Berlingo towbar wiring and immobiliser

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paul in normandy
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Berlingo towbar wiring and immobiliser

Post by paul in normandy »

Not sure whether these 2 faults are related or not - perhaps an expert on here might advise!
The towbar socket on our 99 Berlingo multispce has been misbehaving and as I have to bring a small caravan to the UK tomorrow I decided to change the socket. As its tucked away under the rear bumper I drilled out the old setscrews and bolts, and acquired a new 7 pin socket. The old one had 3 lots of extra wires around the outside - 1 other not used - having changed the 7 wires around to the new socket, attempt to start the car and the immobiliser light came on and it refused to start. This is the first time I realised the car had an immobiliser, and the first time it has refused to start.
Could the 2 things be connected - do I need to replace the 7 pin socket with the 7 pin + 4 extra connector one thats present?
If they aren't connected is there any way of getting round the immobiliser - if it has to go to the Citroen dealer its probably time to get it weighed in as it really isn't worth spending a lot of money on.
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spider
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Post by spider »

If its a mechanical diesel (DW8 I would imagine or XUD if its an early one) then yes it can be removed with a bit of work, DW8's are a bit more annoying as obtaining a replacement stop solenoid is a bit tricky but they are available (you cannot chop it out of the immobilizer like Bosch ones)

If its HDi or petrol then unlikely to be easy to remove immobilizer (not impossible just not going to be fun at all)
Andy.

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paul in normandy
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Post by paul in normandy »

Its a DW8 engine.
Just had a few more thoughts about this after having another quick look at it. The towing socket has actually got 6 other connections around the outside - 3 of which are used. Assume the 3 in use bring the actual power to the socket - the normal 7 connections only provide the 'signals'. As the only problem is that the plug is loose in the socket so contact is intermittent is it feasible to wire a new socket in series with the old one - in other words connect no 1 of the original socket to no 1 of the new one and so on - the connections into the old socket remain the same and the new socket should be tighter. (A new socket is about €4.50, and I've got plenty of wire, Citroen would probably want the thick end of €100 for a new wiring kit and I only need the socket bit).
Might try this anyway as I've bought the socket - interesting to see whether the immobiliser light goes out - if not advice on bypassing it welcome - the car's not really worth nicking anyway!
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Post by wheeler »

Have you blown a fuse changing the socket ? if it remember right the brake lights & the imobiliser share the same fuse.
paul in normandy
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Post by paul in normandy »

Well done that man!
It was the fuse for the immobiliser - took a bit of finding as the fuse box bears little resemblance to the Haynes manual - it seems to be a mixture of Berlingo / Partner according to the book.
Wired up the towball socket using just the seven wires in the inner ring and it works - no idea what the rest do so I've put them into some choc block connectors and hidden them behind the bumper :) .
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