[Repton1978]

I have ordered the factory tow bar on my TDI 2.0 somewhere in transit between Spain and here. Does anybody have experience of Audi tow bars because I am hearing that the electrics fitted will not power the caravan fridge or recharge the battery. Can anybody help?

 

[S Line]

Hi Repton,I did hear something like this on the My Tiguan Forum various people were disappointed but not sure if an adapter was used to convert it or something like that. Its worth a look on the forum as many issues will be similar to the Tiguan I suppose.Good luck.

 

[Repton1978]

Thanks SLine
I have been in touch with the dealer and think that there is no power to the caravan fidge and charging. They are seeking technical advice and getting back to me. I have been on other forums and it appears to be true.

 

[ranjana]

Have you received an answer back yet?

Audi Uk tell me that the factory fit towbar is not connected for caravan battery but they are looking into whether it can be done. This was telephone conversation as at 31 Aug 12.

 

[Trapper]

Hi All Just have an after market one fitted like I did It only takes a couple of hours. Is fully intergrated to the car (like factory fit) & is less money. All 13 pins work out of the box. The reason the battery charger & fridge cables are missing is because the uk are the only country that power these items when towing. I had mine fitted in June works very well.

 

[GarryEssex]

Hi Trapper

I have just ordered my Q3 for delivery in march 2013,I have added the retractable tow bar as an option, I am nowbit concerned on reading this thread that the fridge wont be powered or the battery recharged through the pins.

I will be contacting my dealer on Monday morning to get clarification on this.

Would you mind telling me who fitted your towbar and is it the retractable one like Audi fit or is it detachable, any chance of posting a few pics of it in position please.

Thanks in advance

Garry

 

[Repton1978]

My Q3 was delivered in March with a factory fit tow bar. The split charge for the caravan battery and power to the fidge were not wired through the 13 pin plug. My dealer Derby Audi fitted the connections free of charge. If you read the spec for the factory fit tow bar it has other benefits such as towing stability through the braking system and engine/oil cooling whilst towing. I am not sure if after market tow bars will have these features.

 

[Trapper]

Hi Garry.Mine was fitted back in May. Does all the factory fit ones does. In fact the control box they fitted is the OEM for the Audi towbar. The manufactureis Westfalia & the cost is about £360 fitted. Another thing I found out the other day is when i disconnected my vans electrcis from the car the alarm went off as the car was locked. How cool is that. I did put some photo's on the forum when i posted a thred back in June I think. So you could save yourself a couple of hundred quid by having it fitted later.

 

[Trapper]

Hi Garry If you search the forum for "Tow bar" ther is a photo I put on it. My towbar is detatchable I the connector pushes up under the bumper, so when its off you see nothing. It all sits up under the cutout already in the bumper.

 

[Ttelmah]

Just an 'update' for this.

New Q3, with factory fit towbar. As standard for the UK, now has the battery charging connection, but not the fridge connection.

Since I had specified 'full 13P', my dealer (Stansted Audi) fitted the Westfalia fridge connection relay upgrade (the wire to pin 10 was already present in the loom). However towball socket did not have the extra (pin 11) ground connection, so they checked back with Audi, and added the extra pin, and wire back to the boot.

Now functions correctly.

Upgrade parts cost them about £30, and it took them a couple of hours (dismantle the socket, add wire through the sleeving, and pin to the plug etc..).

FOC to me, since I had seen the 'problems' in this forum and elsewhere, and made sure I specified that I specified this....

The flip down with bowden cable, really is nice, since it prevents you having to find somewhere to hide the removable type ball.

So if you are OK with just charge power, the factory fit unit is now OK. However if you want the fridge power, then make sure to cover this when ordering.

Best Wishes