The Importance of Being Wired

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING WIRED

SPECIFIC WIRING SETS FOR DIFFERENT VEHICLES: for better safety
Electronic systems are a part of every modern car. Check control systems, on-board computers, parking sensors and intelligent computer networks (databus systems) increase comfort and safety for the driver. Wiring in modern vehicles is also becoming thinner and thinner so that it is not always possible to connect extra accessories to the system. It is for this reason that Thule always advises the use of wiring sets that have been designed specifically for a particular vehicle. When these are used there is no need to search through the original wiring for the various functions and there is no risk of causing damage to the wiring or the electronic systems in the car. Simply click in the connectors and the work is done! When Thule wiring sets that have been designed specifically for the vehicle concerned are used, all the electronic equipment, the databus systems and any very thin wiring remain intact and the lighting continues to work at its normal strength this guaranteed safety.

UNIVERSAL WIRING SETS
For a variety of reasons it may be that there is as yet no specific wiring set for your vehicle in our programme. In some cases a universal wiring set can be used, although this is not always possible, particularly with American vehicles and cars fitted with check control and/or an on-board computer, and cars with very thin wiring. If in any doubt please contact us and we will be pleased to give you accurate and safe advice.

LEGAL REQUIREMENTS
All the wiring sets are manufactured to comply with the legal requirements applying in the particular country. For this reason all wiring sets are fitted with a fog lamp connection and in most cases the fog lamp on the car is disconnected when the plug is pushed into the socket. This prevents the irritating red glow that would otherwise be reflected in your interior mirror.

7 AND/OR 13-PIN
It is becoming more and more common for trailers and cycle carriers to be fitted with a 13-pin plug, so we have incorporated a 13-pin wiring set into our programme alongside the 7-pin range for most vehicles. We have deliberately chosen the so-called Jaeger system for the 13-pin wiring sets designed for specific vehicles because the whole of the automobile industry and most caravan manufacturers now use this system. Apart from this it is the only completely waterproof system and therefore the best solution for your car. An adapter can be used to connect the Jaeger system to a 7-pin system or the 13-pin West system, so that it is not necessary to remove the 13-pin Jaeger socket box from the car in order to use a different plug.

PREPARATION IN THE VEHICLES
Car manufacturers are increasingly installing provisions in their vehicles to make it possible to fit a towbar very simply. There is then often a connector present situated towards the rear of the vehicle, usually positioned to the left or at the back in the middle of the boot, with the necessary functions already integrated. If this is the case you should choose a wiring set fitted with a pre-prepared plug. It is then not important whether the vehicle has check control or an on-board computer or not. If the wiring set can be fitted directly to the pre-prepared plug this will be shown as a footnote on the appropriate page in the catalogue.

DISCONNECTION OF THE FOG LAMP
For safety reasons nearly all the Thule wiring sets designed specifically for particular vehicles are fitted with a system to disconnect the rear fog lamp on the car as soon as the plug from the trailer is pushed into the socket on the towing vehicle. This can be operated either electronically or mechanically using a microswitch in the socket box.

DISCONNECTION OF PARKING SENSORS (PDC)
It is increasingly common for vehicles to be fitted with a parking sensor. These sensors will see a trailer as an obstacle and therefore send out a warning signal. Therefore, Thule wiring sets disconnect the parking sensor as soon as the plug is pushed into the socket. Different types of PDC ­system, such as the original manufacturer’s system or a system purchased later on, may be fitted to different vehicles. How the PDC disconnection system is to be connected using the Thule wiring sets varies for different makes so that the manufacturer’s instructions should be consulted for this.
N.B.: The towball of a fixed towbar may also be seen as an obstacle by the parking sensors and therefore disrupt the system. In such cases a detachable towbar may be the solution.

CHECK-CONTROL
Check-control is a lamp control-system, where the function of the rear lights, brake lights and/or fog lights will be checked by an onboard computer. Should one of these develop a fault, a warning light, a symbol or text at the dashboard alerts the driver. You can check if your car has check-control by starting the motor, turning the lamp switch on, removing the connector of one rear light unit and stepping on the brake. If the vehicle has check-control there will appear a warning at the dashboard.

CANBUS
More and more of todays modern European cars are equiped with CAN bus systems. CAN stands for Controlled Area Network. The use of Can bus systems allows manufacturer’s of automotive vehicles to seriously reduce the cost and weight of construction by incorporating CAN technology. Today a single pair of wires (the bus) are sufficient as the transmission medium, transferring digital information throughout the vehicle. This has also created an opportunity to integrate additional functions, such as TSC/TSP (Trailer Stability Control/Trailer Stability Programme) and adaptive brake lights (brake lamps which illuminate with higher intensity when hard braking occurs). Subsequently, the wiring kit for the trailer functions is no longer a simple connection to the rear lamp units.
As complex as this all looks, our solution is simple. The complex part is solved for you directly within our new CANbus wiring kits and the simple part is just the fitting. Directly after fitting in most cases all legal demanded functions will be available on the socket. In some cases additional functions have to be activated by programming the vehicle with a suitable service/diagnostic tester (e.g. foglamp disconnection, PDC (Parking Distance Control-disconnection) and TSP-activation, etc).

POWER FEED (for caravan)
With a 7-pin socket it is not possible to have constant power feed for the caravan. For this function a 13-Pin socket should be used (in UK also supplementary socket 12S is used). Pin 9 of the 13 pin socket is used for constant power feed, in most caravans this line is used for interior lighting and
refrigerator. The mass connection for this power feed is at pin 13. The Brink wiring kits include wires for pin 9 and 13 from socket to the boot of the vehicle or even all the way to the battery. Pin 10 is the ignition switched power feed, which is mostly used for caravans with battery. To prevent the car battery from being unloaded the feed will be switched out when the engine is not running. For this function you will need extension kit 764029 which includes the additional wires fuses and relay