It sounds as though you do have the VW towing module fitted seeing previously it disabled the proximity sensors etc.

I too had issues with LED's fitted on trailer and I purchased the VW load module that fits on the trailer to car harness and it fixed the light out warnings and disabled rear sensors and enables the functions of the towing module including stability and alarm protection for the trailer, sorry but couldn't find a part number for you at this stage (dealer should be able to tell you), cost was around $200+ mark.

To be quite honest you took a very misguided step by going to the auto electrician with this issue and I don't know if it can end in a good way for you as basically you need to rip out everything he did as it seems what he did managed to cancel all the benefits of having the genuine trailer module fitted.](*,)](*,)](*,)](*,)

Another example of what works on other cars will not work on some VW's, simple solution but for the ignorance on the part of the electrician sorry to say.

TonyB

 

thanks tony,

i usually roll up the sleeves and get into it myself, but in this case i needed it done quickly and mistakenly thought a reputable (?) auto elec would be a no-hassle route- when i initially called he straight away new what i was talking about and sounded like he knew what he was doing. turns out he's just sitting at the front desk organizing the jobs for the (who knows how qualified?) guys in the shed out back. there were cars everywhere and i got the impression it was a 'get em in 'n out' type place.
i had to go straight back inside to tell them my gear selector lights were out- they forgot to plug that connector back in while checking if the brake controller works (according to them- it doesnt).

honestly would not recommend these guys to anyone- seemed very disinterested when i voiced my concerns this morn.

im going to have the module removed by them- with a warning that i WILL have it checked by the next auto elec, being i now will have wiring cut and shut somewhere in there. may as well have got $250 bucks and set it on fire....

 

If this helps . . my 2013 works with LED trailer lights . . . mostly.

For the mostly part and this may be relevant to you . . .never plug the trailer in when the motor is running and the key is in the slot. Preferable to start the car with the light switch in the off position. Then all good . . . but very very sensitive. I can still get false bulb out messages. When this happens only way is to turn off the car, pull the key, then start the car again to clear it. I suspect the quality of the LEDs also has something to do with all this ie by quality I mean the operating voltage range of the LED lights (in other words do not use flea bay trailer lights - use a reputable brand).

 

bump

 

In the US, they sell plugs that go in-between the trailer and the vehicle that add a load to the circuits, making the vehicle think that there are working lights on the trailer. They don't cost anywhere near $100 USD.

 

a bit of an update:

after thinking about it for a bit i thought 'stuff it- hes installed something that not only doesnt work, but has made the vehicle unsafe for towing as it doesnt know theres any extra weight on the back, so doesnt alter ABS/ trans settings to suit'.

so i called up and said i'm going to drop the car off and want the module they put in taken out, everything put back to stock and a full refund. he didnt argue one bit.

then called up a VW dealer and got quoted $137.00 for a patch cable to go inline between vehicle and trailers. its not actually a genuine item which are $250ish, but a narva one that has been modified with resistors. it still is sold over the counter from Solitaire VW parts at mile end (biggest VW dealer in adelaide). i would rather have something hard wired into the car, but at least this works.

so if anyone in Adelaide needs a patch cable, they had 11 in stock.

 

That seems fair. That's probably $60-$80 USD.

Glad you got it all taken care of.

 

I went through this with my 2007 T2. Tried to add my own resistors to the trailer in parallel (or was it series?) to the lights. Didn't work so I forked out over $200 for the VW resistor lead that goes between the vehicle and the van (cable-tied to the drawbar). Plug and play, it worked out of the box.
Two months ago I bought a near new 2016 T4 and I asked the dealer to fit a tow hitch, brake controller and electrics. Salesman said I could have the trailer/LED fix installed within the vehicle as part of the electrical fittings. When I took delivery I was given a brand new resistor lead in a plastic bag, just like the one I had at home that I never got around to putting on eBay! (5 Years between the two Touaregs).

Now I like to tinker with the odd 12 volt problem, and I fitted a brake controller to the first Touareg, but be aware that Touaregs are massive generators of the Dunning-Kruger Effect. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning–Kruger_effect

 

this is available here in Perth.

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/mosman-park/other-parts-accessories/volkswagon-led-load-simulator/1152648278

If anyone wants it...happy to act as a trusted 'purchaser/despatcher"

 

If you tow more than just one trailer with LED lights it is a PITA to swap the load box between trailers. I connected the VW load box directly to the car mounted socket via a 4 pole relay (around $4.00 at Jaycar). The load box & relay are mounted in the rear 1/4 panel with a switch to activate the relay so that the load box is only active if a trailer is connected so that the system does not think that a trailer is connected when it is not changing shift points and stability settings. I automated my setup by getting the relay switch power by bridging from van battery charge supply pin on the 12 pin trailer plug to a spare pin. A wire from the car socket plug pin corresponding to the spare used runs to the relay. Thus auto switching on of the load box when trailer is attached. You do need to wire a 12 pin plug with bridge to the spare pin on each trailer with LED.

 

Just like when I fitted the brake controller. You have to out-think the Touareg and trick and mislead it.

 

I did like Patr80l and fitted resistors on the trailer in parallel to the lights and it fixed the problem.

