12v and 240v wires should or shouldn't be run touc together?

[Deleted]

When wiring a caravan is there a rule on how far you run your wires from 12vt away from 240vt .. Me and my husband is discussing at the moment I said it should be ok my husband said no it's not ok Can anyone help... 😁

[pisces51]

G'day nickelburn,
I'm not aware of any caravan regulations relating to how far or close you can have the 12v and 240v wires running together.
In most caravans from the 1970s, you'll see light switches next to the light fittings, with both the 12v and 240v switches being pretty close together. That means the wiring in the roof cavity must be running fairly close together near those switches. If it's ok to have the wiring so close at the switches, why would it not be ok to have the wiring running close elsewhere, is my logic.

For my money, it's probably more important that you have the correct colour coding for the 12v wiring, rather than worrying about proximity to the 240v wiring. For the latest standards (as far as I know), the correct colour coding for 12v wiring is a blue wire for the active (positive) terminals, and a white wire for the negative terminals. You will probably not find those colours in the original wiring in 1970s vans, as they sometimes used a 'figure-8' lamp cable where both wires were white plastic coated, or sometimes they used a white wire for the active terminals, and a black wire for the negative terminals. And I give that information only if you are intending to replace the existing wiring with new stuff. If you are leaving the existing wiring in position, you don't need to worry about the colours if everything is working fine as it is.

cheers,
Al.

[captivenut]

12Vdc is classified as ELV (extra low voltage) and 240Vac is LV (low voltage). There is a legal standard for domestic/residential installations (AS/NZS 3000 Wiring Rules) that states a mandatory separation of 50mm between the two, or they can be run side by side if each/either is housed in conduit or they are separated by a suitable barrier (other than air). However caravans may be different? Caravans are plug in appliances connected by 3 pin cords. They are also mobile homes or in some cases may even be static residences. My manuals are long gone so I can't look up the relevant specs and unfortunately they're not viewable online. To get the most current and correct answer one has to purchase copies of AS/NZS 3000 Wiring Rules or borrow them from a friendly sparky.
Cheers, and stay safe, Arthur

[Deleted]

Thank you so much Arther my husband is pretty impressed we want to make sure we do everything right cheers Nicky

[Warrenk]

Jan 18, 2017 21:16:05 GMT 10 @nickelburn said:

Thank you so much Arther my husband is pretty impressed we want to make sure we do everything right cheers Nicky

If you are installing 12v cableing around power points and/or light switches where the 240v wiring is only single insulated there needs to a fixed and continuous  barrier to seperate the 240v cable from the 12v cabling.   If the caravan is being rewired completley, run all your 12v cables before your electrical contractor installs the 240 wiring.  Let him worry about seperation of the different voltage cables.

Warren