Towbar fitting advice, please!

wannab-x · Post by **wannab-x** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 10:10 am

Good morning! Hope you all had a good weekend (was nice to meet you, Mr Bandit). I need to fit the towbar that was with my car when I bought it, and need some advice:

How do I do it?

It looks to be the same as on Bandit's red car, so won't involved cutting or (hopefully) even removing the bumper. Please could someone let me know where it needs to be attached to, and with what size bolts etc.

Thanks very much!

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 10:36 am

Some info here:

http://www.rwbsmith.plus.com/citroen2/

Post by **docchevron** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 12:04 pm

Are you on commision with Rob Smith Jez??

wannab-x · Post by **wannab-x** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 12:11 pm

Unfortunately, the towbar in the pics isn't anything like mine!

wannab-x · Post by **wannab-x** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 7:08 pm

Help!

I've tried fitting the towbar today, and it's all wrong! I'll try to explain:

Presumably, the 'bar should be fitted to the two handily-located brackets either side of the spare wheel. First thing was that the right hand bracket is distorted, as the end towards the front of the car was bent to the right, presumably to give more clearance to the exhaust. So, first thing, the bent end was 'persuaded' into a slightly more linear formation (although the bracket is now gently wavy...

Anyway, the problem seems to be this: the two relevant looking holes on these brackets have the rearmost whole of the pair higher off the ground than the front hole. However, the brackets on the 'bar itself have the front hole higher than the rear hole which means that, when fitted, the bar that should apparently come out horizontally comes out on an upwards-sloping angle, which then puts the towball at an angle where the top of the ball is tilted towards the bumper. Plus, even with a 1" spacer behind the ball, there isn't enough clearance around the ball for anything to be attached!!

Mounting the 'bar "upside down" would get the holes in the right configuration, but then interferes with the spare wheel & would probably need the bumper to be cut, which ideally I don't want to do.

I hope this is making some kind of sense - I'll try to get pics up tomorrow but I'm busy tonight. Any thoughts would be appreciated. The towbar is approx. correct in terms of size between brackets & approx distance between bolt holes, but there's something not quite right, and I don't know what it is!

BX Bandit · Post by **BX Bandit** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 9:27 pm

Sorry mate for not replying to your pm!! I'll post you some piccies tomorrow, but how you describe it reminds me of the problems I faced when I fitted mine...it'll fit....

DLM · Post by **DLM** » Sat Apr 14, 2007 9:52 am

Any success? Pics? Tread very carefully if attaching to the rear end of a BX hatch as the odds are it will be rotten in the very areas you're trying to make an alternative attachment to..... particularly in the area around the underfloor box sections.

BX Bandit · Post by **BX Bandit** » Sun Apr 15, 2007 2:30 pm

Hopefully, the following will help WannaBx.

Above is n/s fitting...

Spare wheel carrier just fits...

n/s again

o/s

M12 bolts should be ok. From memory, this may of been a homemade towbar but came off a Mk 1 BX. I had some extra plates welded on to give extra bolting locations.

wannab-x · Post by **wannab-x** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 8:03 am

Thanks for the info, Bandit. I rushed out & got some washers & tried it this way, but the towball still wasn't level at the end of it - still tilting a fair amount. I'm now considering getting a different towbar, with instructions - there are plenty about!!

Incidentally, is the n/s bracket supposed to be bent to give the exhaust more space? I didn't think it was, plus I thought the towbar needed to go thru the hole at the end of the bracket, so bent it straight...

wannab-x · Post by **wannab-x** » Thu Apr 19, 2007 2:36 pm

Right then! I bought a new towbar off ebay, which was delivered yesterday (£25 plus p&p, bargain!). I opened it up, and it was.... exactly the same!!!

However, the instructions told me what I needed to do (will scan & post them for reference) which involved drilling the car, amongst other things.

I'll report in more detail later, but the 'bar's on the car!

Next thing - electrics. I've brought the cable through into the car, but I'm not sure where to get at the wiring, or which wires to tap into - I removed the left rear cluster for a hint, but all the wires seem to be the same colour, and all come in in a cluster & connect to a single socket (apart from a couple of random ones).

How on earth do I find out which wires to tap into in order to get the right signal to the right thing? The Haynes manual doesn't seem to be much help, and this is way more difficult than the last car I did this on!!!

tom · Post by **tom** » Thu Apr 19, 2007 3:16 pm

The Haynes manual is just fine. You do need to be able to read a circuit diagram, though. All the wiring to the left hand cluster is on two plugs. One goes to the right hand side and the other is a black ribbon cable that feeds the rear lights. The connections are identified in Haynes by number so you should be able to tell which is which. Reckon to wire your trailer cable in as far from the connector as you can manage by cutting each lead in turn and putting it through a terminal block large enough to carry the trailer wire as well. then smother the lot in vaseline and wrap it in a polythene bag to protect it.
Don't use Scotchloks or I'll have you fed to the goat. They are a bodge and will cause you trouble sooner or later.

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » Thu Apr 19, 2007 4:59 pm

I think you can buy a special lead which will plug in. One of the specialists like Towsure may be able to help - or even Indespension (who publish a detailed catalogue on the net.) This will probably plug into the nearside light unit.

You will probably find that you have trouble with the rear foglight. I think Citroen envisage a superior plug being used with a switch in this terminal and 2 wires to it in the socket. The idea is that when your caravan is connected the rear foglight on the car is extinguished - either so you don't set fire to the car's wiring by overloading it or by suffer dazzling reflections off thefront of the caravan. Most sockets used in this country don't have the switch in the socket - and so you wire it up and find the rear foglight doesn't work. The answer is to trace the wire and jump it.

wannab-x · Post by **wannab-x** » Thu Apr 19, 2007 9:30 pm

All done (hopefully)!! I spent a happy few minutes (no, make that a confusing few mins) staring blankly at the wiring diagrams, and then it all started to make sense. All attached now, so waiting for my brother-in-law to put together his new trailer tomorrow so I can check the lights all work as they should...

wannab-x · Post by **wannab-x** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 12:24 pm

Right then. I tried the electrics with my trailer board yesterday, and of course not all the lights work.

Tom, I'm sorry - I used Scotchloks!!

Time to take everything out & do it all again, methinks. I've got a terminal block, so will do it properly this time...

Kitch · Post by **Kitch** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 12:33 pm

Heatshrink insulation is for true winners