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  • Electric supply for towbar

    Currently fitting a s/h Bosal Oris-Matic retractable towbar to my Estate and I will do a how to.

    I am using the VX wiring harness for 13 pin socket. This came with the instructions for the lighting connections but nothing for the switched and permanent power supplies.

    Many thanks to Graeme for info on fuses however, he has a hatchback and certainly for the lighting there are some wiring differences for the lighting so do not know if that also applies to the power.

    GM uses different wiring colours to the norm and in the wiring harness I have the permanent power cable if red and the ignition switched one is yellow.

    If you have a factory fitted towbar I would be grateful if you would let me know where these two cables go in your car - from the length of them there must be a connector close to the trailer control module.

  • #2
    Paul, did you ever get this working?

    Comment


    • #3
      Yes, I did, apart from the 12v power.

      I keep meaning to write up fitting the Oris-Matic. Required sussing out the wiring from it, would be nice for standardisation. Think I did make some notes but currently rebuilding computer following HD failure but I have all files backed up and will search for them.

      Decided that should the Oris-Matic mechanism fail that I wanted to easily fit another bar and to this end wired the wiring kit to a normal 13 pin socket and the cables from the bar to a 13 pin plug. Mounted the socket on a bracket and plugged the plug on the bar in to the socket.

      The 12v supply is via a separate harness part number13313408. This requires running cables to the front of the car. The instruction sheet for this is 13 313 409 (the other installation sheet for non power is 13 400 948).

      Have not installed the power harness yet as do not have a caravan at present.

      The only problem was the dealer struggled to code for the (lights etc) harness being present.

      For the lights etc you need the harness (cannot remember the part number) and the control box part number 13407206 (still have the box with the old control unit in it.

      My asking questions previously was to find out which fuses and where at the back to connect the 12v power to. However, then discovered that you need the kit above and run the cables to the front.

      If you want a pdf of the instructions or copies of photos let me know.

      Comment


      • #4
        Hi Paul,
        Yes any info would be very useful as I’ve picked up an Oris-matic bar that I am going to fit to my tourer. Has currently got 13pin electrics built into the towing arm which I’m hoping to change to 7 pin if Oris di them.

        Comment


        • #5
          Found the notes I made. I think the Oris only came with 13pin - I believe that the 7 pin system was only common in the UK.

          PM me your email and I will send photos and also the Word document that is below which has the formatting and colours stripped out.

          The bar does include a buzzer that sounds if the bar is not stowed correctly and the wiring for that is needed.

          FITTING A BOSAL ORIS-MATIC TO A 2015 SPORTS TOURER

          The widely available options for aftermarket towbars are:

          Fixed – this type has the towball permanently in place therefore showing all the time
          Detachable – the main part of the towbar is hidden and the towball can be removed from the towbar therefore, when not in use none of the towbar is visible.

          The fixed bar is cheaper but less aesthetically pleasing whilst always ready for use. The detachable gives an aesthetically pleasing look when not in use but requires the ball to be stored when not in use and normally a plug to be removed and the towball to be inserted when required.

          Vauxhall also offered a ‘retractable’ towbar called the Bosal Oris-Matic. When not in use nothing can be seen, when required, a handle is pulled, the towball drops downand is swivelled into position ready for use. When not required the handle is pulled, the ball drops down and is then swivelled into the stored position. Both of these operations take a couple of seconds.

          It would seem that the Oris-Matic is no longer an option when ordering a new car and I could not find a towbar supplier who could supply one.

          Brink also makes a retractable towbar. However, I was quoted £475 by a UK supplier, it is also available from a German supplier at £334 plus £25.50 carriage.

          A secondhand Oris-Matic came up on eBay and I went for this.

          This guide deals with the fitting of this towbar.

          The towbar has a built in 13 pin socket located on the towball arm. It also has a 16 pin socket for connection to the vehicle so 4 more cables than the 12 in a 13 pin socket – pin 12 of a 13 pin socket is normally not used.

          I decided to go the Vauxhall route for the wiring harness and control box. This utilises a switch on the socket to detect whether a trailer is present and is activated by the insertion of the trailer plug. This feature is also present on the socket of the Oris-Matic.

          The Oris-Matic also has a buzzer that sounds when the towbar arm is not in the fully stowed position or the locked position for use. This function therefore requires a permanent live supply as it will sound even if the key has not been turned in the car.

          The diagram below shows the pins of the socket on the Oris-Matic and their function as well as colour – you should test to make sure that nothing has changed with the bar you are fitting. This is easily done with a multi-meter with the resistance range set to sound a buzzer when you are connected to either end of a cable.


