Reverse Polarity (2 Viewers)

Apr 29, 2009
2,316
1,989
West Yorkshire...Halifax
Funster No
6,510
MH
Vanless....BUT....!!!!
Exp
Since 2007
Speaking to a friend the other day about this years trip to France in the summer ,we met up with family and spent a few days at Val De Vien about 45KMs south East ish of Poitiers at the motor sport track all free hook ups and showers and water etc then over to the Vendee/Il de Re
He mentioned that in France this year he had reverse polarity a lot..personally we only got this once on a site at St Jean de Monts ...now correct me if I'm wrong but ....he said if you rewire the continental two pin adaptor..ie swap the brown and the blue over this will cure it..is he right cos electrics scare me and I don't want to fry anything especially meself any answers
 

pappajohn

LIFE MEMBER
Aug 26, 2007
43,203
48,797
Dark side of the moon
Funster No
172
Exp
Since 2005
yes mondo, that is correct.

but its easier to have someone make up a 'reversed' lead or buy a short lead and reverse the brown and blue wires in either the plug or socket...not both.

reverse polarity is harmless in everyday use but start sticking your fingers into appliances when they are turned off and they will bite.

the reason the europeans dont care is they use double pole switchs on lights and sockets so turn off both live and neutral.

we dont....we only switch live on/off so if the wires are reversed you will be switching off the neutral, not the live.
then you touch any wire that would normally be off and it wont be..its on.

make sense ?
 

pwilmo

LIFE MEMBER
Oct 17, 2009
327
518
Kings Lynn, Norfolk
Funster No
8,936
MH
Auto Roller 747
Exp
Since 2005
Sometimes simple is overlooked

Hi there
We had reverse polarity in France quite alot,

SIMPLE SOLUTION:....
Plug in your 2pin plug upside down HEY PRESTO. It works fine! at no cost! easy peasy!

But do remember the sensible advice from the previous post **reverse polarity is harmless in everyday use but start sticking your fingers into appliances when they are turned off and they will bite**

All the best
Paul

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Last edited:
Aug 1, 2007
1,288
275
Billingham
Funster No
48
MH
Coachbuilt
Exp
since 2003
Speaking to a friend the other day about this years trip to France in the summer ,we met up with family and spent a few days at Val De Vien about 45KMs south East ish of Poitiers at the motor sport track all free hook ups and showers and water etc then over to the Vendee/Il de Re
He mentioned that in France this year he had reverse polarity a lot..personally we only got this once on a site at St Jean de Monts ...now correct me if I'm wrong but ....he said if you rewire the continental two pin adaptor..ie swap the brown and the blue over this will cure it..is he right cos electrics scare me and I don't want to fry anything especially meself any answers

If you are concerned you can just turn the two pin plug round the other way, personally it makes little difference.
 
OP
OP
mondo
Apr 29, 2009
2,316
1,989
West Yorkshire...Halifax
Funster No
6,510
MH
Vanless....BUT....!!!!
Exp
Since 2007
Hi there
We had reverse polarity in France quite alot,

SIMPLE SOLUTION:....​

Plug in your 2pin plug upside down HEY PRESTO. It works fine! at no cost! easy peasy!

But do remember the sensible advice from the previous post **reverse polarity is harmless in everyday use but start sticking your fingers into appliances when they are turned off and they will bite**

All the best
Paul

Tried the upside down gig no joy mate well we could'nt flip it due to how the EHU post was made but I have now swapped the Brown and Blue wires on me spare continental adaptor and marked it in RED Reverse Polarity Lead!! thanks Pappajohn:thumb:
 

schojac

Free Member
Apr 25, 2009
339
234
Cambridgeshire
Funster No
6,433
MH
C Class
Exp
new in 2009
I too came across reversed polarity a lot in France. Some people seem to be lucky and rarely encounter it.

First time I had the 12v electrics switched on and the reverse polarity messed up my control panel. Fortunately it was a simple case of stripping and disconecting the power to the PCB in the unit. Lesson learned; made up my own rerverse connector by simply crossing the live and nuetral wires over. I have red tape around it so that it stands out.

Good idea to plug two pin in upside down but not all sites are two pin variety, hence the need for the reverse polarity connector.
So, my electrics consist of:

UK mains converter
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]Continental mains converter lead
Reverse polarity lead
25 Metre hook up cable
10 Metre hook up cable
multimeter, electricians screwdriver, electricians tape etc.......

