Recommended Installation of Vehicle Wiring for a Trailer on a 2011 Volkwagen Tiguan

Question:

I recently bought a 2011 Tiguan and I have some questions regarding trailer wiring. I was thinking about using a power taillight converter kit such as Hopkins 46255, but I am not sure whether or not I need PWM. Also, I would like to end up using a Hopkins 48470 because of its versatility. However, I am not sure what this means in regards to the power converter kits because the kits always end up with a 4 wire, and 48470 is setup for 7 rv wiring. So I am wondering what to do 1. If I were to order a power converter kit and 48470 and were to try and adapt between the 4 and 7 would I need to ground in both at the power converter and at the 7 wire outlet? Similarly, would I need to run a power line back from both the power convert and the 7 wire outlet or just one, and if just one, which? 2. Or, would I be better off/is it possible to skip the power converter and run a power line just from 48470 to the fuse box and splice into the taillights and ground near the hitch. I dont need to hook up reverse lights. Any advice on this would be most appreciated. Thank you.

asked by: Ryder J

Expert Reply:

I can help you wire up your 2011 Volkswagen Tiguan to have a versatile trailer connector.

Since you are not needing the reverse lights connected, then you will only really need a 4-/7-way plug. Because of this I would instead recommend you go with the Tekonsha ZCI harness # 119125KIT. This Tekonsha kit also comes with a circuit tester, and has a slightly higher amp capacity over the Hopkins harness.

To adapt a 4-way to a 7-way, I would recommend the universal installation kit # ETBC7. This wiring harness will allow you to plug in the 4way and then run the ground, 12V power and the brake controller wire. It also includes all the items you will need to do this install already included.

If you install a power converter kit (4-way) you will need to ground this harness in addition to the 7-way adapter for them to function properly, same deal with the power wire. The red wire on the 4-way # 119190KIT will need to be grounded also, because this wire is for the 3 wired systems and since your Tiguan has combined wiring, this wire will not be used.

Unfortunately, it is not possible or better off to skip the power converter and run a power line to the fuse box. This could severely damage your vehicle's lighting system.

If you really wanted to use the Hopkins # HM48470 plug this is possible but you would have to cut off the 4-way plug after running the wires from the converter harness and re-pin the Hopkins harness by function. To then gain the 7-way functions you will have to run a power wire, a ground wire, and a brake controller wire, and normally a reverse light wire but since you don't need this it is okay to skip. To do all this you will need the additional 12 gauge wire like # 12-1-1, butt connectors and ring terminals like # 05732-2 and # DW05740-1, as well as circuit breakers. This can all be found in kit # 5506. You will likely need a few extra grounding screws # 101131802 for this installation regardless of the route you take.

If you haven't already purchased a brake controller, I really like the Tekonsha P3 # 90195. The P3 is a proportional brake controller which means it senses how the tow vehicle is slowing or stopping and applies the trailer's brakes with the same intensity. It also has a full display screen instead of codes that need deciphering. The vehicle wiring harness we recommend for this setup on your 2011 VW Tiguan is the # ETBC7.

I have linked a few Help Articles, a couple diagrams one of how to run the wires for the ETBC7, and the other is how you would want to pin the Hopkins connector, as well as all the parts mentioned above for your convenience.