Technical Cycle Carrier/Light Board Wiring

[Andy The Gardener]

Evening all.

I want/need a cycle carrier and have found various prices for the ones which fit to the boot however with bikes on they will cover the lights (and possibly cover the number plate) so i'd need to buy a light board to go with it.

However, the ones I have seen all plug into the towing style light plugs - which I havn't got.

Has anyone any idea how much they are to have fitted - or if they are available to fit yourself and if so, how easy are they to fit?

Ta very much

 

[Andy Monty]

Evening all.

I want/need a cycle carrier and have found various prices for the ones which fit to the boot however with bikes on they will cover the lights (and possibly cover the number plate) so i'd need to buy a light board to go with it.

However, the ones I have seen all plug into the towing style light plugs - which I havn't got.

Has anyone any idea how much they are to have fitted - or if they are available to fit yourself and if so, how easy are they to fit?

Ta very much

Hi andy Its not too hard to wire in yourself as long as you are electrically savvy and dont mind a bit of DIY

Before i say any more don't attempt it if you are in a rush and make each connection good and sound and ensure all cables and joints are run safely and well supported....


there is my guide here

https://www.fiatforum.com/grande-pu...ng-towbar-12-n-socket-7-way-bypass-relay.html


in addition to that the fuse box supply can be seen in the glove box fuse box (the BIG white wire with the red strip)


its looks complicated but if you do one at a time its easy as 1,2,3

for example the left hand indicator

1) Connect the yellow wire on the relay to the vehicle loom (solder or scotch lock ((pref solder))

2) Connect the yellow 7 core cable which goes to the socket into the screw terminal marked #1

3) connect the yellow cable to pin #1 of the socket




the 2 white wires left go to earth (big one under the boot trim)

you can get an inline socket

http://www.towsure.com/category/7202-Inline_Sockets


and this relay (thats whats in mine)

http://www.towsure.com/product/13145-Smart_7_Way_Can-Bus_Relay

 

[Andy The Gardener]

Thanks very much Andy, thats very helpful

 

[Az234]

Just get some roof bars for the bikes its what I have its possible to get 4 on the roof.

 

[Andy Monty]

another few pointers to make life easy....


if you remove the door trim (bottom of door (2 screws) and pull up (on about 5 plastic clips)

you then remove one screw at the back bottom of the door frame this enables you to spring off the back trim (it is held in by the door rubber and a couple of metal clips) spring it off...


remove the boot carpet ( 2 screws and boot rubber) you can now use a Bamboo cane ( i assume you have a few ) slide it in from the back ( there are holes in the inner skin which access the void between the inner and outer body work) shove it through slowly till it hits the lower door pillar (make sure you avoid the seatbelt mechanism and wires) hook it out at the front now tape your wire to it and pull it to the boot (ideally have a mate feed the wire whilst you pull)

the boot plastic trim comes off by undoing the 2 pozi screws next to the vent and the large Torx bolt (where the boot opening spring lands) (left hand top of the trim also held by the boot rubber and plastic clips IMMSMC

 

[Andy Monty]

Just get some roof bars for the bikes its what I have its possible to get 4 on the roof.

he has a valid point especially if your planning on going abroad Andy

http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=3826


this is from the CTC

Continental carriers – 2003.09

"Chapter and Verse" please regarding what is and what is not legal on the Continent (especially France) with regard to bike carriers for cars. I believe that some countries (Holland & France?) are unhappy with the "strap on" type as often seen in the UK and prefer (insist?) on the rigid attachment kind.
D.J. Beynon – Haslingfield, Cambs

Basically the mainland countries have the same regulations about loads attached to cars as us. But they enforce them.

They enforce them especially in places where they expect to find a lot of cars with dodgy loads attached, i.e. holiday traffic, i.e. near ferry ports. And they enforce them with real on-the-spot fines (none of our semi-detached fixed-penalty-in-the-post fudge).

At home and abroad on any vehicle: you must not have anything, not even a spoke, obscuring the least little bit of any lamp or number plate from the view of an observer. And you must not have an "unsafe load".

Lights and number are easily fixed (at a cost) with a lighting board hung on behind the bikes. But the definition of an unsafe load is somewhat open to interpretation. If the carrier is approved by the car manufacturer, that is a good start. Few strap-on carriers are thus approved. In some countries that may be taken as an assumption against strap-on carriers – unless you have a piece of paper to show that your model of car is approved with the carrier in question. From members living in France we know that there are procedures for getting an approved strap-on carrier for some models of car – in France. Unfortunately the system in Britain is a whole lot more laissez-faire.

Generally it seems you are safer with a towball carrier, since the towball is a properly tested fixture. Roofrack cycle carriers are also more of a known quantity with recognised test procedures. That doesn’t make strap-on illegal, but if your load doesn’t rely entirely upon a few bits of webbing it’s just a lot less likely that the policeman will tug at them, suck his teeth and say "non"

And whilst British police do not really like to upset drivers, they seem to be taking a harder line since a motorcyclist was killed the other year – by a load of bikes suddenly dumped in his path! So whether or not you intend to take them abroad, it's worth getting a really solid method of transporting your bikes.
Chris Juden.

Get a light board – 2002.07

I was looking through back issues when I noticed a letter about Police in France and their attitude to bike carriers on the rear of cars.

