Freelander 2 Tow Bar Electrics

Good Evening All

I’m after some help.

Recently purchased a 2011 Freelander 2 TD4 GS, days later purchased a secondhand tow bar, module and electrics.

Tow bar fitted and all electrics connected, fuses in boot area were added, can’t see anywhere under dash passenger side or engine bay that need further fuses.

However on plugging in a trailer board, nothing is working.

The seller assured me all in working order before removing from other care.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

kind Regards

Scott

Scott2511 said:

However on plugging in a trailer board, nothing is working.

Click to expand...

I had the exact same issue last week.
Did you fit the 40A J type fuse in the fuse box?
I've marked both 15A and 40A fuses needed with a red dot.


Also the first new J fuse I fitted was faulty, and didn't connect, as the plugs inside simply moved in the housing.
I fitted a better quality one, which worked fine.

Hi
Yes fitted both, purchased them new. Just to check the 40amp I swapped it for one in my other car and they both work.

However in the Freelander they are not doing anything.

Is the towing module a genuine LR unit or aftermarket?, and are all the connectors fitted?

It’s a genuine LR unit, have double checked all the connections and all are fitted.

Nodge68 said:

I had the exact same issue last week.
Did you fit the 40A J type fuse in the fuse box?
I've marked both 15A and 40A fuses needed with a red dot.
View attachment 267000

Also the first new J fuse I fitted was faulty, and didn't connect, as the plugs inside simply moved in the housing.
I fitted a better quality one, which worked fine.

Click to expand...

Wish LR had housed my F1 fuse board in a lunch box - it gets quite damp with condensation around the area and expect problems in future.

Scott2511 said:

It’s a genuine LR unit, have double checked all the connections and all are fitted.

Click to expand...

Have you checked the earth connection?
Have you actually checked the outputs at the socket with a meter or test light?

I have a tow bar electrics plug in checker, this will not light up when button is pressed however when you start the engine all the lights on the checker flask.
I will check the earth connection tomorrow, I used one of the screw connectors behind the panel, i will hunt for the earth connector location and try that.

Scott2511 said:

I will check the earth connection tomorrow, I used one of the screw connectors behind the panel, i will hunt for the earth connector location and try that.

Click to expand...

The earth for the tow bar is connected to the same earth point as the PDC ECM.

I've arrowed the correct earth location point in this picture.

Have now put earth connector as picture above, checked fuses and all are ok. I have put a multimeter on to test output at plugs and I only get a small feed coming out of the right hand indicator, nowhere near 12v.

so I am wonderering if the sockets themselves are faulty - do I cut wires and new sockets?
Or is the towing module faulty?

also I have been told that the towing module may need activating at the garage so the ecu then knows it’s there, not sure how accurate that information is.

This one’s got me stumped.

Scott2511 said:

Have now put earth connector as picture above, checked fuses and all are ok. I have put a multimeter on to test output at plugs and I only get a small feed coming out of the right hand indicator, nowhere near 12v.

so I am wonderering if the sockets themselves are faulty - do I cut wires and new sockets?
Or is the towing module faulty?

also I have been told that the towing module may need activating at the garage so the ecu then knows it’s there, not sure how accurate that information is.

This one’s got me stumped.

Click to expand...

Ok, I'll answer the questions in sequence.

So if the earth point is in the correct place, then one can assume that's all good.

So you're on to testing the wiring at the plug, then the plug itself.
The plugs are sealed for life, the electrical connections being fully potted from the back of the plug with electrical potting compound.
This makes testing the connections at the back of the plug tricky, but not impossible. The only way is to probe through the wire PVC insulation, with a sharp probe (a sewing needle works well), then put a test light on the needle and earth, and see what happens.
All lights are powered by the towing module, with the exception of the brake lights, which are powered directly from the brake light circuit.
It possible to test the in 2 ways. First is using a suitable diagnostic test unit.
Basic home testing is also possible. The brake light circuit doesn't go through the module. The brake light are supplied through the towing harness directly from the brake light circuit. So if the brake lights work, there's a good chance the towing module isn't working correctly, or it's not getting a supply from the ignition circuit, or it's not getting the data stream from the CJB.
Do you have a picture of the module in situ, so I can see if any plugs are missing?
Can the plugs be changed, then the answer is yes, as I had to fit a new supplementary socket to mine, as it had been cut off by a previous owner.

Yes the towing module will work without telling the vehicle that it's fitted. However not programming the vehicle to say a towing module is installed prevents the towing enhancement functions from being activated when a trailer or caravan is plugged in, but all the lights work without activating the module.

Thanks for your reply.

I will take some pictures over the next few days and post on here.

Hi
I have checked all connections this afternoon for bent pins, dirty connections and all seems ok.
Pictures to follow.

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