 

I have an '05 Treg and recently purchased a 6x4 trailer. You guessed it, trailer has LED lights and they don't want to play with the Tregs wiring setup. As soon as the lights are switched on the trailer brake lights pulse weakly and only the LH indicator seems to work. The plug on the Treg is a 7 pin flat, and the plug on the trailer is a 7 pin large round. I have an adaptor to connect the 2 different plugs.
I've read through plenty of threads and seen plenty of "solutions" however I was hoping that by now someone somewhere had come up with something simple like an inline adaptor at a reasonable price in Australia.
I'd rather not pull things apart and wire in resistors or whatever because I'm pretty sure I'd stuff it up.
I know there are adaptors available in the US at reasonable prices but I'm assuming they aren't compatible with our Australian plugs.
Thanks in advance.
Chris A.

 

as mentioned in an earlier post VW service at Mile End in Adelaide have adaptors modified to suit LED trailers. I paid about $130 from memory. i'm sure they'd post to you. maybe give them a call.

 

Ask a friend to do it for you? It's easy to do for anyone who is familiar with a multimeter, a pair of wire cutters and some crimpers.

Since you have an adapter, you could install the resistors in the adapter's wiring harness.

 

Chris, there are cheaper adapters (eg https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Genuine...ocus-Towbar/151511629652?epid=1324848425&hash=item2346cbff54:g:hFgAAOSw-jhULKaG and AB3915436BF NEW GENUINE FORD 12PIN LED RESISTOR LOOM TRAILER ADAPTOR | eBay)
The 7 & 12 pin wiring is standardised so other brands should work.

I bought the VW part https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/LED-TRA...APTOR-FOR-USE-ON-VOLKSWAGEN/252416212283?hash=item3ac52dbd3b:g:X2QAAOxyni9S~Ut6

 

Thanks for that Patr80l... I did wonder about that. I saw the Ford adaptors and couldn't understand why the huge difference in price between them and the VW part considering that they basically do the same thing.
I did track down a genuine VW adaptor on Gumtree at a good price, only to find that it had been modified to suit a Peugot and the owner wasn't able to tell me what the actual mods were.
If there is someone that has actually used the Ford adaptor and can confirm it works that would certainly help.
Cheers
Chris A.

 

On 31st January, I am taking our caravan past that eBay seller on my way to the caravan repairer (minor internal maintenance, and general service before we head off on holiday).

That would be a perfect time to check with them if their product works with a 7L Touareg and a 25' caravan with LED lights.

Can you wait until I report back?

 

Can do....many thanks.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

 

The two adapters are very different. The VW one is using large resistors heatsinked to the die cast case. Each resistor simulating the load of a 20watt light bulb. This approach is pretty sure to work.
The Ford approach I would guess is using much smaller resistors thus the different packaging size but this is the point - this adapter will be tuned to the Ford trailer module. I would guess that the Ford trailer model does not need the full 20watt load per circuit to “recognise” the trailer lights and provide “bulb out” warnings and detection of the trailer being connnected.
Whether this lower power dissipation will also work with the VW module is to be determined. I hope it does.

Btw I have a VW adapter. It did not work reliably with the 2013 Treg. I have since fixed my issues but not using this module.

 

My genuine VW unit worked without a problem with my 2007 T2. Now that I have a 2016 T4 I also have a different caravan with globes not LED's so cant comment on the newer model's needs. When I bought the 2016 Treg the adapter unit that they tried to sell me at the time was the same as the old one I already had at home.

 

I have a strong suspicion is that the VW trailer module that is supposed to be LED aware is not or rather it does not take a lot to upset it.

My trailer used to have two cable runs from the plug. One run to the stop/park/right indicator. The other run to the stop/park/left indicator. The number plate light was built into this LED light. But - and this is where I suspect things get out of whack - the mudguard clearance lights were spliced into the cable run on each side. All the lights had been replaced and epoxy sealed heat shrink tuning used - no water ingress.
With or without the VW load module - I had consistent bulb out errors and issues with lights not working i.e. the trailer module will not supply power to a light it believes is in fault condition as near as I can figure it out. I thought I had its sussed at one point - make sure engine is off and ignition is off before connecting the trailer. But this too failed me.

Well I replaced all the wiring - same LED lights. I did NOT splice the clearance lights into the main runs but provide separate feeds to them from the plug - i.e. 4 cables leaving the plug (or rather a distribution box I built). No circuit branches or cuts or any form until end of line. The other factor is that the cable runs were NOT run inside the steel frame of the trailer - they were run in ducting outside the frame.
No issue since with the direct connection of the trailer to the car - no load box required. I can plug and unplug with the motor running / light on or off and lights in Auto mode.

So my suspicions are that the pulsing used for circuit testing by the factory trailer module is way too prone to external interference. You almost have to make sure the planets are in alignment before it will work. What I did was reduce said interference - no outer grounded shield (the trailer chassis), no cuts or joins until end of line that would cause additional reflections.
You would think that the load box would fix this but I suspect it provides a circuit branch before end of line as well and this is a problem.

This does not help many. I worked on an open frame boat trailer. Caravans and such you have no such option.

Yes all black magic . . . basically the trailer load module is not fit for purpose but we know by recent history that VW is not a company to admit such things . . .