towbar fitted, and wired up

[johnl]

Finished fitting the towbar. I know there are Alfisti who may philosophically object to using an Alfa to tow a trailer, but I can now transport my racing kart to the track, so I think this a good enough reason and in keeping with the ethos of a sporting marque such as Alfa...

Cost $140 and another $140 for freight (from UK). When it arrived I couldn't believe how heavy it was, but there are a lot of parts to it; the 'goose neck' tow ball, the rectangular section tube to which the 'goose neck' attaches, six 10mm thick steel chassis attachment / reinforcing plates. Four of these plates are quite large, and constitute much if not most of the weight.

Two of the (big / heavy) plates attach under the car, and four inside the car. To fit them requires drilling twelve holes. It's fairly easy on the right side, but on the left side you need to remove the muffler (and heat shield) to access the nuts. It's also necessary to remove the rear bumper panel to access the nuts for four bolts. This wasn't that hard, just added time.

Wiring was straightforward. I had read somewhere that due to the 'Canbus' electrical system it would be necessary to wire the circuits through relays, or else all sorts of problems and dash warning lights might occur. This hasn't turned out to be the case, no relays and no problems.

Doing some web research I read that some people have indeed had problems with this, and resorted to using relays (or some expensive extra bit of electrical kit, which I assume is some sort of relay). I also read somebody else say that they initially did have such problems when using an electrical feed from only one of the cars' rear parking lights and only one rear brake light (without relays). But, that when they used a feed from both of the cars parking lights and both brake lights, that it worked. This is what I have done, and it works fine.

Considering that the wires feeding the cars tail lights are super thin, it might be asking a lot anyway for only one of these fine wires to each run an additional two or three trailer lights (two brake lights and three 'parking' lights, including the number plate light).

Regards,
John.

[bazzbazz]

As john says, it's all straightforward, and the best thing is, all completely removable should you want for any reason as there is no welding or permanent form of attachment required, its all bolt on!

If you not comfortable ordering in from overseas, there is a mob here in Brisbane, Aranda Towbars 07 3299 2894, doing brand new bars for most Alfas for $258 including Australia wide Courier Delivery. Here's their eBay add for a 156 -

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/EURO-TOWBAR-Alfa-Romeo-156-Sedan-Wagon-1999-2006-1600-60kg-/331887179618?hash=item4d46047762

As for the wiring, its all documented in the back of every Alfa Owners manual. If you're not sure what bits to get, Aranda can also supply a full wiring kit.

Baz

[johnl]

As for the wiring, its all documented in the back of every Alfa Owners manual.

Baz

Baz,
At least in the 147 manual, it's not what I would call comprehensive instructions. Basically it only says that the wiring should be performed "...following any reference instructions given by the vehicle and / or towing device manufacturer...". The manual contains no such "reference instructions" that I can find. Not a great deal of help there...

There are some diagrams relating to fitment of the "tow hook" itself, but I challenge anyone to fit it using just those diagrams as a reference. I think it would be easier to just figure it all out as you present the components to the chassis to see how it should all fit.

Regards,
John.

[bazzbazz]

Sorry, it appears its only in the 156 Manuals.

Baz

[johnl]

A pleasant side benefit of having a towbar is that it can be used as a convenient and robust jacking point when you want to raise the whole rear end of the car. Without the towbar this is a bit of a pain, because there is nothing under the car that can be used unless a large / thick board is inserted between the trolley jack and the rear subframe. No part of the (remarkably) thin-metal subframe is robust enough to use otherwise. There is somewhat similar problem at the front of the car, not easy to jack the whole front end off the ground in one go.

Regards,
John.

[johnl]

I think most people would quietly agree that the radiator intake of any Alfa Romeo is somewhat, er, suggestive, of female anatomy ("I get sexually exited whenever I look at the front of an Alfa" - Jeremy Clarkson). With the particular towbar now fitted to my car, it was immediately obvious to me and commented upon by quite a few others that the 'goose neck' is more than somewhat, er, penile in appearance. So, my car has become even sexier, so much so it's now an hermaphrodite...

Regards,
John.

[Micheloaks]

Digging up an old thread .... I just fitted the Stenhof tow bar to my 159 SW and wanting to use it next cpl days finishing the install a must . All auto elects booked for weeks in Canberra.

CPL questions with the supplied harness.

Can I use the rear 12V socket to wire the 10amp 'fused' black box? Preferable to running the wire all the way to battery.

I'm assuming the sealed black box supplied with the harness is in reality some relay?

I've also spliced the supplied harness into the rear lights and now have disabled both left and right brake lights . As per above first post , should I be extending the supplied wires which are both short and thin, so can wire into both  lights ?

Thx in advance

[johnl]

Digging up an old thread .... I just fitted the Stenhof tow bar to my 159 SW and wanting to use it next cpl days finishing the install a must . All auto elects booked for weeks in Canberra.

CPL questions with the supplied harness.

Can I use the rear 12V socket to wire the 10amp 'fused' black box? Preferable to running the wire all the way to battery.

I'm assuming the sealed black box supplied with the harness is in reality some relay?

I've also spliced the supplied harness into the rear lights and now have disabled both left and right brake lights . As per above first post , should I be extending the supplied wires which are both short and thin, so can wire into both  lights ?

Thx in advance

Don't know about extra fuses or black boxes.

I just spliced the chassis plug directly into the existing wiring harness. In effect I just added another globe to each indicator circuit, and two extra globes each in the brake and tail light circuits (when the trailer is attached of course). I was initially a bit concerned that this 'basic' approach might cause issues with the cars' electronics, but it never has.

Regards,
John.