Technical Towbar fitting, reversing sensors

[Blaki76]

Hi I have 500l 7 seater and fancy fitting towbar for towing the bike trailer. Is there any issues concerning the reversing sensors?? Do these
Need bypassed?

 

[Bantam1958]

I just imagine the beeping will be irritating when you reverse!

 

[Goinker]

I fitted a towbar to my previous car (Citroen C3 Picasso) which had reversing sensors. Thankfully, Citroen had thought about this and fitted a dashboard switch to cancel the sensors,- unfortunately, Fiat haven't! In practice though, I found it unnecessary to cancel the sensors for the simple reason that with most small 2 wheeled trailers, it's almost impossible to get the trailer to go where you want it to, rather like a supermarket trolley, they have a mind of their own, so it's sometimes easier to unhook the trailer and wheel it to where you want it. Before retirement, part of my job involved driving a long wheelbase van with a large cable trailer on the back, so it's not as if I'm inexperienced at reversing trailers, the bigger and heavier the trailer, the easier it is to get them to go where you want them to. If you contact an auto-electrician, it should be possible for them to wire a trailer socket with a relay to disconnect the reverse sensors when you plug in the trailer lighting to the car.
Keith.

 

[Blaki76]

I think I'll probably fit the towbar and see how I get on with the beeping lol if it's going to be annoying I may see about fitting a switch to cancel it. Maybe see if I can speak to some Citroën guys to see what their switch actually does and see if I can transfer the idea to the Fiat

 

[chips1]

Not sure what you want to be towing but this was an old thread


https://www.fiatforum.com/500l/336378-towbar-fitted.html


I thought about towing once but in all honesty after lugging a fully laden car plus a full roof box I was dead against it. Not the greatest of car to be doing this

 

[Goinker]

I assume that the switch in the Citroen just removes the 12volt supply to the reverse sensing unit, hardest part in the Fiat might be finding where it actually is, and if you disconnect it, will it upset the cars system and show a fault??? Also, if you're intending fitting your own towbar, it seems that bumper removal and some cutting is required if you have a look at the towbars for the 500L on Ebay, so it might be a bigger job than you bargained for. I looked at fitting one to my 500L, but as I tow only a small trailer maybe once or twice a year, and Wife's Hyundai is already towbar equipped, it seemed a pointless expense and possibly a fairly major job to fit, so have decided not to bother. Towbar fitting by specialists seems a pricey way to go, but unsurprising if you have to remove and cut the rear bumper it'll not be a 5 minute job, so maybe costs more in labour than materials. As Chips makes the point, the 500L is about as aerodynamic as a breeze block, so a family and a loaded bike trailer may be hard work, even with the 1.6 diesel.
Keith.

 

[ivan of kent]

I have been told by my dealer that the way the trailer plug is wired when connected it cuts out sensors.

 

[Pandabloke]

Hi there.

I am the fella that the 'linked thread' goes to. I can confirm that on my car as seen in the link, the reversing sensors are not affected. They still work as normal.

However, should the towball cover go slightly askew it will trigger the sensors, so there isn't much room to spare. I guess if I took the cover off, the issue would be dealt with, but I prefer to get out occaisionally and jiggle the towball cover than get greasy trousers....

Hope this helps.

Panda