Mains EHU cable plug.

[Nick&Sara]

Hi all
Not sure if this is of interest, but I have changed the plugs on my EHU cables to these types. The plugs I used are the same make and type that are supplied by VW and fit the socket on the California nicely. I found that with all of the made up cables that I purchased they came with plugs that did fit, but were really tight on the VW socket fitting. These PCE made versions fit much better in the socket and plug and unplug really easily without nearly pulling the side of the van off. The other nice thing is that it is fitted with a little tab which makes it easier to unlatch the plug, this again is a feature of the original one that came with the European EHU Lead from VW, you can see it in the picture and makes it easier to insert the plug by lifting the safety flap up. The little blue lever next to the socket on the van that is used to lift the safety flap when unplugging can also be used with this plug, I found that the aftermarket plugs did not allow this lever to be used. I had various orange leads including the one from the club shop which had the tighter and cheaper plug fitted, I also found that I had to push my finger next to the plug to lift the blue flap to disengage the flap Lock when removing the plug from the van, now it is nice and easy and just how VW intended it to be. Easy to fit to your lead, and uses spring loaded connections for the leads. The plugs are IP44 rated and the same as the VW ones, so must be okay and fit for purpose. I would also recommend fitting boot lace crimp ends to your bare lead ends if your lead does not already have them crimped on, some of the cheaper leads just have stripped and twisted ends of the conductor inserted into the plug. These crimps can be purchased from most electrical outlets or online.


I hope someone finds the thread useful?

Nick.

 

[MattC]

Thanks very much for this info.

We don't tend to go on hookup all that often (we've got twin leisure batteries and a solar panel, plus we rarely stay more than a couple of nights in one place). But skinned fingers from disconnecting the extremely tight plug connection has been my single biggest bugbear in the 2 years I've had my van.

So following your post I just bought a couple of these sockets. I've changed the one on the 10m cable I use at home and tested it - it works absolutely fine and is far easier to remove than the old one. Now I just need to swap the second one onto the 25m cable that lives in the van for trips.

Thanks again, you've removed the sense of dread that always accompanied that task!

(PS. I bought mine from here because they had a better postage charge for small orders
https://www.designacable.com/catalo...p-240v-blue-ceeform-cable-mount-socket-213-6/ )

 

[Nick&Sara]

Thanks very much for this info.

We don't tend to go on hookup all that often (we've got twin leisure batteries and a solar panel, plus we rarely stay more than a couple of nights in one place). But skinned fingers from disconnecting the extremely tight plug connection has been my single biggest bugbear in the 2 years I've had my van.

So following your post I just bought a couple of these sockets. I've changed the one on the 10m cable I use at home and tested it - it works absolutely fine and is far easier to remove than the old one. Now I just need to swap the second one onto the 25m cable that lives in the van for trips.

Thanks again, you've removed the sense of dread that always accompanied that task!

(PS. I bought mine from here because they had a better postage charge for small orders
https://www.designacable.com/catalo...p-240v-blue-ceeform-cable-mount-socket-213-6/ )

Thanks very much for this info.

We don't tend to go on hookup all that often (we've got twin leisure batteries and a solar panel, plus we rarely stay more than a couple of nights in one place). But skinned fingers from disconnecting the extremely tight plug connection has been my single biggest bugbear in the 2 years I've had my van.

So following your post I just bought a couple of these sockets. I've changed the one on the 10m cable I use at home and tested it - it works absolutely fine and is far easier to remove than the old one. Now I just need to swap the second one onto the 25m cable that lives in the van for trips.

Thanks again, you've removed the sense of dread that always accompanied that task!

(PS. I bought mine from here because they had a better postage charge for small orders
https://www.designacable.com/catalo...p-240v-blue-ceeform-cable-mount-socket-213-6/ )

Hi Matt, glad you found it useful and that your dread has been resolved. Nick.