Before starting electrical installation work, the pinout of the 7-pin towbar socket must be carefully studied. Please note that independent manipulations with it lead to loss of the right to warranty service.
The typical colors of wires for Russian-assembled cars are indicated; color deviations are possible. Trailer for a car. How to do twists
Even if the socket and plug connectors are completely identical, it could. To do this, pour water over this part and see if there are any leaks.
In this case, it is enough to select the appropriate plug and connect it to the trailer wiring according to the pinout specified in the user manual. Figure 7.
The typical colors of wires for Russian-assembled cars are indicated; color deviations are possible. When it determines that it is consuming more current, it will display an error message. Adapter from 7 to 13 pin Pinout of 13 pin socket Almost all modern imported cars are equipped with this connector if the design allows for its installation. Standard diagram of a passenger car trailer socket - first option Connecting the towbar wires according to the standard diagram is carried out on vehicles that are not equipped with an electronic control circuit. 2PTS-4 plug
The need to equip a trailer
Many enterprises have retrained their production to produce the latest prototypes of coupling devices. But the increase in such vehicles on the roads has led to their equipping with special signaling lights, which are similar to those of automobiles.
Recently, most motorists used the simplest towbar connection; moreover, the connection diagram for the towbar socket and the pinout of the towbar socket were not particularly complex, and motorists rarely touched on this issue.
Then, as a rule, single-color pinout conductors were used, the connection of which could be easily done using a special tester equipped with a loading light. But the situation changed radically after the market was flooded with cheap Chinese products.
Chinese equipment has colored conductors, which, it would seem, should simplify the connection procedure, but connecting the towbar wiring sometimes becomes a real headache for drivers.
Features of the circuit connection of the towbar connector in modern cars
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Cars produced before 2000 used analog circuits for controlling rear light devices. The greatest difficulty during connection is the correct determination of the location where the corresponding conductor is connected.
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Many car enthusiasts carried out this work using the “poke” method, sequentially connecting the contacts of the trailer connector to the indicator lamp. With the advent of digital control circuits for lighting devices and other electrical equipment of the car, this method has become dangerous.
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Video - connecting the towbar wiring on a Nissan Note:
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Digital control of electrical equipment assumes that thick conductors do not go directly to the light devices from the steering “dragonfly”, “frog”, relays and other switches to the tail lights, stops and other light devices. The supply voltage and digital control signals are received there.
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A simple twist-type connection to the tail light conductors is inappropriate here. Even if you connect directly to the rear headlights, which are now mostly LED, it is not a fact that the electronics will not display an error message and turn off these lights altogether, since the current consumption will be exceeded.
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In this regard, matching units are used to connect the towbar electronics in modern cars.
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They are equipped with a set of necessary conductors and a connection diagram. The description of matching blocks must contain a list of cars with which the block is compatible.
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There are diagrams of homemade devices on the Internet. If you want to experiment, you can purchase an inexpensive amateur radio kit:
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The connection diagram for such blocks is shown in a generalized form. You have to determine the specific wire routing yourself.
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Video - UniKIT 2 connection diagram for Baltex tow bar:
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General facts
As you know, all electrical wiring in a car is hidden under the trim. The part of the wires that is needed to power the trailer, as a rule, runs from the battery to the dashboard. Then it passes through the entire interior to the rear bumper, and exits at a place called the towbar socket .
As for the trailer, everything is even simpler here.
From the trailer lights, the electrical wiring runs along its bottom and is attached to it using special clamps, usually metal. Next it goes to a connection point called the trailer fork .
Assembling a road train is not a tricky task, but problems are still possible. It is impossible to say exactly where to begin the assembly. Please note that the worst option is switching nodes in the car, which can lead to serious consequences.
How to install a tow bar on a VAZ 2106
You need to install the towbar (towbar) according to the following algorithm:
- It is most convenient to carry out all work from below the car. Therefore, you will have to use an inspection hole, a lift or an overpass.
- Disconnect the negative terminal from the battery.
- Remove the trunk trim and get rid of foreign objects.
- Mark the position of the tow bar relative to the body. Mark the location of the mounting holes.
- Make holes for fasteners. Before installing the towbar, be sure to treat it with anti-corrosion compounds, otherwise the metal will begin to rust.
- Bolts, washers and nuts are used as fastening elements. Bait them and tighten them.
- Drill two holes. One is in the lower part of the spar, the second is in the trunk. Install reinforcing pads to significantly strengthen the fasteners and remove excessive load from the car body elements.
- At the last stage, the electrical wiring is installed. It can be done in one of two ways.
Connector options and connection diagrams
Initially, the towbar connection diagram had 7 contacts; they are also often called 7-pin connectors. For the first time such an innovation appeared in the United States, and a little later in Europe. Over time, the trailer connectors changed a little and already had 13 contacts, and sometimes all 15.
