On 25/05/2017 11:39, Lee wrote:
On 24/05/2017 20:50, Michael Chare wrote:
I presume cars are made a economically as possible, so is it really
the case that a rear light unit with LEDs and driven by CAN bus, with
two thin wires for the power and two even thinner wires for CAN-H and
CAN-L bus is really cheaper to make than one with convention bulbs and
much thicker wires?

The modern system does not make connecting a trailer light socket easy!



There's also the subtle point that one thick cable (my car also has a
fusebox in the boot) and plug in modules can cope with all the possible
factory options without having unneeded wires in the loom, or even worse
a custom loom.

Plus the ability for the BCM to substitute a failed lamp for an
alternative is quite useful. If sometimes confusing

And I'd argue that as long as you are using the right parts, it makes
wiring a trailer socket many times easier...though it obviously costs
more than using generic adapters

It now doubt depends on the vehicle, but in the case of my car, running
cables from the back of the car and then connecting to the BCM plugs is
about as awkward as it gets. It took some time just to find the plugs as
they are out of sight even after the CD player in the glove box and the
glove box have been removed.

--
Michael Chare