T6 without Tow-Bar Prep - coding required?

[Pau1GTI]

Guys, I've recently fitted a pf Jones vehicle specific wiring kit for my T6 tow bar. Just been told by the dealer you need a vw wiring loom only to get the parking sensors to disable automatically. Anyone know if this is true?

Cheers
Paul

 

[Pauly]

If it's a vehicle specific kit then you should have the appropriate wiring loom ?

 

[Pau1GTI]

Yeah that's it mate. Wired it all myself. Tapped into the can bus lines etc. Every thing works but the dealer says it needed to be done in the ecu from the factory or a vw wiring kit haha

 

[Deaky]

You might need to activate the trailer module in VCDS.

 

[Pau1GTI]

Thanks Deaky. It was into the vw dealer today and said it's not an option. Hmm

Paul

 

[Pauly]

If it's a vehicle specific kit (ie intended for a T6) then it should be fine, after installation it will need to be coded in so the vehicle knows it's there and reacts/responds to it correctly

 

[Pau1GTI]

That's what I was hoping too Pauly. They said it needed to be the vw wiring kit. Can't see how that can effect the modules needing coded. It's a proper vehicle specific wiring kit by PF jones

 

[Pauly]

Did it come with a control module that fits under the seats ?

 

[Pau1GTI]

It did indeed Pauly yeah.

 

[Stigofthedub]

I've had the westfalia kit and the right connections kit from pf Jones for T5 and t6 respectively, all the wires you need are there just needs vcds to code. It will then de-activate the reversing sensors when connected to a trailer, put an image on your radio display when connected and reverse selected, and deactivate the van fog lights when connected.
If the van comes with the trailer prepared option from the factory it is a different wiring kit.
Hope that helps.

 

[Pauly]

Do you have VCDS/VagCom ?
The instructions that come with it should tell you what needs to be coded for full functionality but the most basic piece of coding is putting a tick against the towbar module in the Can Gateway (module 19) this tells the van the new module is present and allows it to communicate with it, this will give you all the basic functionality ie disable rear sensors when towbar connected/throw foglight to trailer etc etc
There are a couple more bytes that can be coded in the engine/abs control module but the instructions should clarify these

 

[Pau1GTI]

Thanks guys appreciate it.

Sorry Pauly I don't give vcds unfortunately.

Here is the kit pf Jones supplied

ECS Towbar Wiring Kits | ECS Electronics UK

Thanks again
Paul

 

[Ed Webb]

It's a slightly blurry photo but here is a shot from the westfalia wiring kit that mentions what required from coding.

 

[Pau1GTI]

View attachment 16577 It's a slightly blurry photo but here is a shot from the westfalia wiring kit that mentions what required from coding.

Thanks Ed. See the problem is they didn't use vcds so I doubt he actually edited individual bytes like he should. Simply looked for tick boxes that wasn't there

Cheers
Paul

 

[Ed Webb]

Have a checky look on the map and see if you have any vcds users near you that wish to help you out. Pauly is in the process of adding more names to the list so keep checking.
I think someone with VCDS will solve your problems if he didn't it to begin with.

 

[Pau1GTI]

Cheers Ed. Thanks to this site I've tracked down a chap local to me who can hopefully help.

Failing that I'll fly Pauly up hahaha

Paul

 

[Pau1GTI]

Thanks for everyone's help.

Just to keep you in the loop I ended up going to a dedicated tow bar fitting company which the chap in his van had a westfelia programmer than simply plugged into the OBD port and did the coding in 5 mins flat with a few button clicks.

Went back to the dealer and they gave me a £50 voucher for parts etc. Doing a camper conversion I'll be spending on parts anyways to accepted the gesture.

Still a poor day when VW can't fully code their own vans.

Cheers for now
Paul

 

[numnuts]

Hi all, looks like you got sorted so hope someone can advise me here, I'm just looking at installing a tow bar, I didn't realise how complicated it was, I already fitted a captain's chair to my passenger seat, all the wiring is now under the sponge carpet, and I've nearly completed the conversion into a camper, my question is, can I connect the wiring anywhere else?

Thanks in advance

 

[Pauly]

No, the normal setup is to split one of the coupling points and connect the plugs to the trailer module

 

[numnuts]

Thanks Pauly, is there room under the sponge carpet for the module? Do i run the wires under the vam?
Cheers