Electrics for foldaway tow bar

[johnny merc]

I have bought a 350 e class cdi with a factory fitted fold away towbar to tow my caravan. I have now been told that the only electrics for this are a single socket which is only good enough to tow a trailer. Has anyone got a solution. The tow bar was very expensive!!

 

[davidjpowell]

Are you sure that this is not the Euro 13 pin plug which includes the electrics for caravans as well? Sometimes need an adaptor cable to convert this to the two lead UK setup?

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Yep, it'll be a single 13 pin plug.

 

[Druk]

It'll be the same foldaway Oris that I have on my 211 complete with 13 pin euro socket. For some obscure reason it's only fitted with pins 1 to 10. 11,12 and 13 are missing, which is a real pain cos the fridge and charger are on these. I've been in touch with Oris to try and get the pins supplied loose and they told me to get them through my dealer. . Who cant get them cos they dont come up on EPC. Stalemate. I'm going down the road of a separate lead with a heavy + and - to feed power to the fridge. Not handy at all but at least I'll get the weight of cable needed to avoid voltage drop and be able to run it through a decent relay.

 

[BTB 500]

As above. The factory towing electrics on our Vito (removable towbar) have the newer 13-pin socket ... a simple adapter splits that into the two traditional 7-pins (12N & 12S).

 

[johnny merc]

Thanks, Bill . I thought that. Where can I buy one from? Mercedes hasn't been much help. Thanks for your quick reply

 

[BTB 500]

Most caravan shops would probably stock adapters, or someone like Towsure if you want to buy on the web:

Towing Converter Lead: UK Caravan to Euro 13-Pin Towbar European 13-7 Pin Adaptors Towing Electrics Towing

 

[Druk]

Why not have your caravan converted to a single lead and 13pin Euro plug then you wont have all the bother of adaptors trailing on the ground and getting in the road? Also, they're much more secure and easier to insert than the old 7pin ones. As I posted above though...make certain the 13pin socket on your car has all the pins in place otherwise it won't matter what system you use the fridge and charger won't work.

 

[johnny merc]

Thanks everyone for your help. I have ordered a converter lead. It seems the easiest option. I will let Mercedes know if this works. They didn't know I could do this.

 

[BTB 500]

Should be fine. Works perfectly with the factory towing electrics on my Vito.

 

[hbb6]

On both my '06 W203 and new W204 I specified the factory fit tow bar. It was an annoyance on the '06 car to find that there was no fridge supply. As a temporary fix I used the rear power socket to provide a solution. I then got the dealer to add the extra wiring which was done very neatly.
On my new car I made a point when placing the order that I wanted the 13 pin socket fully wired.
I collected the car from Bremen and when I got home I checked the socket, it wasn't fully wired. So on taking the car to the dealer for the completion of the delivery process, I made sure that the wiring was completed.

 

[Bridger]

I also have a factory fitted tow bar with a 13 pin socket in which pins 10, 11 & 12 are missing and I would to wire it for the caravan fridge. When you had the socket fully wired, was pin 10 connected to the existing towing module or did they fit a separate relay?

 

[hbb6]

Both cars had the 13 pin socket equipped with a full set of pins. They just weren't all wired. The fridge supply is only enabled when the ignition is on. I don't think this required an extra relay.