I have found that this gets me out of most situations.​

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Aug 1, 2007
1,288
275
Billingham
Funster No
48
MH
Coachbuilt
Exp
since 2003
I have come to the conclusion that it doesn't matter how many times people say it doesn't matter about reverse polarity (it has never affected me or anyone I have met), people will still buy unnecessary equipment to rectify it.
 

schojac

Free Member
Apr 25, 2009
339
234
Cambridgeshire
Funster No
6,433
MH
C Class
Exp
new in 2009
Were lives and safety are concerned I will always buy what is necessary - I like to know which is live and dangerous.
 

pappajohn

LIFE MEMBER
Aug 26, 2007
43,203
48,797
Dark side of the moon
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172
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Since 2005
Tried the upside down gig no joy mate well we could'nt flip it due to how the EHU post was made but I have now swapped the Brown and Blue wires on me spare continental adaptor and marked it in RED Reverse Polarity Lead!! thanks Pappajohn:thumb:

worth doing the same with a normal blue plug/socket.
a lot of euro sites now use the same as we do in the uk:Doh:

wonder how long it will be before they have the caravan club type.....plug and twist.:winky:
 

schojac

Free Member
Apr 25, 2009
339
234
Cambridgeshire
Funster No
6,433
MH
C Class
Exp
new in 2009
and how do you know you have reverse polarity?

I was hoping no one would ask that!

I have a light on the distribution unit which I failed to check before switching on the 12 volt supply.

As previously quoted "lesson learned"
 

cpease

Free Member
Mar 16, 2008
230
43
Morley,Leeds up North
Funster No
1,824
MH
Ford Transit stealth van
Exp
since June 2006
In my experience of French Campsites, I have been checking reverse polarity for the last 25 yrs ever since plugging in my portable fridge & two hours later being told by a fellow english camper that my fridge was running in reverse.I reversed the wires & 2 hrs later my beer was cold. Since then I always check before I plug in. In fact a favorite site on mine Berny Rivere North of Paris ,has a pillar with 6 outlets ( 3 correctly/ 3 wrongley) wired outlets!!

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Last edited:

hilldweller

LIFE MEMBER
Dec 5, 2008
605
36,108
Macclesfield
Funster No
5,089
MH
Zilch Mk1
Exp
From Aug 2007
First time I had the 12v electrics switched on and the reverse polarity messed up my control panel.

That doesn't make any sense to me. Just because LN is reversed all appliances see 230V AC just the same.

A dangerous condition would make a difference and that is if something was wired L-E and even then it would just be powered down.
 

schojac

Free Member
Apr 25, 2009
339
234
Cambridgeshire
Funster No
6,433
MH
C Class
Exp
new in 2009
Hi Brian,

I assure you it messed up big time; no 12 volt or mains electrics at all. No water, lighting, fridge - thought we were going to have to come back home early and only two days into the holiday. Fortunately Autotrail's manual was pretty accurate in their fault finding section. i.e. strip down and disconnect power for at least 20 secs. Reassembled and it had reinitialised.

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Nojazz

Free Member
Sep 27, 2009
27
0
Funster No
8,636
reversed polarity

We have a little gadget that tests for polarity before we hook up, then use the correct connector which we made. Seems to make sense if you've invested a lot of money in your van to try and keep safe and save problems.

Nojazz
 

Scout

LIFE MEMBER
Apr 4, 2009
3,955
119,796
South Yorkshire
Funster No
6,145
MH
chic c line
Exp
12 years motorhoming, a lifetime of living
Hi Brian,

I assure you it messed up big time; no 12 volt or mains electrics at all. No water, lighting, fridge - thought we were going to have to come back home early and only two days into the holiday. Fortunately Autotrail's manual was pretty accurate in their fault finding section. i.e. strip down and disconnect power for at least 20 secs. Reassembled and it had reinitialised.


I had a simular thing happer to my autotrail when it came back from a vehical service the mechancis had turned on some inside lights and left them on and the lesure batterys went flat, then next day disconected the vehicale battery to clean and retighten the lugs, the display went all odd just displayed lines. The fix is take it off disconect the power wait then refit. so presumibly a reverse power signale can do the same, as also a power spike?
 

ian81

Free Member
May 27, 2008
23
0
Funster No
2,866
These 'polarity' posts always bring a wry smile to me!! Having a French motorhome and being based there I have yet to see a single Frenchman worrying about polarity or worst still being taken away in a body bag because of electrocution.

