A4 B8 Westfalia Towbar and Dedicated Electrics

[madsplasher]

Hi,

I fitted the above yesterday having looked for hints and tips through the forum. Lots of stuff on older chassis, but not so much on the B8 so if anyone is considering doing it themselves and have any specific quetions, let me know.

Cheers

[a8 tech]

straight forward pin swap and vcds coding but depending on build date you need to fit the uprated cooling fans because the engine overheats, I posted the info on this forum along time ago

http://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=93184&highlight=b8+towbar

[rhino7]

I've got a fairly recent A4 B8 (July 10) that doesn't need all the additional cooling updates that earlier versions did. I'm about to fit the Westfalia towbar and dedicated electrics and wondered if anyone has a list of exactly which VCDS updates are required as there seem to have been many modules mentioned.

Is this an update that would, if made at a dealers, be uploaded to Audi's servers and therefore never be removed by future software updates? Do independent Audi specialists have that ability or would it only be official Audi dealers?

[a8 tech]

Ring your local dealer before fitting and ask will they run the svm update to add the towbar onto the vehicle specific build which makes the change permanent and then updates the data base for future updates etc

If not then you can change the soft coding with vcds and at a later date if the dealer needs to run any updates then they will need to run the svm any way as the gateway installation change will prevent the vas from opening guided fault till correctly configured


You may find they refuse as they then under take the liability for your work.

[rhino7]

Do you happen to know just what it is that the dealer needs to do when I take it in? I've booked it in with them, and they were fine with that, but when I asked how long it would take they said a couple of hours as the coding itself takes very little time but it takes time to work out just what needs to be done!

If anyone knows just what needs to be done I'd appreciate the info as I could pass that to the dealer and saved being charged extra labour time!

Thanks!

[madsplasher]

Rhino7, have you fitted the towbar and wiring now? If so what did you find, when you started the car for the first time in terms of errors. Also, I haven't got round to taking my car to the dealer yet so it would be great to hear how you got on once you've been.

[rhino7]

Hi Madsplasher!

I've not had it fitted yet, still a couple of weeks away. That was the earliest I could get it done (for several reasons) and I've booked it in to the dealers for a couple of days after that. I'll certainly let you know how things go if you haven't sorted yours by then.

I'd still like to know details of what the dealer needs to do in order to avoid being ripped off!

[madsplasher]

Hi Rhino7

Sorry, can't help as I haven't had it re-coded yet and since the dealer is 35 miles away, it'll have to wait unitl I'm across there for something else.

I don't work on cars very much - motorbikes are my thing - and since I don't have access to the service manual or the likes I was feeling my way a bit. You may know the car inside out, but if there's anything you want to know about actually fitting the kit, let me know.

I asked the harness supplier what to expect in terms of errors after I fitted the kit and they told me the ESP light would be on until the car was recoded. And sure enough, that's exactly what I have. The towbar electrics all work fine though.

[PFJones]

Hi,

When you take the vehicle in they will plug your car into the computer and load the trailer stability program (TSP) onto the vehicles ECU which will optimise the vehicle for towing and also remove the light from the dash, the dealer normally charge no more than an hours labour to do this but it has been known for different dealers to charge different prices so it might be worth having a phone around Thanks Dale

[madsplasher]

Hi,

thanks for that information. Will the download also disable the reversing sensors when a trailer is fitted because I've noticed these still work which makes reversing noisy!

[PFJones]

Hi, If you have factory fitted parking sensors and are using a vehicle specific wiring kit the download will disable the parking sensors whilst the plug is in the towing socket Thanks Dale

[madsplasher]

Thanks again. It's the Westfalia dedicated harness and factory fitted sensors so it should be fine.

[a8 tech]

if there oem then yes the parking control unit is coded for this function when either the svm is applied or you do it via vcds

also cobra parking sensors (aftermarket audi kit) will also turn off

[glenure2004]

Great help lads and lassies. I may leave my sensors activated as i9t has been known for me to forget I had a trailer on and jack knife resulting in smashing the rear wing!!! (Three times!!!) You would think I would learn but on a new car I do not want to risk it!

[david-prince]

Hi All, can anyone post the coding changes I need to make with VCDS after fitting the genuine bar and 13 pin electrics, I have a 58 plate A4 avant with factory rear sensors,