There are 2 types of wiring kits to choose from, dedicated and universal. Universal kits are available for all vehicles whereas dedicated are vehicle specific so may not be available for some cars (more information on whether your car has a dedicated tow bar wiring kit available can be found on the chosen tow bar product page).
Universal Wiring Kits
Universal wiring kits are needed to connect the tow bar electrics to the car electrical system. In some cases, mostly in modern cars, a bypass relay will be needed when fitting a universal kit, this is to ensure the towing electrics and vehicle electrics co-ordinate voltage/ power and wont detect the drop in voltage/ power as a fault.
Things to consider before purchasing a universal wiring kit
- Trailer Stability Control
Some modern vehicles have trailer stability control programmed as an extension to the cars regular stability control system, however, if a universal wiring kit is fitted to your vehicle, the trailer stability control function may not activate and become null.
- Vehicle Warranty
If your vehicle is still under warranty then you might want to consider the affect of fitting a universal wiring kit. Most warranties will specify that any tow bar wiring fitted must be equivalent to the wiring supplied by the vehicle manufacturer. Meaning, they prefer a dedicated wiring kit over a universal wiring kit.
Dedicated Wiring Kits
Dedicated wiring kits are made to fit a specific car make and model. Unlike universal kits, dedicated kits work in coordination with the vehicles existing electrical system allowing it to run as functional as it was intended to by the manufacturer.
The advantage of a dedicated wiring kit is that the vehicle will know when you are towing and will automatically adjust the following systems (only if the vehicle has them):
- Brake electronics
- Engine electronics
- Cruise control or A.C.C
- Parking aids
- Reversing cameras
- Lane change assisting
- Suspension system
- Engine cooling system
- S.P