Right, I've got my Westfalia tow bar fitted and now need to run the dedicated electrics kit supplied by PF Jones to the front of the car.

So far I've got it to the shoulder of the rear passenger's seat (driver's side). I am having trouble removing the plastic trim running down the side of the rear seat - there's something stopping it right at the foot well end.

I'm also having some trouble getting the trim off on the pillar with the driver's seat belt.

Anyone give any clues?

Scrap that, I managed to lift the trim enough to get the cable down to the driver's foot well.

Now I need to remove the diagnostic socket. According to this - http://www.octavia-vrs.com/cms/content/towbar-install - I should be able to unclip it but I can't find the catch with a screwdriver?

And scrap that....I'm getting there! I've tapped into the central control unit now and need to get the fusebox out. Looks like I need a long necked torx screwdriver, which scuppers me because I've been using one with changeable heads and it's too bulky to get through the hole in the plastic.

Right, got into the fusebox and sorted that lot. Just tried everything and the only issue is that the indicators don't work on the trailer light board. All the car lights work and the other trailer lights are fine.

How to debug the indicators?

Indicators are fine.....it was/is a slightly loose connection in the tow bar socket.

Car all put back together now....mostly!

Thanks for all your help

END OF BLOG

Indicators are fine.....it was/is a slightly loose connection in the tow bar socket.

Car all put back together now....mostly!

Thanks for all your help

END OF BLOG

Someone should reply to this OP.

Well done - do you realise you cold have solved the original

enquiry off-line and not requested any assistance.

Enough to drive one round the bend.

I'm doing exactly the same job today with the same kit from PF Jones.

I'm an hour or two behind, as I watched GP qualifying first and have got the bar attached and rear end back together, boot wiring in place and I'm about ti route to the dash. But leave until the morning.

The instructions at octavia-vrs.com are OK, but the FL Octy has some differences I'm finding.

How you got around the fuse box removalwould be interesting as I've come up against the same issue.

The biggest disappointment is the detachable towball doesn't fit the cutout in the spare wheel tray. I thought the OE towbar was the Westfalia, anybody else found this?

Someone should reply to this OP.

Well done - do you realise you cold have solved the original

enquiry off-line and not requested any assistance.

Enough to drive one round the bend.

How could I have resolved it offline? I called PF Jones but they don't offer technical support at the weekend - something I'm not impressed about as it is implied from their website that support is available.

I'm doing exactly the same job today with the same kit from PF Jones.

I'm an hour or two behind, as I watched GP qualifying first and have got the bar attached and rear end back together, boot wiring in place and I'm about ti route to the dash. But leave until the morning.

The instructions at octavia-vrs.com are OK, but the FL Octy has some differences I'm finding.

How you got around the fuse box removalwould be interesting as I've come up against the same issue.

The biggest disappointment is the detachable towball doesn't fit the cutout in the spare wheel tray. I thought the OE towbar was the Westfalia, anybody else found this?

I did the tow bar and boot wiring last Sunday. Took me ages.

Today was running the cable to the front of the car and completing the wiring job. Also took me ages but I've got it all working and mostly back to normal.

The main loom of wires into the Central Control Unit has a cable tie holding it all together near the engine bay bulkhead - I cut that to get a bit more movement from it.

I eventually found the G section of the control unit and unplugged the cable block. Then I unwrapped some of the tape around the wires and placed the Scotch Loks on different parts of the cables so they didn't bump together and take up more room than necessary.

To remove the fusebox I managed to use a regular flat screwdriver and pushing hard it bit into the torx screwhead enough to twist it off. However, I think you may be able to do the required wiring without removing the fusbox completely as long as you unclip the rear cover.

Couple of tricky things with it - the secondary lock is fiddly and all you need to do is slide the purple bit of the fusebox down a few mm just to open up the cable entry holes. I was trying to remove the whole piece.

Another thing is that you need to be very careful which wires you push into which slots - the long cable from the rear has red/yellow and red/blue cables and there is also a short jump lead in the kit with the same colours. I suppose it wouldn't have mattered if you got them the wrong way around but I thought I'd got it wrong and spent half an hour trying to remove them to no avail - how on earth would you ever remove them if you needed to!?

Final thing - the spade connector doesn't seem to attach on the fusebox where the instructions say it should. I only found one available slot so assumed that was the one I wanted. Everything works so I guess it's OK.

The biggest disappointment is the detachable towball doesn't fit the cutout in the spare wheel tray. I thought the OE towbar was the Westfalia, anybody else found this?

Yes - I have the same towbar from the same supplier and it doesn't fit in the boot :(

Yes - I have the same towbar from the same supplier and it doesn't fit in the boot :(

I too have the westfalia towbar (the one with the big hand wheel on the side), what was annoying was that i spent the extra cos i thought it would fit in the spare wheel well!

