Advice needed for fitting tow bar and electrics on Edge

[Edge of Reason]

You’re very welcome Mike.  This is the whole point of these forums. There is always someone who has experience of whatever anyone else needs to ask.  😁

[Mike's living on the Edge]

I thought I would give a final update on the fitting of the tow bar and electrics, just in case it was useful to anyone in the same position. 

I had a Ford Main dealer fit the electrics and tow control module. Afterwards, the trailer electrics worked, I got the message "trailer connected" on the dash when I plugged in the trailer board... BUT the rear parking sensors still beeped continuously when in reverse. The SYNC 2 screen showed the red park alerts at the rear of the car. 

The garage had another go at it, this time re-coding the parking module (twice apparently before it worked) and hey presto, the rear parking sensors now deactivate when I go into reverse (with the trailer on!) and I get the "trailer" symbol on the SYNC 2 display (see pics below). 

All fixed. No issues with auto-lock(or anything else now). 

Thanks for all the advice earlier. 

[Edge of Reason]

Great to hear Mike. My electrics and tow bar were factory fitted, but I had the tow bar and electrics added to my previous Kuga, without incident and the parking sensors worked correctly afterwards too. No fancy camera in that one though. Quite refreshing to hear a happy ending on here !

[nickblackedge]

Hi the only issue I've got is when I use the indicators I've no way of knowing if they are working when travelling.  My old car had an extra indicator symbol on the dash that would light up so I knew that they were working .

[Edge of Reason]

1 hour ago, nickblackedge said:

Hi the only issue I've got is when I use the indicators I've no way of knowing if they are working when travelling.  My old car had an extra indicator symbol on the dash that would light up so I knew that they were working .

If they are working, the normal indicator light and the ‘tick-tock’ will be as If there was no trailer attached. Otherwise it would flash quickly or give a written warning message on the dash.

[nickblackedge]

 

1 hour ago, Edge of Reason said:

If they are working, the normal indicator light and the ‘tick-tock’ will be as If there was no trailer attached. Otherwise it would flash quickly or give a written warning message on the dash.

Ok thanks for that 

[bobfather]

I'm picking up my new Edge ST-Line next week, I'll be fitting a tow bar and dedicated 13 pin electrics over the winter.  I'm a little confused by the 'coding' discussion.  If I just fit the dedicated electrics and don't get it coded will it work.  I'm happy to turn off the sensors when reversing, I currently do that in my Kuga.  My caravan doesn't have rear fog lamps so I'll not ever turn them on when towing.  Is there anything else important that the 'coding' does?

[simonb65]

3 hours ago, bobfather said:

I'll be fitting a tow bar and dedicated 13 pin electrics over the winter.  I'm a little confused by the 'coding' discussion.  If I just fit the dedicated electrics and don't get it coded will it work.

Make sure you get the extended wiring kit that has 2 extra wires that go direct to the battery(fused). You'll need that if your caravan has a fridge or an ALKO ATC system.

Not sure if the lights will work as they are powered from the dedicated Trailer Module ECU (TRM) and the Body Control Module (BCM) needs to know that the TRM exists in order to get CAN messages to/from it.

3 hours ago, bobfather said:

My caravan doesn't have rear fog lamps so I'll not ever turn them on when towing.

That sound like its not legal!!

3 hours ago, bobfather said:

Is there anything else important that the 'coding' does?

Coding tells the car that the trailer module exists.

It disables the cars rear parking sensors (shows the trailer symbol on your Sync screen instead), blind spot warning and rear fog light. Might even disable brake lights and reversing light on the car (I haven't noticed the glare off my caravan!!! so it might do).

It enables the bulb out warnings on the dash.

It activates the anti-sway stability control in your car.

... plus something else I can't remember at the moment!

[bobfather]

14 hours ago, simonb65 said:

Make sure you get the extended wiring kit that has 2 extra wires that go direct to the battery(fused). You'll need that if your caravan has a fridge or an ALKO ATC system.

Not sure if the lights will work as they are powered from the dedicated Trailer Module ECU (TRM) and the Body Control Module (BCM) needs to know that the TRM exists in order to get CAN messages to/from it.

That sound like its not legal!!

Coding tells the car that the trailer module exists.

It disables the cars rear parking sensors (shows the trailer symbol on your Sync screen instead), blind spot warning and rear fog light. Might even disable brake lights and reversing light on the car (I haven't noticed the glare off my caravan!!! so it might do).

It enables the bulb out warnings on the dash.

It activates the anti-sway stability control in your car.

... plus something else I can't remember at the moment!

 

 

14 hours ago, simonb65 said:

Thanks for your reply, it appear that you are right about the RGF lamp. I run a 7 pin system, the blue wire used to be permanent 12v +ve, it is RGF these days.  Reading the above, I'd say 'coding' is required

 

[simonb65]

2 hours ago, bobfather said:

Thanks for your reply, it appear that you are right about the RGF lamp. I run a 7 pin system, the blue wire used to be permanent 12v +ve, it is RGF these days.  Reading the above, I'd say 'coding' is required

Once you've fitted everything, take a trip to your local ford dealer or better still a local tow bar fitter, they'll code everything up for you (local tow bar place will be cheaper!). Only takes a few minutes, but make sure all the lights work and that the sync shows a trailer when you put it in reverse. The latter is a sign that they've correctly coded the stuff that disables the rear lights and sensors. Also when you plug in a trailer, you should get a 'Trailer Connected' message on the dash too.

[Edge of Reason]

What does RGF mean ?

