Reverse Polarity

[pgsup]

The above is not a new topic but travelling to france in march and would like to know if there are connecting up issues there.Tried to access info in downloads but was unable to , not yet a Vip member.
Drive a natural grey Cali SE auto 190 break horse, alloys privacy glass bike rack, roof rack, old surfing fanatic.Been doing stand up surfing 6 years now ride a 9'Infinity sup flying machine.
Also anyone know of any good sup breaks in france, apart from obvious ones.
Thanks
pgsup

 

[AlternativeKim]

Yes, quite a few sites are on reverse polarity still in France, the document in the download section is very useful

 

[jts46]

The above is not a new topic but travelling to france in march and would like to know if there are connecting up issues there.Tried to access info in downloads but was unable to , not yet a Vip member.
Drive a natural grey Cali SE auto 190 break horse, alloys privacy glass bike rack, roof rack, old surfing fanatic.Been doing stand up surfing 6 years now ride a 9'Infinity sup flying machine.
Also anyone know of any good sup breaks in france, apart from obvious ones.
Thanks
pgsup

Do what i did and make up a cable with reverse polarity, then no problems

John

 

[pgsup]

Thanks for advice on above, travelling soon to North West Italy then south of france.Not quite sure about how to make a cable that overcomes this problem.Can one simply ask at the campsite if this is the case and if so go somewhere else.
Any futher advice would be grately appreciated.
pg sup

 

[sidepod]

Reverse polarity makes no difference at all.

Just plug it in as normal.

S

 

[calikev]

What you need to do is get a spare euro hook up lead and dismantle it and change the live & neutral
Wire over then make sure you mark it with a label so you don't get confused. Once you get too the site Hook up as normal and use a polarity tester available in the shop.plug it in and it will tell you if live & neutral are reversed if they are use your lead you made up if they are not reversed just use a standard euro lead. I hope this helps. http://vwcaliforniaclub.com/polarity_tester.php

 

[pgsup]

Thanks for info, regarding the polarity tester, after hooking up, you plug this in in the van to check polarity, if reverse polarity unhook and use the other cable.Is this correct, sorry if I appear to be a little stupid, not good with electricity probs.
Thanks
pgsup

 

[Martin]

We have a very handy guide on reverse polarity in the Download section

 

[calikev]

Thanks for info, regarding the polarity tester, after hooking up, you plug this in in the van to check polarity, if reverse polarity unhook and use the other cable.Is this correct, sorry if I appear to be a little stupid, not good with electricity probs.
Thanks
pgsup

Yes that's correct

 

[sidepod]

So why does reversion the polarity affect things?

 

[calikev]

This was lifted from another camper forum but explains it pretty well
From a French point of view there is nothing wrong with reverse polarity. The reason for this is that they switch on both poles, ie live and neutral so it makes no difference which way round something is wired. In the UK we generally only switch on the live side so if the polarity is reversed and an appliance you had previously thought of as 'off' is infact still live/on. The real problem is that if a fault develops you could have a serious difficulty. That is the bones of it although I have seen many more technical reasons expounded. Given that its a relatively easy thing to overcome the advice is always to be on the safe side.

 

[sidepod]

Hmmm, well any faults will be cleared by the on board RCD which is double pole.

Given that the vehicle is manufactured outside the UK how do you know the vehicle is wired correctly for the UK?

Does the VW manual suggest polarity reversal when abroad/UK?

S.

 

[briwy]

In theory it shouldn't matter as most electrical goods are now double insulated and don't have an earth. However, Kev is correct in what he says and it's better to be safe than sorry.
French wiring is a nightmare and I've heard some nightmare tales about foreign hookups. From experience the French don't seem to bother about colour coding, just use whatever is to hand so it's virtually impossible to tell what's what. Unlike here most of their domestic sockets don't have an earth, only ones in kitchens and bathrooms.
We have an inline RCD near the input plug on our hookup cables which gives a bit more protection from dodgy campsite power points.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004 ... V8MQA74F09

 

[sidepod]

So now you have two RCD's in series (you have one in the Cali already) Anybody's guess which trips first as they're both 30mA.? You only need one.

You better hope the French hook-up has a earth or your trip switch(s) are useless.

Still no answer to my question - What does the VW manual say.

Are French spec Cali's wired differently then? I doubt it.

S.

