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Indicator warning

B

busman1

Is it still the law to have an audible or visual warning that your indicators on the caravan are operating if so why have my last two new cars not been fitted with them?

Will
 
HI! Will yes it is still legal to have a warning of some kind your last 2 cars may not have had any usually because most audible reminders are built into the wiring for your electrics that are usually fitted when getting your towbar fitted. have fitted a few years ago and have not for many years seen any that have a light except older Volvo,s

cheers Duggie
 
The law does not require audible or visual warning that the indicators are working, but only when they are NOT working.
 
As said above, the warning is that the indicators are not working. So a bleeper or light that works when the lights are OK and stops bleeping when they aren't is legal. I've got a system where it automatically detects the van when it's plugged in and the indicators flash/beep at twice the normal rate when there's a fault but operate normally when there isn't.
 
In some cars which have on-bord computer functions, an electronic module added with the towbar senses the insertion of the 13 pin plug and thereafter you get the same dashboard warning for the caravan as the rest of the car. Some get a bit too clever for their own good and leave you a message on the system too (e.g. my MB E220cdi). and you may get a false alram when starting up from cold the first time.

(I look on these things with a slightly jaundiced air. When I started caravanning in 1967 I made my own warning relay and light system using protected reed switches etc. and the details were published in the CC magazine En Route. I received many enquiries to buy, but failed to find a company to produce them at a sensible price and my day job didn't leave enough time for me to do so. I also played about with an early average speed meter for rallying but this too fell by the wayside).
 
It's not just those with 13-pin sockets. My last car was a 54-plate Astra the CAN-Bus system of which sensed when the caravan was connected and the warning light did not flash if the bulb failed. A friend tells me it is the same on the Mondeo.
 
It's not just those with 13-pin sockets. My last car was a 54-plate Astra the CAN-Bus system of which sensed when the caravan was connected and the warning light did not flash if the bulb failed. A friend tells me it is the same on the Mondeo.
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Thanks for that Woody mine is a new Mondeo so I expect it will be ok.

Will
 
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