          13 Pin No. 11 Buzzer 5 4 6 8 1 13
          Colour
          Pin No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
          Pin No. 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9
          Colour
          13 Pin No. 10 Sense 2 7 3 Buzzer Sense 9

          FIXING DOWNWARDS VIEWING TOWARDS PINS

          NOTE: Black cables are earth cables

          PIN FUNCTION LOOM COLOUR BAR PIN BAR COLOUR VAUXHALL CODE
          1 L/H Indicator Yellow 7 Blue/White Black/White BK/WH
          2 Rear Fog Lamp Blue 14 Yellow/Grey Black/Blue BK/BU
          3 Earth for Contacts 1 through 8 White 12 Black Brown/White
          4 R/H Indicator Green 4 Yellow/White Black/Green BK/GN
          5 R/H Tail Light & Number Plate Lights Brown 3 Grey Red/Grey GY/RD
          6 Stop Lights Red 5 Brown/Yellow Black/Yellow BK/YE
          7 L/H Tail Light & Number Plate Lights Black 13 Brown/Grey Grey/Black GY/BK
          8 Reverse Lights Pink 6 Green/White White/Black WH/BK
          9 Continuous Power Orange 9 Red/Grey Red
          10 Ignition Switched Power Grey 16 Red/Grey Yellow
          11 Earth White/Black 1 Black Brown/White
          12 Spare / Not Used
          13 Earth for contacts 9 through 12 White/Red 8 Black Brown/White
          X Sensing Green/Blue Black BK
          X Sensing Black Brown

          ADDITIONAL BAR PINS

          PIN COLOUR FUNCTION NOTES VAUXHALL CODE
          2 Yellow/Black Buzzer to warn if towball not in Use permanent live with fuse Orange
          11 Black full stowed or use position Earth Brown
          15 Green/Blue Detection switch for signalling Connect to switch at socket Black BK
          10 Black the trailer plug inserted in wiring harness Brown



          I did not want to remove the socket on the Vauxhall harness and therefore decided that I would mount a bracket on the towbar for this and use a 13 pin plug to connect to the cables on the towbar. The sensing switch is closed circuit when the trailer plug is not inserted and open circuit when it is. This therefore means that the sensing switch can be left installed in the harness socket and extension wires fitted to it and the Oris-Matic sensing switch wired in parallel. This means that if either plug is removed then the circuit will be closed denoting no trailer present but if both plugs are fitted the circuit will be open denoting a trailer present. Unfortunately, the Vauxhall socket does not have a pin socket at position 12 (the connection normally not used). This is not always the case with some sockets and could be used for the sensing connection together with a 13 core cable instead of a 12 core cable.

          Obviously, should an aftermarket electric kit be fitted that senses a trailer being present in another way then this is not required.

          The reason for doing it this way was that should I ever need to remove the towbar due to the mechanism failing it would be very easy to fit a ‘normal’ towbar.

          It is naturally sensible to use new fixings and these are required:

          2 x M12 x 40mm High Tensile Set Screws of at least 8.8
          2 x M10 x 40 mm High Tensile Set Screws of at least 8.8
          2 x M12 Large Washers
          2 x M12 Small Washers
          4 x M10 Nuts
          4 x M10 Large Washers
          4 x M10 Small Washers
          2 x nuts and bolts to fit bracket for harness socket

          Drill the outer upstand for the handle to fit a socket bracket

          Solder extension wires to the cables to the sensing switch in the harness socket and cover these with insulating tape – should a normal bar be fitted in the future then these extension calbes will require removing.

          Fit the socket with the rear facing to the outside

          Wire a 13 pin plug and fit is to the socket.

          Cut the wires on the cable from the plug to a suitable length to connect to the cables from the plug on the towbar

          Cut one lighting cable at a time from the towbar plug and connect it to the relevant cable from the plug fitted to the socket covering the join with heat shrink.

          Cut the switched live cable from the towbar socket and connect to the cable from the plug.

          Cut the permanent live from the towbar socket and join to the relevant cable from the plug and also an inline fuse – this will connect to the live for the warning buzzer.

          Connect the earths including the earth from the buzzer.

          Connect the sensing switch extension wire for the earth to one of the earth wires and the other to the sensing switch cable of the towbar.

          Double check that the towbar socket is connected to the right pin in the harness and then recheck – will be a time consuming process to correct faults after the towbar is fitted.

          The towbar is now ready to be fitted.

          Remove the bumper and fit the towbar – the M12 set screws are fitted through the chassis rail in the position furthest to the front.

          Remove the blanking piece from the nearside floor at the bottom of the side area at the back where the rear fusebox resides.

          Push the cables of the harness up through the floor and fit the rubber grommet

          Cut the bumper undertray to suit and then refit the bumper.

