When towing I cannot use my fridge as it will not run on 12v?
Both my Audi and my Elddis Crusader are fitted with the new style Euro 13 pin sockets. Somebody told me that they did not think that Audi conneccted the charging pin for the fridges on the factory fit towbar systems.
When I contacted my local Audi dealer to ask if they sold a kit to fit to the electrics to power the fridge, the person i spoke to in Servce reception said they had never had anyone mention this before and she had been there 8 years. I was contemplating taking the car to my local towbar dealers to see if they can do anything, but have held off from doing this as if they fit or change / modify my electrics I would be concerned it could invalidate my Audi warranty as it was a factory fit Audi towbar detachable system ordered with the car fro new?
Has any other Audi or German car owners found the same problem?
VW supply an extra kit to power the fridge and charge the battery. I would think Audi should be the same.
My VW dealer asked if I wanted it fitted as he knew that I towed a caravan.
if they fit or change / modify my electrics I would be concerned it could invalidate my Audi warranty as it was a factory fit Audi towbar detachable system ordered with the car fro new?
yes it would give them a cast iron case to invalidate your warranty.
i spoke to in Service reception said they had never had anyone mention this before and she had been there 8 years.
must be a lot of soggy sausages about.why fit a 13 pin socket and not wire it for what it was intended?
------------- the only silly question is the one you do not ask.
I had this exact problem with my VW. We bought it new - ordered a towbar and were amazed to find out that they do not fit the additional wiring loom for charging as standard!!
What's more - the salesman failed to even point it out when we were putting together the spec for the car. So, we had to pay a FORTUNE to have the work done. Aside from the fact that we wanted to be able to run our fridge and charge our battery whilst travelling, we felt that we would (eventually) have a bit if a job selling it with a sub-standard tow package!
Surely, this should be a standard installation if you pay for a factory-fitted towbar on a brand new car!
Just an update, I eventually had a price quoted from my local Audi dealer to fit the wire for the fridge charging on the 13 pin socket on the car which they said they can do. Everybody sitting down.......£405.00!
I have complained to Audi GB and they are looking into it for me to see if they can come up with a solution at either no cost or some sensible price.
The VW/Audi supplied towbar wiring is a standard item for all of Europe. The 13pin push&twist format is becoming standard & eventually even trailers with 7pin wiring will have the 13pin format plug but with only 7pins. I'm guessing that as standard the VW/Audi supplied wiring comes with 7 pins powered & the extra payment is to power up the other pins for UK caravan use.
It is common on this forum to see complaints about car main dealers' lack of knowledge about towbars & wiring related to caravans, but it should be acknowledged that only a small % of cars tow caravans & It really needs the caravanner to know what is required when he orders a dealer fitted towbar. Also important is to get your requirements in writing when you order the car.
The high cost of dealer fitted towbars comes partly from the use of the dedicated loom, well over £200 on some cars(& probably a great deal more on upmarket Audis) compared with a few £s for cable & bypass relay.
& fact is if you want an idea of cost of work by VW/Audi dealers for anything...Think of a reasonable figure, then double it & you will be halfway there.
This is a very common problem with many factory or dealer fit towbars, especially on German cars. Apparently the Germans do not normally bother with running the fridge while towing (probably because most site their vans for the season), and most German vans are not fitted with a battery, so no need for battery charging.
If you are aware of this then you can of course use the connection of all the pins as a condition of purchase, but if not then sadly you are at their mercy.
We have always driven Volvos, and they seem pretty clued up on towing requirements. On our last Volvo for some reason, the reversing lights were not wired up, which OH fixed himself.
Having read on the net of the shortcomings of some towbar fitting, we made it clear to our dealer that we expected ALL the pins to be connected, otherwise they would get it straight back. And they were.
We have 13 pin electrics and converted the van to 13 pin too, it is a superior system. The Audi/VW problems are nothing to do with it being 13 pin, you would have had the same problem with the 2 x 7 pin set up.
Our dealer supplied ( without being asked) an adaptor for 13 to 2 x 7 pins, which we did not need, but we did test it and found that on it the fridge/battery charging wires had not been connected, just cut away. OH rewired it to work correctly.
Hello and help!
I have a2005 3dr rav4 D4D...to which Indespension have fitted a tow bar and 2x 7 pin electrics.
The caravan is a 2001 SWIFT CHALLENGER400(2 BERTH)
When all is connected up, and switched to car, the voltage indicator in the van flicks from its normal position...abt 12.5v to max, which i presume will be the max output of the alternator, abt 13.8v
the relay on the bulkhead trips in and out ,as does the relay in the charger/mcb unit......so, the fridge will not cool and the battery will not charge....... any ideas where I, could look, test..am fairly handy with a meter and electrical theory! Thanks, John
Welcome to the forum but I'm puzzled as to why you added your question to a thread that is over 4 years old?
It may be best to start a new thread with RAV 4 in the title as you are likely to get more response to your question that way.
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Topic: Fridge powered when towing?
