Towing electrics ex RAC

[Euge]

Two questions please.

Where does the electrics run from the tow bar socket? I can see it goes into bumper. Does it then join the original loom and run up to the relay under the passenger seat?

Is it possible to have a passenger double seat swivel whilst maintaining tow bar electrics?

 

[AlyScott]

Euge, I have the same questions, I have just bought a ex RAC T6, I have removed the shelving and am most of the way through removing the RAC wiring, I have searched high and low for the module that links to the tow bar without success (as yet). I also wan to swap out the double passengers seat. Did you find an answer to your questions above?

 

[Dellmassive]

have you seen this ?

RAC Van Wiring Diagram

RAC van wiring diagram kindly supplied by Bri-Stor Systems who fit them out for the RAC This diagram show fusebox layouts and wiring schematics for all the additional systems

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[AlyScott]

Thanks for responding Dell, I couldn't see anything on the diagram relating to towing socket and the articles I found on towing (1-3) refer to a 7 pin plug not the controller, the one on my exRAC van is a 13pin euro plug, Im wondering if its a VW OEM unit.

 

[n10n]

Thanks for responding Dell, I couldn't see anything on the diagram relating to towing socket and the articles I found on towing (1-3) refer to a 7 pin plug not the controller, the one on my exRAC van is a 13pin euro plug, Im wondering if its a VW OEM unit.

If it’s OEM setup the tow bar module will be under drivers seat (RHD vehicles), you should see it from behind of the seat by sliding the seat forward as much as possible. The relay and fusing under passengers seat. And I think the connectors to final piece of wiring going outside of the vehicle by the left D pillar behind rear light unit (well, inside, so accessed by removing left rear quarter lower trims)

 

[AlyScott]

If it’s OEM setup the tow bar module will be under drivers seat (RHD vehicles), you should see it from behind of the seat by sliding the seat forward as much as possible. The relay and fusing under passengers seat. And I think the connectors to final piece of wiring going outside of the vehicle by the left D pillar behind rear light unit.

Thanks N10N, there is nothing under the drivers seat all the wiring is under the passengers bench seat.

 

[roadtripper]

Possibly if you have a bench seat there is room for the OE stuff there too?

See my recent post here with pictures of my van that might help you see what you are looking for? (Mine's twin captain's seats and arranged as @n10n describes but the picture shows the towing modulel

T6.1 tow bar electrics not working

Hi all I have just tried to connect my caravans electrics for the first time to my factory fitted removable tow bar electrics and got no power, I have looked through the manual and there is no fuse diagram for me to check if the fuse has blown, so not sure where to look. I bought this van a...

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[Euge]

Euge, I have the same questions, I have just bought a ex RAC T6, I have removed the shelving and am most of the way through removing the RAC wiring, I have searched high and low for the module that links to the tow bar without success (as yet). I also wan to swap out the double passengers seat. Did you find an answer to your questions above?

It’s under one of the seats, I can’t quite remember which one. I think it’s under the double seat.

There is a relay that’s Vw Factory installed and not RAC. After you remove all the RAC wiring it’s left as too are some other bits. If you add a swivel to the double seat these parts go under the swivel plate.

Mine works fine.

Hope that helps.

 

[Euge]

Ah I found the towbar electrics under the drivers seat.

 

[n10n]

Ah I found the towbar electrics under the drivers seat.

View attachment 225357

Factory towbar electrics then.

As a side note, the bracket and module could theoretically have been fitted afterwards but the real telltale is so many wire colors - nobody does that aftermarket.

 

[AlyScott]

Ah I found the towbar electrics under the drivers seat.

View attachment 225357

Thanks Euge! I can confirm that while stripping the lower dashboard and removing t he seats ready for soundproofing and installation, I found my box in the same position, The challenge now will be to get all the relays which are under the passengers seat moved over to the drivers, along with the leisure battery and all the additional gubbins, DC-DC, Smart Solar Charger, Etc. as I have bought a safe swivel base for the new single passengers captain seat. Oh by the way I believe the 643 relay under the passengers seat is for power to the trailer socket.

 

[Roodedoo]

Thanks Euge! I can confirm that while stripping the lower dashboard and removing t he seats ready for soundproofing and installation, I found my box in the same position, The challenge now will be to get all the relays which are under the passengers seat moved over to the drivers, along with the leisure battery and all the additional gubbins, DC-DC, Smart Solar Charger, Etc. as I have bought a safe swivel base for the new single passengers captain seat. Oh by the way I believe the 643 relay under the passengers seat is for power to the trailer socket.

View attachment 225633

This looks exactly like my wiring, which I'm tackling right now.
The split charge power is coming from the bottom one of the three positives in the picture.
Have you figured out the other one?

