S212 E500 towbar

[ChrisPDuck]

I'm considering fitting a towbar to an S212 E500, for occasional duty towing a camping trailer or a (very) small caravan. Fitting the hardware and the dedicated electrics all seems like a fairly straightforward DIY job, but I have a couple of questions:
1) Coding the towbar to the vehicle. My friendly local garage is not a Mercedes specialist, but they do have a Xentry diagnostic system that apparently has a connection to the MB database. Is this sufficient to correctly code the towbar and update the car's record with Mercedes, or is a different system needed?
2) Cooling fan. I've read that a factory fitted towbar would have included an upgraded cooling fan. Does anyone know if this applies to the E500? I guess the V8 could already have a bigger cooling fan, but if it needs it because it's a V8 then maybe it needs an even bigger one for towing? Does anyone know the size of the E500 fan, and whether a bigger one is available? And is it only the engine fan that gets the upgrade, or does the transmission also need more cooling - is that covered by the same fan?

 

[ChrisPDuck]

I looked at some parts diagrams online. There are two cooling fans listed for the E500: A 204 500 02 93, which is shown as a 600W fan, and A 204 906 68 02, which does not show a power rating, although it has the same dimensions as the 600W version. For a smaller engined E-Class, there's a 400W fan listed (A 204 500 03 93), which is slightly shorter, and a 600W version. Googling the part number for the one that has no power specified (A 204 906 68 02) does suggest that it is also a 600W fan.

So I guess an online parts diagram isn't necessarily conclusive, but it seems that the E500 would likely have left the factory with one of two 600W fans, and that there isn't a bigger (or smaller) one available.

Of course, if it had a 600W fan from the factory, that suggests it might need more cooling just because it's a V8. So is towing likely to need even more cooling?

 

[ChrisPDuck]

Bump - can anyone advise whether the Xentry system that my local non-MB garage has is sufficient to do the towbar coding?

 

[ChrisPDuck]

Forgive me for trying again. I know how forums work - there are people out there who know the answer to a question, but it's always a matter of catching their eye at a moment when they've got the time and the inclination to reply.

Is Xentry the right tool to code a towbar to an S212?

 

[ALFAitalia]

I don't know the answer.......but usually a few quid thrust into the hand of your local towbar fitting guy (who will have the tool for the job) will get it done!!

 

[ChrisPDuck]

I don't know the answer.......but usually a few quid thrust into the hand of your local towbar fitting guy (who will have the tool for the job) will get it done!!

You're probably right. I guess I'm just hoping my local friendly garage can do it for me - always honest and good value, walking distance from my house....

 

[ChrisPDuck]

I fitted a Westfalia detachable tow bar this weekend. I bought it from PF Jones, complete with a dedicated wiring kit. I'm very impressed with the tow bar - no bumper cuts required, straightforward to fit, and with the ball detached and the socket swivelled up behind the bumper it's completely invisible unless you get down on your hands and knees.






The wiring kit was equally impressive. It came with a fuse bank that takes up the last bank space on the fusebox (the blue one in the photo)...


...and the CAN BUS wires came pre-terminated with the correct terminals to just push into the appropriate slots in the blue plug on the back of the fuse box.


The lights all work on my trailer board without coding, but I want to get it properly coded (for the reversing sensors, the anti-sway program etc), so I'll pop along to my local garage to see if they can do that for me. The wiring instructions include basic instructions for, presumably, a STAR/Xentry system.

 

[ChrisHGTV]

I fitted a Westfalia detachable tow bar this weekend. I bought it from PF Jones, complete with a dedicated wiring kit. I'm very impressed with the tow bar - no bumper cuts required, straightforward to fit, and with the ball detached and the socket swivelled up behind the bumper it's completely invisible unless you get down on your hands and knees.
View attachment 160375

View attachment 160373

View attachment 160372

The wiring kit was equally impressive. It came with a fuse bank that takes up the last bank space on the fusebox (the blue one in the photo)...
View attachment 160371

...and the CAN BUS wires came pre-terminated with the correct terminals to just push into the appropriate slots in the blue plug on the back of the fuse box.
View attachment 160370

The lights all work on my trailer board without coding, but I want to get it properly coded (for the reversing sensors, the anti-sway program etc), so I'll pop along to my local garage to see if they can do that for me. The wiring instructions include basic instructions for, presumably, a STAR/Xentry system.

