Westfalia Hitch and Wiring on a Mk7 Golf with a trailer brake controller

Jedadiah

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2010
Location
Central Kentucky
TDI
Former: '15 Passat TDI SE 6M, '15 Golf S 6M and '10 JSW
With OEM wiring the car knows that the trailer is connected and adjusts the abs/ecs systems.
 

Skeej760

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2012
Location
Left Coast USA
TDI
1996 Wolfsburg Passat TDI B4 1Zwagon
List of mods for my Mk7 planned:

1. MIB 2 Radio Upgrade
2. EcoHitch and the OEM wiring.

Regarding #2, does the OEM wiring also allow for the ABS/ECS systems to recognize towing when applicable?


Curious if anyone has installed an OEM wiring kit on US Mk7 GSW or AT

Thats the way to go to get ABS/ECS safety factor.

Note the Mk7 tdi has long done well in UK caravan towing tests

https://youtu.be/8H65PMTcXOU


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Skeej760

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2012
Location
Left Coast USA
TDI
1996 Wolfsburg Passat TDI B4 1Zwagon
Curious if anyone has installed an OEM wiring kit on US Mk7 GSW or AT

Thats the way to go to get ABS/ECS safety factor.

Note the Mk7 tdi has long done well in UK caravan towing tests

https://youtu.be/8H65PMTcXOU


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Anyone installed on 1.8t Gasser version, I should have noted.
The UK awards and youtubes you can find are all based on 2.0tdi Estate (golf wagon)

Also- noting the Westy kit is for 2015 tdi-

So, dumb question:
does the 1.8t powered ECM recognize towing harness and adjust ECS/ABS for gassers as well as for 2.0tdi's?

Hate to go to all the work of taking off Curt wiring harness and install the Westy kit with 13/7 pin adapter and find out it does not...

My next question is where would a noob like me go to find an electricial savvy auto mech if you arent one yourself?

VW dealers dont usually go this far into the weeds on aftermarket part installs...


