Towbar fitting

Iceweasel

knightstyle wrote: »

I don't understand why the rear parking sensors are a problem. I have fitted towbars on an Auris, a Juke and now Cmax with parking sensors and never had any problems, OK if you select reverse whilst towing the bleeps go but this is a handy reminder that you have a trailer connected.
Without a trailer the bleeps act normally.
By the way it is worth paying a bit extra to get a towbar with a detachable ball hitch.

I think it depends on the ECU whether the parking sensors detect a fault or not when reverse gear is selected with a trailer attached.

Ideally the car should be coded to de-activate the rear sensors and rear parking camera when the socket is in use - but if yours is not throwing up any error codes then that' fine - but i can assure you everone is not so lucky.

I agree about having a detachable tow-ball - much neater in my opinion - but there are those who like a tow-ball sticking out the back as extra protection against careless parkers. LOL

My current car has an electric tow-barand 13-pin electrics a bit similar to this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cA7rMgWJ8M

Enjoy your holiday in France, by the way - I wish I was there too - as the weather in Scotland is rubbish at the moment.

ohreally

Iceweasel wrote: »

the weather in Scotland is rubbish at the moment.

Its seasonally appropriate, just wear the right clothes

knightstyle

Thanks Iceweasel perhaps we have been lucky. It is not just a holiday, we will have paying guests to look after and then family arrive at our house.

rich13348

ohreally wrote: »

Iceweasel wrote: »

Enjoy your holiday in France, by the way - I wish I was there too - as the weather in Scotland is rubbish at the moment.

Its seasonally appropriate, just wear the right clothes

Its good for growing vegetables though, my potatoes brussel sprouts and carrots are doing really well. As well as the wife's lettuce.

Oops sorry wrong room.

marlot

Iceweasel wrote: »

The DVSA actually says '7-pin sockets are not testable with an electrical tester as there is no standard wiring protocol.'

They used two different wiring regimes - one up to about 1982, and one from then onwards. But people who had an older caravan sometimes adapted the car to suit, and other people did it the other way around, so there was a long period of uncertainty. So I agree with the DVSA stance - it would be impossible to test a 1982 (say) car with any certainty.

Plus the other socket (the 12S) was prone to burning out as caravan fridges became bigger and drew more current, and more caravans had batteries fitted.

The newer 13 pin is a much superior socket, and I for one am glad that its now a testable item - it should gradually reduce the number of trailers on the road with non-working lights.

Gloomendoom

marlot wrote: »

The newer 13 pin is a much superior socket, and I for one am glad that its now a testable item - it should gradually reduce the number of trailers on the road with non-working lights.

I agree, I have fitted 13 (or 8) pin plugs to all our trailers and lighting boards. Fitting a cap to the plug while the trailer is not in use also improves reliability.

I didn't notice the socket on my car being tested at the last MoT though. Possibly because it retracts out of sight when not in use.

zappahey

Iceweasel wrote: »

I agree about having a detachable tow-ball - much neater in my opinion - but there are those who like a tow-ball sticking out the back as extra protection against careless parkers. LOL

Or, as a kinetic parking sensor

rich13348

zappahey wrote: »

Or, as a kinetic parking sensor

Tactile not kinetic

bigadaj

rich13348 wrote: »

Tactile not kinetic

Depends on the speed at contact maybe?

Tyler119

Think mine was around 700, though that was a Witter detachable one. It was fitted to a Q7 and the guy patched everything in to the onboard Audi software, he had cut a large metal bar from under the car too....I thought it was a high price at the time, but well worth it now as there has been zero problems with the towbar or the electrics etc. When the towbar is attached to the car, when the boot is opened via key fob or inside the car, it opens a few inch to stop it hitting for example a caravan if you are towing that sort of thing.