The Tow Bar Adventure

[teeboy]

So, not wanting to venture out during the bank holiday weekend (due to variable weather and the vast amount of people in my way )

I have decided to start the great tow bar install, which has been sat behind my sofa since mid-March!

As predicted - fitting in the towbar is as complicated on a Cali as it is in any car - probably only an hours job if you are handy - took me a couple of hours.

Interestingly the extra piece of trim the Westfalia tell you to buy was already installed - so that can go back to VW!

The wiring on the other hand - that takes ages. The pictures show my progress so far.




Tow bar fitted, and wiring run from under passenger seat to back, all of the underside trim replaced, under seat wiring complete.

Now just need to run the wire from under the passenger seat - under the drivers seat and up to the dashboard (near the light switch).

Should be done tomorrow AM.

Taking my time with regular stops for drinks, grand prix and Sunday dinner.

Tony

 

[calikev]

Looking good tony

 

[Stu]

tee heee :mrgreen:

Looks familiar.

Have you got so far as wiring into the headlight switch and BCM plugs?

 

[teeboy]

Dashboard adventures tomorrow

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[Andy]

You've got further that me !! Was going to do it last weekend but aggravation of an old back injury put paid to that. So is still sitting in garage waiting.
Van looks very bare in second photo !!

 

[soulstyledevon]

Good effort, its a right old job.
Do you have VAG to code the bar to the vehicle. Also I think the airbag warning light is displayed because the chair is removed.

 

[Custardtart]

Nice work :clap

I triggered my airbag warning light when I turned the ignition with the passengers seat out.

I tried a few handheld plug in devices but none worked so had to go to the dealer who reset it for £20.

I guess you'll either be using a VCDS or going to the dealer to code this in anyway?

How did you get underneath the van to route the cable?

Good luck with the rest of the job.

 

[teeboy]

Stu - I will be using your tactics from the Cam install to remove the step to remove the steps so I can get the wire up to the dash - thanks for that.

Hopefully the airbag warning lights won't go off, as I have the battery disconnected, but even if they do you can turn them off with VCDS (I set them off when I installed the stereo )

CustartTart - Routing the cable is one of the biggest faffs - you have to remove the trim around the spare wheel, and also the under trim from under the passenger seat. Once all the rim is off it is pretty easy to route to the back - although the cable is quite long - I assume it works for the LWB as well, so I coiled a bit in front of the spare wheel and cable tied it all up.

To get better access I jacked the car up on the passenger side and used a axel stand for safety - I am quite a large chap and I only just about fit under with it on the ground - I think you could do it with levelling ramps, but buy the time I though of that I had the seats out, so getting it on ramps would have been a trauma

I have done all of the mucky bits - just dash board mucking about today - which is good news as it is raining!!!

I am going in!

T

 

[Stu]

Good luck T :lol:

It's not too difficult just a little time consuming. Do you have the terminal removal tool to get the pins out of the headlight switch plug?

I remember the underbody shields very well.

 

[Custardtart]

To get better access I jacked the car up on the passenger side and used a axel stand for safety - I am quite a large chap and I only just about fit under with it on the ground - I think you could do it with levelling ramps, but buy the time I though of that I had the seats out, so getting it on ramps would have been a trauma

When I did my remote control for the heater I had to get under. I jacked the van up and slid sheets of flooring chipboard under the wheels. Then jacked it up again (with the jack on some sheets of wood) and put more sheets under the wheels until I had about 8-10" under the wheels. Gave a bit of room but took a while. I wondered if there was a better way.

 

[teeboy]

All sorted - actually the dashboard bit was quite easy - just time consuming. The dash unscrews quite logically. And the wiring is pretty easy even without the tool

Now I need to go and tow something

T

 

[bluebell]

I hope you are towing something exciting like a 30ft speed boat after all that work and not just a trailer to take rubbish to the dump !

 

[teeboy]

Cali doesn't go to the dump

will be small trailer for bikes or a bike rack, so medium exciting

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[Custardtart]

I think the towbar bike racks look ace.

Nice work - thanks for the posts

 

[teeboy]

Exciting end to the day.

The Westfalia detachable towbar fits into the Cali Tool kit



There is even room for the tow ball cover, key and locking wheel bolt.

That kind of thing makes me more happy than it should!

In other news the wheel wrench has a screwdriver in the handle - who knew

T

 

[calikev]

I knew

 

[teeboy]

When I first picked up the cali - I put a screwdriver in the tool kit - thinking that they had skimped on the tools.

I am an idiot

T

 

[gatvol]

You are a braver chap than me. Well done.

 

[timber]

When I first picked up the cali - I put a screwdriver in the tool kit - thinking that they had skimped on the tools.

I am an idiot

T

When I got the screwdriver out of the tool kit I noticed that the handle had a rubber socket to help remove the wheel bolts 17mm the bolts on my Cali are 19mm. OH dear--------- such problems are sent to try me :lol:

 

[HistoryBob]

I have just returned from having a westfalia removable tow bar fitted by an independent fitter. When I picked up the van I was told that they had had problems and after talking to Westfalia they had come to the conclusion that the module which is supplied with the wiring harness was faulty and westfalia had agreed to send out a replacement. I was told that the problem was that when the trailer was hooked up the indicators on the trailer would not work. However on the way home I discovered that the satnav (RNS510) wouldn't give me verbal directions but the route was visible on the screen and also there was no power to anything in the centre of the dash board (air con, fans, heated seats, parking censors etc)
I hope to have the new module fitted on Monday but in the meantime does anyone have any ideas why all the other dashboard items don't work?
Is it possible that a faulty module would effect all these other items?

 

[teeboy]

If it is the same kit that I fitted then you don't touch the stereo area, but you do a lot of messing about under the passenger seat, so I would suggest some wiring or fuses down there are broken.

On the sat navigation audio thing, that might be a red herring. If you can hear other stuff (music) then it is probably just a setting on the RNS system (I have mine muted all of the time).

T

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[Andy]

Sounds like power to aircon has been disconnected.

 

[HistoryBob]

Teeboy. Thanks but I don't think its that simple. I get a voice when the young lady says"your journey is being calculated" and "your journey is in the direction shown" and again at the end "you have reached your destination". In between these there is nothing from her.
Interestingly the map seems to update intermittently and not continuously as before.
I'm off to France next week so I desperately need to sort this out. I'll have to wait till they fit the new module and hope it works.

Andy. I thought that at first but there's no power to any of the switches around that area of the dashboard.

Have fun

 

[Andy]

Maybe contact the fitter & tell him about it so he can give it some thought before his next visit to fit the new controller, & hopefully get all your electrics to work properly.

 

[teeboy]

Teeboy. Thanks but I don't think its that simple. I get a voice when the young lady says"your journey is being calculated" and "your journey is in the direction shown" and again at the end "you have reached your destination". In between these there is nothing from her.
Interestingly the map seems to update intermittently and not continuously as before.
I'm off to France next week so I desperately need to sort this out. I'll have to wait till they fit the new module and hope it works.

Andy. I thought that at first but there's no power to any of the switches around that area of the dashboard.

Have fun

Ok with that information it sounds like you are not getting a very good gps signal. If you are lucky it could be linked to the lack of power to the dash (i am not sure if the gps aerial is powered - as mine is retrofit). If you are unlucky they have damaged the wire to the aeriel, I seam to remember seeing some aerial wires when you wire in behind the light switch.

I would be making a list of everything that is not working and leaving the list when you go back next week.

Good luck

T

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