Xantia towbar - wiring

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rmunns
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Xantia towbar - wiring

Post by rmunns »

I tried the search on here but didn't really find what I wanted.

I have a 2000 Xantia Hdi90 saloon.

Would someone who has wired up Xantia II electrics for a towbar (trailer, 7-pin) please say where they picked into the car wiring? I've taken off the rear cover and exposed the wires that go across from one side to the other. BUt I can't see how to get at the LH and RH wires for lights and indicators.

The boot liner is so stiff it looks as if I'll have to do quite a lot of stripping covering plastic off before I can get at each side - is this necessary?

I did take out the offside rear light cluster, but that just has a blue plug with all the wires in and no way to get in at them.

I have got scotchlocks.
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mongoose100
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Post by mongoose100 »

I joined in the centre of the rear and just ran one wire to the rear of one of the clusters for the opposite indercator.

To be honest, it wasn't a difficult job at all
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Post by JohnD »

I fitted and wired my '98 2.1 - but that was 13 years ago - memory!!!. Seem to recall the light units were connected up with ribbon wiring. I ran a Stanley knife down them to separate the wires, traced the wires from the bulb and used Scotchlocs on each wire.
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Post by Chris570 »

the OEM citroen towbar sits in effect on that ribbon (it really sits between the ribbon and the cluster) so that is the best way to do it. make sure you get a good earth though :)
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Post by Old-Guy »

Don't do what the muppet who fitted the wiring to our estate (when new) did - used the factory kit but fitted the 'extension' with so little slack that it was impossible to pull the rear light cluster out to release the plug.
Yes, I know you can just about get at it from inside - but I tend not to notice a blown side-light bulb until it's dark and cold; it's so much easier to remove the cluster for the best possible view of what you're doing.
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Re: Xantia towbar - wiring

Post by sparksie »

Hi all

I realise this is an older post, but it's the only relevant result from a search.
I had a little time available today and have a job for a towbar towards the end of the week.
I decided to wire up the trailer socket (7 pin N type) on the Xantia, so I can use that and bring the family along.
I located all the wiring for the tail lights in the OSR wing, inside the boot. Being in a hurry, I spliced in (properly! No Scotchloks) to the wires with the socket wiring loom. Ultimately, I'm going to have to revisit this as the car wiring is VERY thin and I'm not at all convinced of its ability to carry more than twice the usual current, when a trailer is plugged in. I'm going to have to fit relays, to avoid trouble in the future.
While poking around in the harness in the boot, I found a white 4 pin connector that has a permanently 12V+ pin, fed by a fairly thick grey wire. The other 3 pins don't appear to be connected to either chassis or B+, so I'm wondering what it's for. Actually hoping it might be a suitable source of power for my relays. Anybody know?
I'm also keen to wire up the trailer fog light, but I couldn't locate a convenient feed for that. Being in the tailgate, the wiring must be in the ceiling, but I certainly don't want to try and access it up there. I'm sure the factory kit doesn't require roof liner removal, so can anybody tell me where that picks up a fog light feed from?
Finally, it's not a good idea to have the car fog light working when drawing a caravan, or horse box, or similar, due to the glare from the reflection in the front of the trailer. Some factory kits automatically turn it off, when a trailer is plugged in. I don't have one I can readily inspect to see how they achieve this, though I imagine there must be a switch built in to the socket (not on mine, there's not), or a current sensing relay that detects the load imposed by the trailer lights and turns off the car fog light. Never seen one, but I could probably make one, if I put my mind to it. I'd need a place to interrupt the supply before it goes to the roof, whichever way it's done. Can anybody help with this?
Thanks for any help, as always
Sparksie

2000 Xantia 1.9TurboD
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