 

[AlyScott]

Alas I'm still not sure about how the factory set up the split charging for the second battery, as I plan to fit a Smart charger system under the drivers seat I have pulled both the 60W and 100W fuse, removed the relays, removed the leisure battery and the cable to the main battery. Still left with a load of wiring in the passenger seat area. I would really like to remove everything relating to the factory fitted split charging system and relocate the remaining fuses and relays to to under the drivers seat as I'm fitting a single passengers seat with a safe under the swivel base but at the moment the safe is full of wires which I am unable to move to the drivers side as the loom is too short, wonder if anyone has found a solution for this?

 

[roadtripper]

Is there a reason the safe couldn't go under the driver's seat, layout perhaps?

Most folks leave the factory 2nd battery wiring in place and just replace the split charge relay with a DC-DC charger, it's a lot less work as you already have the high current cable and the BCM charge signal.

The loom connectors can often be lost under the floor in the wiring channels, but keep in mind if you do that with fuses that you will need to get to them at some point.

Couple of recent posts showing the floor with the flooring up and looms visible, the channels form a sort of T with one across the seat areas between the B pillars and then two from that either side of the "transmission tunnel" to the dash area.

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Kiravans Curtains!

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[Roodedoo]

I'm struggling to find the split charge relay. Plus I don't know what it looks like.

Because it'll be a swivel seat and a heater under the driver's, I'll have to extend it all to the back of the van

This is where I'm at. (with the van still working)

The purple plug looks factory, says "ignition" coming from the aux fuse box but everything still works.

The second picture has the wires taped and labelled.
The thicker red wire is live when the engine is on. It goes to the fuse I pulled then disappears under the van.

It would be great to use their loom for a DC-DC charger.
And could I assume the negative for the new DC-DC charger would be to ground?

I'm sure things will be a little clearer when I've removed the seats and bulkhead.
It's early days and still very much an RAC van.

 

[roadtripper]

@Roodedoo You know if you take out VIP Membership you get access to the wiring diagrams?

A swivel seat doesn't mean you can't get electrics under there it just makes the space a bit tighter. If you go LiFePo though you can maximise the battery capacity in a smaller space.

If you are extending to the back you might need to put in higher capacity cable to account for voltage drop over the longer run.

Yes it's generally common to use the chassis as ground, just make sure you use the "official" ground points and put the high current grounds on them to maximise contact area. Usually when you see isolated chargers or cabling it's for coach built campers (where there may not be a metal chassis) or marine (where there are corrosion risks)

 

[n10n]

I'm struggling to find the split charge relay. Plus I don't know what it looks like.

View attachment 226332

Split charge relay is number 100 in the lower image. 643 is the towing electrics relay.

 

[Roodedoo]

Split charge relay is number 100 in the lower image. 643 is the towing electrics relay.

Great, thanks.

So I guess what I'm doing is taking the live from before that relay and sending it to the new dc-dc charger then chassis grounding the new charger.

I'm not worried about the voltage drop with the extended wire as it won't go far. But if it's possible to have the system under the planned double slide and swivel seat, I'll do that. With the solar coming in, too, it sounds like a lot of cable movement, though.

I did download the RAC wiring diagram from the forum, but it didn't show the split charge or towing system - is the VIP member diagram more detailed?

Thank you for your help.

 

[n10n]

So I guess what I'm doing is taking the live from before that relay and sending it to the new dc-dc charger then chassis grounding the new charger.

If you fit a dc-dc charger the relay is not useful anymore. Most folks replace the relay completely, although you can as well take the relay output to the dc-dc charger and splice into the relay coil feed to get engine run signal. The engine run signal is similar to D+ of the olden days but it goes off with the stop/start - so using that to control leisure battery charging is little bit more intelligent on when exactly to keep the charging on.

I did download the RAC wiring diagram from the forum, but it didn't show the split charge or towing system - is the VIP member diagram more detailed?

The split charge system and towing electrics are VW OEM stuff so they would not be detailed in the RAC diagrams. VIP downloads has, among many other files, these ones:

Auxiliary battery wiring:

T6 - Aux Battery (non camper) Wiring Diagram

Second battery wiring diagram for factory fit underseat batteries This covers panel vans and kombi vans, not applicable to any California nodels VIP Membership is required to download this document

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Trailer electrics wiring

T6 - Trailer Coupling Wiring Diagram

Factory Fitted Towbar Circuit Diagram VIP Membership is required to download this document

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[Roodedoo]

Ok, thanks; I've just paid for the VIP membership.

I'd pretty much worked it out but the relevant fuses are very useful to know.

"Most folks replace the relay completely" - I'm guessing you meant bypass the relay?

I would have thought a quality DC-DC charger would know if the engine was running or not anyway, but I'll have to look into this.

It looks like the wiring is in place for an intelligent split charge system - esp with the 100amp fuse already in place.