Whats more having observed a Brit arrive at an aire and spend half hour connecting up to an electric point (not 16a type) with his varous leads only to see him wander off then watch as a trio of French vans arrived. They proceeeded to unplug him and connect all three with an assortment of cables and reconnected the Brit in this arrangement all in a couple of minutes. So much for reverse polarity!!

In this as in many other areas of life one sees the 'laissez faire' attitude of the French compared to the regulated health and safety obsessed attitudes displayed by their neighbours. And France with many more motorhomes does not appear to have an issue of 'fried camping caristes'! The same seems to apply also to Germans.

Dont get me wrong electrical safety is important. Use modern appliance ensure leads are in good condition and dont try and run too many appliances. In the event of a problem turn off and disconnect any potentially faulty appliance and do not try an repair unless you are competent and know what you are doing.

I worry that with all these extra leads to deal with polarity (often many self wired) and limited knowledge that many motorhomers are putting themselves in greater peril that that illusory peril of reverse polarity.

It is a shame that UK motorhomes manufacturers and companies supplying them dont recognise the realities of life on the continent and wire their vans accordingly.

Off to the bunker now to watch the flack fly!!

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peter marshall

Free Member
Mar 5, 2009
2,466
1,704
Cleveleys,Lancashire
Funster No
5,822
MH
Low Line
Exp
9 Years
reversed polarity

Hi Mondo
I have two 2 pin leads one reversed and marked I also have a polarity tester for her indoors to check when I plug in, I have also come across a uk type blue 3 pin with reversed polarity in France so yes I have a 3 pin reversed connector as well so as not to be caught out with the different types you find when touring, I find this the easiest way to sort things out. Safety first at all times. Pete:thumb:
 
Apr 27, 2009
435
218
Departed Cabopino in Oct 17
Funster No
6,478
MH
Dakota
Exp
Fulltiming from 2010- 2017
Is there such a thing as a commercially produced european adaptor that will deal with reverse polarity or is it necessary to make a home made alteration to a normal adaptor??:shout:

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hilldweller

LIFE MEMBER
Dec 5, 2008
605
36,108
Macclesfield
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5,089
MH
Zilch Mk1
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From Aug 2007
Hi Brian,
I assure you it messed up big time; no 12 volt or mains electrics at all. No water, lighting, fridge - thought we were going to have to come back home early and only two days into the holiday. Fortunately Autotrail's manual was pretty accurate in their fault finding section. i.e. strip down and disconnect power for at least 20 secs. Reassembled and it had reinitialised.

Oh I believe you but it still makes no sense. Any control system that is known will at some time have to cope with a "fault" should do it without resorting to "strip down". All you are doing is stressing connectors and cables unnecessarily, poor design in my opinion, it looks like they did not bother to fit a reset button.
 

Heyupluv

Free Member
Oct 7, 2008
3,862
1,593
France,
Funster No
4,322
MH
A Class
Exp
touring many years..42+
Speaking to a friend the other day about this years trip to France in the summer ,we met up with family and spent a few days at Val De Vien about 45KMs south East ish of Poitiers at the motor sport track all free hook ups and showers and water etc then over to the Vendee/Il de Re
He mentioned that in France this year he had reverse polarity a lot..personally we only got this once on a site at St Jean de Monts ...now correct me if I'm wrong but ....he said if you rewire the continental two pin adaptor..ie swap the brown and the blue over this will cure it..is he right cos electrics scare me and I don't want to fry anything especially meself any answers

Yes he is correct
I have just come back from the south of france Atlantic side (we have had 4 weeks away ) I can say 50/50 was wrong polarity (even some on the same borne some was correct and some was wrong polarity)
I always use a tester before connecting to the motorhome.....for wrong polarity ..and to make sure there is a earth connection....if wrong polarity,.. then I just use my small reversed set up of a plug and socket to correct back to normal saves changing wires......like many other motorhomer use

Job Done.....Mel

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Last edited:

lebesset

Free Member
May 31, 2009
760
2
Funster No
6,945
if people are worried about this , why not just fit a trip on the input to their vehicle which takes both live and neutral so it doesn't matter which is which , both are tripped anyway
 

schojac

Free Member
Apr 25, 2009
339
234
Cambridgeshire
Funster No
6,433
MH
C Class
Exp
new in 2009
That's it! I'm going back to gas...now where are those mantles? :ROFLMAO:

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