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[mick-1975]

   hi 2 everyone i am wiring up my towbar  main electrics are ok
  its the other one that runs the and charges up the caravan battery
any advice will be gratefull
 otherwise i shall have 2 take it in............. :-/
 mick...

[TheBoy]

 hi 2 everyone i am wiring up my towbar  main electrics are ok
  its the other one that runs the and charges up the caravan battery
any advice will be gratefull
 otherwise i shall have 2 take it in............. :-/
 mick...

The caravan club has a guide in its book. I think its mainly a switched and a permenent 12v you are after...

[Kevin Wood]

Hi There,

There is a constant 12v feed to the rear of the car for towing electrics. This comes out (on my facelift saloon) behind the plastic trim which runs along the rear of the boot. it's just to the driver's side of the boot clipped in a hole in the box section under the trim.

This connector actually brings out all of the towing electrics although the brake light line is fed through a current sensing device that isn't usually present if a factory towbar isn't fitted.

Anyway, that's irrelevant if you have already sorted the rest of the electrics. The 12v feed is a relatively thick red wire IIRC. It's fed from fuse 29 under the dash, which is rated at 10 amps according to my manual.

If you need more current than this you would be better off running a suitably rated wire through from the battery with a fuse under the bonnet. This procedure is described in the "fitting an amplifier" guide on this site. You can pick up a ground connection from a screw under the boot trim.

Once you've located the wire a voltage sensing relay could be used to provide the permanent live, battery charging and fridge supplies for the supplementary socket as required.

Kevin

[mick-1975]

do you know any where i can get 1, still need to wire it in  

[mick-1975]

thxs kevin my model is a 2litre,gls estate  s reg 1998

[Kevin Wood]

OK. You might need to hunt for the connector on the estate but everything else should hold true. Maybe someone who's done an estate will know. Elite Pete has just done one IIRC.

Kevin

[TheBoy]

do you know any where i can get 1, still need to wire it in  

I think the pinouts are freely available on the net....

[mick-1975]

   thanks  to the boy
  could u point me in the  right direction for the pin outs cheers
mick

[TheBoy]

eg,
http://caravanning4u.co.uk/towbar.html

[TheBoy]

but better still...
http://www.eclipse.co.uk/samwise/caravanwiring.htm

[Kevin Wood]

I have a relay to switch the charging and fridge ouputs surplus to requirements if you'd like it. It senses the battery voltage and switches the ouputs automatically when the alternator is working so you can do away with the wire from the alternator warning light.

If you'd like it PM me your address and I'll lob it in the post.

Cheers,

Kevin

[Andy B]

I have a relay to switch the charging and fridge ouputs surplus to requirements if you'd like it. It senses the battery voltage and switches the ouputs automatically when the alternator is working so you can do away with the wire from the alternator warning light.

If you'd like it PM me your address and I'll lob it in the post.

Cheers,

Kevin

Did you wire it up in the first place? They are something I've only recently heard of, I've done it the hard way in the past using the alternator (blue/black?) to trigger an ordinary type split charge relay. Have you any do's or don'ts on make? I found this after a quick search & one somewhere on the bay of e.

[Kevin Wood]

Did you wire it up in the first place? They are something I've only recently heard of, I've done it the hard way in the past using the alternator (blue/black?) to trigger an ordinary type split charge relay. Have you any do's or don'ts on make? I found this after a quick search & one somewhere on the bay of e.

It's exactly that. I've never used it. It came with Elite Pete's old tow bar which I bought and I only need single electrics so I didn't bother with it.

Kevin

[Andy B]

.......

It's exactly that. I've never used it. It came with Elite Pete's old tow bar which I bought and I only need single electrics so I didn't bother with it.

Kevin

I'll have a look around & about. I'll need to wire a 12S socket and get something to fasten it to (swan neck towbar) ready for holding other traffic up on the next Bank Holiday.        

[Matchless]

The GLS might not have the tow wiring, my 96 GLS estate didnt....even checked the main loom connectors in the passenger footwell and found empty ways in the connectors.
If it is pre-wired there will be a connector hiding behind the jack in the rear panel, just left of centre. The matching half of this connector is only available from VX so is expensive. Either cut it off or use scotch locks on the wires.
If there is no permanent 12V wire present then run one direct from the battery, tuck it into the sill trim covers, make sure you fit a fuse close to the battery, you want to minimise the length of the bit between battery and fuse.