Towbar electrics

[BlackBeast]

I managed to finally get the wiring of the towbar into the boot today while dodging all the showers. Tonight ive been sorting out how to wire those electrics into the car wiring. So far this is what ive come up with:-

Towbar, Feature, Towbar Colour, Car Colour,
PIN 1, LH Indicator, Yellow, Green,
PIN 2, Fog Light, Blue, Violet/White,
PIN 3, Earth, White, Bolt to Chassis,
PIN 4, RH Indicator, Green, Blue/Green,
PIN 5, RH Side Light, Brown, Grey (Pin 4 on the BFU),
PIN 6, Brake Lights, Red, Yellow (Pin 12 on the BFU),
PIN 7, LH Side Light, Black, Connect to pin 5,

BFU = Bulb Failure Unit

Now ive been looking at the wiring diagrams and for the life of me i cant find pin 5 on the BFU. So anyone in the know, know which colour wire i need to tap into???

[BlackBeast]

Ok, think ive worked it out with PIN 7, black wire connects to the white wire which is pin 3 in the bulb failure unit.

Still need somebody whos done this to tell me if everything is correct or not!?!

[jimmyc]

was the towbar hard to fit black ? just about to attemp 1 myself,and ££££ i forgot it needs wiring lol regards jim

[BlackBeast]

Just a hassle really jimmy, i think i fitted it at the start of the year, just put off doing the electrics until now.

With most towbars you have to take the rear bumper off, if you want to do it properly its a 2 man job to take it off without scraping anything, and to more importantly to put it back on again. Depending which towbar you've got do a search on the net and it should give you a diagram and instructions of where every bolt goes.

[jimmyc]

:Handshake :santawave nice 1 thanx for that black,i should be at it next weekend but same as you i think it should be completed by december-realisticly- loll regards jim

[Baj]

I have a towbar but no electrics. Someone needed something towing the other day and I said I had a towbar before remembering no lightbar!

Where are you taking the electrics from?
Fancy writing a guide? :)

[JackT5]

I fitted a towbar on my 850 a couple of years ago, but found it was easier to use a bypass relay and tap straight into the wiring at the rear lamps. What year did Volvo introduce the pre-wired socket for towbar electrics on the V70?

[BlackBeast]

Where are you taking the electrics from?
Fancy writing a guide? :)

Once ive done it I shall write a how-to :)

[Vikingxl]

Glad to see you doing something useful with all that spare time!

[BlackBeast]

Glad to see you doing something useful with all that spare time!

How did i miss that post, i know i must have been to busy doing nothing :haha:

Well its all wired up, and ive got a new light on in the dash when i use the hazard lights now. No idea if it will actually light up the trailer electrics cause i havent tried yet. The only thing i have left to do is seal the hole that i used to get the wires through with some sealant. Oh, and now my radio doesnt work :cussing:

[BlackBeast]

DO NOT USE THE TABLE IN MY FIRST POST!!!! It is wrong! Do not trust the wiring diagrams in the Haynes Manual either as thats where i got my info from. If somebody is going to try this out you really need a multimeter!!!!! I connected the car up to a trailer today and the trailer looked as if it was in a disco, surprised i hadnt blown a few fuses. Anyway, ive sorted the indicators out but thats it, its pure guesswork without a multimeter. So im either buying a multimeter tomorrow or taking it to my local trailer centre, think il do the latter.

[Baj]

B&Q do a really good multimeter for £25.
It also has continuity beep mode as well which is useful.

If you werent so faraway I'd come round and watch ;)

[BlackBeast]

Ok, well i went to a local trailer centre where they fit towbars for a living, so, we found out that my 7pin socket was wired up incorrectly, the earth wire fed from one pin straight into another pin, the left hand side light.

So at the moment if i connect the car up to a trailer i have everything working bar the right hand side light. Obviously this isnt good enough, i can do either of two things, on every trailer i use i have to swap the wire over on the trailer itself which is quite simple but a pain as id have to swap it back over again OR run a proper earth lead from the towbar socket like it was meant to and like it is on 99.999999999% of every other towbar socket.

A how-to write up will be done soon, i promise.

[Adge]

Ok, well i went to a local trailer centre where they fit towbars for a living, so, we found out that my 7pin socket was wired up incorrectly, the earth wire fed from one pin straight into another pin, the left hand side light.

So at the moment if i connect the car up to a trailer i have everything working bar the right hand side light. Obviously this isnt good enough, i can do either of two things, on every trailer i use i have to swap the wire over on the trailer itself which is quite simple but a pain as id have to swap it back over again OR run a proper earth lead from the towbar socket like it was meant to and like it is on 99.999999999% of every other towbar socket.

A how-to write up will be done soon, i promise.

Was this write-up ever done? Someone posted me details but can't find them . Tips please?

[BlackBeast]

No it wasnt. I shall get it done tonight.

[Adge]

Thanks Black Beast!