the Towsure kit above is the reason you have the problem.
Modern cars are trying to be too cleaver but they are not designed for LED lights.
modern cars and older topend cars ie Mercedes, BMW and the likes run their lights from the ECU ( canbus wiring) they do not have all thick wires that run the rear lights but thy have light wires that can supply enough power for the bulb some of these lights are monitored and it will tell you on the dash if a bulb is out and on clever cars it will even light up a different light in its place.
to wire a towbar up you are recomended to use expensive dedicated wiring kits.
These pick signals up and convert them to a 12v supply on a different circuit. also on some vehicles they do a lot more including fault check the lights on the trailer / caravan, run a TSP (trailer stability program) this will alter the ABS and Traction control to give a safer ride. some vehicles also have other features such as Range rover and Discovery will Set the ride height for towing. these systems can also disable reversing sensors and fog lights + more
Your problem is the fault checking on the lights.
the way this is done is by sending pulses down the cables to check for continuity the led lights are so sensitive they react to the pulses. alot of people think you put a resistor in this does not soak the pulses up this sorts the other LED problem. the way to get around it is with a bypass relay. this is designed to run lighting only and does what it says (bypass the car systems) it picks up the signals to the lights and gives you a 12 volt supply bypassing all other systems.
To learn more try the links below. Please note Right connections are probably the best manufactures of Wiring kits but they do not have a cure for LED lights
Bypass relay
Wiring a bypass relay
Flashing LED lights
Why not to use a bypass relay (right connections)
Canbus Technology (right connections)
Trailer stability (right connections)
Basically you use a bypass system or you do not tow LED lights.
10 years ago did you need your car to stabalise your caravan or tell you a light was out.
Please note the buzzer on the bypass relay usually does not buzz with LED lights but you can add another aditional buzzer to it easilly.
Usually a buzzer will mask a problem with the car indicators but if one is fitted after a bypass relay it does not.
read right connections buzzers article note this does not apply if fitted after or part of a bypass relay.
also their is a law coming in for cars registered 2015 on that will not be able to be bypassed.
either some one needs to come up with a cure or Led lights will become unusable.
I have been to many manufactures for the past 5 years to sort this problem but no one has come up with a cure including
Ryder towing (major wiring manufacture)
RDM (major wiring manufacture)
Maypole (LED light manufacure + wiring distributer) these supply Towsure
LED auto lamps
Please note their are ways around this and manufactures of equipment that supposedly sorth the problem between the towbar and the trailer / caravan I have tried most of them but even spending £200 + I have not found a cure that works properly the bypass relay is the only way with the additional buzzer that meets all current laws.
Post last edited on 24/05/2011 01:57:29
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Topic: led lights
