Hi guys I've just bought a westfaila towbar off ebay, it's got no electrics with it and I was just wondering if I can buy a normal 7 pin electric kit off ebay or do I have to get a proper kit for the car ? I've heard that gone are the days of just wiring up electrics to the loom because of modern car ECU's etc.
cheers

What are you towing?
Assuming that you're pulling a trailer or a bike rack, the 7 pin is more than adequate. BUT, get the "7 way relay" kit - you'll need this to interface the car's electrics with the towing one. This will fool the CANBUS and bulb failure stuff that there is nothing wrong, and you won't burn out your light wiring (notably the brake lights). These will generally have a buzzer for your (legally required) indicator bulb failure.
You can get "Dedicated" electric kits that will interface properly, mute any standard reverse sensors and may even alter your engine map, but they generally cost into 3 figures, which I'm guessing you don't want!

If you're pulling a caravan, then you'll need an extra 7 pin socket, as well as relays for caravan battery charging, fridge etc.
The "new" 13 pin plug/socket arrangements are better IMHO as they seal better, are less prone to corrosion and tend to give better connections.

I you're just doing trailer, then 7 pin is fine, just remember to check the lights due to plug corrosion. If you have LED trailer lights, then the indicator buzzer may not work.

IMHO Westfalia bars are the best you can get. Fitted quite a few in my time.

Mike

Hi Mike, cheer for the info, much appreciated. I'll only be towing the odd motorbike trailer, nothing too heavy si I guess the 7 pin relay kit will sort me out. To be honest it was a bit of an impulse buy, its the detachable hitch one and it only cost me £75 which I thought was pretty good cheer once again pal

The main thing in my opinion would be to a kit that has a 7 way bypass relay in it. This would require a 25amp fused power supply, and then connections made to the cars wiring at the rear. You could buy a custom made plug in, at great expense. I fitted the bar myself, and then gave the wiring kit to an auto electrician to fit just incase there were issues. No issues were found by him & it all works fine.?

maxthedoggy said:

Hi Mike, cheer for the info, much appreciated. I'll only be towing the odd motorbike trailer, nothing too heavy si I guess the 7 pin relay kit will sort me out. To be honest it was a bit of an impulse buy, its the detachable hitch one and it only cost me £75 which I thought was pretty good cheer once again pal

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Hey Max,

If you had my sort of Dobby, you wouldn't need that trailer



(Plus there's nothing at the back of mine to bolt the towbar to either.. )

Guess what I use mine for....