I've ordered a Brinkmatic Advance from a local dealer in Glasgow.
Details of http://www.brinkweb.com/trekhaak.php?lid=4&mid=3&moid=9269&artnr=488200&tid=3 - towbar
£252 + VAT. This is a removable towbar so it doesn't play havoc with my reversing sensors.
That's the easy bit done. Fitting the bar will be a doddle provided the bumper comes off easily. The difficult part will be the electrics.
Our cars are clever little things. They can detect extra bulbs (i.e. the trailer) and throw all the toys out of the pram so you need to install a bypass kit. This senses the electrical circuits turning live when you stamp on the brake and operate the indicators etc and send a signal to the bypass relay which in turn switches on a higher power circuit to the trailer lights.
Also when I removed the light cluster from my car I could see 5 bulbs. the indicator bulb was easily identified by the orange lens and also the reverse light was easy to detect.
I switched on the side lights and three bulbs lit. Standing on the brake and switching on the Fog lights make the respective bulbs glow brighter. All the bulbs are 21W but side lights are only meant to be 5W power so the clever car only sends 5W of power to that bulb until you stand on the brake or switch the Fog on and it then sends the full 21W of power to the bulb.
This means that you have to be very careful wiring up the trailer lights and that a bypass relay is required, to avoid brake/side and fog lights all lighting up on the trailer.
The BMW wiring kit will include an electrical harness that contains all the relays and plugs you need to plug directly into the cars loom. It will also include a Fog light cut out.
Fog light cut outs stop the cars rear fog lights coming on and instead send power to the trailer fog light so you don't get a huge red glow in your rear mirror if you are towing in the Fog. I'm not sure if a Fog light cut is included in a Bypass kit but it will be included in the BMW wiring kit.
I have ordered a bypass relay and I'll buy the black 12N socket and 5m of cable from Halfrauds and make the wiring loom up myself.
If that doesn't work I'll cut up an old Mondeo wiring loom which includes a bypass relay and a Fog light Cut out relay.
I spent most of Sunday working out the circuit diagrams from the Mondeo wiring loom so if I need do I can connect the relevant wire from the BMW to the Ford wiring loom. It won't care that it is installed in a BMW. All it needs is the relevant signals and 12 Volts.
Have a read of this http://www.rydertowing.co.uk/default.htm - website regarding towbar wiring and in particular have a read of http://www.rydertowing.co.uk/pdf_checklists/Practical%20Guide.pdf - this document .
Let me know how you get on.
Just ask if you need any more info.
Andrew
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