Anyone with Thule tow-bar bike rack? Check this plug pic

[steve_sordy]

I'm having problems with car electrics, trying to sort out whether it is the rack or the tow-bar assembly.

Would anyone with a Thule tow-bar bike rack please have a look at this pic and tell me if the plug looks like theirs.

Note 1: Is the locator lug in the same place (at about 10 o'clock) as on yours with respect to the pins and the flange that I've got my finger and thumb on?
Note 2: Anyone know why the plug has 8 pins when it is supposed to be a 7-pin fitting? (It goes into a 13-pin socket). It is definitely a plug for a 13-pin socket, despite there being only 8 pins on it. (Thanks to Tonybro and Levo Laland, see below)

 

[Tonybro]

That looks like a 13-pin adapter. I just bought one from Halfords to go from my Thule 7-Pin to new car's 13-pin. I can check later for you...

On my previous car with 7-pin, the Thule plug went straight in, no twisting. I have fitted the adaptor and it has lugs that attach and you twist and it 'pulls' the connector in...

 

[Levo Laland]

I'm having problems with car electrics, trying to sort out whether it is the rack or the tow-bar assembly.

Would anyone with a Thule tow-bar bike rack please have a look at this pic and tell me if the plug looks like theirs.

Note 1: Is the locator lug in the same place (at about 10 o'clock) as on yours with respect to the pins and the flange that I've got my finger and thumb on?
Note 2: Anyone know why the plug has 8 pins when it is supposed to be a 7-pin fitting? (It goes into a 13-pin socket).

View attachment 75526

Hi,

This looks like the 13 pin socket fitted to my rack as standard, you have to insert with the circle shown under your thumb at the bottom (6 o'clock) and twist clockwise to engage the connections. I also have an adaptor to make my 13 pin rack fit a 7 pin car. I can post pictures of any of the parts/connectors later on if you need them. Or check out the link below:

Selecting and using the right socket - 7-pin or 13-pin plug? (brink.eu)

 

[steve_sordy]

@Levo Laland and @Tonybro You are both correct about it being a 13-pin plug and not a 7-pin! My fault, I should have looked up the spec on my tow bar rack. It was advertised as a 13-pin and fits into a 13-pin socket. It was the presence of only 8 pins that put me off. The error is mine and I'm sorry for any confusion this caused. I will correct the original post.

 

[steve_sordy]

I too have to insert with the flange at the bottom and then twist clockwise through 90deg. It is quite stiff and there is a definite "over-centre" feeling to it.

What was happening was that at random intervals I would get a "check towing bracket" warning. Then the adaptive cruise control, lane guidance, emergency braking etc would all switch off and could not be activated again. The first few times, to reset all I had to do was to remove the plug, swing the socket back up behind the rear vallance and back again a few times then re-insert the plug. That cleared whatever the fault was, probably a loose connection.

By chance the car (Audi A5) was going into the garage for an oil service, so I asked them to check out the problem. I left the rack fitted. When I went to collect the car the auto electrician told me that the plug had moved (?). After he showed me a plug that he had in his hand, what he meant was that somehow the lug at the 10 o'clock position in my pic had moved and that was the problem. I firmly believed that he was mistaken, but he would not be moved. That lug should be absolutely immovable with respect to the pins.

What I believe happened was that someone had removed the plug from the socket without twisting it back through 90deg anticlockwise. How the hell they did that I have no idea. But now the plug will not go back in. Here is the socket. The slot where the lug should go is at 3 o'clock and it should be at 2 o'clock to receive the lug on the plug.

I will have another go after lunch to get that plug fitted.

But I still have the initial problem to sort out, that of the intermittent electrical fault.

 

[Levo Laland]

I too have to insert with the flange at the bottom and then twist clockwise through 90deg. It is quite stiff and there is a definite "over-centre" feeling to it.

What was happening was that at random intervals I would get a "check towing bracket" warning. Then the adaptive cruise control, lane guidance, emergency braking etc would all switch off and could not be activated again. The first few times, to reset all I had to do was to remove the plug, swing the socket back up behind the rear vallance and back again a few times then re-insert the plug. That cleared whatever the fault was, probably a loose connection.

By chance the car (Audi A5) was going into the garage for an oil service, so I asked them to check out the problem. I left the rack fitted. When I went to collect the car the auto electrician told me that the plug had moved (?). After he showed me a plug that he had in his hand, what he meant was that somehow the lug at the 10 o'clock position in my pic had moved and that was the problem. I firmly believed that he was mistaken, but he would not be moved. That lug should be absolutely immovable with respect to the pins.

What I believe happened was that someone had removed the plug from the socket without twisting it back through 90deg anticlockwise. How the hell they did that I have no idea. But now the plug will not go back in. Here is the socket. The slot where the lug should go is at 3 o'clock and it should be at 2 o'clock to receive the lug on the plug.

View attachment 75537

I will have another go after lunch to get that plug fitted.

But I still have the initial problem to sort out, that of the intermittent electrical fault.

Try some WD-40 specialist contact cleaner, Screw fix sell it.

 

[steve_sordy]

That bit in the socket that is moved when I insert the plug and twist it is resolutely refusing to move! I even tried some needle nosed pliers in there with zero effect.

Looks like it is going to have to go back to the Tow Bar Depot in Sheffield. They can fix the misalignment and also the random electrical problem too. I might also get them to fit a new plug to the rack as it is looking a bit ragged.

 

[steve_sordy]

Bugger! They have gone out of business.....

It now looks as though is going to cost me some money.

 

[steve_sordy]

Good news, all sorted.

The tow-bar is a Westfalia, by Witter. I contacted them and they recommended D&M Towing in Sleaford, less than 30 mins from me. I rang them up this morning and they asked me in for 11:30am. In the next 30 mins they diagnosed the problem as definitely the rack plug. "Rack suppliers typically fit low-quality plugs; when we sell a rack, we always swap the plug for better quality versions." In that time, they fitted the new plug and then retested the whole system (car electrics, lights etc) and took my money. I thought that £30 was a bargain.

Very happy to recommend D&M Towing.

The guy there also commented that the original work had been done properly, no bodging.

Note for information: The connectors in the socket do not move. The pins in the plug do not move. It is the outside of the plug that rotates inside the socket housing to ensure it is securely locked in place. The new plug rotates freely and fitting it is a doddle. The old plug was always very stiff. So stiff that I had assumed that it was the inside of the socket that was moving. Eventually it seized up.