Fitting towbar electrics on a new car
makesureyourtowbar fitting garage is suitably kitted out with fully testing board. That means one that can test for load, as in refrigerator draw when on 12 volt. Lighting can show as o.k. But when hooked up and fridge on 12 v, blue light flashes.
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I have a Korando. I let my dealer install the towbar but he sublet the job to Road Radio. It was a disaster. The whole thing has been rewired by a professional outfit and luckily the dealer paid for it. Moral of the story ask the dealer who will install
it and insist on a professional installer.0 -
makesureyourtowbar fitting garage is suitably kitted out with fully testing board. That means one that can test for load, as in refrigerator draw when on 12 volt. Lighting can show as o.k. But when hooked up and fridge on 12 v, blue light flashes.
Write your comments here...the reason I highlight this issue is because my towbar fitter, when doing the 13pin electrics to my 2015 Mondeo, didn't realise there was a different installation to that of my 2009 Mondeo. After investigation he found out he had
to change to another relay and a different source for his power origin and a higher fuse rating. Prior to these changes my fridge wouldn't stay lit on 12 volts for about 10 seconds the the blue light would start flashing. Everything else on road lighting worked.
The garage did not have a test board which would simulate the fridge LOAD test so didn't know until I told him that the connecting up to the caravan and starting up the fridge, showed the error.0 -
It is not the same as it used to be, just scotchlocking it onto the rear lighting cables. The modern style of CANbus electrics in cars make that a thing of the past. Electrics in cars these days are a nightmare.
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I am lead to believe that there is such a test rig. A test lamp only confirms a circuit exists but that's no use if,when you marry up to the caravan (in my case a Swift Challenger Sport 2012), and put a load on such as the fridge on 12 volts it highlights
that the wiring the garage has fitted is not compatible with the latest car wiring technology. The fitter I used is solely a professional tow bar fitting garage. And been in business for years. In his own words on the day he stated that he had learned a valuable
lesson that day and keeping aware on modern models of cars and their wiring requirements, is a necessary fact for the likes of 2015 Mondeos0 -
Thinking about it fitting a 12 volt 170 Watt fridge element across the test bulb would represent a fridge connected.
But then you will also need to connect a load to represent the caravan battery current, another fridge element perhaps.
I have a home made test rig just using leds, which i could adapt to do that, but i also have a 25 foot long 13 core 13 pin extension to which i can connect my caravan to test, required as i can't get the car to the caravan plug when its stored, only the rear.
I use that once a year at the start of the season.
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My reason for highlighting this issue is that if you have had a towbar and 13 pin electrics recently fitted to you 2015/16 vehicle, don't just bring the car home expecting everything is working ok just because it's been fitted by a towbar fitting garage
as, when you start the season, you might then come across a problem but not on the road lighting. So immediately after fitting make a point of going to your caravan, whether in a storage yard or at your driveway, connect up your car, switch your fridge on
to the 12 volt selection, and start up your car. Allow up to 30 seconds and if the blue light on the fridge door stays constantly on, then your fridge is working ok.0
