Towbar electrics... Universal or Dedicated??
Hi everyone, new to the scene we have just bought our first caravan and are eager to get going. But first we need a tow bar fitted to our car. We have a BMW 3 series tourer which we have been assured has plenty of power to tow our caravan. We are looking
at getting a detachable swan neck fitted but can't agree between universal or dedicated wiring. My trusted mechanic says dedicated but the tow bar fitters says universal will be fine.... Any advice very much appreciated. Thanks.
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Dedicated wiring always sounds the best but universal in a lot of cases is the same wiring set but with a "BMW" sticker on it. I've used tow bar express several times and the guys who fit the tow bars tell me BMW, Audi and Mercedes often get them in to fit
a tow bar and request universal wiring! You think from a main dealer it would be dedicated but it's often not.I would also shop around and check out different fitting companies to see if they can fit one for you and how much it costs. If your car is new make sure the work they do doesn't effect the cars warrantee.
I've had a detachable fitted to my Audi. Main dealer wanted £1050, tow bar express wanted £660!
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Dedicated wiring always sounds the best but universal in a lot of cases is the same wiring set but with a "BMW" sticker on it.
Dedicated wiring differs from universal, and both can be from towhitch manufacturers. Universal uses a 'Smart relay' and can be scotchlocked to the already wire loom, and Dedicated is for use with cars having a CANBUS system, this can be 'plug and play' or software enabled and takes advantage of some extra features built into the ECU's software with regards to towing.
It has nothing to do with being the same wiring set, mine is Dedicated and made by Witter and fitted by my local towing outlet, nothing to do with the manufacturer of my car.
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Dedicated is best as the ECU will recognise when you are Towing and alter the engine characteristics to suit towing plus it will detect bulbs etc not working. If you have an auto box it will hold the gear for longer and reviews a bit higher than normal too.
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It will definately be canbus, However some vehicles auto recognise when a trailer is connected and some do not however it will be a simple case of having the towing module enabled so the ecu actually looks to see if a trailer is coupled, On mine it not only
alters engine characteristics but also modifies the esp to suit trailer towing0 -
Some manufacturers (well, Land Rover anyway) provide the wiring etc in the main harness, with a couple of internal sockets into which the dedicated wiring to the 13 or 7 pin sockets simply plugs.
So yes, I have seen vehicles with a rats' nest of wires Scotchlocked into a cut open harness simply because the fitter wanted to use a universal wiring set up, and charge the owner more for it!
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I had a 1997 Volvo v70, the tow bar fitter connected the wires to the two sockets, then simply plugged into an existing plug in the cars wiring. It didn't have canbus wiring, but everything worked as it should. ray.
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