Also in those days, you could find special connectors that looked more like cables, but today they are used exclusively on narrow-profile types of equipment.
As for the countries of the former USSR, European types of connecting the towbar socket to the car have gained the most popularity here. The trailer fork is equipped with a safe and correct entry in the form of the so-called “male and female”.
This connection option is as convenient as possible, and even with zero visibility it is simply impossible to miss and not get hit.
The American analogue is similar in design to the European one. The differences concern only the electrical wiring of the signal. Also some American connections have 4 pin connectors. 13 pin connectors are installed on both European and American cars.
By the way, today the towbar socket in most cars that are delivered to the Russian Federation has a 13-pin connection. The advantage of this type of connection is that it makes it possible to connect additional elements such as fog lights and fully functional mobile homes.
There are also 15-pin options, which are often used on large tractors.
Matching block
If we are talking about a modern car with complex electronic components, the first option for connecting a trailer will not be the best choice. The control unit tests the rear optics. When it determines that it is consuming more current, it will display an error message. In such cases, the so-called “matching block” is used. It is also used in the case of transmitting control signals via a multiplex bus.
The wiring is connected to signal circuits, only in this case the signals to the lighting equipment of the towed device come not from the car, but from the matching unit, and its presence is not perceived by the electronics. Additionally, the unit must be connected to a used car.
Connecting a caravan requires attention to more than just how well the trailer's outlet circuit matches the electrical outlet on the vehicle. When we try to connect a towbar to a vehicle like a VAZ 2107, we will not have any difficulties - the wiring is installed directly. Drivers of modern cars know that the reaction of the on-board computer to a trailer can be negative and lead to problems.
When you try to turn on the fog lights or turn signals, such a device sends a signal to the on-board computer, indicating which branch of the electrical circuit should be used and which connection is used for this. By making and installing a smart connector for a towbar with your own hands, you ensure stable and correct operation of the electrical system and on-board computer.
Step-by-step connection guide
- The connection diagram for a car trailer socket has the following order:
- First you need to cut the conductors to the required length, which is indicated in the diagram.
- Carefully clean and tin their ends, and then fix them in the socket.
- Assemble the harness into a corrugation and secure the socket. If you find any problem areas, then they need to be sealed.
- Take the resulting corrugation and stretch it as indicated in the installation diagram.
- Find the connector block and solder the ends, then connect the wires to the left and right lights.
- After all the manipulations, tighten the clamps thoroughly and hide the electrical wiring.
If you are not confident in your own abilities and do not have the necessary knowledge, then the best option would be to entrust this work to an experienced specialist.
A qualified technician knows all the intricacies of such work, and if problems arise, you can contact him again to correct the problem. Incorrect connection can lead to overheating of the electrical wiring and its complete failure.
Pinout of 13 pin socket
Almost all modern imported cars are equipped with this connector (if the design allows for its installation). The colors and pin numbers, as well as the correspondence table, are shown below.
Contact numbers and wire colors for 13 pin socket
Correspondence table for 13-pin connector.
| Contact number | Wire coloring | Functional purpose |
| 1 | Yellow | Left side turn signal |
| 2 | Blue | Rear PTF |
| 3 | White | Weight for chains 1 to 8 |
| 4 | Green | Starboard turn signal |
| 5 | Brown | License plate illumination and parking lights on the right side |
| 6 | Red | Brake light control |
| 7 | Black | License plate light and left side parking lights |
| 8 | Orange | Reverse signal |
| 9 | Red with brown | +12 V from battery |
| 10 | Blue with brown | +12 V (when ignition is turned on) |
| 11 | Blue and white | Chain weight 10 |
| 12 | – | Not involved |
| 13 | Green with white | Chain weight 9 |
LAV boat trailer pinout
Of particular interest is the pinout of contacts in LAV trailers. Let us highlight the contact characteristics:
- Left Turn Signal.
- Rear PTFs.
- Weight.
- Right Turn Signal.
- Reversing light.
- STOP signal.
- Dimensional and contour lamps, room lighting.
Knowing the characteristics of the contact group will help you accurately connect the trailer socket and towbar.
Important information
The definition of a connector can be described as a combination of plugs and sockets that are connected after the trailer is attached to the hitch.
Here it is important to pay attention to who is the manufacturer of the towing device and the trailer itself. In some cases, the number of contacts they have is different. Our standard pinout includes 7 contacts. This is a European and domestic manufacturing principle. But if you have an American car in front of you, be so kind as to understand the 13-pin connector. It is also important that the contacts on plugs and sockets are counted differently.
If you need to connect different types of trailers and vehicles, you will need to use a special connection block or adapter. Alternatively, you can make adjustments to the pinout. But this will require deeper knowledge of auto electrics, as well as a detailed study of the design of the car itself.
