Towbar electrics...
Discussion
Set myself a challenge of installing a Westfalia detachable towbar on my 2012 Touran family shed.
Bought the vehicle-specific 13-pin electrics and printed-off the 51-step(!) installation guide.
Jaysus! Now I realise why there is virtually nil content on Youtube showing how it's done and the £300 quote a local place gave me to fit it is sounding more reasonable by the hour...
Beyond the mechanical fit, I have had to remove the a 2nd row seat (easy) and the offside 3rd row seat (6 bolts) and 13 pieces of interior trim!
Fitting the bar itself was fairly straightforward. Tail lights off and bumper off. Remove hidden metal bumper and replace with towbar. All so simple.
Now I have to complete the wiring which needs to be routed from the hitch to the fuse-box under the steering wheel which is where my query lies...
My car has parking sensors and there is already some wires passing through the relevant grommet at the offside rear corner for them and I now need to route the thicker towbar look through the same hole.
Kit came with a new grommet which could be slip on the as-yet unfinished loom, but I will struggle to pass the parking sensor wiring connector through the grommet so I appear to be stuck as I don't fancy messing with the parking sensor wiring/connector.
Thinking about cutting my losses and cutting the new grommet and passing it all through. What could possibly go wrong?
On the assumption I get the wiring loom wired up to the pins correctly and routed through the car up to the fuse box, it would appear that I still have to drop the fuse box and wire it in from the back.
Any tips on the last leg?
And then assuming that this all works, I beleive that I'll still need a VW tech to 'recode' the car to recognise that there is a bar is fitted as the parking sensors will need to know.
Bought the vehicle-specific 13-pin electrics and printed-off the 51-step(!) installation guide.
Jaysus! Now I realise why there is virtually nil content on Youtube showing how it's done and the £300 quote a local place gave me to fit it is sounding more reasonable by the hour...
Beyond the mechanical fit, I have had to remove the a 2nd row seat (easy) and the offside 3rd row seat (6 bolts) and 13 pieces of interior trim!
Fitting the bar itself was fairly straightforward. Tail lights off and bumper off. Remove hidden metal bumper and replace with towbar. All so simple.
Now I have to complete the wiring which needs to be routed from the hitch to the fuse-box under the steering wheel which is where my query lies...
My car has parking sensors and there is already some wires passing through the relevant grommet at the offside rear corner for them and I now need to route the thicker towbar look through the same hole.
Kit came with a new grommet which could be slip on the as-yet unfinished loom, but I will struggle to pass the parking sensor wiring connector through the grommet so I appear to be stuck as I don't fancy messing with the parking sensor wiring/connector.
Thinking about cutting my losses and cutting the new grommet and passing it all through. What could possibly go wrong?
On the assumption I get the wiring loom wired up to the pins correctly and routed through the car up to the fuse box, it would appear that I still have to drop the fuse box and wire it in from the back.
Any tips on the last leg?
And then assuming that this all works, I beleive that I'll still need a VW tech to 'recode' the car to recognise that there is a bar is fitted as the parking sensors will need to know.
If the connector will fit through the hole it will probably fit through the grommet, even through it might take some brute force to persuade it. A bit of plastic wrapped around the connector to form a cone might help ease it over. Worst case is that the grommet splits, in which case you're no worse off than if you had cut it open.
Thanks. Sounds doable but I would have had to completely remove the rear bumper cover again to get good access and give it a go...
I took the shortcut and cut the grommet last night and completed the rear wiring.
The red and yellow wires which are spec'd to carry 180-240W were a devil to insert in the relevant sockets.
Will now move towards the front.
Any tips for accessing/dropping the front fuse box?
P.S. on my car, there was a large foam insert in one corner of the rear bumper cover but not the other, presumably AWOL. What are they for (would offer some additional splash protection). I haven't fond them in the parts catalogues...
I took the shortcut and cut the grommet last night and completed the rear wiring.
The red and yellow wires which are spec'd to carry 180-240W were a devil to insert in the relevant sockets.
Will now move towards the front.
Any tips for accessing/dropping the front fuse box?
P.S. on my car, there was a large foam insert in one corner of the rear bumper cover but not the other, presumably AWOL. What are they for (would offer some additional splash protection). I haven't fond them in the parts catalogues...
Not too hard a job. You should have 3 connections that go to fuse box and 3 that go to the bcm.
You'll need the additional westfalia loom if you want pin 10 to work.
Will need vcds to a dealer to code afterwards. This disables parking sensors, activates alarm, disables car fog light and also activates a towing esp program.
You'll need the additional westfalia loom if you want pin 10 to work.
Will need vcds to a dealer to code afterwards. This disables parking sensors, activates alarm, disables car fog light and also activates a towing esp program.
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