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Skeej760

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2012
Location
Left Coast USA
TDI
1996 Wolfsburg Passat TDI B4 1Zwagon
I recently installed a Westfalia removable hitch and OEM trailer wiring on my Golf and wanted to post a little info here to help clarify things for anyone who also decides to do this in the future. I thought about using an ECO-hitch since they look strong, but decided to go Euro because I definitely wanted the OEM trailer wiring, and the cost of buying the wiring from Europe and the Eco-hitch was about the same as buying this Westfalia kit. https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B00RLQ9ROG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The only problem with buying the Westfalia kit is that you also need a new diffuser (rear lower bumper trim piece) if you don’t want to see a huge hole in the rear of your car. The part number is 5G6807568E and it’s not easy to get here. I ordered one,and had it shipped to my sister, who is currently in Germany. She then shipped it to me. Kunzman would not ship to the USA. I’m not sure why.
https://www.kunzmann.de/shop/en/exterieur-genuine-volkswagen-golf-7-gtd-diffusor.htm
E-Acca.com also has the difussor. http://e-acca.com/index.php?page=oe...ge=0&orderBy=id_detail&status=added_to_basket
I also needed a trailer end 13pin plug to convert the 13pin to a US 7way. https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B00475BJI6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
1. Hitch
Installing the hitch is very straight forward. Remove the taillights, the rear bumper cover (the clips around the taillights were a pain to remove), and take off the rear bumper bar. Slide the new hitch into the rear unibody frame rails, and tighten the four bolts that hold it in place. You don’t have to undo any exhaust pieces to get to the mounting points, which made this an easier install than doing the same on my 2010 JSW. I also added two heavy duty eyebolts to the hitch to use as the mounts for my tow chains. They are not lovely, but no one can see them.
After installing the hitch, remove the rear diffuser while the bumper isn’t attached to the car and reinstall the rear bumper cover.
2. Wiring
Here are the wiring instructions http://www.pfjones.co.uk/westfalia_fitting/305408300113.pdf
Next comes the wiring. I also installed a Prodigy P2 electronic trailer brake controller on my Golf, so I had to run a wire from the controller to the rear of the car along with the Westfalia harness. You have to remove the rear seat bottom, the left side of the rear seat back, the trim on the left side of the trunk, the door sills front and rear, the hood release, the kick panel trim behind it, the left side of the dash (where the fuses where on an mk6), the fuse panel door and a black panel under the dash. The instructions also say to remove the lower dash panel, but DO NOT REMOVE THIS PANEL! It is very difficult to reinstall and the wiring can be done with it in place. You can reach the BCM plugs and the back of the fuse box without taking it out. I removed it, and reinstalling it was the worst part of the entire project!!!
Follow the instructions until you get to the part about installing the wires in the back of the fuse box. The instructions show that you can unclip the fuse panel, and somehow tilt it so that you can somehow access the rear. You can unclip the fuse panel, but it won’t move unless you remove more pieces under the dash than anyone would feel comfortable messing with. You can get to the back of the fuse panel, by lying in the floor and looking up under the dash. The only problem is that the instructions tell you to insert the leads from new 4 fuse block (it inserts in the square opening on the right side of the fuse panel) into specific places on the back of the fuse panel. There is no way to see the labels on the back of the fuse panel, so you will have to get a test light and find 2 that are hot when the ignition is OFF. Place the leads from the new wiring into these, and you’ll be good to go. This will be slightly harder with lower dash in place, but you’ll be thankful when you don’t cuss putting it back in.
The instructions also show the module being attached to the rear of the wheel arch with Velcro. In my Golf, the module would not fit there when I was putting the rear trim back in, so I found it a new and better home under the left, rear seatbelt retractor. There is more room there and it also makes the module accessible without removing the rear trunk trim again. You could just remove the piece that follows the seat back to the door sill.
3. Brake Controller
On my MK6, I was able to steal the brake signal for my brake controller from pin six of the Euro plug, so I had also run a red 16g wire along with my 12g brake controller wire and the Westfalia harness. When I recode the mk7 module to NAR, however, the new module cuts the output to pin six, so you cannot use it for your brake signal to the controller. This sucks, because on the mk6, I didn’t have to splice anything. For this car, I tapped the third brake light where it leaves the BCM at A57. The third brake light is also LED, so the car doesn't check its voltage and say the bulb is out when its tapped.
On my MK6, I was able to add fuses to the fuse panel when it was unlocked, and I added a fuse for my brake controller there. You can’t do this easily on an mk7, so I did a little looking and found that there are a couple of blade terminals that stick off of the back of the fuse panel right where the power cable from the battery enters it. They are covered with little white rubber covers. The one on the passenger side of the plug is hot with the ignition off. I wired a female spade terminal to and an inline fuse holder to power the brake controller from this lug. It isn’t as clean as the install on my mk6, but I was not willing to remove enough of the dash to add a fuse to the panel of my mk7. The fuse is accessible removing the black BCM cover under the dash.
4. Euro 13pin to US 7way adapter
Once all is wired up, and the trim is put back in, you’ll have the end of the wiring harness hanging out of the driver side rear of your car. I mounted the euro socket under the bumper using one of the bolts that held on the original metal bumper bar. The pic shows where I mounted it, and shows the red signal wire that I later removed since it didn’t work when coded to NAR.
[/IMG]
I made an adapter from the 13p euro plug to the US 7 way socket using this. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BGHV6Y/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Wires to the Euro Socket
Euro Pin 1—Red wire LT and Brake
Euro Pin 4 – Green wire RT and Brake
Euro Pin 5– Brown wire running lights
Euro Pin 3—White wire ground
Euro Pin 8— Yellow wire reverse lights
Euro Pin 9—Black 12v power wire if you want it hot all the time
Euro Pin 10—Black 12v power wire if you want it hot with ignition on
Connect the blue wire from the US 7way directly to the wire run from the brake controller, I used posilocks https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HTADIOY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
5. Finishing up
I had to make the opening in the new diffuser a little bigger, so I could access my left tow chain loop. I decided to mount the US socket vertically in the new diffuser. There was room on the right side to hide it better up in the opening, but I would have had to make some sort of bracket to mount under the bumper bar of the hitch and decided it was more trouble than it was worth.I still could in the future. The hitch has a cool little bracket that hides and swings down for the Euro socket, but the US 7way is too large to fit on it. Once you’ve figured out the cuts and plug mounting on the diffuser, it just pops into place.
The finished product.
[/IMG]
[/IMG]
[/IMG]


Amazing detail thanks! Cross posted to GolfMk7 and VWVortex where some are noobs like me.


