#Narva to the rescue. In Broken Hill driving Narva’s Ranger filming an episode of What’s Up Downunder we met a caravaner who had his trailer plug pulled out of the vehicle and subsequently dragged along the road. No lights and no Electric Brakes.
With the gear we had on board and a quick trip into 7 Day Spares in Broken Hill for a few more pieces of Narva Products we got down to carrying out a repair.
The most visited page on the Narva website is their Trailer Pin and Socket Wiring Diagrams. Narva Trailer Connector Diagrams Handy for a link. All Narva Trailer Plugs and Sockets include a diagram on the back. Additionally, inside the products have pin numbers and a description on them. We keep a copy of the wiring diagram inside our tool kit for reference.
Below are the steps we took to complete the repair. Make sure to disconnect the caravan battery if equipped to avoid sparks and damage. Make sure you test the lights and any other circuits such as brakes or other items connected by the plugs such as cameras etc. An Auto Electrician or Caravan Repairer can check the work if you require after you are mobile again.
- We grabbed out our Camp Table and Chair to set up a work bench over the drawbar. A lot easier than on the ground.
- Disconnect the Caravan Battery if equipped
- Lay out all the tools and products required on the Table
- Remove heat shrink, tape or cable covers to get back to undamaged wiring.
- If long enough to reach the vehicle with sufficient slack to allow turning you can remove the damaged wiring. It was in this case. If not you will have to extend and join the wiring. We will cover this in another Blog article.
- Cut the wiring back to before the damaged area.
- This plug was damaged, but the same applies if just the wiring was damaged. Remove the cover of the old plug to check on wire connections. Sometimes the Van has been wired different to the diagrams for battery feed or accessories
- Make sure to slide on the protective boot for the trailer plug prior to connecting wires
- Connecte the heavier battery feed wires to the bottom row of the 12 pin plug first.
- There is a bridging piece to lock the wires in place. Fit this then the lower cover.
- Now for the light and brake connectors. We trim these to length then strip the insulated cover from each wire one at a time. This ensures a neater fit.
- We kept the damaged plug on hand as reference. Plus the wiring diagram from the back of the pack.
- Once all 6 wires in this case were connected, fit the bridge piece and outer cover.
- We kept these lengths of wires and hardware for spare in our electrical tool box.
- The vans Anderson plug was also damaged so we repaired that also. The Narva Crimpers have a non insulated crimp area to use on these.
- We fitted Heat Shrink to the Wiring with the Narva Micro-Therm Tool
- Some Electrical Tape and we were ready to test after reconnecting the vans battery.
- Tested, all worked including the trailer brakes. As always
Narva Tools Used
56508 Crimping Tool
56392 Flameless Heat Gun
Narva Parts Used
82171 12 Pin Trailer Plug
57200 50 Amp Connector
56600 Heat Shrink Assortment
56602 Heat Shrink Assortment
56805BK Insulation Tape Black
http://www.narva.com.au/products/browse/wiring-diagrams
Written by Jason Lock
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