Wiring 12n and 12s caravan cables into single 13 pin euro plug

I can only presume that your socket's were wired like this 

                         12 n                                                                              12 s

has your grey cable got seven cores for the 12 s like in the attached photo ?

I would not connect the brown wire from your gey cable......... 

hi

ok so i dont need to connect the brown ? i was looking at the instructions for the 13 pin plug and they dont mention the fridge this is what they list.

• Pin 1  Yellow  L/H indicator
• Pin 2  Blue Fog lamps
• Pin 3  White Earth return
• Pin 4  Green R/H Indicator
• Pin 5  Brown R/H Tail lamps
• Pin 6  Red Stop lights
• Pin 7  Black L/H Tail lamps
• Pin 8  Reversing Light
• Pin 9  Permanent + 12V supply
• Pin 10 Ignition switched +12V supply
• Pin 11 Earth return for pin 10
• Pin 12 No allocation
• Pin 13 Earth return for pin 9

so according to these instructions the fridge is no longer connected

i havent checked the cable to see how many wires it has as its in storage and wont get access to it until saturday. just wanted to get kitted up with wiring diagram tools etc before hand as its a 30 mile round trip and dont want to be caught out.

This is a link to Sargent Electrical ( I think the colours on here will be the right ones ) 

 http://www.sargentltd.co.uk/ISO11446_Data.pdf

Pin 10 is your 12v+ for the fridge

I suggest printing it off & laminating it 

I have one in my van in-case anything happens to the plug 

The wiring of a 13 pin plug is pretty straightforward if you keep in mind that in the 13 pin plug, Pins 1 to 7 are a direct copy of the 12N(Black) cable.

So in the 13 pin plug using the Black 12N cable :

Pin 1 Yellow        LH Indicator

Pin 2 Blue           Rear Fog

Pin 3 White         Negative Return for Pins 1 to 8

Pin 4 Green        RH Indicator

Pin 5 Brown        RH Tail Light

Pin 6 Red           Brake Lights

Pin 7 Black        LH Tail Light

Then using the 12S (Grey) Cable:

Pin 8 Yellow      Reverse Light

Pin 9 Green       Perm 12v +

Pin 10 Red        Fridge 12v +

Pin 11 Black     Negative Return for Pin 10

Pin 12 Brown    Not Used

Pin 13 White    Negative Return for Pin 9

The Blue and Brown wires in the  12S cable are not used but it is a good idea to wire in the brown for future use if required and cut off the Blue .

hi guys

thanks for your replies, i will let you know how i get on on saturday when i try to wire the plug up.

.........have you found this Practical Caravan step by step guide?

http://www.practicalcaravan.com/advice/convert-your-towcar-13-pin-electrics

If you follow the above guide be careful about step 3 where you are told to disconnect the negative lead to the car battery.

Refer to your handbook as some vehicles are sensitive to this  (it often locks the radio for instance and you will need the code to reactivate it)

Hi guys

well i managed to get the plug on and sorted  , but there is a problem  the chap that fitted the towbar has wired the switched live to a permanant source which means that its making the relay inside the van go nutty lol.

i have followed the wiring up to the fuse box on the car and can see that he has tapped into 2 different locations and used my multimeter to check that they are indeed both live. i have found an ignition live in the fuse box but think i will have a word with a vw techie before i go any further

i have to say that i quite like the 13pin euro plug, ok its a bit fiddly trying to get the plug through the cutout in the bumper then turn it but i have to say that the plug feels more robust and water resistant than the old plugs and i am glad i changed as the insides of the 12n and 12s were looking rather sorry for thereselves, now that i have done mine i have now been asked by someone else in storage if i could do theres. Happy Days lol

The 13-pin does not have a designated fridge wire because it is not standard on continental caravans to have the fridge wrking from 12V, only from gas or mains.

Why not just by a 12N+12S to 13-pin adapter cable from somewhere like Towsure?

whats the point in going half measures, if the car is 13 pin may as well spend £7 for the 13pin plug for the van, i guess i could have spent £23 on the silly adaptors but then you have the extra cable flapping about all over the place.

when you say the 13 pin has no fridge pin you are correct although they do have an ignition live source on pin 10 that the fridge runs from now instead of the dedicated wiring that caravans once had for a fridge, the van has a continuous live on pin 9 which runs lights etc then when the engine is started pin 10 becomes live and and the relay switches the continuous live off so that you are not driving around with your lights on i guess i am sure someone here will put me right if i am wrong. why dont they have fridges on the continant anyway lol

Have you checked pin 11 (earth) on socket back to earth on car ????

My Hymer has a dedicated fridge wire & runs on 12v when being towed  & get's very cold