          Now time to connect the cabling dependent upon the wiring kit you are using.

          For the Vauxhall harness the lighting connections are made by inserting pins in to the connector for the control box.

          The power cables are connected….

          Comment


          • #6
            PM sent

            Comment


            • #7
              Cavaddict - sorry my PM box was full would you send your email address again.

              Having thought back.......

              The buzzer will only work when there is a permanent 12v supply that I still have to do.

              The sensing switch is used to inform the car that the trailer is present and thereby kill the rear parking sensors and presumably so that the car can monitor the lights. I had to come up with a solution as I have the socket on the actual bar and also another socket that the bar plugs in to. Do not know if an aftermarket wiring kit silences the rear parking sensors and if so how.

              Doing some research it seems that sometimes the release cable breaks hence the two sockets to make it easy to fit a 'normal' towbar.

              The socket on the bar looks fairly special so doubt a 7 pin socket can be found to replace it. There are adapter to enable a 7 pin plug to be used - I have replaced the 7 pin plug on my small trailer with a 13 pin plug but use an adapter when I borrow a friends large trailer.

              Comment


              • #8
                Problem with tow bar wiring

                HI PAUL,

                I'm new to this forum, trying to resolve a wiring problem. I have a 2017 estate and not able to identify wiring to the right side indicator and fog light.

                I read much of your posting with interest which helped me complete some of the wiring for a 13 pin socket, only have two wires to complete which is causing me a head-ache. Can you advise how you managed to connect wiring to the right side rear indicator and fog light ?.
                The main wiring for lights to the left side were straight forward splicing into the harness located next to the rear fuse board, but have not traced wiring to the right side lights.

                Removed right side light cluster and confirmed colour of wires for / H Indicator (blue) and fog light (grey), but could not trace wires though loom to multi connector on left side next to rear fuse board.

                Any help would be greatly appreciated.

                Regards,
                Tom

                thead
                Originally posted by Paul View Post
                Found the notes I made. I think the Oris only came with 13pin - I believe that the 7 pin system was only common in the UK.

                PM me your email and I will send photos and also the Word document that is below which has the formatting and colours stripped out.

                The bar does include a buzzer that sounds if the bar is not stowed correctly and the wiring for that is needed.

                FITTING A BOSAL ORIS-MATIC TO A 2015 SPORTS TOURER

                The widely available options for aftermarket towbars are:

                Fixed – this type has the towball permanently in place therefore showing all the time
                Detachable – the main part of the towbar is hidden and the towball can be removed from the towbar therefore, when not in use none of the towbar is visible.

                The fixed bar is cheaper but less aesthetically pleasing whilst always ready for use. The detachable gives an aesthetically pleasing look when not in use but requires the ball to be stored when not in use and normally a plug to be removed and the towball to be inserted when required.

                Vauxhall also offered a ‘retractable’ towbar called the Bosal Oris-Matic. When not in use nothing can be seen, when required, a handle is pulled, the towball drops downand is swivelled into position ready for use. When not required the handle is pulled, the ball drops down and is then swivelled into the stored position. Both of these operations take a couple of seconds.

                It would seem that the Oris-Matic is no longer an option when ordering a new car and I could not find a towbar supplier who could supply one.

                Brink also makes a retractable towbar. However, I was quoted £475 by a UK supplier, it is also available from a German supplier at £334 plus £25.50 carriage.

                A secondhand Oris-Matic came up on eBay and I went for this.

                This guide deals with the fitting of this towbar.

                The towbar has a built in 13 pin socket located on the towball arm. It also has a 16 pin socket for connection to the vehicle so 4 more cables than the 12 in a 13 pin socket – pin 12 of a 13 pin socket is normally not used.

                I decided to go the Vauxhall route for the wiring harness and control box. This utilises a switch on the socket to detect whether a trailer is present and is activated by the insertion of the trailer plug. This feature is also present on the socket of the Oris-Matic.

                The Oris-Matic also has a buzzer that sounds when the towbar arm is not in the fully stowed position or the locked position for use. This function therefore requires a permanent live supply as it will sound even if the key has not been turned in the car.

                The diagram below shows the pins of the socket on the Oris-Matic and their function as well as colour – you should test to make sure that nothing has changed with the bar you are fitting. This is easily done with a multi-meter with the resistance range set to sound a buzzer when you are connected to either end of a cable.