HOMEMADE TOWCH OR FACTORY HANDLE
Despite the fact that today purchasing a towbar for a VAZ 2107 is not a problem, some motorists still prefer to make such a design themselves. This is due to the fact that factory products do not suit the owners according to some criteria, and in terms of finances, homemade towbars are cheaper. Therefore, one’s own ideas arise regarding the manufacture of a trailed one, especially since finding the necessary drawing today is not particularly difficult. But before you start making your own coupling structure, you need to think carefully and weigh the pros and cons.
A homemade towbar will cost less than a factory one, but before purchasing and installing it, you need to think about whether it’s worth the risk
What could be the dangers of installing a homemade tow bar? And there can be a lot of troubles:
- Passing the technical inspection will be problematic, although this issue can be resolved: the trailer can be removed for the duration of the procedure.
- A significant problem may be structural failure due to improper manufacturing or installation. As a result, you can damage not only your car, but also become the culprit of an accident.
You need to understand that making a towbar with your own hands is a risk. If you purchase a certified product, you can be completely confident in the safety of this product.
VIDEO: DO-IT-OUR-HANDS TOWCH
Very useful tips
The headline may be loud, but in fact it is true.
All the diagrams presented above are intended for cars that do not have complex electronics.
But don’t forget that modern cars have come a long way. Modern cars have in their design such a device as an electronic control unit. When you turn on the ignition, the ECU goes into testing mode for all circuits in the car. When connecting a trailer, the load on certain lines increases. Your on-board computer, that is, the control unit or ECU, will perceive this as a breakdown. And as a result, you will constantly see an error. In such conditions, you should not count on normal operation of the trailer.
To correct this situation, you need a special adapter or module, whatever you call it. It is mounted as if in the gap between the elements in order to level out the parameters of the electrical circuit. It is called a matching block or, more modernly, Smart Connect.
As a result, we get something similar, as shown in the image below.
Finding a suitable matching block is not a problem at all. Nowadays there are a huge number of them available from different manufacturers. But I strongly do not recommend buying used modules or looking for them at various flea markets.
The blocks are selected based on what kind of trailer you have and the make of the car, as well as what towing device the car is equipped with. Otherwise, you may buy something incomprehensible that you will have to return and buy a normal connector.
An experienced auto electrician can connect everything without a diagram. A multimeter is used for this. But that's a completely different story.
Well, I hope I was able to answer many of your questions. If not, write in the comments and ask.
Safety requirements and warnings
When operating a trailer, it is prohibited:
- transport people on a trailer;
- movement of a road train at a speed of more than 70 km/h on public roads and 90 km/h on highways;
- movement of a road train without connecting the electrical equipment of the trailer to the tractor;
- movement of a road train without reliable fastening of safety chains on the tractor.
In this case, the body of the coupling head, the parts of its attachment to the trailer drawbar or the ball end of the tractor coupling device and the parts of its attachment to the coupling device should not be used for attaching safety chains. The safety chains are secured to the tractor by the driver of the tractor in accordance with the documentation for the tractor or towing device. When securing, it is necessary to ensure that in the event of an emergency rupture of the main coupling, the safety chains prevent the drawbar from touching the ground and provide some residual control of the trailer;
- leave a road train or an uncoupled trailer on a slope unless wheel chocks are placed under the trailer wheels;
- movement of a road train without reliable fastening of a platform with a drawbar;
- movement of a road train with an open side/sides of a trailer or without sides;
- parking a trailer with an open tailgate/sides without a warning triangle displayed;
- transport loose cargo;
- load the trailer with cargo whose weight exceeds the value indicated in the table of this manual;
The manufacturer is not responsible for the safety and reliability of the trailer when third parties make changes to the trailer design.
Necessary tools and additional materials
To successfully connect the trailer's electrics to the vehicle's on-board system, you need to stock up on tools and materials, which can be purchased at the nearest specialized retail outlet or at the automotive market:
- connector for a towbar with a rubber seal and a cover: carefully inspect the product - the brass contacts should not dangle, the threads should be straight, the parts fit tightly to each other (no play is allowed);
- cross-section of the single-core copper cable used is from 1.5 sq. mm;
- a corrugated hose (made of plastic or metal) for insulating bundles of output wires - a couple of meters;
- 15-20 plastic clamps.
For an easier and more reliable connection, it is worth purchasing connection blocks (some of them have fuses inside). If the wiring is damaged, they will work and eliminate a short circuit that negatively affects the performance of the car’s electrical equipment.
WHAT ARE THERE ARE TOWER COPS?
Before purchasing a towbar for a VAZ 2107, you need to find out what they are and what their differences are. Products are classified according to the type of hook and location of installation. For the car in question, the hooks are:
- simple design, when the hook is designed to transport loads up to 1.5 tons, fastening is carried out on two bolted connections;
- quick-release hook with a coupling connection, which allows you to reduce the overall length of the vehicle;
- end-type hook with a lifting capacity of 2–3 tons.
