Towequipe towbar wiring help!

[JonMs]

Can anyone please help me out! I am about to install single electrics towbar wiring on my 75 Tourer but am getting very confused.
After consulting these forums I decided that I wanted to install the correct rover 75 wiring kit that would bypass the parking radar etc. So I bought a Witter towbar from Towequipe that included what was described as a "vehicle specific wiring kit with full instructions".
Now, the kit has arrived but I'm not sure what to make of it. It includes the towing module marked up as Seimens/BMW which I assume is the original fitment part, but the rest of the wiring is not original. The box it came in and instructions provided are for the BMW 3 series E46.
Bear with me.... I assume that the E46 and Rover 75 are so similar that the towbar wiring is interchangable, but it makes for a difficult fitting when the wires are different colours! However, it looks like you don't need a link kit etc. as there are already wires on the provided loom that connect to the lighting switch and the fusebox (somehow?) so maybe this kit is "a good thing".

Has anyone used one of these kits and can give me some hints on wiring it up please?

Thanks
Jonathan

[HarryM1BYT]

Before getting too involved, I would double check with supplier that it is the correct kit for the 75.

You basically need to make connections in the boot and then there is one wire which will need to be run all the way up front to the LSM. From memeory I thing it also probably needs a 12v feed which is located behind the glove box.

When all working, it should isolate the reverse sensor when a trailer is connected, advise you of any lighting faults on the trailer and if you have the hi graphic display in the dash, tell you what the actual fault is.

[JonMs]

Hi ,
Just checked with the supplier and it Is the correct unit. It's just not the same as the oem one. The control unit looks like the proper Rover/BMW one. If that is so then I would think that it would intelligently disable the park radar circuit when required. However this wiring lo

[JonMs]

.....loom incorporates a switch in the trailer socket and instructions to somehow tap into the PDC circuit (without giving any actual details). It's all a bit of a puzzle

[Drewski]

OP, do you think you could help me out with something? If you havn't yet fitted the towbar, could you give me some measurements on the side bars please? (part "D" in the instructions). I bought a used towbar that didn't come with the brackets and need to get a set made up.

Thanks, Drew.

[JonMs]

Yes, no problem. I'll try and do it tomorrow for you.

[HarryM1BYT]

Originally Posted by JonMs

.....loom incorporates a switch in the trailer socket and instructions to somehow tap into the PDC circuit (without giving any actual details). It's all a bit of a puzzle

That sounds nothing like what was needed to install mine. Mine was described as the pukka unit for the Rover 75 and came from Towsure. Before I bought it, I researched where they bought them from and rang the companies technical help line - they assured me it was the same as the OEM unit. Once installed, it did more than I had anticipated, in flagging up any trailer lighting issues and where the fault lay.

I was less impressed with their supplemetary socket kit, which came from the same factory. It was described as the full kit and also as can-bus compatible - it also cost double what others were charging for similiar. In fact there is no such thing as a can-bus supplementary socket and their socket was not a fully wired one anyway. I actually had to add the missing wires, whereas a cheaper one would have included them.

[oldcarguy]

I bought my Witter towbar with detachable ball from a different company and ordered the twin wiring kit, thinking it would have the pukka mounting brackets for the sockets, what I got was a mounting kit for a fixed ball and no good at all. This company and Witters were a total waste of time. I ended up buying the proper MGR kit, expensive but easy(ish) to fit.

[JonMs]

Originally Posted by Drewski

OP, do you think you could help me out with something? If you havn't yet fitted the towbar, could you give me some measurements on the side bars please? (part "D" in the instructions). I bought a used towbar that didn't come with the brackets and need to get a set made up.

Thanks, Drew.

Drew,
Part "D" is made from a steel bar 8mm thick, 40mm wide and 257mm long.
One end is bent to an angle of 80 deg (maybe supposed to be 90 deg?, won't know 'till i've fitted it) at a point 50mm from the end.
There are 5 holes drilled in the bar and they are elongated to take the captive bolt clips provided (you might want to just weld on captive nuts).
The hole in the short "upright" has it's centre 18mm from the bar end.
Measuring from the other end the hole centres are at 20mm, 65mm, 120mm and 165mm.
If you look at the instructions it describes using 2 fasteners on the saloon and 3 on the estate so I don't know why there are 4 holes drilled or which of them are used until I fit the bar.
Hope that helps,
Jonathan

[Drewski]

That's brilliant Thanks very much, it's appreciated.