Towbar Information

[Swallowtail]

Will post here info gleaned from various posts about the "official" VW towbar for the Passat...

[vanDub]

Links to previous towbar threads

http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/newforum/upload/showthread.php?t=13307

http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/newforum/upload/showthread.php?t=26356

[apom]

Bulb out information

For those that are getting a "Bulb out" message when using the Passat (or other VW) towbars it is generally due to insufficient load on the system to measure if the bulb is working. This was a known issue, especially if you are using LED lights on your trailer so VW developed a module to fix the problem.

On getting my towbar fitted last week they threw in this kit that goes in between the normal wiring harness and the trailer (it can be mounted on the trailer) that fixes the problem 100%

Let me know if you need the part number?

PS The Towbar on the R36 Wagon looks fine

[vanDub]

Let me know if you need the part number?

As this is a sticky, yes please (and picture of the module fitted might be nice for posterity)

[apom]

The part Number is VGA0055204 LOAD LED LOAD SIMULATOR 5A-300708RA

This is setup for a flat 7 pin design so assume there is a version for round also.

The pack consists of a Male/Female extension with the load simulator in the middle, an instruction leaflet and a set of cable ties. The idea is this thing gets strapped (or permanently mounted) to the trailer, plugs into you towbar lead before connecting to the trailer plug.

I believe these are about $200, however I do not know the exact price as it came with the towbar kit as a peace offering for the stuff ups I had along the way (a long story)

I was told it was a deliberate piece of reverse engineering to fix the problem that is large issue with Touareg owners (as many buy them for the 3500kg towing capacity). I believe Bosch have also come up with a solution that can be a mod to the vehicle wiring but this is an expensive fix.

I do have an image but cant seem to post it in the message (has this option changed recently?)

When I plug in the trailer the rear parking sensors do not go off, so all good there. All works OK. However as soon as I put it in reverse the sensors go off as the camera activates and the only way to reset it is to turn off the parking sensors or restart the car. Its no biggie for the amount of times I am towing and the camera is useless anyway when you have a trailer on. I am not sure how this is supposed to work? Happy to hear others.

[passatpout]

For those that are getting a "Bulb out" message when using the Passat (or other VW) towbars it is generally due to insufficient load on the system to measure if the bulb is working. This was a known issue, especially if you are using LED lights on your trailer so VW developed a module to fix the problem.

On getting my towbar fitted last week they threw in this kit that goes in between the normal wiring harness and the trailer (it can be mounted on the trailer) that fixes the problem 100%

Let me know if you need the part number?

PS The Towbar on the R36 Wagon looks fine

I reckon I know what they've done. Euro cars are wired with independent circuits for each side, whereas in Australia the wiring is one circuit for the tail lights. On my adaptor from the 13-pin round Euro to the flat 7-pin Australian, the tail lights are only fed from the right hand side, hence I continually get a message that the left hand tail lights are out.

I reckon, for the price paid for a towbar, that it's pretty poor that VW won't eliminate the problem (basically a bridge wire within the adaptor so that some current is drawn on both side circuits), and now appear to be charging for a part to solve a problem they created!

I'll dig up the charts I have comparing Euro wiring with Australian, and put up some pics of my adaptor pulled apart to show the issue.

In the meantime, it's something I have to remember for the 45,000km service..

[apom]

I think those with the bulb out message is more a local install. I have the towbar on the wagon and I DONT get the bulb out message. Swallowtail does get the message and he is going to try the kit I was given next week to see if it fixes the problem. We will keep you posted!

I would be keen to hear from other wagon owners with the towbar and the sensors to see if its the same as mine.

The sensors do not play up until you put it into reverse, then you need to turn the sensors off or restart the car to fix the constant beeping.

Another annoying thing we found out today with a trailer attached is that when you have the wiring attached to a trailer the power tailgate wont open.

You need to uncouple the trailer wiring harness to allow open the tailgate. I would understand if this was a safety feature but given you can park hard up against a wall (without a trailer) and the powertail gate opens regardless happy to smack into the wall regardless.


You cant tell me its a deliberate feature

[Swallowtail]

I notice from here - http://rvcs-prodweb.dot.gov.au/perl/...2008083244.cmd

that the R36's braked trailer capacity is 2200kg (750 unbraked). This is despite the kit itself reading 1500, which is the maximum for all of the other Passats.

I think an email to VW is called for. If dealers are fitting standard towbars to R36s they should be nominating the correct maximum load on the kit. It would appear that they are using one kit for all Passats, and not re-labelling the kit for the R36.

[Swallowtail]

Just sent this to VW:

I have a 'genuine' towbar fitted to my Passat R36 sedan. The towbar and B pillar labels read "braked trailer maximum 1500kg".

This is the maximum trailer weight for all of the other Passats, but according to the Passat R36's ADR vehicle certification information (located at http://rvcs-prodweb.dot.gov.au/perl/...2008083244.cmd) the R36 sedan has a maximum braked trailer weight capacity of 2200kg.

I assume that a standard Passat towbar kit is being supplied by dealers - why is it not being correctly labelled? If I get pulled up by Transport Department inspectors for having a braked trailer over 1500kg I am going to have all sorts of fun trying to explain to them that the car IS actually allowed to tow the heavier weight.

Can VW please supply the correct labels for my vehicle's towbar and B pillar so that the correct maximum weights are shown as per the vehicle's Australian-government-certified capabilities.

Thank you.

[vanDub]

Manual Supplement

My manual has supplement "Passat, Passat estate - edition 01.2008" containing "information on those modifications and additions that have been made since the vehicle wallet was printed".

It contains:
Drawbar load - maximum weight permitted on the ball coupling must not exceed 90kg.(up from 85kg).

