I changed my dead ( original ) battery on my 2003 Tdi130 today. Just to the left of the battery i found an 'in-line' type fuse holder that had broken and a glass type fuse that had fallen out. Apart from the dead battery i've had no issues. The broken holder is white and the attached to a green wire. It looked pretty standard and didn't appear to be bodged. I dont have extra audio / hands free wiring on the car.

Any idea whats it's for?

Thanks.

Edited 16 February, 201214 yr by rowdy-Tdi130

I changed my dead ( original ) battery on my 2003 Tdi130 today. Just to the left of the battery i found an 'in-line' type fuse case that had broken and a glass type fuse that had fallen out. Apart from the dead battery i've had no issues. The broken case was white and the attached to a green wire. It looked pretty standard and didn't appear to be bodged. I dont have extra audio / hands free wiring on the car.

Any idea whats it's for?

Thanks.

NO- but for a modest fee ,you'll get a Haynes Manual that wil tell you what the value is and how to replace it . Simple - no ?

NO- not simple when you dont know what fuse it is. I do have a haynes manual book of lies, for what it's worth.

Edited 16 February, 201214 yr by rowdy-Tdi130

Do you have a towbar?, sounds like it could be auxiliary socket supply wire to the relay. Is the cable reasonably thick - about half the thickness of the cables to the battery fusebox?

Have you owned this car from new? Sounds like something aftermarket, all the cabling near the battery should either be black or red.

Have you owned this car from new? Sounds like something aftermarket, all the cabling near the battery should either be black or red.

+1

towbar aux feed / amp / sub maybe

What sort of direction does the other end of this cable head off in?

NO- but for a modest fee ,you'll get a Haynes Manual that wil tell you what the value is and how to replace it . Simple - no ?

It says in the Haynes manual that the electrical drawings and fuse information is only indicative. it doesn't match my car.

Do you have a towbar?, sounds like it could be auxiliary socket supply wire to the relay. Is the cable reasonably thick - about half the thickness of the cables to the battery fusebox?

Yes i have a towbar, and it's never been used by myself. Its about a 2mm thick wire which originates from a small black box that sits just to the left of the battery....other wires also come out of the `box` and go into the main loom.

Have you owned this car from new? Sounds like something aftermarket, all the cabling near the battery should either be black or red.

I've owned it 3 years and i'm the second owner.

Here's a pic of the `box`. The green cable coming out goes to the fuse holder. I guess it does look a bit aftermarket with a few pieces of electrical tape on it?

Edited 18 February, 201214 yr by rowdy-Tdi130

Yup, that's definitely aftermarket. Probably for the towbar as people have said.

Looks like a charge relay for the towbar.

That looks extremely like the auxiliary feed relay for the 12s (White cover) socket on a twin electrics towbar.

It's purpose is to suplly igition controlled live feeds to that socket for the permanent live and fridge power pins on the socket.

Basically it means if you have power running in a caravan on tow, and then pull up and stop in a motorway service area, when you switch off, the electrics are cut to the van. It means you dont come back to a flat car battery after you've had your grub.

Hope it helps

Thanks for that guys.