Thanks Daryl for chiming in. Could you please expand a bit on the difference between your harness and the others on the market? I was positive I had read a sentence or two from you somewhere indicating why yours had more safety features built into it, vs. what a Curt one for example has, and the impact of the lack thereof (potential scenario of what could happen with a Curt, which wouldn't with yours).
I thought you had posted something similar to that, but can't find it...
Lotus99, you are basically asking me to make a very "salesy" post -- even more so than I have been occasionally accused of making! Well, ok, if you insist...
Our less-expensive wiring option, the "Passive Harness" is sometimes compared to aftermarket tow harnesses because -- unlike our Active OEM Harness -- it does not plug into the communications bus of the vehicle nor does it integrate directly with BMW's onboard monitoring systems. Instead, it simply listens on the vehicle's taillights and, in turn, generates its own signals to the trailer bulbs. Aftermarket harnesses generally take that same approach.
However, the controller on our Passive Harness is a BMW-specific controller. It was developed with BMW, tested and certified by BMW, and this harness/controller combination is offered by BMW as a wiring option in some price-sensitive regions of the world.
Other distinguishing features of our Passive Harness are:
• Support for surge brakes. I know of no aftermarket X3 harness that provides the reverse-signal output, which is necessary to lock out trailer surge brakes when backing up.
• Support for up to 20 trailer running lights. Many aftermarket harnesses support only one lamp per side for the trailer taillights (running lights), but modern trailers often have multiple running lights. In a current-overload situation, either the aftermarket-harness controller will shut itself down or a fuse will be blown (and re-blown as soon as you replace it).
• Support for +12v (30amp) at the trailer plug. If you have a camper or RV with internal power outlets, or if you ever want to add a wireless brake controller, or if you want to charge your trailer battery in transit, you will need the harness to output a 12v power signal.
• Intelligent bulb substitution. Our controller constantly monitors trailer bulbs in realtime, and it automatically takes safety actions to mitigate the effects of bulb outages. As an example, in the event that the trailer's left-side taillight burns out, our controller will immediately detect the fault and begin sending a 50%-intensity signal to the left-side brake light, causing it to glow dimly like a taillight. Whenever the brakes are applied, the signal will be increased to 100% intensity.
• Anti-feedback assurance. This is a direct consequence of working with BMW on the development and testing of the controller. There are multiple built-in safeguards to ensure that no current can ever be fed back to the vehicle's wiring and its electronics, regardless of the condition of the trailer wiring and regardless of possible power-outages or power surges to the controller. All aftermarket harnesses that I know of simply fuse their connection to the battery as their only protection of the vehicle.
We are aware that most customers purchase our hitch for its aesthetic advantages. That is how most people make their buying decision, and we market our hitch accordingly. However, far more of our engineering resources go into preserving the vehicle's crumple zones and protecting the vehicle's expensive wiring/electronics than hiding the hitch. These features may not have the same marketing pizazz as making the hitch invisible, but they are a huge part of who we are as a hitch company. So thank you for asking.
Daryl
daryl@invisihitch.com
