Im thinking of fitting a towbar. I may take advantage of the duckworth offer of a detachable for £130 but I'm a bit unsure of the electrics

I assume I can't just bung in a relay and wire the lot into the rear light loom like on an older car

So would I need a special kit and ecu programming from LR and what is this likely to cost me

I would only tow infrequently and I don't possess a trailer but know several friends who do

Cheers Too many cars, too little time

The Gold Plated solution is to fit a LR dedicated kit or one from Witter, or a guy called "rightconnection". However, these only come into their own on the auto as the gearbox gets re-coded too when the trailer is connected. Also the parking warning. As you have a manual (as I do) a simple by-pass system can be fitted. All the connections are in the boot in the JB under the floor panel. I did not wire mine, it was done already! 10MY (Sept 09) TD4 HSE Auto in Stornoway Grey (Now Gone)

08 FL2 TD4 SE Manual in Rimini Red (Now Gone)

Jb?

Thanks for the reply Too many cars, too little time

Junction box - forward and left of the spare wheel well. 10MY (Sept 09) TD4 HSE Auto in Stornoway Grey (Now Gone)

08 FL2 TD4 SE Manual in Rimini Red (Now Gone)

Thanks. Bypass relay specifically for my car or will any generic one do?

Sounding a bit dull here but I'm good with spanners on cars but not electronics

Cheers Too many cars, too little time

As I said, I didn't fit mine as the car had the tow bar on already. I just got an auto electrician to change it to a 13-pin socket although I have done my own wiring in the past. There are several threads on here referring to tow bars, try a search. I am sure a generic by-pass relay is all that is needed. If you are stuck, I can take a look at mine.
Bob 10MY (Sept 09) TD4 HSE Auto in Stornoway Grey (Now Gone)

08 FL2 TD4 SE Manual in Rimini Red (Now Gone)

Thanks. I'll have a look round the forum. Too many cars, too little time

I lifted this from a post by "fredastaire". I'm sure he wont mind.

"ELECTRICS
There are three options
Landrover Factory
Aftermarket Dedicated
Aftermarket Bypass
The best option for FL Auto owners is the factory option as the LR has 'intelligent Auto' and switches the gearchange points to a towing mode.
Bset alternative for manual owners is to buy a quality 'Dedicated' type as it will be compatible with the 'canbus' car operating system.
Final budget option is the Bypass electrics whic can in certain instances cause glitches to the canbus as mentioned above.
You seem concerned about cost, why not install the bar yourself and the base electrics from a mechanical fixing and routing point of view and use a specialist to make the final connections. "

As I said, mine seems to be basic by-pass, but at least an Auto Electrician fitted it! 10MY (Sept 09) TD4 HSE Auto in Stornoway Grey (Now Gone)

08 FL2 TD4 SE Manual in Rimini Red (Now Gone)

Additionally dedicated looms will disable start/stop on a TD4e when a trailer of any sort that has lights is hitched up, so there is a small benefit for non auto's

V8stagman wrote:

Im thinking of fitting a towbar. I may take advantage of the duckworth offer of a detachable for £130 but I'm a bit unsure of the electrics

I assume I can't just bung in a relay and wire the lot into the rear light loom like on an older car

So would I need a special kit and ecu programming from LR and what is this likely to cost me

I would only tow infrequently and I don't possess a trailer but know several friends who do

Cheers

So this kit would work straight away on my 2012 model? 13 pin?, think I'd need a converter to the old style 7 pin. If you're selling what price did you have in mind? Pm please

Thanks Too many cars, too little time

Did you get pm as not sure if I done it right?

Yes thanks. Going to phone local fitter for full install price. Will be in touch

Thanks Too many cars, too little time

Save yourself a bundle, the tow bar is fairly simple to fit for a keen DIYer and the LR electrics are just a plug in and again fairly simple to fit. The hardest part seems to be to take off the rear bumper and light cluster.

Just had a price of almost £500 but thats the bar, correct electrics and reprogramming. Yikes!

Need to phone LR to see how much their reprogramming is, or can it be done elsewhere? Too many cars, too little time