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        General >> Give/Need advice to/from others >> fitting a towbar to my estate
        
(Message started by: purple-rocket on May 26^th, 2006, 7:48pm)

Title: fitting a towbar to my estate
Post by purple-rocket on May 26^th, 2006, 7:48pm

hi fitting a towbar on sunday have seen the how to fit a towbar on here but wondered where is the best place to run the wires?

also putting double electrics on, any one got any advise on where to connect the wires up?

thanks in advance Paul

Title: Re: fitting a towbar to my estate
Post by Spannerdemon on May 26^th, 2006, 8:43pm

See my post on wiring for a trailer socket which is currently on Page 4 of the "Give advice to others".

I led my wiring from the towbar to the right hand rear corner of the boot , looking at the car from the rear(where there is already a suitable grommet). I wired for a simple trailer, but I have made a note of the lighting wires that you'll need in the loom. Check out the post. I can't even pretend to know how to fit a 2nd socket, as I've never had the need of one.

Hope this helps you a bit anyway. :)

Title: Re: fitting a towbar to my estate
Post by sector-9 on May 27^th, 2006, 7:26pm

All the wiring you need for the trailer lights are in the boot. However doing the 12S (grey) socket depends on whether it needs doing properley or not. The place I used to work for allowed 1hr for fitting bar and wiring - but they scotchlocked everything and took power for fridge and charging from the boot lamp feed! :o

If you want to do it properley then you'll need to arrange something like a 40A feed to the boot since modern caravan fridges use a heck of a lot of juice! You can get suitably rated cable from a marina (Maplin only do 30A cable which may not be enough unless you run two lengths). This obviously goes from the battery (+) terminal, with a fuse close by to protect the wiring.

Once you reach the boot you can then split it into three separate feeds for the socket. Two of those will need to be switched via relays which close when the engine is running. It would be a good idea to fuse each of the three feeds somewhere in the boot so that any wiring problems with the bar or caravan don't take out the whole circuit; and don't be tempted to use one relay for the two switched feeds otherwise you'll find that the caravan battery powers the fridge via the towbar when the engine is stopped!

Darren

Title: Re: fitting a towbar to my estate
Post by purple-rocket on May 27^th, 2006, 11:51pm

great info sector-9 but can you explain a bit more about the feed/switch etc have you any pics

many thanks Paul

Title: Re: fitting a towbar to my estate
Post by Snoopy on May 28^th, 2006, 8:31am

Have a look at THIS (http://www.watling-towbars.co.uk/towbars.html) for your wiring diagrams

Title: Re: fitting a towbar to my estate
Post by sector-9 on May 28^th, 2006, 5:08pm

There isn't any factory-fitted cabling into the boot capable of handling the current needed for the fridge, battery charging and other circuits. The only one nearly strong enough is the feed to the heated rear window - of course, this is already in use!

You'll need to run some thick cable between the boot and the engine bay. I would suggest 40A as a minimum, protected by a 35A fuse near the battery. Once you've got this cable into the boot you can then split it into three smaller wires (charging, fridge and power). The fridge and charging wires need to have relays which will disconnect them from the caravan when the engine is stopped, otherwise the caravan will quickly drain the car's battery and it won't start! The relays switching those wires will need to be 'on' only when the engine is running, so you'll need to run a (much smaller) wire back to the engine bay and find some way of attaching it to the engine-run relay in the aux. fusebox.

To be honest, you need to have a good idea of the circuit and it's physical layout before attempting this. Unless you're confident reading the wiring diagrams (to find a suitable live when engine running), can use a multi-meter, and understand current requirements then it's best left to a professional fitter.

Darren

Title: Re: fitting a towbar to my estate
Post by purple-rocket on May 28^th, 2006, 9:00pm

i have got a multi meter and know a bit about car electrics just needed pointing in the right direction