin 4 on the 12s connector.

I am not sure what earth return to use on pin 3 of the 12 pin plug - either from the the 12n pin 3 or the 12s pin 3, or both? Hope this makes sense!

thanks again, John

[sniegy]

12 Pin wiring specs as per AU stds
1 left turn yellow
2 aux/reverse black
3 earth white
4 right turn green
5 service brake/aux
6 brake red
7 park light brown

8 battery charger orange
9 aux/batt lead pink
10 earth white
11 rear fog grey
12 aux purple

HTH:D

Cheers

[john_paul_128]

Cheers Pete

Where do you propose the 12 Pin Aux (Pin 2) is connected to on the D4? Also what Earth return to use?

Thanks, john

[john_paul_128]

Any thoughts anyone? appreciate your help!

[gghaggis]

As I said, if the intent is to power the trailer battery charger, advice is _not_ to use the existing D4 plugs. Get a dedicated circuit wired from your ign feed.

[sniegy]

Cheers Pete

Where do you propose the 12 Pin Aux (Pin 2) is connected to on the D4? Also what Earth return to use?

Thanks, john

Pin no. 2 is the rear fog light circuit.
Pins 1-7 use pin 3 earth
Pins 8-12 use pin 9 earth

John, need to ask you, what you intend on doing? Lots of questions but need a little more info on what your final plan will be & therefore we can assist more easily.

Cheers

Sent from my iPad using Forum Runner

[john_paul_128]

Ok, more context.
Connecting D4 to Jayco van with 12 pin plug.

Have made a cable as follows:
12n. 12 pin flat
1. 1
3. 3
4. 4
5. 5 (brakes via red arc controller)
6. 6
7. 7

12s
4. 9
3. 10

Tested and all works fine (including relays and resistors on indicators due to LED lights)

Then I realized that jayco uses pin 2 on 12 pin for aux/internal lights on van. So I thought that I could connect pin 2 on 12 pin to pin 6 on 12s.

If I do this, would I connect pin 3 on the 12 pin plug to pin 3 on the 12n or to pin 7 on the. 12s, which i assume would be rated higher? (but not paired)

Hope this makes sense?

Thanks again,
John

[gghaggis]

John,

If it is _just_ internal lights on the Jayco Pin2, then you could attach to the same pin 3/4 (12S) that you used for the fridge. That way it would be switched with the ignition. But one of your earlier posts suggested that the Jayco pin2 also powered the battery charger for the Jayco battery? IF that's the case, I doubt you'd have enough current draw capacity in the D4's wiring/plugs to drive it, and you'd end up overheating the wiring. In that instance, don't do it.

Cheers,

Gordon

[john_paul_128]

Thanks Gordon,
Would that mean:
12s 12Pin
4 2
3 3

12n 12Pin
3 3

Therefore connecting 12s pin3 to both 12Pin pin 3 and 10?

Thanks!

Rgds, John

therefore

[gghaggis]

John, until you can clarify what's coming off Pin2 of the Jayco's 12pin plug, and _why_ you need it, I'm just fumbling in the dark.

I would have thought the way you have it now was about the best you can have without an additional power-circuit wired into the D4, either from a second battery or an ignition feed?

Note that LR indicates that the 12S earth pins should always run separate circuits.

Cheers,

Gordon

[john_paul_128]

Gordon, auxilary is for lights (technically battery trickle charge via the setec power supply), but i only ever charge via 240v.

Even if I did run another power circuit, I am sill not sure what pin I would connect the earth to on the 12 pin plug (I assume Pin 3), but then that means pin 3 would be connected to both pin 3 pn the 12n and the new power circut earth.

I am surprised my question hasn't come up before for any other D4 owners connecting to a Jayco van with a 12 pin plug.

Thanks again.

Rgds, John

[gghaggis]

Okay, maybe I'm missing the obvious here, but why do you want to power internal lights from the car's 12V supply? Surely they work on the van's battery? And as you charge the van battery from 240V only, you don't seem to need this circuit (pin2) at all?

Anyone know this particular Jayco's power-wiring in detail?

Cheers,

Gordon

[john_paul_128]

I just spoke with Jayco and they confirmed that 12 Pin-pin 2 goes to the Setec powersupply - draws ~1-2 amps and is used for the lights and trickle charge of battery via the setec unit.

Jayco suggested that the earths are joined/connected at pin 3&10 (12 Pin) from 12n (pin 3) and 12s (pin 3). And that pin 2 on the 12 pin goes to 12s pin 4 (along with the frigdge on Pin 9 on 12 pin).

Will give it a go.

Rgds, john

[Jeffa32]

Hi All

I have a jayco van being delivered next month with a 12 pin plug. Unfortunately, I do not know the first thing about auto electrics apart from the fact the 12 pin plug cannot connect to the back of the disco.

Please could I get a very simple explanation of what is required (and why if possible to educate myself!). I will get this done by an auto electrician. If someone could recommend an auto electrician on the west or Melbourne or Geelong, that would also be appreciated.

Thanks..

[john_paul_128]

Hi All

I have a jayco van being delivered next month with a 12 pin plug. Unfortunately, I do not know the first thing about auto electrics apart from the fact the 12 pin plug cannot connect to the back of the disco.

Please could I get a very simple explanation of what is required (and why if possible to educate myself!). I will get this done by an auto electrician. If someone could recommend an auto electrician on the west or Melbourne or Geelong, that would also be appreciated.

Thanks..
Hi Jeffa32

I couldn't find a commercially available cable that would do the job of connecting the Disco trailer sockets to flat 12 pin on the Jayco, so made my own, also incorporating resistors and relays per another post on the forum, to address the LED light issue.
I will type up and publish photos of the final pin outs and post here in next day or two for future reference.

Rgds, John

[Redback]

Yes it is the same, we use the white plug to run power to our camper to run the fridge, we use it because when you turn the ignition off it also cuts power to the camper off, so no flat battery in the car.

Baz.

Just a clarification on this, the wires from the white plug go to the charger in the camper that charges the battery in the camper, the fridge runs off the battery, when camped the fridge runs on gas.

Baz.

[Jeffa32]

Hi Jeffa32

I couldn't find a commercially available cable that would do the job of connecting the Disco trailer sockets to flat 12 pin on the Jayco, so made my own, also incorporating resistors and relays per another post on the forum, to address the LED light issue.
I will type up and publish photos of the final pin outs and post here in next day or two for future reference.

Rgds, John

Thanks John. I appreciate this, however but my manual skills are terrible. Can a complete novice build something like you are describing or do I need to take car somewhere for a professional fix?

[john_paul_128]

Jeffa, Probably best to find a local auto electrician. Get them to call Jayco if any questions on wiring of 12 pin plug - I found them very helpful.

John