# plug sockets not working



## david-david (Feb 24, 2013)

Took the van out for the first time over the weekend the European style plug sockets dont appear to work. I plugged in UK adaptors and tried to charge my phone but nothing happened. 

There is a UK plug socket in the kitchen fed from an invertor which worked fine.

Do the on board sockets only work if I'm on hook up or should they work when I'm off power using leisure batteries and solar panel?

This on a 2001 Hobby 750 (Left hand drive)


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## bigcats30 (Aug 13, 2012)

your normal plug sockets only work when hooked up 

unless (as you noted) connected to an inverter.


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## david-david (Feb 24, 2013)

Thanks for the fast reply. Why dont they work when not on hook up? I was convinced I'd blown a fuse or something!


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## bigcats30 (Aug 13, 2012)

Easiest way to see why they don't! 

Plug in a 2kw heater into your inverter socket (switch it on) and watch your battery die in a few minutes.

thats why.


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## fatbuddha (Aug 7, 2006)

as bigcat30 says, a battery doesn't have sufficient power to provide a good supply for power hungry 13A (or even 5A) appliances - that's what hook up is for. the 12v battery supply is to keep the basics like lighting and water pumps online (and designed for 12v supply) and why heating comes from gas or diesel in preference to electricity


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## david-david (Feb 24, 2013)

Its all very new (and exciting!) Thinking about how you use water for cooking/washing/toilets and gas for heating/cooling and being very aware that you only have a finite amount of these resources on board. The electricity is a little harder to deal with as we live in an age where we have so many gadgets that need power or charging. We have three mobile phones, iPod, iPad, portable speakers, and laptop. We didn't have hook up this weekend and took it in turns to charge things from the invertor socket which seemed to work OK (we didnt run out of power).

I took for granted what we do at home we could do in a MH where sockets were concerned. But what you say makes wense about plugging in a heater!


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## Techno100 (May 8, 2010)

At home your sockets are wired back to the fuse board that is fed by your electricity company via a meter.


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## bigcats30 (Aug 13, 2012)

david-david said:


> Its all very new (and exciting!) Thinking about how you use water for cooking/washing/toilets and gas for heating/cooling and being very aware that you only have a finite amount of these resources on board. The electricity is a little harder to deal with as we live in an age where we have so many gadgets that need power or charging. We have three mobile phones, iPod, iPad, portable speakers, and laptop. We didn't have hook up this weekend and took it in turns to charge things from the invertor socket which seemed to work OK (we didnt run out of power).
> 
> I took for granted what we do at home we could do in a MH where sockets were concerned. But what you say makes wense about plugging in a heater!


every single one of those gadgets you have can be charged/powered from either a USB socket and a 12v cigarette type socket.

I fitted a USB socket one in place of one of the three 12v cigarette types ones that was in my MH.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CBE-USB-S...ervan_Caravan_Accessories&hash=item2a3230e4ac

it's two wires...easy to fit and means one less adapter you have to carry


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## fatbuddha (Aug 7, 2006)

> I fitted a USB socket one in place of one of the three 12v cigarette types ones that was in my MH.
> 
> http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CBE-USB-S...ervan_Caravan_Accessories&hash=item2a3230e4ac
> 
> it's two wires...easy to fit and means one less adapter you have to carry


why go to the trouble of that when you can get an inexpensive DUAL USB charger that fits a 12v socket?? or a 3 socket 12v adapter from Lidl - slap that in the 12v and you have 2 extra sockets to use. I think replacing a 12v socket with a dedicated USB socket is giving less flexibility. but that's imho.


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## bigcats30 (Aug 13, 2012)

fatbuddha said:


> > I fitted a USB socket one in place of one of the three 12v cigarette types ones that was in my MH.
> >
> > http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CBE-USB-S...ervan_Caravan_Accessories&hash=item2a3230e4ac
> >
> > it's two wires...easy to fit and means one less adapter you have to carry


why go to the trouble of that when you can get an inexpensive DUAL USB charger that fits a 12v socket?? or a 3 socket 12v adapter from Lidl - slap that in the 12v and you have 2 extra sockets to use. I think replacing a 12v socket with a dedicated USB socket is giving less flexibility. but that's imho.[/quote]

No I see where you are coming from...but the amount of those stupid little adapters I have lost or stood on or just forgot....I decided to fit just one so that we can charge the phone without an adapter...just in case.


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## fatbuddha (Aug 7, 2006)

> No I see where you are coming from...but the amount of those stupid little adapters I have lost or stood on or just forgot....I decided to fit just one so that we can charge the phone without an adapter...just in case.


fair enuff - just seems a bit of overkill if you ask me. adapters are cheap and easy to carry around

what pees me off with the 12v in my m/h is that neither the dash 12v socket or the cigarette lighter one next to it work when the engine is off - even if hooked up. that means 2 redundant sockets when parked up and why I bought the 3 socket adapter from Lidl to add back the 2 lost


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## bigcats30 (Aug 13, 2012)

fatbuddha said:


> > No I see where you are coming from...but the amount of those stupid little adapters I have lost or stood on or just forgot....I decided to fit just one so that we can charge the phone without an adapter...just in case.
> 
> 
> fair enuff - just seems a bit of overkill if you ask me. adapters are cheap and easy to carry around
> ...


same in my van...one of the daftest things really

All we ever plug in is a phone and a laptop and maybe a kindle if we forgot to charge before we left.

I only have a small van so whilst I appreciate easy to carry etc I don't have half the room that some of you guys do (and every little things weighs something) so I try and tale only what we need....like wine!


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## fatbuddha (Aug 7, 2006)

good priority there - wine 1st, anything else 2nd... :lol: 

keeping little things is about organisation - we use a little cubby hold in the dash for adapters, charger cables etc so if it ain't in there we're stuffed!


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