Yes or No answers required from the supporters of by-pass relay systems:

Is the trailer stabilisation system activated?   Yes/No
Is the bulb failure warning system extended to the trailer?   Yes/No
Is a legally required trailer indicator bulb failure system activated?   Yes/No
Does the car's rear fog light get turned off?   Yes/No
Is the alarm system extended to the trailer?   Yes/No
Does the infotainment display show a trailer is attached?   Yes/No
On Stop/Start equipped cars is the system deactivated?   Yes/No
Are the reverse sensors automatically deactivated?   Yes/No
(All when a trailer is plugged in and the car has been reprogrammed)

If the answer to all of those is No, then I will continue to state that anyone advising the use of a by-pass system will be deemed as being "Not Helpful".

As for costs, PF Jones and others are now supplying excellent copied wiring looms that allow the correct procedures to be taken for not much more than the cost of a by-pass system, and they require about the same to fit them. Even Skoda's own loom is not that expensive!

The trouble is Mr Childish that not one of the 20 or so red arrows you have awarded to myself (and none to any other member) have been where I have advised a member to use a bypass relay system, because to my knowledge I never have done.

 

Instead of continuing with your childishness how about putting up a links to such information or for where an OE VAG trailer module can be bought for not much more than the cost of a bypass module or even "as little as 2 tanks of fuel" as stated by another contributor who "doesn't get" why anyone wouldn't do as they say.

 

Lets call it €144, a figure which to put it into perspective, since the beginning of the CV19 crisis my monthly revenue has only once surpassed, unfortunatley my fixed outgoings are 6 times that amount. A lot of money to see an image of a trailer that I know that I am towing on my radio.

 

Nonetheless you find me an OE one for that price, that does not involve splicing into the canbus wiring which could compromise every vehicle function (my vehicle like most does not have factory towbar preparation & the loom connector) I will willingly fit one as an interesting project to join your club.

 

€144 also equals my fixed motoring costs for one year, insurance, contrôle technique & carte grise (equivalent of road fund license).

Oh dear!

5 hours ago, J.R. said:

Nonetheless you find me an OE one for that price, that does not involve splicing into the canbus wiring which could compromise every vehicle function (my vehicle like most does not have factory towbar preparation & the loom connector) I will willingly fit one as an interesting project to join your club.

 

Alas, any OE towing module install will involve connecting to the appropriate CAN-bus somewhere so as I'm sure you're aware, you're asking for the impossible

 

When I add modules to an existing CAN-bus, I tend to de-pin an existing connector so I can use proper connectors rather than a 'splice' or scotchlock. There should be no risk of compromising the rest of vehicle if done properly. Anything fitted badly can cause issues!

 

As for modules, looking on eBay, you can pick up a used one from around £45 and a new one from around £100. That is based on a 1K0 907 383 F module as fitted to this 2016 Yeti: https://forums.ross-tech.com/index.php?threads/9424/#post-87601

 

On an older car with no ESC/ESP I'd be tempted to fit a bypass module, on anything with ESC/ESP, I'd only ever want a properly fitted OE module but I'd most likely fit it myself 

Thanks, I would be confident fitting an OE module knowing that I could do a good job of the connections but would not have confidence in an aftermarket part made down to a price fitted by one of the towbar fitters whose butchery I have often had to correct, its the latter 2 points that give bypass modules a bad name and the commercial pressures & greed/insouciance are no different for an aftermarket canbus module.

 

Thanks for the part number, I will keep my eyes open for one, it will be an interesting and worthwhile project, I have a few questions though.

 

Is the VAG one intended to be plugged in to a dedicated connector? I checked every inch of my wiring and there was no sign of any such animal nor a bundle of insulated and unterminated wires, I presume I would need the module and a section of wiring loom and have to splice it into my loom? - Not the simple job that the evengelists speak of.

 

From memory of looking at a wiring diagram that i did once find it was wired to a 13 pin socket and needed a link wire in the 13 pin plug to tell the system that it was plugged in, is that the case? If so then it wont be compatible wth anything that I tow and an adaptor would have to be modified with the 2 pins linked and could not be left in place permanently.

 

Bypass modules have their place, they do what they say on the tin and comply with the legal requirements for an audible warning or trailer indicators, for someone with a base vehicle like mine without parking sensors and a non infotainment basic radio who wants to put bicycles on a towball mounted rack with a lighting board they are a sensible choice.

Wow! - there are loads on there for sale, does anyone know where the connectors (if they exist) would be located on the Yeti, perhaps I was looking in the wrong place.

 

If they are indeed part of the factory towbar prep then I think it will be a no go for me and the evangelists should bear this in mind.

 

Does anybody know how many wire cores actually go into the two connectors? I would guess at a minimum 2 for the canbus, a live and a switched live, an earth plus all the cores to the 13 pin socket.

18 minutes ago, J.R. said:

Is the VAG one intended to be plugged in to a dedicated connector? I checked every inch of my wiring and there was no sign of any such animal nor a bundle of insulated and unterminated wires, I presume I would need the module and a section of wiring loom and have to splice it into my loom? - Not the simple job that the evengelists speak of.

 

This isn't something I've massively looked in to as I'm happy to be corrected, still, from a quick google I believe the following is correct.

 

If a vehicle has towbar prep, there will be a connector in an appropriate location to take a towing module.  If this is the case, you'd need a kit similar to https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/174195333679 which appears to include the module and the towbar side of the electronics.

 

If a vehicle does not have towbar prep, there will be no wiring present so you'd either need to buy the additional loom or create your own. Obviously you'd need to check for a Yeti but I'd guess at:

- between 2 and 4 power feeds taken from various empty fuse holders

- a ground or 2

- twisted pair for CAN-bus

- many wires to the towbar socket

 

edit:

It'll probably be the same as a MK2 Superb which I found the image below for. Basically, many fuses, CAN-hi/lo (C15/C16) and the brake light switch (C17):

Edited 27 September, 20205 yr by langers2k

Thats what I came up with when I looked into it in detail before, £499 plus source a connector and make up a loom spliced into the canbus and multiple connections at the front of the vehicle.

 

Had I had 10 years experience I would not have wasted my time fitting the bypass relay (£15 and 30 minutes) and would have known that the factory kit could be fitted for not much more cost and in the same amount of time.

Do yourself a favour and have either an ecs or westfalia wiring kit fitted. 

 

£150 or so for either kit and really quite simple to fit. Vcds needed after for coding mind. 

Edited 11 October, 20205 yr by rover220

I've followed advice and had the bypass relay removed and a wiring kit fitted. It hasn't been returned yet but I'm hopeful it'll remedy the fault as the technician has been recommended.