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Frankencar

Veteran Member
Joined
May 15, 2007
Location
Dixon, California
TDI
1991 GTI +TDI, Lifted 98 NB TDI, Corrado TDI Swap, 15 Golf TDI, a dozen TDI motors etc...
Thanks for this post/thread! Just installed the Westfalia 13 pin on my wife's 15 Golf TDI (not wagon) along with the 1-1/4" EcoHitch and it'd be a lot more difficult without the information you shared here. I did pull most of the fasteners out fo the lower dash panel in order to pull it down a little so I could reach up around it and that was enough - though adding the power pins to the fuze panel was a real pain. Now there's just a little rear interior reassembly to do and some more to pay with in coding. :)
 

Frankencar

Veteran Member
Joined
May 15, 2007
Location
Dixon, California
TDI
1991 GTI +TDI, Lifted 98 NB TDI, Corrado TDI Swap, 15 Golf TDI, a dozen TDI motors etc...
Glad I could help.
Here's all the input I have to add:
Our car is a 15 Golf TDI SEL DSG with park assist, front assist, and lighting packages (basically check every box loaded), so we REALLY wanted to run the proper wiring to get everything to play nice when towing. We installed a Forklift EcoHitch and the Westfalia 305408300113 13 pin wiring kit. After ordering from Amazon.de and getting the wrong kit delivered :mad: I finally just went through PFJones as they actually know what they are doing. ;)

We added the following coding:
(Added to CAN module, forgot which byte bit etc...)
01 - Engine Byte 5 Bit 4 Trailer Recognition installed
09 - Cent. Elect. Byte 1 Bit 1 Trailer Hitch Control Module installed
10 - Park/Steer Assist Byte 3 Bit 0-1 Trailer Hitch installed (manually removable)

Turns out the Golf has holes positioned nicely to bolt the Westfalia module to the car and it all fits perfectly:


And having the coding done correctly sure makes little things like park sensor and backup camera functions rather nice. See the little trailer on the display too? I thought that was pretty cool! It is also nice to be able to see the hitch in the backup camera.


We finally towed our first load with the car last weekend too - about 1K lbs (125# tongue) from Portland back to Dixon CA (600 miles) The car still managed to do 36MPG towing this over the mountains at 70+ mph! Having a good tow setup on the TDI sure is nice! Thanks to all who contributed!:D
 

durrw

Member
Joined
Feb 19, 2013
Location
Derwood, MD
TDI
2013 JSW, 2010 JSW (totaled 1.25.13)
Curious if anyone has installed an OEM wiring kit on US Mk7 GSW or AT
Just did the install on the Alltrack. Need to build my 13 euro to 7 US adapter and test it out. Getting the fuse terminals wired up was terrible.

Heads up to anyone doing this install with front assist, you need to code that module as well. Otherwise it will be disabled.

module 13 (auto distance regulation), set byte 3 bit 3
 

BubbaGump

New member
Joined
Jan 14, 2020
Location
Dayton,Ohio
TDI
2015 VW Golfsportwagen
OEM Wiring

New here but I have been lurking since 2015 here as a guest. Had my 2015 wagon TDI since June of 2015. Looking at getting the Westfalia removable hitch like the OEM. Looking for OEM wiring harness that can be shipped to the states. I emailed PFjones about this, this is what they sent me to work for left hand drive vehicles. Apparently the wiring is different between the right hand and left hand drive version. https://www.pfjones.co.uk/vw-golf-estate-06-2014-onwards-7-pin-westfalia-dedicated-wiring-kit.html

Is this the correct wiring harness for the USA version?
 

dasjefe

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 22, 2017
Location
Taylor Texas
TDI
Golf Sportwagen
Hi BubbaGump. I installed the Westie on my 2015 TDI wagon. If you buy the Westfalia kit from Amazon.de it comes with a wiring harness with a 13 pin connector. The kit even comes with gloves lol. You just need to wire it to 7-pin and install a 7-pin female connector in the fascia for the bottom of the bumper cover. Maybe there are different harnesses for RH vs LH drive? I would think the length would be similar either way? Not sure about this. Pretty certain my kit was intended for RH drive cars but the harness was plenty long and worked fine in my car. Wiring it to the car is kind of a pain in the arse but nothing you can't knock out in an afternoon. Instructions with the kit are sort of Ikea-ish but can be followed and don't require you to learn German. I didn't install a brake controller... so this might kind of complicate things a bit more if that's the direction you choose. Good luck.
 

