[DQ72]

Prodigy RF - does anyone have any feedback after the installation?

How well does it work with electric brakes and LED's.? Any specific install instructions would be appreciated. I am another guy who is getting a new Trailex to tow my Porsche. Seems dealers do not have any info what the new Touareg's require on how to hook up aux brake controllers. Many thanks.

Might buy the Prodigy RF for my 2010 treg tomorrow. Either that, or pay the dealer $580 to install the Reese Discovery (timed - not proportional) controller. Anyone tried the Prodigy RF? Seems like a better unit (if it works out of the box) than the legacy timed unit. Plus, $200 cheaper.

 

[jonmacs22]

Not only $200 cheaper, but also far more valuable in terms of being able to sell it later or transfer it to a future vehicle.

 

[4.2FSI]

Might buy the Prodigy RF for my 2010 treg tomorrow. Either that, or pay the dealer $580 to install the Reese Discovery (timed - not proportional) controller. Anyone tried the Prodigy RF? Seems like a better unit (if it works out of the box) than the legacy timed unit. Plus, $200 cheaper.

There have been several members who have invested in the RF Brake Controller. As I plan to. The two that I have read accounts for stated that the unit has to be paired using a different vehicle other than the Treg. For some reason The Treg would not allow the initial pairing. After another vehicle is used for the pairing they both confirmed the units work flawlessly.
I have a P3 that will be sold to avoid mounting a brake controller inside the Treg.

 

[lelievre12]

Add me to the list. I have a late 06 V10 TReg delivered in 2007 and I cannot find that damn plug. I pulled the fuse cover and the dash undertray and searched for two hours with fingers, torches and mirrors. I really dont think it is there unless it has been wrapped into the main wiring loom with the black cloth tape. And I don't want to cut that up unless I know where to look.

I'm going to go the wireless RF route.

Regards,

Pete

I know it has been posted in several places that some models do not have the harness. And I can tell you, that after over an hour of searching all over, behind the major factory bundles, up under the dash itself, and even feeling around with my hands where I can't see - there is no bundle/harness. I also had VW print out an entire manifest of everything that was installed at the factory (not the standard factory options window sticker, but the entire manifest that shows all the behind the scenes log created when the specific vehicle is built) and there is nothing there that shows a harness being installed.

My touareg in an 07 built at the end of 06. It looks like a Touareg 2 (new grill and lights, new rails on top). I think it might be an in-between model as I know they started making changes this year before they started calling them T2s.

 

[siberian]

I didn't have the loom either. I just ran the two wires (rear right side inside fender well) and connected them to the Tekonsha proportional brake controller. No problems, towed 7,400 pounds this past summer 3,500 miles from BC, up the Yukon and back to Fairbanks.

siberian

 

[Signon]

Steve O??

Following this intently and all ready to wire things up. Whoever owned my car before me has done some work and I have a question about the factory plug under the dash.
Does the RED/YELLOW wire have power to it all of the time?
Mine does and the previous owner has taken a wire from that to the back of the car for power to the trailer plug.
Following the Tekonsha bulletin can I come off this wire for the HOT wire to the relay that needs to go in?
I dislike car electrics because I'm always afraid of letting the smoke out of the wires. And everybody knows that when the smoke is gone the car won't work!

Thanks Neil

 

[siberian]

Neil, it's easy to check with a voltmeter.... there is no need for the brake controller to have direct power (non switched) to go to your relay since you only need it when the car is running...

siberian

 

[c4ar]

Following this intently and all ready to wire things up. Whoever owned my car before me has done some work and I have a question about the factory plug under the dash.
Does the RED/YELLOW wire have power to it all of the time?
Mine does and the previous owner has taken a wire from that to the back of the car for power to the trailer plug.
Following the Tekonsha bulletin can I come off this wire for the HOT wire to the relay that needs to go in?
I dislike car electrics because I'm always afraid of letting the smoke out of the wires. And everybody knows that when the smoke is gone the car won't work!

Thanks Neil

Hi Neil,
There should be no problem using the RED/YELLOW as the hot wire for the relay. I have a tekonsha P3 and it works fine with power all the time. In fact it expects it.
However, it isn't a good idea to have this wire also supplying power to the trailer plug. (I'm assuming you mean the Auxillary/Reverse pin that is commonly used to power accessories on the trailer). This puts the trailer accessories on the same fuse as the trailer brakes and if it overloads, you have no trailer brakes.:shock:
If you do need the live wire to the trailer then supply it from it's own fuse. You can use a wire tapped fuse available from Jaycar in Rockhampton, Cat No: SF5114. Just find a spare position in fuse box with power all the time or accessory power as desired.

Good luck keeping the precious smoke in !
It's expensive stuff

Edit:
Just reading through that tech bulletin again, they do specify that the "hot wire" should also have it's own fused supply. So if you were heading down to Jaycar anyway you could pick up another wire tapped fuse for that too. (I think the smallest they have is 10 Amp).
Still, I don't think you would have any issues just using the RED/YELLOW. The relay contacts are just providing a signal to the tekonsha to say you've hit the brakes. There would be minimal current drawn.

