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Dedicated Wiring Looms.
Dedicated wiring looms, sometimes known as 'vehicle specific wiring' or 'plug in kits', are becoming ever more popular for towbar lighting wiring (12N) installation. To put it simply this is the way the job should be done because each kit is designed specifically for the vehicle that it is fitted to, and rather than soldering or using 'Scotch Locks' to connect the towbar wiring these kits interface with the vehicle systems in the same way as the manufacturer intended.
Some manufacturers and insurance companies are now insisting that these wiring looms are always fitted. Ford in particular has become very strict with warranty claims on it's latest generation vehicles.
On some vehicles such as the BMW X5 and landrover Discovery 3 it is actually unsafe to fit universal wiring due to the way the vehicles stability control works.
Due to the complex nature of dedicated wiring it is inevitable that is more expensive than universal wiring. This cost is anywhere between £25 and £240 more depending on the vehicle.
The extra cost is justified because the wiring is installed as the vehicle manufacturer intended it to be fitted, it means that your warranty won't be affected, which of course could save you alot of money in the long run.
 Because the wiring is designed to work with the vehices onboard systems, certain functions on the vehicle are activated that would otherwise not work with universal electrics. Some of these features are vital saftey features such as Trailer Stability Control, and other convenience features such as the cut off of your fog light and parking aids while towing. More information can be found below.
Some vehicles need to be 'coded' or programmed to activate the extra functions provided by the wiring loom, especially in the case of T-Esp (Trailer Stability Control) on VW Audi group vehicles.
We have invested in the equipment needed to do this programming for you at the time that the towbar is fitted meaning that you don't need to pay extra for your dealer to do it later.
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Information & images courtesy of Right Connections UK Ltd
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Trailer Detection
Trailer detection is a system that notifies certain equipment in the towing vehicle as to whether a trailer is connected. The equipment on the vehicle can include trailer modules, park distance control systems, or an AFC module that can adjust their functions depending whether or not a trailer is connected.
The trailer detection can be activated by means of a micro switch inside the trailer socket on the towing vehicle or sometimes via a more complex sysytem where the vehicles onboard computer detects the presence of a trailer via closed circuits.
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PDC (Park Distance Control), Parktronic & APS (Accoustic Parking System)
PDC is a system that monitors the space behind the vehicle to alert the driver of any hazard either audibly via a buzzer or sometimes visually with a display. It is activated when reverse gear is selected.
The problem with PDC when you are towing is that when you select reverse gear the system constantly picks up your trailer or caravan, it is convenient if the system can be disabled while towing.
Nearly all dedicated wiring looms work with the vehicle to disable the PDC automatically while you are towing.
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Rear Fog Lamp Cut Off
Although it is not a legal requirement for the rear fog light on the vehicle to be cut off while towing it is more convenient.
This is because if you are towing a caravan and need to use your fog lights, the bright red glare from the fog light on your car will reflect off the front of the caravan which can be a hazard in difficult visibility.
Nearly all dedicated wiring looms will automatically cut off the fog light on your vehicle when you have a trailer or caravan connected.
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Trailer Stability Program (T-Esp)
With huge advances being made in vehicle technology manufacturers seek to find new ways to exploit the technology available to give them an advantage over their competitors. This is non more apparent then in vehicle safety systems. In the 1980's we saw one or two manufacturers introduce ABS on their cars, and now it is virtually unknown for a car not to have ABS.
Over the last few years we have seen the introduction of new safety system such as Brake Force Distribution, Side Impact Bars, Airbags and so on.
The latest technology that is now becoming commonplace on new vehicle is the Electronic Stability Program or ESP. This is known by various names depending on the manufacturer of your car, for example BMW use DSC (Dynamic Stability Control) while Toyota call their system VSC (Vehicle Stability Control), but despite the different names all the system operate in a similar way.
You can read an in depth explanation of ESP here.
So how is this relavant to dedicated wiring looms?
 Simple, an extention of ESP is T-Esp or Trailer Stability Program.
Most people who tow a caravan use a stabiliser to reduce the risk of 'snaking' and some have been unlucky enough to find out just how terrifying an out of control snaking caravan can be. Very often when a caravan starts to 'snake' the driver actually makes the problem worse by try to correct the problem with the steering and actually making the snaking worse.
T-Esp will use sensors already built in to the car to detect when a caravan starts to snake and will automatically bring the car and caravan back under control quickly and safely. The towing modules fitted with dedicated wiring looms have extra software built in which is activated when you plug in a trailer or caravan.
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