BubbaGump

New member
Joined
Jan 14, 2020
Location
Dayton,Ohio
TDI
2015 VW Golfsportwagen
Hi BubbaGump. I installed the Westie on my 2015 TDI wagon. If you buy the Westfalia kit from Amazon.de it comes with a wiring harness with a 13 pin connector. The kit even comes with gloves lol. You just need to wire it to 7-pin and install a 7-pin female connector in the fascia for the bottom of the bumper cover. Maybe there are different harnesses for RH vs LH drive? I would think the length would be similar either way? Not sure about this. Pretty certain my kit was intended for RH drive cars but the harness was plenty long and worked fine in my car. Wiring it to the car is kind of a pain in the arse but nothing you can't knock out in an afternoon. Instructions with the kit are sort of Ikea-ish but can be followed and don't require you to learn German. I didn't install a brake controller... so this might kind of complicate things a bit more if that's the direction you choose. Good luck.

Big thanks. I though I read somewhere on this thread that the amazon.de link given in the OP was not sending the right wire harness. I don't intend to install a brake controller like you, so should be straight forward then.
 

ufdlim

New member
Joined
Jun 15, 2020
Location
Seattle, WA
TDI
'15 Golf TDI Manual
Sorry if I'm reviving an old thread. New owner of a 2015 Golf TDI S 6MT. Looking at some point in the future getting a hitch installed and towing ~1200 lbs gross camper trailer. For this purpose, the Westie seems like the best option compared to the Torklift EcoHitch. However, the TorkLift along with electronics harness can be readily installed in the US. Does anyone install a Westie + OEM harness in the US (for example, if I provided the parts)?
 

Jedadiah

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2010
Location
Central Kentucky
TDI
Former: '15 Passat TDI SE 6M, '15 Golf S 6M and '10 JSW
Little late to this, but the link seems to show the exact same hitch and harness that I bought. In the picture, you can see the part numbers for the kit. The Kit 305409900113 should have the right wiring. The wiring part number without the the hitch (if one wanted to use a US hitch) is 305408300113 https://www.westfalia-automotive.com/fileadmin/pdf/e_anlagen/305/e305408391108.pdf Finding the wiring without the hitch is hard and in my quick search was just a s expensive as buying the hitch and wiring through Amazon.

They do have the fixed version on Amazon.de now though https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B00RLQ9RPK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&th=1

Abnehmbar is removable. Starr is fixed.

I would also buy a 13pin over a 7 pin as it provides more flexibility and provides backup lights to a 7 pin US without having to change any pins on the trailer module. A Euro 7 pin dedicates one pin to the rear fog light, which is kinda useless here. You can de-pin the fog output and plug it into the reverse light output (both the 7pin and 13 use the same module), but it's just easier to use the 13pin. I re-pinned the 7pin I used on my 2010 Sportwagen and it was not fun to do as I had to find a wiring diagram for the module to be sure I was right. With the 13pin there is no guessing. It also gives you the option for power to a trailer or maybe just something in your trunk from the module, which is kind of cool.
 
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Jedadiah

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2010
Location
Central Kentucky
TDI
Former: '15 Passat TDI SE 6M, '15 Golf S 6M and '10 JSW
I also discovered last week that if you unplug the trailer harness while the car is locked that it'll set the alarm off. :)
 
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Nuje

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 11, 2005
Location
Island near Vancouver
TDI
2015 Sportwagen; Golf GLS 2002 (swap from 2L gas); 2016 A3 e-tron
Sorry if I'm reviving an old thread....
This cracked me up. :D
On this board, "old thread" is not a few months old - or even a couple years.
You should see the people who reply to a "For Sale" post from ~2011 asking if it's still available. *THAT* is dredging up an old thread.
 