                13 Pin No. 11 Buzzer 5 4 6 8 1 13
                Colour
                Pin No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
                Pin No. 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9
                Colour
                13 Pin No. 10 Sense 2 7 3 Buzzer Sense 9

                FIXING DOWNWARDS VIEWING TOWARDS PINS

                NOTE: Black cables are earth cables

                PIN FUNCTION LOOM COLOUR BAR PIN BAR COLOUR VAUXHALL CODE
                1 L/H Indicator Yellow 7 Blue/White Black/White BK/WH
                2 Rear Fog Lamp Blue 14 Yellow/Grey Black/Blue BK/BU
                3 Earth for Contacts 1 through 8 White 12 Black Brown/White
                4 R/H Indicator Green 4 Yellow/White Black/Green BK/GN
                5 R/H Tail Light & Number Plate Lights Brown 3 Grey Red/Grey GY/RD
                6 Stop Lights Red 5 Brown/Yellow Black/Yellow BK/YE
                7 L/H Tail Light & Number Plate Lights Black 13 Brown/Grey Grey/Black GY/BK
                8 Reverse Lights Pink 6 Green/White White/Black WH/BK
                9 Continuous Power Orange 9 Red/Grey Red
                10 Ignition Switched Power Grey 16 Red/Grey Yellow
                11 Earth White/Black 1 Black Brown/White
                12 Spare / Not Used
                13 Earth for contacts 9 through 12 White/Red 8 Black Brown/White
                X Sensing Green/Blue Black BK
                X Sensing Black Brown

                ADDITIONAL BAR PINS

                PIN COLOUR FUNCTION NOTES VAUXHALL CODE
                2 Yellow/Black Buzzer to warn if towball not in Use permanent live with fuse Orange
                11 Black full stowed or use position Earth Brown
                15 Green/Blue Detection switch for signalling Connect to switch at socket Black BK
                10 Black the trailer plug inserted in wiring harness Brown



                I did not want to remove the socket on the Vauxhall harness and therefore decided that I would mount a bracket on the towbar for this and use a 13 pin plug to connect to the cables on the towbar. The sensing switch is closed circuit when the trailer plug is not inserted and open circuit when it is. This therefore means that the sensing switch can be left installed in the harness socket and extension wires fitted to it and the Oris-Matic sensing switch wired in parallel. This means that if either plug is removed then the circuit will be closed denoting no trailer present but if both plugs are fitted the circuit will be open denoting a trailer present. Unfortunately, the Vauxhall socket does not have a pin socket at position 12 (the connection normally not used). This is not always the case with some sockets and could be used for the sensing connection together with a 13 core cable instead of a 12 core cable.

                Obviously, should an aftermarket electric kit be fitted that senses a trailer being present in another way then this is not required.

                The reason for doing it this way was that should I ever need to remove the towbar due to the mechanism failing it would be very easy to fit a ‘normal’ towbar.

                It is naturally sensible to use new fixings and these are required:

                2 x M12 x 40mm High Tensile Set Screws of at least 8.8
                2 x M10 x 40 mm High Tensile Set Screws of at least 8.8
                2 x M12 Large Washers
                2 x M12 Small Washers
                4 x M10 Nuts
                4 x M10 Large Washers
                4 x M10 Small Washers
                2 x nuts and bolts to fit bracket for harness socket

                Drill the outer upstand for the handle to fit a socket bracket

                Solder extension wires to the cables to the sensing switch in the harness socket and cover these with insulating tape – should a normal bar be fitted in the future then these extension calbes will require removing.

                Fit the socket with the rear facing to the outside

                Wire a 13 pin plug and fit is to the socket.

                Cut the wires on the cable from the plug to a suitable length to connect to the cables from the plug on the towbar

                Cut one lighting cable at a time from the towbar plug and connect it to the relevant cable from the plug fitted to the socket covering the join with heat shrink.

                Cut the switched live cable from the towbar socket and connect to the cable from the plug.

                Cut the permanent live from the towbar socket and join to the relevant cable from the plug and also an inline fuse – this will connect to the live for the warning buzzer.

                Connect the earths including the earth from the buzzer.

                Connect the sensing switch extension wire for the earth to one of the earth wires and the other to the sensing switch cable of the towbar.

                Double check that the towbar socket is connected to the right pin in the harness and then recheck – will be a time consuming process to correct faults after the towbar is fitted.

                The towbar is now ready to be fitted.

                Remove the bumper and fit the towbar – the M12 set screws are fitted through the chassis rail in the position furthest to the front.

                Remove the blanking piece from the nearside floor at the bottom of the side area at the back where the rear fusebox resides.

                Push the cables of the harness up through the floor and fit the rubber grommet

                Cut the bumper undertray to suit and then refit the bumper.

                Now time to connect the cabling dependent upon the wiring kit you are using.

                For the Vauxhall harness the lighting connections are made by inserting pins in to the connector for the control box.

                The power cables are connectedÂ….

                Comment

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