Pin 9

As much as I would like it not to be, but I have got what I paid for. The problem was that unbeknown to me the salesman only quoted me for a detatcable towbar and trailer electrics, If I had quotes fron independent towbar companies I probably would have realised that his quote was too low, but I wanted a dealer fit fow warrenty purposes. Now wether he didn't understand that I wanted the towbar for caravaning, or even know that there was extra wiring and man hours required, we will never know because he has moved on.  Reading posts on other forums it seems to be normal to have wiring for a caravan as an option because of the extra manhours and wiring involved. I paid £590.00 for genuine Honda parts. It turns out that if I'd requested the full caravan package the bill would have been around the £800.00 mark. So £95.00 to put it right seems fair.

When I bought my last car it already had a towbar fitted, however the previous owner only had the 12N socket fitted. I paid a local independent towbar place £100 to swap it for a fully wired 13 pin socket and that was about 7 yrs ago, so that makes your quote of £95 about right, especially from a franchised dealer.

It's still an expensive few feet of wire & a relay .... 

I think this is 50/50. the op ask for a towbar and electrics and that's what he got. It would work legally for a trailer and the caravan. Like i said earlier the op didn't ask for dedicated electrics but also the dealer didn't ask what the towbar was going to be used for thus giving him the likleyhood that the extra connections would be required. There again when having a towbar fitted by the dealership would you expect then to ask what weight of caravan you will be towing and saying it's to heavy for the car. They don't care as it's your responsability  to find this out yourself.

I have been to Volvo today and they will be making a technical request so will post what they say. The towbar is made by ACPS Automotive who I`ve never heard of, a multi-national,  they seem to be or have been connected with Bosal who made a previous towbar I had. The towbar quality itself is excellent, far better than a previous Westfalia . The interruption to the permanent supply is more nuisance than anything else.

Hi, just seen this and it brought back to mind our experience. In 2013 we bought a new Audi Q5 with a factory fit bar and electrics which, having been told of potential issues with missing pins in the 13 pin socket, had made clear was for 'towing a caravan'.

The day before collection I was called by the dealer and asked what I wanted the electrics to do and it transpired that my car would need a 'supplementary wiring kit' costing almost £300. 

In the long run Audi UK agreed to pay for this but its the reason this happened that caused me to post.

As Phishing posted above there is a standard for 13 pin. It says;

 

ISO 11446:2004 specifies a 13-pole electrical connector between towing and towed vehicles with 12 volt electrical system.

The eventual conclusion, I replaced the car in 2017 and had issues then as well, is that as German caravans do not have a 12 volt system as we know it, via a battery-they use damped transformers to supply 12v once connected to mains electrics-they do not supply sockets with all the required pins for supplying a caravan with British style electrics.

If you want this you need the 'supplementary wiring kit' and good luck in finding a dealer who knows what it is for. We had to tell Audi UK, after being fortunate to have another member who had made me aware, what I needed and the part number!

Thanks again I think this is a slightly different issue as pin 9 is being fed with the engine off but is briefly interrupted when the engine starts, then all is well. Mercedes GLC`s shut down the permanent feed to pin 9 after six hours 

Strongly disagree.

He did ask for towbar and 13 pin electrics. The dealer took his money.

A contract exists between them that implies product that is fit for purpose is supplied.

What the OP then decides to tow is totally irrelevant to this contract as he has the right to expect the towbar meets the published towing limits for the vehicle and meets relevant standards.

The dealer is obliged to fit components that are fit for purpose, in this case legislation and standards apply. They have to fit mechanical parts that meet the standards and electrical parts that meet the standards.

They do not consider using a towbar that does not meet the requirements of the approval standard so what makes them think they can do this for the electrical parts.

Taking this to the extreme they could use low tensile bolts that can only tow small trailers unless you pay more for carbon steel bolts.

You use the term 'extra connections', they are not extra connections they are specified and required under the published standard to allow correct operation of the product by the OP.

The standard shows Pin9 and Pin 10 populated, there is no option for these to be left blank, if they are then the supplier has failed to meet the requirements of the standard and thus supplied goods that are not fit for purpose.

The supplier as the responsible technical knowledge holder is responsible. The OP is not an auto electrician.

The club should take a lead on this and challenge the auto makers in court.

 

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The user and all related content has been Deleted User

I didn't buy my car new, but my ML has a factory fit tow bar & everything ie charging & fridge, works as you'd expect. (even the caravan's led front marker lights that used to rapid flash when towed with the R Class's after fit tow bar)