2018 Caravans with L.E.D. Roadlights
Taking delivery of a 2018 Challenger 480 in mid March...Will be towing it with a 2015 mk5 TDCI Mondeo 1997cc Zetec Eco. Can anyone advise whether I am likely to have any problems with the road lights when towing ....Would appreciate your advice.
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Don't understand why you think you would have issues.
Assuming you already have a 13pin connector on the car then you should be fine.
LED lights are better in all respects but do have much smaller current draw than filament bulbs. This should not give you any issues. The only issues were the electronics sometimes causing a pulsing effect on some vehicles but this is easily sorted if it occurs.
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It has been known for new caravans with L.E.D. road lights to have, when connected to certain towcars, caused things like both indicators to flash in unison and at double speed and an electrical item, don’t know what it is, fitted to the car in order to correct it. So, don’t know if this happens to certain makes cars or all makes and whether it’s due to the tow car has/has not L.E.D.’s....I think one of the first instances reported was on a Bailey caravan which had L.E.D.’s incorporated into the grab handles.....It may be ok nowadays but just asking if it is or not still happening.
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Various problems have been experienced, Sargent even make a box of electrickery to compensate.
My Merc R Class pulses the front & side led marker lights of my Coachman when my car's lights are off, my 'cure' is to tow with my lights on.
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I have a 2017 Swift and Ford Smax so electronics will be the same set up. I found they work slightly differently in that the LEDs come on if you open the car doors when parked etc, and also remain on for a couple of minutes after stopping. Slightly disconcerting at first but works fine. Oh....and I presume this happens as I have a tow bar with a vehicle specific wiring kit.
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Swift Challenger 480 (2018)...dealer confirmed certain tow cars (he couldn’t specify which cars), the led’s fitted on this 2018 caravan can suffer from “pulsing” of the brake lights, side marker lights and presume the indicator lights as well. .Has anyone got a 2015 Mondeo along with a new caravan (2018 Swift in particular) , and experiencing this proble. If so did you fit a Sargent VLM box as there’s three variants of the VLM box...Appreciate your comments if your outfit meets above models.
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A thought here:
Should you have told them during the buying experience specifically the car you were towing with then IMO the problem if there is one is theirs come hand over. For them to make the van fit for the purpose you outlined.
If you did not then any issue is back in your hands but I would be expecting their professional help even if then they are not picking up the tabs.
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Hi MollysMummy,...Yes, Sargent make a item VLM 4 which fits inside the caravan near to the fuse box...Comes in three variants, a VLM4, a VLM4-A, both these covers the majority of led lamped Caravans AND a VLM4-B, which apparently is for specific use on BMW’s.
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take the car to a towbar fitter or dealer and get them to plug a test board on the car and this should determine if everthing works ok. when i had my bar fitted at home the fitter tested everything even the fridge and charging circuits with his board plugged in. didn't have a caravan at the time.
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I know what you are referring but the test board the tow bar fitters use is for testing standard type road lights, fridge and charging circuits. This issue is directly to do with l.e.d. roadlights on trailers and the problems arising with CERTAIN tow cars only...The ultimate test is only achieved by hooking up to very modern caravan fitted with l.e.d. road lights and checking if the caravan lights “pulse” ....If they do then a Sargent correction box has to be installed near the caravan’s fuse box.
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We had this concern when we bought the Sterling. We took the car and hooked it up to an Sterling on display and were able confirm all was OK.
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I took delivery of a Swift last year.
I have a bypass system so expected no issues, however although everything worked ok the indicator buzz noise wasn't working.
So I did have a VLM box fitted, it took the fitter 10 mins to fit and is plug and play.
Just make sure that you hook your car up to the new van and test everything before you pay, I got mine FOC.
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The VLM Boxes were first introduced by Swift about three years ago when the Swift Elegance was introduced with LED lights. The previous posts are quite correct in that there are several VLM boxes depending on the vehicle. When introduced Swift also supplied dealers with a mock lighting board with all the external lights, ie front and side markers to test vehicles. At the time I worked in caravan despatch at Derby Caravan Centre and suggested that all purchasers of Swift caravans with LED lights called to see us in advance of delivery to check whether a VLM box was required. The boxes were supplied foc by Swift.
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Have you checked out the electrical section in your cars handbook or online manual, there is a specific warning in my Merc handbook with reference to trailer LED`s and problems that can be encountered due the low resistance LED`s provide
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I'm towing a Swift 2016 Elegence with led lights all round using a Discovery Sport. The road lights on the caravan worked but the tow car was unaware of its presence hence no trailer sign on the dash board when indicating and the reversing sensors on the car activated when reversing as the car thought it was too close to something. The solution was to buy a Sargent VLM 4 box (cost £36 with a £10 discount direct from Sargent). Its purpose is to increase the 'load' of the low wattage LED bulbs so that the tow car recognises a caravan is hooked up. I fitted it myself which is a simple job of unplugging snap link plugs and inserting the matching Sargent plugs in-between them. The only slight problem was the wiring of the VLM is fairly short and in the case of the Swift was tight on space. All works fine and in the case of Landrovers also activated the trailer stability feature. If your car needs it the Sargent device is definitely worth fitting. I emailed a picture to Sargent pointing out the problem of the wiring being short so hopefully they will have addressed it.
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I have a 67plate Kia Sportage Gt Line 2 Ltr which I’m hoping doesn’t have this problem with my 2014 Swift Elegance 480. My previous Nissan Xtrail did have the problem so my caravan is already fitted with a module. I’ve already rung Sargent about it and been told to hook it up to check. Hooking it up Monday to see what happens.
sheila
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Hi there I’ve just purchased a new xc90 last week & my led lights don’t work at all on my 2017 Swift Conqueror but they do on my old trailer (old school bulbs). I must say that they did work on my previous car a Nissan Pathfinder & that had a sergeant vlm box fitted to the caravan. So does anyone know if one is needed or what model type is if I do need one? Only there are 7 to choose from on the sergeant website. My van is in storage so can’t check what’s in there
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We were aware of this problem prior to collecting our new to us van. We took our car to the dealership before the due date to test it as we were unsure. Turned out we needed a VLM and it was provided F.o.c by dealer and fitted by them ready for collection. A good dealer will be able to help as will Sargent who were also very knowledgeable when asked for advice.
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