I have managed to get it to fit with the careful application of a Stanley Knife to cut away enough polystyrene to fit the hand wheel into.

I too have the westfalia towbar (the one with the big hand wheel on the side), what was annoying was that i spent the extra cos i thought it would fit in the spare wheel well!

I have managed to get it to fit with the careful application of a Stanley Knife to cut away enough polystyrene to fit the hand wheel into.

That's what I'm going to do I think. Yes, could have bought the Witter bar cheaper too! I've also found the swing down 13-pin socket doesn't leave enough clearance to twist the plug into place. The socket cover is forced up against the bottom of the bumper. I need to modify with a longer pivot bar.

I finished off the main wiring today. Quite simple, but for nearly £200 I would expect better than cable splicers to connect to CanBus wiring.

Only need to code the car now and a local Briskoda member is doing that for me this week.

Now need to run the fridge/charging lead from the battery but can't see an easy way through the bulkhead. I've look for the grommet behind the glovebox but its not obvious. Anybody got a pic?

Why not go into the fuseboard near the drivers door, have a look here - http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/162617-octavia-fl-scout-access-to-relays-fusebox/

I've also found the swing down 13-pin socket doesn't leave enough clearance to twist the plug into place. The socket cover is forced up against the bottom of the bumper. I need to modify with a longer pivot bar.

I finished off the main wiring today. Quite simple, but for nearly £200 I would expect better than cable splicers to connect to CanBus wiring.

Only need to code the car now and a local Briskoda member is doing that for me this week.

Now need to run the fridge/charging lead from the battery but can't see an easy way through the bulkhead. I've look for the grommet behind the glovebox but its not obvious. Anybody got a pic?

I had the exact same issue with the socket cover hitting the bumper and was just about to start widening the hole when the solution hit me. Take the socket off the bracket and rotate through 180 degrees then re attach to the bracket. The cover will then flip down (rather than up) giving plenty of space to rotate the plug into position.

With the caravan wiring I found a 2nd spade connector on the back of the fusebox, which I have used, rather than routing direct to the battery and trying to find a route through the firewall. It seems to be working fine, though I did have to replace the ring connector with a spade for obvious reasons.

Taking a live feed from the fuseboard is a good idea. I'm taking a feed for my Satnav already, so could use that via the provided inline fuses. There is already some big (20A) fuses on that bus so should be OK.

Rotating the socket is not a bad idea, I may try that later. The design of the Westfalia bar for the car isnt great because apart from the socket clearance the breakaway cable loop is inside the bumper so once again risking damaging the bumper.

A couple of things I found doing the job that may be of interest:-

Mk2 FL VRS rear bumper already has the cutout for the towbar - and I don't have towing prep.

To undo the top Torx screw on the fusebox you need a narrow driver - you can't get a socket bit through the hole - there is one in the Skoda toolkit with the sparewheel (I assume you still get tools without the spare?).

To undo the top Torx screw on the fusebox you need a narrow driver - you can't get a socket bit through the hole - there is one in the Skoda toolkit with the sparewheel (I assume you still get tools without the spare?).

If that's true of my car I'll be a bit annoyed I didn't find it when I was doing the job.

Now need to run the fridge/charging lead from the battery but can't see an easy way through the bulkhead. I've look for the grommet behind the glovebox but its not obvious. Anybody got a pic?

There are picks available on the interweb, scroll down to picture or click this http://www.myturbodiesel.com/images/a5/light/foglight10.jpg

but here's how I did it:

Remove the battery and battery tray.

IIRC you will also have to remove the air filter box as well since the plastic is connected.

In the back right hand corner where the wing meets the firewall is a cluster of grommets/nipples.

pick a nipple and use a sharp knife to cut the top off.

I then used a plastic cord from a garden strimmer to feed a line from the engine compartment through the grommet into the dashboard.

Reach up under the back of the glovebox and find the plastic cord.

Now you can attach a wire with tape to the plastic cord and either pull it into the passenger or engine compartment as fits the situation.

use one of the spare nuts on the fron of the battery compartment for the 12v

HTH

How could I have resolved it offline? I called PF Jones but they don't offer technical support at the weekend - something I'm not impressed about as it is implied from their website that support is available.

Your first / second / third and fourth postings covered an enquiry and you answered them all yourself

without any assistance from other members.

So in fact you asked the question and then answered it yourself.

Therefore you could/ and did this this without the assistance of this forum. i.e - off line

Your first / second / third and fourth postings covered an enquiry and you answered them all yourself

without any assistance from other members.

So in fact you asked the question and then answered it yourself.

Therefore you could/ and did this this without the assistance of this forum. i.e - off line

True. But it took me a lot longer and involved a lot of frustration.

That's what the whole point of these forums is. After all, you didn't gain your knowledge purely by trial and error yourself. You learn from more experienced people.

But ultimately, you are correct. And I am proud of myself.