We lived in France a number of years and had a rear carrier without a problem, either with or without light board and number plate. Recently, however, we have noticed a change in attitude. The Police and Gendarmarie have both been enforcing regulations that until recently were openly flouted. On the spot fines are common and provide an easy source of income for authorites. This summer we noticed two Motorcycle police on a roundabout pulling in everyone who had bikes on the back to check their compliance. (They stood in the shade on a very hot day, writing tickets fulfilling some target I suppose, quite enjoying themselves.)

It isn't worth going to France without the proper equipment, as Tourists are an easy target. But note that roof cycle carriers and rear cycle carriers are far cheaper in France (often 50% cheaper), the same quality and available for every type of vehicle. The shops to visit are 'Decathlon' (a sports super store) and Norauto (a store like Halfords, but with better informed staff!).
Gary Harris – Nottingham

However it won’t be so cheap if you get fined before reaching the store! I’d recommend getting the lighting board fitted right now: Britain has the same laws about lights and plates, and sometimes enforces them too.
Chris Juden


French fine bikes on cars – 2001.09

Can you let me have the correct information on carrying bikes by car in France?

I have been told that the French Police are already enforcing an EC regulation regarding rear window mounted bike carriers – i.e. ones held on by straps that go into the top of a hatchback. This regulation, I understood, did not come into force until 2002.

Also the French Police are enforcing the regulation with on-the-spot fines of £120 if a numberplate and working lights are not on bikes mounted on a ball hitch type of carrier.
Mrs V McClure – Ballymoney

I contacted the Vehicle Standards and Engineering section of the Department of Transport and spoke to their expert on car exterior fittings. He assured me that there is no EC regulation in the pipeline about rear window mounted bike carriers. However he confirmed that these matters are covered by existing regulations to do with unsafe loads and lighting.

There have been a number of accidents, in this country and abroad, caused by strap-on cycle carriers falling off the backs of cars and dumping their load in the path of following traffic. One recently caused the death of a motorcyclist. British Police have responded by inspecting more closely the security of such fittings on any cars they decide to check for this or other reasons. What is safe is open to various interpretations and it is possible that French Police are taking the fact that no car manufacturer approves such fittings to imply that anything strapped onto a rear hatch is by definition unsafe.

The partial obscuration of number plates and lights is another area to which Police are paying increased attention. Be advised that it has always been illegal to obscure any lamp or number plate and that these have to be visible from various directions at up to 15 degrees above the horizontal. Strictly speaking: not so much as a spoke may protrude into this zone and if it does then the only legal solution is to mount a supplementary lighting board. Infringement leads to a fine both here and abroad. High-level rear carriers attempt to get over that problem without the extra cost of a lighting board and have become popular. But the taller structure may increase force on the rear window and is invariably attached by even longer straps, inviting the unsafe load criticism.

CTC does not claim to be expert on cars. However: whilst many of our members are apparently content with this means of carrying cycles, I have received enough negative feedback about the apparent lack of security of strap-on racks for me to be biased in favour of the tow bar or ball mounting option – with lighting board. Whilst more expensive and perhaps not quite so convenient, the latter does meet with the approval of vehicle manufacturers. And CTC can hardly complain about the strict and proper application of the law to motorists! I would accordingly urge our motoring members to carry bicycles in a manner most likely to meet with police approval.

Chris Juden

 

[Andy The Gardener]

Thanks again - to sum up your long reply about having a cycle carrier on the continent - I don't intent to ever leave the UK with my car, so its doesn't apply (thanks anyway).

I'm going to go for the bike carrier style rather than the roof rack as i've always prefered them and there isn't any problems with them over here as long as you've got a lightboard etc.

 

[Andy Monty]

Thanks again - to sum up your long reply about having a cycle carrier on the continent - I don't intent to ever leave the UK with my car, so its doesn't apply (thanks anyway).

I'm going to go for the bike carrier style rather than the roof rack as i've always prefered them and there isn't any problems with them over here as long as you've got a lightboard etc.

no problem you got the carrier yet? take a look into the Sarris Bones racks they are very secure by all accounts


http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Saris_Bones_3_Bike_Rack/5360009223/

 

[Andy The Gardener]

no problem you got the carrier yet? take a look into the Sarris Bones racks they are very secure by all accounts

No, not yet. I'm still looking around different places. Not sure which to go for - but im sure there all as secure as each other as long as they are properly secured with the straps. Plus, i'm the sort of person to add a couple of my own straps to be on the safe side anyway lol.

 

[DaveMcT]

Watch out for the metal clips on the strap ends damaging paint on the panel edges. The clips are plastic coated but not exactly soft & cuddly.

Additional straps are pointless because you wont be able to shut the rear door. If you have a roof spoiler its likely to get in the way and prevent the clips attaching safely.

Check out the disclaimers on here
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/3-Cycle-Rear-...0308?IMSfp=TL100308149002r1771#ht_2281wt_1028

 

[colin79666]

Have to say I thought this was an excellent idea:


Shame Fiat didn't make it an option on the Evo as I understand it the GP and Corsa share the same underpinings.

 

[Andy Monty]

Have to say I thought this was an excellent idea:


Shame Fiat didn't make it an option on the Evo as I understand it the GP and Corsa share the same underpinings.

Wouldn't fancy using that knowing how the newer shimano crank arms fit...