WHAT TYPE OF TOWING ELECTRICS SUITS YOUR NEEDS?

This type of electrics is the most basic and therefore not suitable for all modern cars. The installation is usually just clipped or soldered into the vehicles wiring loom to provide all the lighting feeds to the towing socket. This is the most cost effective solution but can be problematic with the more advanced modern vehicles.

Universal towbar wiring electrical kits have long been the standard application when it comes to feeding the lights from the tow vehicle to the trailer socket and on to the trailer lighting system.  There is nothing wrong with this in principle and it is still used on many modern vehicles but there can be some issues.  Modern vehicles now have a CanBus system, instead of having a large loom of multiple wires feeding all the individual lights they now have CPUs and individual wires that take multiple signals that are processed to operate the lighting system. It is not recommended to connect to these wires for trailer wiring. In some instances alternative wires are available but can be difficult to find.

This is the modern approach to Tow Bar wiring. The kits install into plugs and sockets already provided by the vehicle manufacturer.  The kit communicates with the vehicles on board computer system and instigates any additional safety features needed when towing.The majority of these kits require coding to the vehicle, this is done via a Laptop or Tablet using a specialist program during installation.

The introduction of Vehicle specific wiring emerged as vehicle technology advanced and Tow Bar wiring needed to be of the same specification as the vehicle. The dedicated kits plug into existing sockets found within the vehicle. The kit integrates with the onboard computer system and activates any additional safety features needed when towing. The towing module connects directly to the vehicles CPU (Central Processing Unit) and the signals to the lights are accessed via the Can Bus wiring system in the vehicle. This means that the trailers electrical system becomes part of the towing vehicles system so is monitored and governed in the same way. In some cases the vehicle will monitor bulbs for failure and in all cases if an indicator bulb fails it will double flash the same as if the indicator fails on the vehicle itself.  The majority of these kits require coding to the vehicle, this is done via a Laptop or Tablet using a specialist program during installation.

If you're unsure about anything tow bar or electrics related, simply contact our experts for friendly advice.   Either call 01622 662700 or email enquiries@tridenttowing.co.uk