Camping side electrical questions...

[NOOG_monkey_II]

Hi you'all,

I had a very enjoyable weekend taking out some of the early 90s install in my van, but I am a complete electrics novice so I am back on here for ANY pointers and advice! I have done a search and checked the wiki, but not much seems to cover complete DIY wiring for the camper....apologies if there is and I've missed it.

Well, at one time It was an autohomes campers but all was ripped out and an ok-ish (cough) MDF refit was done (my profile shows the current before pics )- it still has two batteries so that is a good start, but very little that I can see being powered by the lesuire battery. The light might be - wow.
Right, so there is a cable running into the water tank. The sink is not attached though, but I found what looks like an electrical foot pump loose behind the unit that will power the tap - this is not attached to anything, pipes are all easy peasy, but what about electrics? I have one cut wire sticking out from the wall behind MFI sink cabinet, and I guess two points on the footpump thing for wire attachments... Can I just extend this cable to the foot pump, and whats the deal with earthing all this elctric/water mixture?

Also, I have fitted a nice old fridge, but how do I go about wiring this into what seems to be a minimal electric system? Should it be directly from the main battery? do I need to add a fuse box/switching system into all this danger Im about to get myself into?

As you can tell, I *really* am looking into electrics for the first time.

[NOOG_monkey_II]

I had a closer look this evening and have a better idea whats going on - i.e. nothing.

I'm thinking the entire electrics side was removed for some reason - I'm not 100% but I think the one cable I have coming into the back of the kitchen unit is actually only the other end of the water pump cable from the tank. The cable was clean cut, and the electric pump is also a footpump so I guess it was just used as this.

I took the old light off and it has three red and three black cables into a connector block and into the back?!

So it looks like I have two batteries in parallel for no good reason - and Im probably looking at starting a fresh wiring install. Any pointers on reading I can do to get started?

Thankyou muchly!

[1664]

Not wishing to rain on your parade or anything but by your own admission you're a "complete electrics novice". From the sound of it, your van's going to need doing from square one and let's face it you're only going to want to do it once. If you really haven't a clue I'd strongly recommend you find someone close by who does.

However, if you're determined to DIY. Split charge wiring is in the Wiki. https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/Ca ... it_charger" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; You may want to 'beef up' the split charge circuit though if it's going to have to cope with high consumption when you're parked up. 12v for running the fridge whilst on the move is virtually a duplicate of the split charge wiring - just connect the fridge where the leisure battery is shown in the diagram. Water pump foot switch goes in the positive side of the wiring to the pump. Lighting is pretty straight forward but depends what arrangement and switching you want. Fuse EVERYTHING and run the cables in such a way that they avoid or are protected from sharp or abrasive metalwork. Use flexible, sheathed cable.

Get a qualified electrician to do your mains hook up side of things and insist on an Installation Certificate once it's done.

[NOOG_monkey_II]

Hi 1664, thanks for the reply....

....I spent last night reading around the forum and getting a handle on things, I'm going to get back in the van today and take another look.
Yeah, I take your point about being a novice, but I'm usually fairly good at doing stuff myself with a bit of a pointer so I might give a basic setup a go. Is there a recommendation on wire to use?

TBH, what with so much else to do, I think I will just be popping the fridge onto it for now - I'll look to do a proper wire through in the winter.

[1664]

Like I say, flexible sheathed cable. Something like this for the fridge and lighting. I'm not suggesting you buy it from this source though.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Twin-Core-2mm-Thi ... 255fb28eb9" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The split charge needs to be wired with single core cable really; certainly flexible and preferably sheathed but you might have problems getting hold of a sheathed version. What size rather depends on what rating you want your split charge circuit to be. I wouldn't go lower than 30 amps meself which would be 4.0mm – depends how flat you run the leisure battery down when you're camped up. The flatter the battery, the more amps it'll draw from the alternator once you start the engine; too flat and it'll rupture a 30 amp fuse. Up to you really...............

[NOOG_monkey_II]

Like I say, flexible sheathed cable. Something like this for the fridge and lighting. I'm not suggesting you buy it from this source though.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Twin-Core-2mm-Thi ... 255fb28eb9" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The split charge needs to be wired with single core cable really; certainly flexible and preferably sheathed but you might have problems getting hold of a sheathed version. What size rather depends on what rating you want your split charge circuit to be. I wouldn't go lower than 30 amps meself which would be 4.0mm – depends how flat you run the leisure battery down when you're camped up. The flatter the battery, the more amps it'll draw from the alternator once you start the engine; too flat and it'll rupture a 30 amp fuse. Up to you really...............

There needs to be a thanks button in this forum. all useful info, ta.