fitting pre wired 12s socket for caravan

[Oldtimer265]

newbie to forum hiya to all

I have a 1999 Passat diesel estate it already has a towbar and single trailer wiring, I want to fit 12s socket for caravan and was thinking about the pre wired ones you can get, is this a straight forward job patching wiring in, or is it garage job any help would be greatly appreciated
thanks
Oldtimer

[limecc]

Welcome to the forum!
I guess there's no one else here who is willing or able to reply to this then. I can't help too much either, except to offer a comment.

I don't know if there are any pre-wired VW kits available, but it's easy to DIY and save the money. In my own case - I have an estate - I would simply take a feed from one of the two 12v power sockets on the right hand side of the luggage space, and wire this to pins 2, 4 and 6. Now I know 2 + 6 are supposed to be ignition live, but this may be difficult to find, and using the power sockets means there will be plenty of fused amps available for battery charging and the refrigerator. Unplug if you intend to have a long rest-break.
http://www.western-towing.co.uk/acat...g_diagram.html
http://www.western-towing.co.uk/acat...2N_Wiring.html

Connect both 12S and 12N pins 3 together for the earth and use a scotchlock to get the reversing light on pin1 and that's it. Only two wires to the car needed, and then the earth to the regular towing socket.

I've never needed a 12S as I keep the mains connected until last minute before departure, and the stored food acts as a cold-store until the journey end (4-5hrs maybe). I intend to take the van on the ferry to Spain someday, so it would be useful then.

[limecc]

Thinking further about this. It would probably be wise to run a separate earth wire from the power socket as well. There could be a lot of current flowing between car and van.

I found the guy at www.towequipe.co.uk really useful in the past and he has some OEM kits at a fraction of the original cost:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Specific-Towba...item35a284d80b

Fitting a relay like this:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Smart-12s-Swit...item5882d6521b

Eliminates the need for ignition live because it senses when the car voltage has dropped to a dangerous level and cuts the feed.

[Oldtimer265]

Hiya limecc
Thanks for replying, I was beginning to wonder if I'd posted in the right place.

I've had a look at the towequip site and the comments you made and think i'll have go at it myself, and as you say in your follow up post I would be wise to use a relay to avoid any current problems, the links have been a great help especially the smart relay as I hadn't got a clue where or what to look for !!!.
many thanks for taking the time to help
Oldtimer

[cdm]

I've recently fitted a towbar and twin electrics to my passat, purchased all the electrics from main VW dealers (towbar from ebay, as it was much cheaper for the same item), the 12s kit consists of the 12s socket, cable, relay & fuses with sockets and single to twin adaptor plate. It appears to be a fairly generic kit not specifically for the passat.

The main cable is just 2 core and requires running from the battery to the towbar, the rear end of the cable then has 2 additional earth cables which require attaching to the body.

At the battery end the cable is pre wired to the relay/fuse sockets and has 2 terminals to attach to the battery positive, 1 earth cable for the relay to attach to the body, and a cable which requires an ignition feed (nothing in the instructions as where to find this)

The instructions suggest mounting the relay and fuses in a "suitable place" near the battery. considering the battery areas tendency to fill with water or at least have water running through, I chose to relocate the relay and fuses to the inside just above the main fuse box which also give easy access to an ignition feed.