Witter Towbar Electrics Problems

But I take it from this that you guessed that this must be for the fog light. Could it be for the reversing light instead?

Why not just swap the fog and reversing light connections and see what happens?

Not quite.

The switch that you've found is to cut out the car's rear fog lights and to do so you would need to interrupt the car's circuit and wire it through pin 8. Personally I'd just ignore that feature and make no connection to pin 8.

Thanks for the responses. It finally stopped raining again so I was able to check, and I'm pretty much sure that the Witter kit is wired wrong. This means I need to swap the pins in the Witter multiplugs. I had a quick poke around with a small screwdriver but failed to free the pins, I'll try again tomorrow.

That just leaves the lack of audible / visual alarm - and to think I paid extra to get a Witter car specific kit so I could avoid all these hassles ;-(.

Cheers

Chris

I'm slightly puzzled by what you say because the trailer reverse light connection doesn't go through the 12N anyway, it goes through the 12S. Are you fitting twin electrics, or only single? If only single, you won't get any reversing lights on the trailer (if it's wired correctly!)

It's pretty clear that you've interrupted the wire going to the car's reverse light rather than the foglight. Are they similar colours? The Witter instructions *may* have it wrong - or you may have confused the colours, confusing (say) a red wire with green marker for a green wire with red marker, or something like that.

The law does not require an audible warning per se - it simply requires a means wherely the driver can confirm that the trailer lights are flashing, when sitting in the driving seat. Many cars are pre-wired for this and have an additional flashing light on the dashboard when a trailer is connected. Are you sure that yours doesn't?

They are single electrics. The Witter wiring came as a complete pre-wired loom. Basically you start with:

Focus multiplug -> Focus multisocket

You split this connection and insert the Witter loom. Some of this is wired direct through, ie:

Focus multiplug -> Witter multisocket -> cable -> Witter multiplug -> Focus multisocket

Whilst some goes through the new Witter interface box:

Focus multiplug -> Witter multisocket -> cable -> Witter interface box

-> cable -> Witter multiplug -> Focus multisocket

Witter (or their supplier) have mixed up the reverse light wiring and the foglight wiring.

Not 100% sure - I haven't been able to find any references to it in the workshop manual but I'm still looking (and have posted the question to Focus newsgroup.

Cheers

Chris

Certainly sounds like you've got a kit for a LHD model. Ideally swapping the pins around in the multiplugs is the best solution, but unless you can figure out how to dismantle them without breaking them, it'll be far easier to just cut the concerned wires and rejoin them.

Will most likely be done through the existing indicator warning lamps. The electronic box will detect when something is plugged in, and should fool the car electronics into thinking it's got a blown bulb if the trailer lamp isn't working. Easy way to check is plug a trailer board in, and take an indicator bulb out it, and try the indicators. Certainly transits use this method when fitted with a genuine ford wiring kit, which is supplied as part of Witter tow bar kits.

So what happens when you connect a trailer and operate the flashers? Do any additional dashboard lamps come on over and above what you get without a trailer? [Maybe both left and right arrows at the same time - like with the hazards - rather than just one]. If so, that's all you need - don't worry about a buzzer.

Using the Witter kit, are the trailer flashers connected directly in parallel with the corresponding car flashers, or through an additional relay?

I think you are probably right - it still doesn't want to stop raining so I've left it for this weekend.

Yep, that did the trick - If I remove a trailer indicator bulb it flashes double speed.

Cheers

Chris

Chris ( snipped-for-privacy@chrisangalongthedottedline.free-online.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Doesn't tell you you've forgotten to plug the trailer lights in, though...

"Odd, I can't hear the buzzer. Bugger."

If I use left and right indicators with trailer connected, I only get the normal dash indicators. Ford specify a special hazard switch for trailer use, which I've fitted. This has an LED built in that flashes green when using the hazards with trailer connected, but does nothing with left and right turn indicators.

The indicators are wired through the same interface box as the foglight etc. If I remove a trailer indicator bulb the indicators flash double speed, which I assume meets the legal requirements of indication from the driver's seat.

Cheers

Chris

Try this :

Witter Towbars Drome Rd,Deeside Industrial Park, Deeside, Clwyd CH5 2NY Tel: 01244 284500

See if calling them passes you onto someone from support ! ;-)

(From

Graham

Thanks Graham - I think I've more or less got it sussed now, but I'll call them to see if I can get an explanation.

Cheers

Chris