AustinZimmy

New member
Joined
Jun 16, 2021
Location
California
TDI
2015 2.0TDI S MT, 04 Audi TT 225 BEA
I have a 2015 2.0TDI S MT.
Just want to make sure List of parts needed:

Hitch:

Wiring:
Westfalia 305408300113: https://www.pfjones.co.uk/vw-golf-h...ds-13-pin-westfalia-dedicated-wiring-kit.html

13-7 Adapter(Jedadiah- You can de-pin the fog output and plug it into the reverse light output (both the 7pin and 13 use the same module), but it's just easier to use the 13pin.):

Can Codes to Add (Frankencar - May Vary on Make, Year, and Model):
01 - Engine Byte 5 Bit 4 Trailer Recognition installed
09 - Cent. Elect. Byte 1 Bit 1 Trailer Hitch Control Module installed
10 - Park/Steer Assist Byte 3 Bit 0-1 Trailer Hitch installed (manually removable)

After this towing should be good to go?
 

atl630

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 6, 2011
Location
NJ
TDI
2015 Golf S
Hi All - First of all thanks to OP and everyone who has posted their experiences on this thead. I have read through it all a few times and its been very helpful. I am about to attempt this install but had one wiring question:

OP mentioned using the provided 4 fuse block and finding two places in the fuse panel that are always hot. However looking at the westfelia wiring manual it shows in step 30 using four fuse slots in the panel (Pin F28, F38, F44 and F?). Then in step 31 I believe it shows you throwing away the provided four fuse block. It appears to me that the provided four fuse block is used on Audi models only.

This section of the installation instructions is confusing though so I figured I would ask here. For those who has done the install can you confirm whether I should use the 4 fuse block that came with the wiring or if I should use pins F28, F38, F44 and F? (All always hot) diriectly to the Westfelia harness. I have the 13 pin kit.

Thanks in advance
 

Jedadiah

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2010
Location
Central Kentucky
TDI
Former: '15 Passat TDI SE 6M, '15 Golf S 6M and '10 JSW
I would def use the four fuse block. what they show in step 27 is impossible without taking the whole dash apart. The tabs can't be reached and the steel dash framing is in the way.

My only problem with the 4 fuse block was finding which of the "sockets" on the back of the panel was hot. The instructions mention a number to use, but there's almost no way to read the numbers on the back of the panel when you are lying on your back with your head under the dash. There are many sockets there, so I used a test light to find one that was hot.

Here's what they look like on the back of the panel. Some are hot all the time, some with ignition on.


Here's a pic of the four fuse block in place. It is very easy to install.
.
 
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tobjai

New member
Joined
Oct 12, 2021
Location
Canada
TDI
Golf 7 Sportwagen
A cheaper alternative to the Westfalia kits may be the the kits by Erich Jaeger in combination with a conventional towbar.


I've just begun looking into it and haven't installed one myself, but the process does seem to be pretty straight forward.

Links are all in German, but self explanatory.
 
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Jedadiah

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2010
Location
Central Kentucky
TDI
Former: '15 Passat TDI SE 6M, '15 Golf S 6M and '10 JSW
I had an Erich Jaeger kit on my 2011 JSW. It was not programable, so it only output Euro taillight signals. The module in the picture looks just like the one I ended up replacing with a Westfalia module, so that I could code it to NAR.

I called Erich Jaeger directly and placed the power over the phone, which may be better than going through Ebay if they have what you need. I gave them all my info through email, but didn't want to send my credit info, so we finished the order on the phone.
 

tobjai

New member
Joined
Oct 12, 2021
Location
Canada
TDI
Golf 7 Sportwagen
I had an Erich Jaeger kit on my 2011 JSW. It was not programable, so it only output Euro taillight signals. The module in the picture looks just like the one I ended up replacing with a Westfalia module, so that I could code it to NAR.

I called Erich Jaeger directly and placed the power over the phone, which may be better than going through Ebay if they have what you need. I gave them all my info through email, but didn't want to send my credit info, so we finished the order on the phone.

Did you ever try one of those with your Jeager kit?
 

Jedadiah

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2010
Location
Central Kentucky
TDI
Former: '15 Passat TDI SE 6M, '15 Golf S 6M and '10 JSW
My Jaeger kit was a 7 pin and I made a converter. It mostly worked okay (sometimes it would hyper blink). I was substantially more happy with the Westfalia on my MK6 after I switched form the Jaeger kit. It never messed up at all and actually was easier to wire up a brake controller to since the brake output still sends a signal even when it's recoded. I never considered anything else for my MK7.

If what you ultimately want is a 4 pin, then THIS would be substantially easier to install as far as wiring goes. Both the Westfalia and Jaeger kits mean removing essentially the entire interior from the drivers side of the car to install.
 
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