A4 Tow Bar Question

[woodys]

Hi, I have an A4 52 Reg 130tdi Quattro & was wondering if a tow bar will fit
Thanks
Andy

[mumutley]

Towbar Fitting | Mobile Towbar Fitting | Towbar fitters

[woodys]

Thanks, I’ll have a look at that

[GeorgeE]

Fitting the towbar is easy, fitting the wiring loom is an absolute bstard (assuming you do it properly), involves taking all the seats out to run wiring down the channels to the front of the car, soldering into the canbus loom and then VCDS or dealer) to enable it all.

[woodys]

Oh bugger, thanks for the info anyway. Looks like this is gonna be fun then !

[mumutley]

Oh bugger, thanks for the info anyway. Looks like this is gonna be fun then !

LOL

Most modern vehicles running the CAN BUS systems are very prone to extras being fitted and how they are installed.
When it comes to certain accessory fit items requiring an electrical connection (IE Towbar) the cars brain (ECU) most be told the

accessory fit item has been installed on the car.

In the instance of a Towbar the idea is the car will know when something is connected to the 7 or 13 pin connector, the reason for this when certain lights are used (reverse gear, Fog lamps) the ones on the rear of the car are NOT turned on but the applicable lights on the back of the caravan/trailer will be turned on. If the reverse gear / fog lamps are turned on the light would be reflected back into the car of the front of the caravan/trailer, making visibility problems for the driver.

To stop this certain vehicle manufactures have a plug in connector in the rear of the vehicle, when a towbar is fitted to the vehicle, the electrics are plugged straight in to this points and the diagnostic kit used to update the vehicles ECU.

It all sounds very completed but a great majority of towbar installer are aware of this and work accordingly. for example on the Witter website 13-pin Vehicle Specific Electrics | Witter Towbars

A majority of the national or local install companies are aware of specific vehicle requirements.

If you want to have a go yourself get Googling I am sure you will find someone out there that's done a DIY installation

[woodys]

Thanks very much for the detailed reply. Modern cars are certainly a lot more complicated , Witt look ok , I’ll give them a bell ,
Andy

[GeorgeE]

If you want to have a go yourself get Googling I am sure you will find someone out there that's done a DIY installation

Yep me, hence my comments! Updating the ECU was the easy bit to be honest, just you need to be aware that you need to do it.

The B6 is a bit unusual in that "traditional" cars could just have the wiring added by hooking into the lights at the back and adding a buzzer for the indicators, later CANBUS cars normally have a simple multiplug at the back that you can hook towbar wiring into (sometimes you need to add an extra module). The B6 falls into the middle in that there is no CANBUS to hook into at the back and due to the way the lights are driven and monitored you cannot just hook into them at the back, you need to get the feeds from the front. Oh, and buy/find the towbar electric module (forgot that bit, as did the dealer when they sold me the wiring kit, led to some fairly robust conversation!). I have added towbars to many vehicles, both cars and vans, and without doubt this was the most involved and complex.

Don't want to put you off, once done it works well, but it isn't the couple of hours quick job that most vehicles are.

[woodys]

Trust me to have a car that’s gonna be difficult !! Thanks for the help, Andy