The porridge was cooked but the caravan’s electrics had gone off. A quick trip outside with a torch was needed to reset the breaker. But it was alright – it didn’t need resetting. A check on the sockets in the bollard showed they were live so it wasn’t a power cut. Back in the awning I disconnected the mains lead and plugged it temporarily into an emergency extension lead. That got the kettle boiled and with the fridge turned to gas, I had breakfast and pondered what to do next.

When it was light I looked under the seats to check around the charger and the fuse module but everything seemed OK. The breaker switch on the Zig unit was off and it wanted to stay that way. With the holding screws out I pulled the Zig unit forward and there, at the back of the box, I found the burnt mains connector. It seemed the neutral pins had been arcing and had melted the plug.

The plug and socket had RS stock numbers moulded into them but RS Components website showed no such numbers. Not surprising at 18 years old. To get the electrics temporarily working I cobbled together a connection using a UK three-pin plug into an extension socket wired into the RCD and the incoming supply. With the Zig unit back in place and the mains lead reconnected, electricity in the van was temporarily restored.

Looking on the internet it seemed the best thing to replace the burnt connectors with would be an IEC plug and socket. There were several suppliers on eBay who would deliver to Spain but all the plugs had a maximum capacity of 10amps. The caravan needed 15amps. I found them on the RS Components website.

The new socket was much bigger than the original so a larger hole needed to be cut. Not an easy job with the limited equipment in the car’s toolbox but fortunately I had some drill bits and a couple of files with me.

With the socket screwed in, new wires connected to the RCD, and the matching plug attached to the incoming supply, it was all reassembled and refitted in the overhead locker.