I have a 2013 Cayenne diesel with the factory trailer hitch option. I added the Pollak 7-pin adapter and wanted to install a brake controller so I purchased a Prodigy P3. I also built my own harness as per some other threads here and on Rentech.org. Tested the P3 and I have power to it, but have not done anything further at this point as I may return it because ...

... I read about the Prodigy RF and decided I'd go that route since I would not need to drill into my lower dash area. Plus the portability sounded like a good thing.

But I can't seem to get the RF to work. Since my trailer is not currently with me, I also purchased a Tekonsha 7-way Trailer Emulator. When I hook up the RF as per instructions, I cannot get the hand-held module to pair with the trailer module. For those that know the RF, I never get the 0.0 symbol so the two units never pair.

I am wondering if I have a bad unit, don't know. Alternatively is there some "trick" I need to do with the Cayenne to make it pair properly? I may try to find another vehicle with a 7-way connection and see if the RF will pair with that vehicle, but I'd like to exhaust other options first.

Thanks for any help and suggestions.

PS - I have a Durametric Pro and I tested the Cayenne's factory trailer module (Porsche part) and it appears to be ok, at least as the Durametric is concerned.

 

Reading this, I decided to try to hook mine up right now, even though its rainy. I just tried to pair, and nothing happened, so I called Tekonsha.

They said that a, need to have constant power coming out of the battery charging circuit (pin 4 on the 7 way harness). On the vehicle side, its marked as the +. and b, we have a pulsing light signal, so as long as there is power on the #4 pin, you can plug the handheld into any other car next to your Cayenne, and pair it using that car instead. Its just pairing the two units, so as long as they both have power, even from different cars, no big deal.


However, I have no power to my number 4 battery charge pin on the cayenne.

 

powdercoatmike -
thanks for the feedback; at least it sounds like my RF is not defective. I too have no current from my + terminal at the 7-way plug. But when I installed the P3 harness (under the front dash) and temporarily plugged the P3 into it, the P3 powered right up. So there must be power in the vehicle wiring. I'm not sure why it does not extend to the 7-way plug ... confusing to me!

I'll call Tekonsha too and see if I can learn something to help.

In the mean time, if there are others with ideas or a successful RF pairing with the Cayenne, I'd be grateful for your thoughts and/or solutions.

 

Wish I could be more specific, but memory of my successful pairing has faded with time. Unfortunately one can't simply un-pair/re-pair for refresher training; once paired, it's permanent. That said, I successfully paired mine with the emulator, but only needed it for the 1st half of the procedure. I seem to recall that a foot on the brake pedal was needed at one point. Attempting to pair w/o the emulator, the pairing process would stall, perhaps before obtaining the 0.0. That part I don't remember. Repeating the process WITH the emulator overcame that obstacle. What I DO recal is that - once passing that stall point - I removed the emulator and finished the pairing with the Prodigy controller and trailer plugged in. I'm thinking the car 12v needed to see trailer ground to complete the sequence

Following that assumption, I need to return to a few basics. First, the trailer wiring needs to be in 100% good working condition before you even start the pairing process. Then the trailer connector plug wiring needs to be compatible with the RF controller receptacle. In my case it's a 7-blade RV connector. Then the receptacle on the car needs to be equally compatible. I say this because all trailer plugs/connectors are not wired equally, and cannot be assumed compatible. Pin 4 on a 7-blade connector is not necessarily the same as Pin 4 on a 7-pin connector. All seven wires need to be 1:1 all the way from the trailer wiring to the car receptacle for the pairing process to succeed. Even one crossed wire can stop you in your tracks.

Having said all that, I'm disappointed that Tekonsha hasn't published vehicle-specific pairing instructions. I say this because my emulator-assisted pairing solution occurred nearly two years ago, so this issue with VAG/Porsche is not new to them.

//greg//

 

from reading several VW forums, it seems as if the #7 pin doesn't have power unless everything is hooked up. I'm going to take my trailer to the local trailer shop and have them get it all set up on one of their vehicles today, then pick it back up on tuesday when I return from my trip and see if it works on the cayenne once they get it all paired up.

