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Quote: Originally posted by tango55 on 11/5/2016

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What make, model and year is the vehicle in question?

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Quote: Originally posted by JG1971 on 11/5/2016

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I went for the much cheaper generic option on my 2008 VW Touran and i've had no problems whatsoever (apart from the turbo - but that's another story!).
I know that this means the ESP won't detect the caravan and change it's behavior accordingly, but i've towed all over the country in most weathers and it's been steady as a rock.

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Quote: Originally posted by tango55 on 11/5/2016

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The issue I had was when I plugged in the twin (black and grey) plugs I could tow the caravan anywhere without any problems. It was when I unhitched and removed the two plugs that we went out in the car the following day and the car totally halted with a dashboard message 'Brake Failure' to which all the electrics died completely. The RAC recovery came out, towed me back to the campsite and found 12 fault codes which they couldn't fix and even the local garage were no help. We had to come back 190 miles from Dorset on the back of a flat bed lorry with caravan in tow so I lost all my money I had paid for the holiday on top of the repair bill i was about to face. My car went into a Volvo dealer 3 times without finding the fault till someone said that the problem was that the computer wouldn't recognise the missing link and adjust the default setting accordingly when the grey plug was removed so basically the extra power feed to charge the caravan didn't reset and would have overheated the car battery thus probably causing a fire, that's why all the electrics died and stopped the car in an emergency and applied it to 'Safe Mode'.
I eventually had the relay wiring removed (wasted money) and had a Volvo dedicated wiring loom fitted in replace at a cost of nearly £295 to which the problem was finally solved.
I suppose it all depends on the layout of the wiring on the vehicle but for the amount of lost money, frustration and constant battle to get it fixed I wouldn't want anyone to experience the same problem to try and save a few quid because in the long run it can be an expensive mistake and a huge lesson learned.

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Quote: Originally posted by Francais on 11/5/2016

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Now that it is almost essential to have dedicated electrics, you would think that the vehicle manufacturers, would just leave a pre-wired 13 Pin Socket, tucked away up inside the rear bumper, should the vehicle owner ever decide to have a towbar fitted.

OK maybe most car owners would never have a need for a towbar, to be fitted, but surely the inclusion, of the wiring would hardly add any cost to the manufacture of a new vehicle.

Look at Land Rovers, the proper ones, they all have a Power Take of at the rear, but probably only 1 in 10,000 owners if that ever use the facilitie.

If this was the case, all you would need is the towbar bolting on say £75 for the part, maybe another £20 for some kind of interface to 13 Pin Socket, add say £100 for labour, and job done for under £200 maybe an extra £100 for detachable.

It costs me the thick end of £500 every time I get a towbar fitted to the Golf, and the firm changes the car over every 2 years, which is a complete jip.

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