 

[briwy]

No the extra rcd protects the cable as well. If there is a problem with the cable such as getting run over or just wear due to use then the rcd in the van wouldnt help and personally I dont rely on the hookup breaker to work
Why would a French cali need to be wired differently?

 

[sidepod]

Why would a French cali need to be wired differently?

Because the point of the post is questioning reversed polarity when using French hook-ups.

My point is, is the Cali wired for European polarity or UK polarity? Adding a polarity reverser when in France may be creating an issue rather than solving one. The problem may exist in Blighty.

S.

 

[pgsup]

Thank you all for your input, but I am now really confused as to what I should do.Remain wild for my time in france, or ?.Any simple advice that I can understand would be appreciated.
Thank you all very much for your input anyway
pgsup

 

[BerndRos]

I have hooked up to electricity ALL over Europe and never had a problem........

 

[briwy]

Why would a French cali need to be wired differently?

Because the point of the post is questioning reversed polarity when using French hook-ups.

My point is, is the Cali wired for European polarity or UK polarity? Adding a polarity reverser when in France may be creating an issue rather than solving one. The problem may exist in Blighty.

S.

I think the answer is that France is not wired with the opposite polarity to the UK. There is standardisation on power supplies throughout Europe.
The problem may occur when the socket has been wired the wrong way round. This could happen here in the UK but it appears to be more common abroad.
I suppose that really the best way of using the polarity checker is to have a plug on a short length of cable with a UK socket on it that will take the checker. Doing it that way would mean that the polarity is checked before the van is connected rather than using the checker in the UK socket in the van. If in doubt check I guess.
I agree that is important that there is a good earth connection as I think the body of the van is connected to the earth terminal on the mains socket. When we had the Bongo there were two mains sockets so we left the checker plugged in all the time and could see immediately on connecting if there was problem. Got lazy with the Cali with only one socket, too anxious to get the kettle on.

 

[sidepod]

It really makes no difference.

All French circuit breakers and RCDs are double pole for the very
reason they ignore polarity.
Under fault conditions both L and N will disconnect.

S.

 

[Hubert]

I'm with sidepod on this issue.
I've researched on the internet and when two fully qualified electricians can't agree what hope is there for the rest of us.
The Caravan Club advise checking but the safety issue relates to carrying out work on the electrical system while connected.
I've holidayed in Germany and France on extended holidays for the last 5 years and have not had any problems whatsoever. I have never checked the polarity and wouldn't carry out work on the electrical system anyway.

Hubert

 

[pgsup]

Thank you all for your comments and input,I have ordered a polarity checker.so I can at least check when connected.If a reverse polarity is detected ,will remain unconnected and or move sites.Spend a large amount of time in Germany ,but will soon find out if North West Italy and South of France is OK.
I am surprised that VW do not advise on this Issue.
Once again
Thank you all very much
pgsup

 

[mister_blobs]

If you are taking a polarity checker then make up a cable that swaps the polarity - very easy to do just swap the live/neutral. Maybe these could be added to the accessory store??
We always take short cables that will reverse the polarity when going to France.

Our problem with reverse polarity is partly because the UK is alot more careful than continental Europe - just compare our plugs with theirs. The reality is that reverse polarity shouldn't be a problem if everything works OK but things do go wrong.

I can't see a situation where I'd be fiddling with the electrcis in our van, but we have a mentality in the UK that neutral is "safe" so I can imagine something happening and me saying "oh yes that's an easy job I'll just do it now...". If the polarity of supply is reversed then neutral is not safe and you end up with a bit of a shock (pun intended)

Having worked on electrical supplies I always play it safe. Certainly I'd never rely on a third party RCD for my safety (I've no idea whe it was last tested or what spec it was or how it has been looked after).

 

[Freeley]

I don't think that you can buy a reversed polarity lead due to h&s reasons but I could be wrong.
As previously mentioned in this thread it's dead easy to do, I bought a 10m lead and swapped the live and neutral around on one end only.
When I'm on site I plug the van in, check the polarity with the tester and use the lead if needed.
It might not be necessary but for an added level of safety I feel happier doing it. I love my better half to bits and do what I can to ensure her safety, who else is going to make my breakfast in the mornings?

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

 

[calikev]

You are right it is illegal to make up leads for sale without them being tested by a qualified person
But you can do it yourself without problems