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Dedicated Towing Electrics - Printable Version

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Dedicated Towing Electrics - dunfillin - 16-03-2017

Hi all,

I thought I'd share with you my experiences which might potentially save others a lot of hassle when trying to fit a genuine Citroen trailer electrics module. The part number for the 13 pin kit that I chose to use is 1613715880 and now costs around £130 which is considerably less than it used to be.

Having fitted  the above module to my 2016 120 XTR, I had it activated a couple of weeks ago but despite the fact that the main dealer insisted that the car knew that the module was present, the trailer lights failed to operate and that "further investigation" would be required to ascertain what the problem was.

I was pretty sure that I had fitted it properly as it's a pretty straightforwards job to do. Apart from the wiring of the towing socket itself the instructions supplied suggest that you just have to plug into 5 sockets on the module and make an earth connection.
My car has all the required plugs behind the rear nearside panel so the instruction manual suggests that a second loom supplied with the kit isn't required (this picks up power from the front of the car behind the glovebox and is meant for versions of car without the plugs supplied at the rear).

Anyway, I took the car away and checked and double checked that all the connections were OK and that there were no blown fuses and still the lights didn't work so I had to return it to the dealer to have another look.

It went in today and eventually they found that my work was indeed OK but that despite there being no mention of this in the instructions, the technician found that he had to pull a plug out of a socket behind the glovebox and replace it with another which was present but unconnected. This second plug was presumably connected to the plug which connected to the trailer module at the back of the car.

Now I would have thought that Citroen should cover the cost of this extra work as the instructions are clearly deficient in that there is no mention of the need for work at the front of the car if the plugs are provided at the back but the dealer did not agree so I am now going to have to contact Citroen customer services to try and claim reimbursement for the extra work.

No criticism of the dealer is implied as presumably they think that Citroen will baulk at paying for this and they have suggested that they will back me up if customer services contacts them.

I brought the car home and found that the trailer lights do indeed now work but unfortunately the rear parking sensors are not automatically cancelled when the trailer is plugged in -  I thought that was one of the main points of investing in dedicated electrics.

I should appreciate if any forum members could share their experience with dedicated electrics either Citroen or non Citroen regarding activation of additional features before I pursue this further with Citroen as I don't know what to expect from this module. The car manual suggests that rear parking sensors should indeed be deactivated when a trailer is plugged (possibly also fog rear warning lamps). I know that a previous car (Ford Mondeo) worked in this way.

Dunfillin


RE: Dedicated Towing Electrics - ntm1275 - 16-03-2017

I fitted my genuine Citroen towbar electrics and I found the same as you, as single plug needed to be connected in the fuse box.

There have been other threads on here which have had the same issues and I've pointed them to that plug


RE: Dedicated Towing Electrics - dunfillin - 17-03-2017

Hi NTM and thanks for the reply.

Unfortunately I hadn't seen your posting re. the need to substitute the existing plug with another.

You've got to wonder what the original, now redundant, plug was doing now that it has been removed and why Citroen couldn't have just used the second plug which replaced it in the first place.

Regarding my final point in my original post, can you tell me if the "higher functions" are available in your car (rear parking sensor and fog light cancellation) and whether there is any indication on the dashboard that a trailer is plugged in ?.

Thanks again

Dunfillin


RE: Dedicated Towing Electrics - dunfillin - 19-03-2017

Come on you guys!!

There must be someone out there who has had genuine Citroen trailer electrics fitted who can please tell me, before I start complaining to Citroen, if their rear parking sensors and fog lamps are disabled when the trailer is plugged in.

Thanks in anticipation.


RE: Dedicated Towing Electrics - patch - 30-04-2017

Thanks for posting your experience and those tips. Will be doing the same this week and will let you know how it goes.


RE: Dedicated Towing Electrics - patch - 05-05-2017

I have the towbar electrics behind the left panel in the boot. However, like ntm1275 and dunfillin I need to plug that connector referee to above into the socket in the glove compartment. The diagram shows me where to plug this into on the fuseboard (unlike dunfillin nothing is plugged into it already).
However I can't find the cables/plug so I can take it and plug it in.

Any idea where is could be?