New Car - Pins 9 and 10

[Mildu]

Hi,

We’ll be taking delivery of a factory order Dacia Duster 4c4 which will come with a detachable towbar and 13 pin electrics harness. I know pins 9 and 10 are not connected, but there is some ‘prep’ wiring. The dealer tells me there is not a Dacia/Renault extension kit option to complete the wiring - which I don’t understand as this then forces customers to use non manufacturer parts.

I’ve seen on the internet there are extension kits available from various companies (e.g. Jaeger, Westfalia, ECS) and was going to get a local towbar / motor mover installer who has a good reputation to install the additional wiring.

Before going ahead I’d appreciate to hear what other people have done in similar situations where the 13 pin is not full function.

Thanks for reading and appreciate your advice.

Regards.

 

[otherclive]

Hi,

We’ll be taking delivery of a factory order Dacia Duster 4c4 which will come with a detachable towbar and 13 pin electrics harness. I know pins 9 and 10 are not connected, but there is some ‘prep’ wiring. The dealer tells me there is not a Dacia/Renault extension kit option to complete the wiring - which I don’t understand as this then forces customers to use non manufacturer parts.

I’ve seen on the internet there are extension kits available from various companies (e.g. Jaeger, Westfalia, ECS) and was going to get a local towbar / motor mover installer who has a good reputation to install the additional wiring.

Before going ahead I’d appreciate to hear what other people have done in similar situations where the 13 pin is not full function.

Thanks for reading and appreciate your advice.

Regards.

There are car models that don’t have a factory fit harness but the mainline towbar companies do still offer two types. One that is designed to be compatible with the car and a cheaper generic option. In the absence of a factory kit go with the model specific option rather than the generic.

 

[Raywood]

We normally use a local firm who ave always been exemplary so I would not worry. The only time we ordered the car from a local dealer and asked for the tow bar fitted it had been farmed out to the same firm. I would use a reputable local firm who will normally be far more knowledgeable about the job.

 

[Tintentman]

My experience has been that foreign cars tend to wire out pin 9 (permanent 12volt) and its corresponding earth return pin 13 but omit to wire pin 10 (ignition switched 12 volts) and possibly its earth return on pin 11.
This was the case with my BMW and it seems there is no call for pin 10 supply for caravan fridges / leisure battery charge on foreign caravans or the use non Uk people have for the 13 pin socket.

it just seems penny pinching due to the relatively low cost of the complete wiring Kit with a voltage sensing relay feed to pin 10?

Providing access to the socket and or the wiring loom in the vehicle is reasonable, ie no major dismantling of bumpers trim etc, the additional wiring and voltage sensing relay shouldn't be that costly.

 

[littlebasher]

Never understood why some manufactures offer a factory towbar option where the socket isn't fully wired. Very similar to the aftermarket kits, where they still treat everything as 12S and 12N and therefore offer 2 separate wiring kits when one would be preferred.

I guess they do this to cater for trailer and caravan users separately, but even then 13 pin is superior and should therefore be fully wired by default.

That and presumably most cars don't have full bore wiring to the boot area and it becomes a cost issue

 

[RogerL]

My experience has been that foreign cars tend to wire out pin 9 (permanent 12volt) and its corresponding earth return pin 13 but omit to wire pin 10 (ignition switched 12 volts) and possibly its earth return on pin 11.
This was the case with my BMW and it seems there is no call for pin 10 supply for caravan fridges / leisure battery charge on foreign caravans or the use non Uk people have for the 13 pin socket.

it just seems penny pinching due to the relatively low cost of the complete wiring Kit with a voltage sensing relay feed to pin 10?

Providing access to the socket and or the wiring loom in the vehicle is reasonable, ie no major dismantling of bumpers trim etc, the additional wiring and voltage sensing relay shouldn't be that costly.

VW group brands have changed their policy in recent years - now most of their cars sold in the UK market with factory-fit towbars are fully wired for fridge and battery charging.

 

[Mildu]

Just to say thanks for the replies and to give an update. We’ve got the Dacia Duster and so far so good.

It came with a factory fitted westfalia detachable towbar and Renault/Jaeger 13 pin kit (but no power to pins 9 and 10 as expected).

I’m actually having difficulty finding a company to install only the additional wiring and relay. I’ve been doing a bit of research and I’m thinking of installing myself. The Duster is fitted with a ‘smart’ alternator, so to avoid issues with a VSR cycling on & off as the alternator output changes I think fitting an ignition switched relay might be the answer. A Towing Electrics Tec2 relay would take power direct from the battery and a trigger from the fuse box (the electric windows only work when the engine is running).

I’ll need to do a bit more reading and have a look around the car to see where I can feed a cable through the bulkhead. Has anyone done work like this themselves before - any comments/advice appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Never understood why some manufactures offer a factory towbar option where the socket isn't fully wired. ....

Simply becasue caravans are only a small proportion of the types of trailers that are towed. General trailers only need road lighting, its only caravans that need the accessories.

 

[Woodentop]

My experience has been that foreign cars tend to wire out pin 9 (permanent 12volt) and its corresponding earth return pin 13 but omit to wire pin 10 (ignition switched 12 volts) and possibly its earth return on pin 11.
This was the case with my BMW and it seems there is no call for pin 10 supply for caravan fridges / leisure battery charge on foreign caravans or the use non Uk people have for the 13 pin socket.

it just seems penny pinching due to the relatively low cost of the complete wiring Kit with a voltage sensing relay feed to pin 10?

Providing access to the socket and or the wiring loom in the vehicle is reasonable, ie no major dismantling of bumpers trim etc, the additional wiring and voltage sensing relay shouldn't be that costly.

With modern ECUs and smart alternators it is not a good idea to use a sensing relay as the ECU will never know that you are hitched up. If Dacia/Renault don't make an additional cable then use the one offered by the towbar manufacturer (note - manufacturer NOT installer.) That should connect into the CanBus or whatever Dacia use and the ECU can be told that towing is fitted.
As for someone said they are cheap - ha! The cable alone for pins 10/11 for a Passat estate is nearly £100!!

 

[Raywood]

I would look at the Westfalia kit given their reputation for towing equipment.

 

[Mildu]

Thanks again for the replies. In the end I’ve gone and ordered a Jaeger pin 9 and 10 extension kit which should connect into the Renault/Jaeger factory fitted wiring kit so hopefully no electrical or warranty issues in the future. Looks almost identical to the Westfalia version. Not the cheapest option, but hopefully the best.

 

[Mildu]

FINALLY got around to installing a pin 9 and 10 extension kit! Decided to go for the Jaeger kit which was reasonably straightforward to fit. Had difficulty piercing through the thick grommet to feed the wires from the engine compartment. Then had to cut off the 3 pin contractor at the boot end and use generic connectors I had to attach the extension wiring to the existing Renault 13 pin harness. Just the usual taking trim panels off and on to feed the wires through the car. All tested and seems to be working OK. 👍