I’ve got the same one on mine, though factory fitted. I only use it for a Westfalia bike rack but it is a quality bit of kit. I love that reassuring clunk when you attach it!

 

[ChrisPDuck]

I noticed the clunk too. There's zero movement once it's engaged. I had a detachable tow ball on a previous car, and there was a very slight wobble - it was entirely secure, but I didn't like the wobble. Not so on the Westfalia - it's totally solid. The whole thing seems very well engineered - the folded steel parts that I could measure are all at least 8mm thick. I couldn't check the main box section because it's completely sealed up, but it's a heavy part.

I chose the Westfalia model because I'd read that it's the brand that Mercedes used for the factory/dealer fits - thanks for confirming. I'm sure any of the available brands would be just as sturdy and meet the requirements though.

 

[ChrisPDuck]

I had the electrics coded to the car by a local place that does tow bar fitting - Ken's Auto Spares in Bulwell, in case anyone near Nottingham needs the same. £60 for about 10 minutes work, but the lad seemed to know what he was doing. I should get my first chance to try it out sometime this week.

 

[BTB 500]

I chose the Westfalia model because I'd read that it's the brand that Mercedes used for the factory/dealer fits - thanks for confirming. I'm sure any of the available brands would be just as sturdy and meet the requirements though.

The factory towbar on our Vito is a detachable Westfalia too. Good quality kit.

Less impressed with the factory towing electrics though, which had no connectors in the socket for switched live and associated ground (10 & 11). The connector for permanent live (9) was there in the socket but had no wire going to it! Many modern caravans require the permanent live for the Al-KO stability control module (ATC). Switched live is handy to run the fridge on 12V while hitched up.

 

[ChrisPDuck]

I bought the PF Jones dedicated wiring kit because they didn't have the Westfalia kit in stock, but I do recall reading somewhere about the Westfalia kit lacking something in this area - it may even have been one of your posts @BTB 500.

The PF Jones kit has a wire to every pin except pin 12.


Pins 9 and 10 go via separate inline fuses, and seem to be rated for 20A and 15A respectively. I just attempted to double check the fuse ratings, and I realise I've left those two fuses inaccessible without removing the soft foam/felt lining - D'Oh! Will sort that out the next time I'm working in there.

 

[ChrisPDuck]

Another nice feature that I've just discovered on a postcard in the electrics box - 'The Perfect Trailer Test': start the engine, then turn on the hazard lights, then plug in the trailer, and it cycles through all the trailer lights in sequence, five times. Do they all do that these days?

 

[ALFAitalia]

Nope....standard feature on most of the latest Landrovers though.

 

[Justintyme]

Sorry for piggybacking on to this forum, but I don't know what else to do.....Will a towbar removed from MB E class w212, fit an MB E class w213?

Thanks in advance

 

[ChrisPDuck]

Sorry for piggybacking on to this forum, but I don't know what else to do.....Will a towbar removed from MB E class w212, fit an MB E class w213?

Thanks in advance

Unlikely I'd have thought. But you can compare model numbers for equivalent towbars on the PF Jones website: You are being redirected...

 

[Justintyme]

Unlikely I'd have thought. But you can compare model numbers for equivalent towbars on the PF Jones website: You are being redirected...

And you would have been right! But the w212 will fit the w207 (just in case anyone else is looking for one.) I've searched the PF Jones site ( thanks for the link) and found the correct towbar,
Again, Thanks, Justin.

 

[ChrisPDuck]

But the w212 will fit the w207 (just in case anyone else is looking for one.)

That was a surprise, given that they're based on different chassis. In fact, comparing a few brands of towbars on the PF Jones website (Westfalia, Oris, Tow-Trust), they all seem to have different part numbers for C207 and W212. Did you manage to find one that was common to both chassis?

 

[Justintyme]

That was a surprise, given that they're based on different chassis. In fact, comparing a few brands of towbars on the PF Jones website (Westfalia, Oris, Tow-Trust), they all seem to have different part numbers for C207 and W212. Did you manage to find one that was common to both chassis?

No, I didn't, and neither can I find the article where it said that they were compatible. I'll keep looking anyway because I definitely saw it.