Wiring a towbar socket

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Discussion

Tunku

Original Poster:

7,703 posts

235 months

Wednesday 1st April 2009
quotequote all
If I was wiring a towbar socket, would I need wires going to both indicators and both tail lights? ie. pick up the wiring from both sides of the car. This is pre canbus etc. on a Mongdeo MK2 with real wiring.
Ta for any hints.
I'm waiting here with a length of wires and scotch loks. (I know...)

eldudereno

997 posts

234 months

Wednesday 1st April 2009
quotequote all
Indicators have got to be separate, lights just need one wire as long as you're not overloading the wires.

Many systems will kill the rear fog lights when you hook up a trailor as you don't want them reflecting on a nice shiny caravan and giving people the impression that it's the rear.

Edited by eldudereno on Wednesday 1st April 21:55

Scuffers

20,887 posts

281 months

Wednesday 1st April 2009
quotequote all
eldudereno said:
Indicators have got to be separate, lights just need one wire as long as you're not overloading the wires.

Many systems will kill the rear fog lights when you hook up a trailor as you don't want them reflecting on a nice shiny caravan and giving people the impression that it's the rear.
if your doing it properly, then treat the LH and RH rear lights separately.

Fog light cut is useful, but you need a socket with a switch in it to do this, and 8 core cable.

Nolar Dog

8,786 posts

202 months

Wednesday 1st April 2009
quotequote all
Indicators are:

Black/Green and Black/White wink

Don't use Scotchloks if you can avoid it.

maser_spyder

6,356 posts

189 months

Thursday 2nd April 2009
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Nolar Dog said:
Indicators are:

Black/Green and Black/White wink

Don't use Scotchloks if you can avoid it.
#


+1 - solder joints much better....


Get the wire in the car you're joining to and slice off a small length of the insulation, like so;

car ============------=============

then strip the end of the insulation off the new towbar wiring;

towbar ==========--------------

Twist towbar wiring around car wiring;


car ==============///////============
towbar ==========/

And stick a big blob of solder on it. Insulting tape to finish.

That's how you would fit a Thatcham approved alarm, can't/won't go wrong like a scotch-lock (hateful things).

Good luck!

Edited by maser_spyder on Thursday 2nd April 01:37

Tunku

Original Poster:

7,703 posts

235 months

Sunday 5th April 2009
quotequote all
Well, after putting the towbar on myself, I bit the bullet and wired it up. I went the Scotch Lok route for convenience. That ended in tears. I ended up splicing and soldering the old fashioned way, and now all the lights work as they should.
I know I should have listened to Nolar/Maser et al.
The upside is, I can now take my caravan out for a spin hehe I promise to keep out of the way. I am putting a PH sticker on the back of it tomorrow, to match the one on the car.
I will probably be sin binned for that hehe

If anyone sees an abandoned caravan with a MK2 Mondeo rear bumper attached to the front of it on the A9 tomorrow, it wasn't me, Right?? biggrin

maser_spyder

6,356 posts

189 months

Sunday 5th April 2009
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And if plod asks you who advised on the wiring, "you ain't seen me, right?".

Glad you got there eventually!

mikey P 500

1,240 posts

194 months

Thursday 1st August 2019
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Trying to fix a recently fitted towbar on my t5 camper, when the bike rack is plugged in all the lights are on, straight away, (rear lights both indicators reverse light) was previously working fine on last use, does this point to a failure on the ground, or the relay, or anything else?