 

I'm interested to find out what happens. Unfortunately my trailer is getting some work done to it so I won't have access for a couple weeks.

I also spoke to my dealer and they said it should work as well, but that there could be a coding error in the trailer module. I'm going to bring it in next week and have them check out everything again.

 

they called me when I was on the way to the airport and said they had it all installed and working with their shop truck. I will pick it up monday evening or tuesday morning.

The other day, when I plugged the original trailer wiring into the Cayenne, all the lights were working, but when I drove it to the trailer shop, I had check lights messages out the wazoo, I did take out the trailer adapter a couple times at the wiring harness on the truck, so I need to see if its fully seated before I pick it up.

 

Again - assuming your Prodigy RF uses the 7-blade connectors - your trailer wiring has to be wired that way as well. If its not 1:1 wiring all the way from the trailer lights/brakes through the Pollak receptacle, you'll get towing errors in the MFD. Remember also that your LCA won't work either, which will also show up on the MFD.

//greg//

 

picked it up today. I think when I was putting the porsche adapter into the receptacle under the bumper, it might have been a little loose. I reseated it before I left, and they had the controller and handheld paired, and everything works perfectly now. The trailer turn signal indicator in the speedometer cluster is a neat touch too.


So basically, it seems like you should pair it using another vehicle, then it will work just fine in the Cayenne.

 

Good news and thanks for the info. I've got some time set aside with the Porsche tech tomorrow to test the trailer module, but it seems the pairing with another vehicle is the way to go ... why the German system only sends a pulse and not a contstant current/voltage for a North American vehicle seems odd to me but I guess not to PAG.

To wrap this up, once you had the RF paired, all you did was plug it (RF) into your Cayenne trailer plug, and plug the trailer feed into the RF's socket. No additional wiring, fuses, relays, etc was needed, and the Cayenne trailer module sensed the attached trailer and the + circuit on pin 7 was live and worked properly. Correct? Lastly were you also able to adjust the brake voltage from the hand-held remote for optimal braking as per the RF setup instructions?

Thanks for your trouble shooting too.

 

Note also for future reference, that the remote unit and controller box are now permanently paired. You can tow the same trailer with different vehicles simply by moving the remote to the towing vehicle. You can also use the same car to tow different trailers, simply by moving the controller box to the towed trailer. Similarly, you can move everything to any vehicle/trailer combo indefinitely.

In the spirit of full disclosure, that successful emulator-assisted pairing I did two years ago was on a 2011 Touareg. Same controller box is on same trailer, so all I had to do was move the remote to the Cayenne.

//greg//

 

Yes, that is all correct, and voltage is adjustable with the thumb wheel on the handheld. I haven't adjusted it for my car on the trailer, but did play with it with the empty trailer.

 

I wanted to wrap this thread up having just finished a nice weekend with my 20' enclosed featherlite )2 axle w. electric brakes. So I finally did get the Prodigy RF paired, just as Powercoatmike had done, I had my trailer guy pair with his Dodge truck, took 2 min (by the way, he told me he has had a lot of problems pairing with Mercedes G class too -- I told him it seemed to be a German towing / electrical thing). Once paired, the RF worked flawlessly with my CD and towing the 20' was no issue at all (911 onboard - to and from the track).

So anyone wanting to use a Prodigy RF with a Cayenne, you may need to pair it separately, but once done, it works fine with the Cayenne.

FWIW - I also have a Tekonsha P3 harness and have connected it under the dash; I'll probably test it for comparison purposes only against the RF --- ease of braking, sensitivity, etc. But I'm pretty sold on the RF for my needs and portability.

 

glad to hear it, mine works great too!

 

Just checking in to see if you guys are all still happy with the Prodigy RF controller. Just picked up a 2014 CD and need to get a controller installed. I've installed a Prodigy P2 & P3 in my Touaregs before, so I assume this would be the same hassle. From what I understand, the RF certainly looks pretty simple. Am I nuts for being slightly hesitant to use a wireless solution for something that seems so important to me? Just wondering if anyone's experienced any hiccups with theirs. Thanks.