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[ffcgary1]

Hi guys ,as i am going to thr lakes for the mother of all meets,i have bought a tow bar for the estate,was wondering if this needs to be pro fitted or ar the mounting holes already there..Traier tent ready to go.

[Martin_1962]

Holes are marked - instructions should mention the positions

[miggy]

Hi guys ,as i am going to thr lakes for the mother of all meets,i have bought a tow bar for the estate,was wondering if this needs to be pro fitted or ar the mounting holes already there..Traier tent ready to go.

Had one fitted to my saloon and the mounting bolt holes were there, score marks, the fitter just had to drill them out, had it fitted by whitter as I had the double electrics for the caravan

 [smiley=vrolijk_26.gif] [smiley=vrolijk_26.gif]

[Kevin Wood]

I've fitted tow bars on a few cars, my Omega saloon included, and it's not a bad DIY job. On the Omega the positions of the holes are all punched and the body is thinner in these areas to aid drilling. I prefer to fit myself to ensure that everything is well rust-proofed.

A coat of Hammerite around the holes and a generous coating of waxoyl over everything disturbed is a good idea.

Should be possible in 1/2 a day I'd say. You'll need some drill bits of various sizes up to about 12mm to drill the body and a hot air paint stripper to remove some of the sound deadening on the boot floor.

Kevin

[Elite Pete]

It depends on which tow bar you have bought. If its the type that most of the metal work is internal then you should be OK

[bigall]

Instructions with the bar should show clearly the location of the points of attachment.

iirc estates have their towbar body fastenings behind each rear wheel  so fittings in a  w- e direction- wheras saloons have them behind diff and below boot lock  ie n - s direction.

just looked at witter website they have diagrams for installing their products - looks straight forward . To locate the dimples for drilling it is usually necessary to remove some of the sound deadening mastic

fitted them to saloons takes about 2  to 3 hours max then there is the electrics and thats a whole new ball game - plenty of postings on this site

[Kevin Wood]

To locate the dimples for drilling it is usually necessary to remove some of the sound deadening mastic

This is where I came unstuck initially. Tried chipping it away with a chisel and it was rock hard. Then i noticed an object that looked like a hair dryer in the instructions and got my hot air paint stripper out and job done.

Sounds easier on the estate if anything. Electrics is not too difficult, especially if you can make do with single electrics. All the signals you need are brought out to a multi way connector in the boot, although I'd advise picking up the brake light feed straight from the light cluster rather than messing around bridging the bulb failure sensor.

Good luck and see you in the lakes with trailer tent hopefully!

Kevin

[Dave-C]

Instructions with the bar should show clearly the location of the points of attachment.

iirc estates have their towbar body fastenings behind each rear wheel  so fittings in a  w- e direction- wheras saloons have them behind diff and below boot lock  ie n - s direction.

just looked at witter website they have diagrams for installing their products - looks straight forward . To locate the dimples for drilling it is usually necessary to remove some of the sound deadening mastic

fitted them to saloons takes about 2  to 3 hours max then there is the electrics and thats a whole new ball game - plenty of postings on this site

Good point this!  Fitted my Eclipse towbar plate over this, torqued it up, the weight of the van puts stress on the whole bar assembly..  Did a routine check before towing and the bolts had losened slightly...  removed more mastic, fitted longer bolts and put an extra locking nut on mine...  been OK since!!  Worth checking the security of bars regularly...  You never know if they've been fitted properly in the first place...  

Dave C

[VX1]

Where abouts is this multiplug in the boot for wiring the single electrics? I keep hearing about this multi plug but never seen it. SO WHERE IS IT!!!!!! Would make life alot easier to install the electrics.

[Kevin Wood]

On a saloon it's behind the trim at the rear of the boot, offset to the driver's side. (the trim panel that covers the lock mechanism, etc.)

Not sure about the estate but it's been mentioned on here before IIRC.

Kevin

[Weds]

On my Estate it tucked up behind the car jack in the wheel well.

[VX1]

On a saloon it's behind the trim at the rear of the boot, offset to the driver's side. (the trim panel that covers the lock mechanism, etc.)

Not sure about the estate but it's been mentioned on here before IIRC.

Kevin

Thanks I will check that out. Is it the same for the facelift model as well? Also I fitted the electrics (on my facelift model) and the indicator buzzer, but the buzzer does not work when the indicator's are on. Does anyone know what the problem is?

[Kevin Wood]

Thanks I will check that out. Is it the same for the facelift model as well? Also I fitted the electrics (on my facelift model) and the indicator buzzer, but the buzzer does not work when the indicator's are on. Does anyone know what the problem is?

Yep, mine's a facelift.

Regarding the buzzer, if the indicators work it's just a matter of making sure the negative connection to the buzzer is connected and that each light is wired correctly through the buzzer.

If it all looks OK make sure the trailer has 21 watt bulbs in the indicators. Lower wattage bulbs may not pull enough current to trigger it.

Kevin

[VX1]

Everything is connected to the right wire's and I am using a trailer board to wire it all up. Is there supposed to be a relay somewhere or is that just for the bulb on the dash?

[Kevin Wood]

You can add a current sensing device for the brake light (looks like a relay) to give you a brake light warning on the MID.
You can also change the flasher unit to give an output for the dashboard trailer indicator light, but both of these are optional.

The audible warning should work OK on its' own. Doesn't need any relays, etc. They annoy the tats off me so one that doesn't work sounds like a godsend  

Kevin