Towbars are classified according to the type of hook (ball) and installation location
HOW IS THE TOWCH ATTACHED?
The towbar can be attached in several ways:
- there are none in the holes provided);
- into the technological holes of the body elements (spars, bumper fastenings), into which bolts are inserted that secure the towbar;
- into holes that are made specifically for mounting a towbar, with preliminary markings.
Since the VAZ 2107 does not have holes for installing a towbar from the factory, they must be made independently in the bumper and body of the car
Niva Chevrolet
When connecting a trailer socket to a Niva Chevrolet, you can use a wiring harness with a trailer hitch (tow hitch) and European accessories 0183 for the specified Avato model. Article - 00001-75045552-00-0.
In addition, this harness is suitable for connecting trailers of other cars with a 7-pin connector, avoiding the use of a bundle of wires with five + two wires.
Basic connection methods
There is a standard and universal connection method. The first is used if special connectors are installed on the towbar and trailer. You don't have to understand the electrical network. Here you just need to look at the pinout of the trailer towbar on the car and connect the connectors. The wires are connected using clips or soldering.
For all other situations, the universal method is suitable. If the car has an ECU, then the standard method will not work - the computer will take interference in the wiring as an error and cut off the power to the network.
If you install an additional outlet, the energy consumption rate of the car will increase.
It will be necessary to additionally mount a “coordination” unit to the vehicle’s electrical network. It will provide energy to the lighting equipment, and the ECU will not react to the additional device - there will be no obstacles in operation. All that remains is to connect the wires and insulate them.
A matching unit is required for installation on some cars; it allows you to get rid of connection problems by “blinding” the electronic control unit
Features of connecting trailers Skif-M1, Skif-M2, MZSA and others
When connecting SKIF trailers, you need to be careful, because the pinout in them is somewhat different from the 7-pin circuit according to GOST 9276 and ISO 1724.
Thus, on the second terminal of the Skif-M1, produced from 1981 to 1987, and Skif-M2, produced from 1987 to 1993, the “plus” of the battery is located, and not the rear fog lamp.
Skif-M trailer electrical diagram
Electrical diagram of the Skif-M1 trailer
Electrical diagram of the Skif-M2 trailer
In addition, on MZSA trailers, the dimensions are connected only to the 7th contact. This is done for convenience, so that if necessary you can connect to an old domestic car.
The presence of a “+” battery is a big plus when camping, because it can be used to connect lighting. The designation of the contact group has also changed. Instead of the usual Arabic numerals, Roman numerals are given here.
If we talk about earlier versions of Skif-M, they have more differences.
The following scheme was used here:
- I—STOP signal;
- II - left turn signal;
- III — turn signal indicator light;
- IV - right turn signal;
- V - “plus” of the battery;
- VI — rear dimensions and license plate lights;
- M is mass.
The circuit provides a matching block that relieves the car's turn signal relay.
To operate this element, constant power is required, supplied through the fifth contact from the battery through the outlet.
The old connectors did not separate the side light contacts and they were supplied only through the seventh contact, and the second was considered a spare one.
A lamp was provided there that allowed you to monitor the operation of the trailer and its turn signals.
When connecting an old trailer to a modern type socket, the turn signal on the trailer hitch will only flash when the lights are on. In addition, the fog light (on some models) and the warning light on the dashboard may flash.
In the case of MZSA trailers, nothing comes of the fifth signal. Therefore, if after connection the lights on the tow hitch do not light up, the reason, as a rule, is that the signal is output to the fifth contact, but there will be no signal on the seventh.
A number of trailer manufacturers in the Russian Federation, when installing a reversing lamp, connect it to the fifth terminal, leaving the dimensions with the seventh contact connection.
The procedure for carrying out electrical installation work when connecting the towbar socket
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1. First stage of work: determining the connection diagram, the need to use a matching unit, choosing the type of connector
.
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If at the time of installing the trailer connector, the latter is not yet available, or you do not plan to buy it at all, and you intend to use only rental equipment, it is recommended to immediately install a 13-pin universal connector.
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Video - why a 13-pin socket for a towbar is preferable in some cases:
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In this case, using a 13/7 pin adapter, you can connect a regular cargo trailer without any problems.
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There is, of course, the opposite option - a 7/13 adapter, but some of the user connections, including for charging the battery, will have to be made outside the connector, which is very inconvenient.
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If you have a car built before 2000, you may not need to install a matching unit. In this case, the rating of the fuses serving the turn signals and rear lights should be increased by 25%.
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2. Next, it is imperative to check all electrical circuits in the trailer connector
(if available).
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This can only be avoided if you are using a rental trailer; the lessor checks them and is responsible for their functionality and safety.