 

[Signon]

Thanks guys.
I need to double check because there are two aux wires heading down the back. The live one coming off the red/yellow is fused. From what you say c4ar, I think I'll divert the hot one to the tekonsha and re-fuse the one heading down the back.
OR, can I go ahead without the relay?
I'm using a tekonsha p3 and carlilse/hydrastar brakes. Is it the blue wire that supplies the power to the battery on the trailer?

 

[c4ar]

Thanks guys.
I need to double check because there are two aux wires heading down the back. The live one coming off the red/yellow is fused. From what you say c4ar, I think I'll divert the hot one to the tekonsha and re-fuse the one heading down the back.
OR, can I go ahead without the relay?
I'm using a tekonsha p3 and carlilse/hydrastar brakes. Is it the blue wire that supplies the power to the battery on the trailer?

Blue is usually the brake actuator not the trailer battery. Could be different with electric over hydraulic brakes, I'll need to check.
Let me know what type of trailer plug you are using (Eg, 7 pin round, 7 pin flat etc.) and we'll have a go at doing a diagram.

The relay is there to condition the brake signal from the Touareg. It may work without it but it also may not work or may partially work. Can only be sure that it will work with it.

BTW, you say there are "two aux wires heading down the back", where is the other one connected to ?

 

[siberian]

Absolutely, the blue is the actuator and you will need a relay.

siberian

 

[Signon]

OK. One wire goes nowhere. Its fed to the back of the car but has no power. The other goes to the double decker plug. Normal 7pin flat with 5pin on top. The red power goes to battery power on the 5pin side. I am assuming this will have to go to the power pin on the 7pin side to supply power to the aux brake battery on the trailer.
I'm still not sure if the red/yellow has power all of the time like mine has. I think I'll assume it does.
Anyway, in with the relay. I'll let you know how I go. The boat is waiting.

 

[siberian]

Would you mind telling us the color of the wires? Please read the very thorough write ups done on the Tekonsha P3, it has all the wiring information you need as well as color coding and wiring instructions I wrote for those who do not have the harness and need to feed the wires from the back (2 wires - a blue one and a red power one). Make sure you connect the relay properly. You should hear a click every time you press on the brakes (whether you have a trailer connected or not).

Good luck

siberian

 

[Signon]

Do you mean the ones to the rear of the car? These were put in by the previous owner. One is live and the other a spare.
The connector under the dash has the correct colours as on the tekonsha bulletin and the P3 instructions. My main concern was constant power to the red/yellow.

 

[c4ar]

OK Neil, it's all starting to make some sort of sense.
Your installation should be as per the tech bulletin but because you have hydrastar brakes you also need a "keyed" 12V supply going to the trailer to charge the breakaway battery.
Sounds like the previous owner had already done that and he also pulled an extra wire through in case it was needed for getting the brake peddle signal. It wasn't needed because you have the VW wiring.
I assume you have a diagram like this for your hydrastar unit:

The "Solid Blue" will be coming from the P3 via the VW wiring.
The "Solid Black" is the keyed supply for charging the breakaway battery and the previous owner has pulled a wire through for this.
Once again it's OK for the P3 to be powered all the time, but Carlisle advise that the battery charging supply is keyed. I guess to avoid flattening the vehicle battery when you're stopped.

 

[siberian]

Which was my point and why there really is not need to supply constant power.

siberian

 

[c4ar]

Which was my point and why there really is not need to supply constant power.

siberian

If you're convinced that you'll never need trailer brakes when the ignition is off then, no.
Tekonsha actually recommend a direct connection to the battery and the use of an auto reset circuit breaker rather than a fuse to give you the best chance of having power available for braking at all times.
I have used continuous power and an auto reset CB on my installation.
Consider the situation where you pinch and short out the trailer cable while parking, then you head off down a mountain. With an auto reset CB you've still got a chance of having full braking.

 

[siberian]

I hear you, but given the finnickyness of electronics on the Treg, you're more likely to be stuck with a dead battery than a pinched cable. But then again I don't have a Hydrastar either.... But good point

siberian

 

[Signon]

All good info guys. I just need to wire up the relay and move the live wire to the 7pin and I should be all set.
What initially made the install even more confusing is that there is a sensa brake unit under the dash as well and when I traced it, it was never wired up at the back of the car. When I got the car I thought that I was set but now I know!
Neil

 

[c4ar]

I hear you, but given the finnickyness of electronics on the Treg, you're more likely to be stuck with a dead battery than a pinched cable. But then again I don't have a Hydrastar either.... But good point

Well, the score here so far is I have had a pinched cable (not kidding, it has really happened #-o) and, so far, no problems with battery drain.
I have a P3 wired direct to the battery on my previous vehicle and it has sit for up to 8 weeks without the battery going flat.
I'm not saying that using switched power to the controller is totally unsafe, I just think that people should be given all the reasoning and then they can make their own decisions.