Trailer weights with brakes up to 12% gradient = 1,800 kg
Trailer weights with brakes up to 8% gradient = 2,000 kg

The only problem is that the supplement applies to 103 KW diesel versions only and makes no mention of my 125 KW diesel.

Does your R36 manual have a similar supplement to show the transport people if they query your trailer weight?

[Swallowtail]

The manual is correct - shows 2200kg. B pillar and towbar show 1500kg.

[R36]

My manual has supplement "Passat, Passat estate - edition 01.2008" containing "information on those modifications and additions that have been made since the vehicle wallet was printed".

It contains:
Drawbar load - maximum weight permitted on the ball coupling must not exceed 90kg.(up from 85kg).

Trailer weights with brakes up to 12% gradient = 1,800 kg
Trailer weights with brakes up to 8% gradient = 2,000 kg

The only problem is that the supplement applies to 103 KW diesel versions only and makes no mention of my 125 KW diesel.

Does your R36 manual have a similar supplement to show the transport people if they query your trailer weight?

Yes. 3.5 Supplement and Technical Data Passat, Passat Estate, Passat R36 at page 33 states that it can theoretically tow a trailer weight of 2,200kg (with brakes, gradients up to 12%, same for up to 8%), or 750kg without brakes. However, it only has a maximum tow bar (or 'draw bar' as VW call it) loading of 85kg, which would limit practical towing capacity to about 850kg, due to the low draw bar loading limit. A trailer weight of 2,200kg would usually have a much heavier draw bar loading than 85kg.

[apom]

Just sent this to VW:

I have a 'genuine' towbar fitted to my Passat R36 sedan. The towbar and B pillar labels read "braked trailer maximum 1500kg".

This is the maximum trailer weight for all of the other Passats, but according to the Passat R36's ADR vehicle certification information (located at http://rvcs-prodweb.dot.gov.au/perl/...2008083244.cmd) the R36 sedan has a maximum braked trailer weight capacity of 2200kg.

I assume that a standard Passat towbar kit is being supplied by dealers - why is it not being correctly labelled? If I get pulled up by Transport Department inspectors for having a braked trailer over 1500kg I am going to have all sorts of fun trying to explain to them that the car IS actually allowed to tow the heavier weight.

Can VW please supply the correct labels for my vehicle's towbar and B pillar so that the correct maximum weights are shown as per the vehicle's Australian-government-certified capabilities.

Thank you.

<golf claps> will be interesting to see if you get a reply Swallowtail!

[Swallowtail]

Reply received:

"The towing capacity for the R36 is 1500 kgs for a braked trailer. The information on your vehicle is correct in this regard. These details are reflected in the Passat R36 technical specifications available through the Volkswagen Australia website."

So we are stuck with 1500kgs.
**********
Now on a separate note - trailer wiring.

The 13pin euro connector on the Passat is supplied with an adapter to 7 pin flat for Aus.

Of the 13 pins, 7 are drawn from the connector (13pin connector pin numbers):

1. Yellow L/H indicator
2. Blue fog light
3. White earth
4. Green R/H indicator
5. Brown R/H side tail lights
6. Red Brakes
7. Black L/H side tail lights

1, 3, 4 and 6 are straight through connected to the equivalent 7 pin flat same colours.

2. Goes to the Brakes pin 5 in the 7 pin flat.

5 and 7 from the 13 pin are each fed into a IN5404 rectifier, and then joined together and connected to the 7 pin conenctor number 7 - which is for tail lights. The rectifiers have a reverse impedance of 1.7kohms.

See here for 7 pin numbering - http://www.campertrailers.org/traile...ng_diagram.htm

When my trailer is connected to my car, the car sees a bulb out L/H trailer tail light. Apom's car does the same with my trailer, with either his adapter or mine.

My trailer has a resistance between pins 7 and 3 (just measured trailer off between tail light circuit pin 7 and earth pin 3) of 2.8 ohms. That seems low to me... ?

Any electrical gurus out there tell me what I need to do so that teh car does not see the tail light load as being a blown bulb?

[passatpout]

Now on a separate note - trailer wiring.

The 13pin euro connector on the Passat is supplied with an adapter to 7 pin flat for Aus.

Of the 13 pins, 7 are drawn from the connector (13pin connector pin numbers):

1. Yellow L/H indicator
2. Blue fog light
3. White earth
4. Green R/H indicator
5. Brown R/H side tail lights
6. Red Brakes
7. Black L/H side tail lights

1, 3, 4 and 6 are straight through connected to the equivalent 7 pin flat same colours.

2. Goes to the Brakes pin 5 in the 7 pin flat.

5 and 7 from the 13 pin are each fed into a IN5404 rectifier, and then joined together and connected to the 7 pin conenctor number 7 - which is for tail lights. The rectifiers have a reverse impedance of 1.7kohms.

See here for 7 pin numbering - http://www.campertrailers.org/traile...ng_diagram.htm

When my trailer is connected to my car, the car sees a bulb out L/H trailer tail light. Apom's car does the same with my trailer, with either his adapter or mine.

My trailer has a resistance between pins 7 and 3 (just measured trailer off between tail light circuit pin 7 and earth pin 3) of 2.8 ohms. That seems low to me... ?

Any electrical gurus out there tell me what I need to do so that teh car does not see the tail light load as being a blown bulb?

My car does the same - permanent left hand tail light fault light. When I pulled the VW 13 pin plug apart, there's no connection to the left hand tail light circuit from the 7 pin flat. My guess is that the car sees the difference in resistance between the 2 sides and then works out which one draws the current through. My fix, if VW does nothing, will be to put a bridging link in from the LH side to connect the 7-pin tail circuit.

Bearing in mind I'm mechanical, not electrical...