Do you want me ??

[DaveS]

now that i've got your attention, i'll have to beat the ladies away with a stick

i've missed a couple of posts that i could probably help with from my experience

so if your after some tech knowledge, don't hesitate to send me a private msg to get my attention, i sometimes only check on here every few days so i might miss something i could help with or even point me to a thread in question

and i'm only too happy to help if i can and would rather tell everybody than just a individual if you know what i mean, so a public forum question benefits everyone

cheers Dave

 

[Meanderthals]

Ok, I'll give it a go.

1. Why do Jayco wire the ESC via the 12 pin plug and not via a separate Anderson plug? AL-KO reccommend that if travelling over rough roads that the ESC be disabled but with the Jayco wiring this can only be done with also disabling all van feeds. Even a bitumen road can be rough enough to cause the ESC to activate (personal experience).
2. Why can't we even get a basic wiring block diagram, let alone a full circuit diagram, as surely the person doing the wiring must have something they have to work to.

Phil

 

[DaveS]

ok i'll give it a go back

i'm a trained ESC installer (for what that means...) ALKO told us at training to use a anderson plug for retrofitting, i took it a step further and got red andersons that won't plug into grey so it can't be confused, i've yet to wire a aftermarket fitup different unless it's jayco prewired. We talked about the 12pin and nobody could decide on a specific pin to use, but then jayco started to factory wire them to the aux on the 7 pin side anyway, had something to do with pre-made looms and not wanting to change, i took that as meaning we have 10000 of these and won't change them.
my suggestion ... disable the aux with a tug mounted switch for offroad use or get the power feed to the ESC changed to a anderson, neither method has better merits as you still rely on the tugboat driver reconnecting when you hit the blackstuff again, so jayco probably went with the stay on option to remove responsibility from the driver ...
ALKO told us individual power supply straight from the tug battery with a 30amp breaker, jayco wires thru a pin rated at 10 amps ..... go figure, so i go with the ALKO recommendation

as for the wiring ... yeah i would love one more than you, the guys on the line have a plan on what the van needs, like a GPO here and there etc, but after that all common sense goes out the window. I could show you 2 vans that came off the line one after the other and they are different layouts relating to wiring ... it's mindblowing that they ever get it right .... all i can say is take care if your gunna drill a hole anywhere take your time and do some checks first, you can sort of guess where wires go if you know what is on the same circuit. usually if we add something it's out with the testers to find out which wire does what first hand and whether it can take the additional load.
you would not believe how stressed we get about drilling a hole in someones pride and joy to fit something hoping there is no cable there, lucky the odds are with us ......... most of the time

 

[Rodneyaf]

I am a newbie and just bought our first Expanda, it's a 16-49-3 2009 and I had an Anderson plug fitted before I bought van. Now I have the van, I find that the battery is supposed to be charged through the 7 pin plug and my car is not wired for that.
My question is, how can I add the anderson plug wiring to the van so as to not use the 7 pin plug but use my cars anderson for charging?

 

[ROnEM]

I am a newbie and just bought our first Expanda, it's a 16-49-3 2009 and I had an Anderson plug fitted before I bought van. Now I have the van, I find that the battery is supposed to be charged through the 7 pin plug and my car is not wired for that.
My question is, how can I add the anderson plug wiring to the van so as to not use the 7 pin plug but use my cars anderson for charging?

@Rodneyaf,

The easiest way would be as follows:

• Remove/disconnect the wire/s from the 7 pin plug that go to the van battery/setec.
• Extend the wires to the van's battery/setec and connect them to an Anderson Plug.
• Plug this Anderson plug into the car's plug and away you go!

Hope this makes sense.

Cheers,

Rohan

 

[Rodneyaf]

I would like to put heavier cables in so I need to know where they go into the Setec.

 

[achjimmy]

I would like to put heavier cables in so I need to know where they go into the Setec.

Rodney on our first van, I wanted Jayco to supply a heavier cable via Anderson plug run to the fridge. (Like they used to do with the large sterlings with big fridges) what I got was an Anderson with 6mm auto wired directly to the battery with a fuse (pre blown ) I then upgraded this (and the fridge wiring) to heavier 13mm sq but did as Jayco did and bypassed the setec.

 

[DaveS]

it plugs into the top of the setec on the right labeled aux, and you could split the cable and take it to the fridge as well. the earth joins up to a common earth point under the right hand side of the van near the front covered by a bent tin cover, this would be a good spot to split the wires to the fridge and setec. if i was doing it i'd use the existing wire to the setec at this point as a heavier wire is no great benefit from here

 

[achjimmy]

Dave

I noticed Dave and Sarah's new starcraft they have relocated the spare to the rear, mounted on the van wall? (http://www.expandasdownunder.com/threads/dave-and-sarahs-starcraft-17-58-1-ob.5236/)

Previously I have seen this mounted on a bracket on the bumper, as well as on the a frame.

In your opinion is the rear wall adequate? I remember you commenting or questioning putting weight on the bumpers or more correctly the mounts. But notice the bumper mounts are significantly heavier on the outbacks now than previously? I presume this is how they have been on sterlings for ages?

 

[DaveS]

rear wall is strengthened in the factory if a spare is to be fitted there, otherwise there is nothing strong enough to hold it. Best bet is to contact Jayco with your chassis number and ask if it's been strengthened.

 

[achjimmy]

rear wall is strengthened in the factory if a spare is to be fitted there, otherwise there is nothing strong enough to hold it. Best bet is to contact Jayco with your chassis number and ask if it's been strengthened.

Thanks Dave. Dont have one yet, just wondering what is better.

 

[davemc]

Hi @DaveS question. Our new van TV aerial does not work I checked with a multi meter from the roof the shield is connected although middle pin nothing. Seems the shield and middle pin are spliced somewhere as I can get the middle pin to show if I connect to shield at the other end.
Any ideas where to look? I assume they spliced the wire somewhere. I assume this is common do you know where they normally stuff it up
Would it be where they connected the TV points have two one double and one external.

 

[mfexpanda]

I'd look behind the TV points first

 

[davemc]

@mfexpanda just there.. I think they wired it in wrong, there are two ins and one out. I could not see any labels so labeled them myself. Works fine not through plate now see if I can get my fat fingers in there to do up