[bobfather]

22 hours ago, Edge of Reason said:

What does RGF mean ?

Rear Guard Fog

[Edge of Reason]

Well there you go ! Thanks. 

[Slopemad]

On 11/9/2019 at 1:46 PM, bobfather said:

I'm picking up my new Edge ST-Line next week, I'll be fitting a tow bar and dedicated 13 pin electrics over the winter.  I'm a little confused by the 'coding' discussion.  If I just fit the dedicated electrics and don't get it coded will it work.  I'm happy to turn off the sensors when reversing, I currently do that in my Kuga.  My caravan doesn't have rear fog lamps so I'll not ever turn them on when towing.  Is there anything else important that the 'coding' does?

Which Towbar are you getting and who is fitting?

I got my Edge ST-Line back in December last year and have really struggled to find anybody who will agree to fit an aftermarket towbar to it on account of the Adblue tank. (i.e. the towbars for the Edge without an Adblue tank does not fit).

[bobfather]

29 minutes ago, Slopemad said:

Which Towbar are you getting and who is fitting?

I got my Edge ST-Line back in December last year and have really struggled to find anybody who will agree to fit an aftermarket towbar to it on account of the Adblue tank. (i.e. the towbars for the Edge without an Adblue tank does not fit).

I haven't chosen one yet.  I know a local independent fitting company who offer to fit an aftermarket bar but I don't know which manufacturer that is, perhaps they are unaware of the tank issue.  You could try phoning some local independents to see what they would fit and ask them about the Adblue tank issue.  This is the first I've heard of it.  If you find one I'd appreciate you posting here which aftermarket towbar fits    

[Slopemad]

25 minutes ago, bobfather said:

I haven't chosen one yet.  I know a local independent fitting company who offer to fit an aftermarket bar but I don't know which manufacturer that is, perhaps they are unaware of the tank issue.  You could try phoning some local independents to see what they would fit and ask them about the Adblue tank issue.  This is the first I've heard of it.  If you find one I'd appreciate you posting here which aftermarket towbar fits    

The Witter towbar definitely does not fit
Brink would not commit to whether it would fit or not
Ford say that the part on their website *does* fit (and I e-mailed them and they confirmed it)
https://shop.ford.co.uk/collections/all/products/detachable-tow-bar-32
But I phoned a couple of independents and neither were particularly enthusiastic about fitting it.

[Slopemad]

But..
It does appear that the Tow Trust towbar will fit, it specifically says includes AdBlue and ST Line.
https://www.tow-trust.co.uk/towbars/ford/edge/TFD16VK-edge-all-models-inc-vignale-inc-adblue-inc-st-line/2016>

[bobfather]

18 hours ago, Slopemad said:

But..
It does appear that the Tow Trust towbar will fit, it specifically says includes AdBlue and ST Line.
https://www.tow-trust.co.uk/towbars/ford/edge/TFD16VK-edge-all-models-inc-vignale-inc-adblue-inc-st-line/2016>

Tow-Trust

Removable swan neck Tow-Trust is £438 +VAT, that's £556.  Ford removable swan neck tow bar is £448.88 inc. VAT.  Unless I'm mistaken, I'd just buy one from Ford and fit it myself
 

[simonb65]

25 minutes ago, bobfather said:

Removable swan neck Tow-Trust is £438 +VAT, that's £556.  Ford removable swan neck tow bar is £448.88 inc. VAT.  Unless I'm mistaken, I'd just buy one from Ford and fit it myself

Total cost from Ford is £590 inc VAT for this tow bar + ECU + Harness + Fitting! It's way cheaper for a 3rd Party to fit it or fit it yourself.

[bobfather]

I intend to fit a detachable bar to my 1019 ST Line.  I was planning to install Ford's own dedicated 13 pin electrics at £119 but my Ford dealer has just quoted me £144 just to do the coding.  That seems excessive but I can't find any local independent fitters willing to do just coding.  Can anyone advise me how to get this coded cheaper than £144

 

[Glenny]

Hi, picked up my ST line on Friday and am having detachable toe bar with dedicated electrics £530 fitted,I suppose it will work the same as my Kuga ST line x and dont think I'm paying that much more,my last one was a fixed flange type.

[bobfather]

12 hours ago, Glenny said:

Hi, picked up my ST line on Friday and am having detachable toe bar with dedicated electrics £530 fitted,I suppose it will work the same as my Kuga ST line x and dont think I'm paying that much more,my last one was a fixed flange type.

Is this for a Ford towbar & electrics or have they used an aftermarket supplier/fitter.  My local dealership offered me both options when I picked up my 2019 ST Line but I didn't pursue it because I thought it would be cheaper to do it myself.  I'm not so sure any more

[bobfather]

I'm having my towbar fitted tomorrow with dedicated 13 pin electrics.  I'm hoping to be able to power the 12v fridge circuit while travelling.  Is that a standard connection that I should expect to be wired in or is it something I should specifically request from the fitter??

[bobfather]

Definitive guide to DIY AdBlue towbar fitters.

TowTrust bar fits but be sure to avoid old stock.  A modification was made for the AdBlue tank but the part number was not changed

TowTrust part numbers: TFD16 fixed flange.  TFD16SN swan neck.  TFD16VK detachable swan neck

TowTrust site quotes higher price than actual.  Example detachable swan neck quotes £438, actual price when you talk to them £230

TowTrust site says the bumper cover does not need to be removed.  It does, the AdBlue tank needs to be lowered and the top support bolt is not accessible with the bumper cover in place