7 Pin Electrics And Temp Sensor

[skippy140]

hi, ive just got myself a hdi vtr estate and fitted a towbar to pull mine and my lads motorbikes around, the thing is fitting the electrics,. 1 person has told me i need a relay and another said i dont. can anyone point me in the right direction please.

 

 

another small problem is i get the dash warning every now and then that the coolant temp is to high, i know it isnt as it can happen from a cold start or when driving along. the engine has just had the head gasket done, proper job skimmed, pressure tested with new cam and belt kit.

 

any help on these would be great thanks

[paul.h]

The coolant temp sensor is probably faulty, about £20 for a new one. First though check if the sensor electrical connector is clean and the wiring is ok. There have been similar reports of the temp going high and after checks and thermostat replacement it has been the sensor. If you have a code reader that does live data it will give the temp from the sensor so you can check it.

 

A few of us on here have fitted our own towbars and as far as I can remember, all have used a relay with a fused supply taken from the battery. If you do run a wire from the battery, run 2 so later you can fit the 12S or 13 pin electrics for a caravan since the C5 is an excellent towcar. When I did our previous mark 1 C5, I ran the wires through the wiring grommet in the bulkhead and down the inside of the car left sill - however, this took some effort. Others have run the wiring under the car. If you search the forum you should find details.

[skippy140]

thanks for that mate ill have a look

[Johndouglas]

I've also got a C5 estate to which I've fitted a tow bar.   I use a 12N and a 12S sockets for my caravan.   I too heard that you can get away without using a relay, but the C5 electrics are quite sophisticated and they can easily get upset, throwing up various fault messages.   Therefore by using a relay, you avoid trouble.   Get something like a Smart7 and the wiring instructions are straight forward.   Because I also have the 12S for on board battery charging and fridge, I took two 17amp cables directly from the battery into the cargo area to a Smartcom relay fitted in the r/h side cupboard.   Wiring was routed under the car and protected by the fuel line conduit.

 

I would go along with Paul about the temperature sender.   It happened as you described on our Xsara and a change of sender cured the problem.

[pdjones]

Use dedicated wiring kits. I bought one from PFJones though there are a number of suppliers. It will then need to be recoded so that cars computer recognises whether there's a trailer is attached or not

[c5banger]

Hi, I've got a C5 2.0 HDi. My temp gauge went off the scale, STOP lamp the works. Rad was cold. elec fan whizzing like a good un.

Changed thermostat, 1/2 mile down road & bang, same again. Air lock i thought, so bled system according to Haynes manual (3 times & 1/4 tank of diesel later) still same fault warnings. Changed temp sender unit, topped up system, bled air out old skool way, JOB DONE