Fitting single electrics to a towball.

So I've found somewhere that looks like they're making a half decent fixed tow ball for the Jimny that will be easy to install and can have the type of ball with a closed recovery point built in.

This is their wiring kit:
www.towbars-uk.co.uk/product/26/standard-single-electric-kit

Will this be an easy enough thing to fit and is there a better one I should consider?

While I'm at it this is the tow bar and ball, what do you think?
www.towbars-uk.co.uk/product/7055/suzuki-jimny-

www.towbars-uk.co.uk/product/46/3.5-tonne-ball-and-pin-

The towbar and the wiring kit are ok but save your money and buy the 50mm tow ball for about £7.


www.bigjimny.com/images/documents/jimny_towbar_install.pdf
Hope this helps.
DIRTYDOGZ.

I havent fitted a tow bar but I fitted electrics for my bike rack. Fitted the socket right up out of the way to prevent damage offroad. Just an idea if you dont mind drilling into your bumper.

I have a combi hitch type, it wasn't anywhere near £40 though.
I leave the ball&pin inside the car, with just the jaws on the towbar, and it saves obstructing the number plate.

I certainly wouldn't pay £40 for one.

The electric kit is a good buy, I paid more than that for the cable and a mounting plate for the spare socket I had in the garage.

If you have a 'The Range' store near you have a look in there for the electric kit. They dont list it on the website for some reason but they had them when I did mine and it was really cheap

That socket in the bumper is a very tidy job, thats on my list to do to mine. I nailed the bracket on mine on its first outing after fitting, id just have to extend the trailer plug but it will make for a tidier and more reliable install as it is quite vulnerable in its current position.

Hmm, I quite like the location you put yours in SRCARS, I think it might be a good idea especially if I've got to have the bumper off to do the job anyway!

I think next time I've got a chance I'll pop into The Range and see what theirs is like and then try fitting that first before I even get the towbar TBH.

Just going to have a go at changing my bulbs for some brighter ones. I'm quite the novice at working on cars... Show me a push bike and I can fix anything but this is scarey and new :O

Joints like this yes?

Although I have and still do like to use solder and heatshrink on some joints as they are much neater especially when tapping into a wire I have read somewhere it is not ideal. Automotive wire is nearly always multistrand wire as it is very flexible, when you solder it you create a rigid point in the wire which with the constant vibration of a car can over a period of time become brittle and snap.

I have only ever seen this in classic cars I have messed with in the past so your talking about 20 odd years down the line and I doubt my Jimny will still be about then

I mounted my Tow Electrius to the rear door near the hinges.

The wiring goed though the rubber duct into the body and then is routed out of sight.
I use a 1 Meter coiled extension to attatch to a trailer.

This keeps the electrics clear of 90% of the water we go wading though

I fitted mine same as srcars but at the other side. It's a pig of a job, instructions/guide and wiring diagram here,
www.bigjimny.com/images/documents/jimny_towbar_install.pdf
Scratched knuckles,rusty bolts, broken trim clips are inevitable, wonder why no one has invented a wireless version??
John.

Johnniehec wrote: I fitted mine same as srcars but at the other side. It's a pig of a job, instructions/guide and wiring diagram here,
www.bigjimny.com/images/documents/jimny_towbar_install.pdf
Scratched knuckles,rusty bolts, broken trim clips are inevitable, wonder why no one has invented a wireless version??
John.

Yes I fitted mine on the wrong side really, I read the article on fitting a towbar months before I fitted the socket and for some reason thought the electrics were on the offside. I ended up removing the whole of the rear interior instead of half of it
Fitting socket 10-15 mins, removing and reinstalling interior seemed like an hour