Trailer lights warning buzzer

HI Everyone,

I have a 2011 Symbol it came fitted with a towbar and wiring. I am old fashioned enough to think that there should be a warning Buzzer when the trailer indicators are working ( either that or a dash lamp) My van does not seem to have either.
Has the technology moved on so that this is no longer a requirement?

I have searched the handbook without success. Please can anyone who can shed light (no pun intended) on the situation as I still have a few weeks of warranty left.

Many thanks 

Alan 

Hi Alan I had a tow-bar added to the van and a warning buzzer was fitted behind the step on the driver's side. I too thought this was compulsory to ensure all indicators were working. I would not have thought that the handbook would cover this 'extra' item.

PLOUGHLIN wrote:Do you have OE lamp failure indicator on you dashboard. If so that probably covers the trailer lights.

I have tow bar without buzzer, and the build sheet indicates option JW2 - Lamp Failure Indicator Deactivation, so I am probably illegal.

Thanks for your response.  I have found "faulty bulb" warning lamp in the book and on the dash so I guess I am legal.  I might take a bulb out of the trailer lamp and see if it works.

I don’t think it’s a legal requirement anymore, I questioned the lack of a warning device on my 2017 Corinium, I was informed that it’s no longer fitted!

Ray

PLOUGHLIN wrote:I tis, I think, a legal requirement to have a visual or audible signal, unless the vehicle lamp monitoring system also covers any trailer fitted.

Required by UN ECE Reg 48 section 6.5.8

If a motor vehicle is equipped to draw a trailer, it shall be fitted with a special
visual  operational  tell -tale  for  the  direction -indicator  lamps  on  the  trailer unless the tell -tale of the drawing vehicle allows the failure of any one of the direction -indicator  lamps  on  the  vehicle  combination  thus  formed  to  be detected.

Mmm, I will research a little more, I certainly don’t have a warning system in the Corinium.
I’ve not tested the failed lamp senario. But.....in my 2016 Broadway it had the flashing indicator to show that the trailer lights were working, I questioned why in my Corinium the light wasn’t working, only to be told that it wasn’t fitted any more and not required??

Ray

It seems that it is a legal requirement, I’ll need to look at my vehicle .....grrrrr !!!

Ray

NOV 19 2010
FILED IN: BUILDING TRAILERS, LIGHTS, REPAIRS AND MAINTAINANCE, TRAILER WIRING, USED TRAILERS, WIRING DIAGRAMS
Ensuring your trailer has the appropriate lighting is a legal requirement (The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989). This simple guide will help you to be within the current laws for use on the UK public highway.

All trailers must have fitted:

Two red sidelights.
Two red stoplights.
Two red reflective triangles.
An illuminated number plate.
Amber indicators (designed to flash between 60-120 times per minute).
Some form of letting the driver know trailer indicators are working correctly such as a buzzer or light.
All trailers built after September 30th 1990 also require:

I'm pretty sure that Peter L is correct in his quote above.

The reason why it's confusing is that it's possible with most vehicles these days to implement a trailer electrical hookup in one of two ways: either with a simple generic bypass relay, or with a device that hooks up to the lighting system as fitted from the factory and integrates fully with it.

If a "generic" product has been used, there is no way that the original factory lighting system can "know" about the status of the trailer bulbs, so a separate flasher/sounder is needed.

If a vehicle-specific loom and interface has been used, and that integrates fully with the OEM lighting, there should be no need for separate audible of visible alerts, as the factory-fitted one meets the legal requirement.

Incidentally, the integration often goes further - on my T5 the factory towbar loom integrates to the extent that it turns off the foglight on the back of the van and enables the one on the back of the trailer, and it also engages a modified ESP setting which is designed to cope with loss of vehicle stability with a load attached (i.e. it is designed to counteract the pendulum effect of a trailer by braking individual wheels on the towing vehicle).

mossystone wrote:

PLOUGHLIN wrote:Do you have OE lamp failure indicator on you dashboard. If so that probably covers the trailer lights.

I have tow bar without buzzer, and the build sheet indicates option JW2 - Lamp Failure Indicator Deactivation, so I am probably illegal.

Thanks for your response.  I have found "faulty bulb" warning lamp in the book and on the dash so I guess I am legal.  I might take a bulb out of the trailer lamp and see if it works.

Plugged the trailer lights into van with direction indicator bulb missing and the warning light on the dash came on.  Problem solved. 
many thanks for all the posts.