Is this the first attempt at towing with this cayenne?
If so, why not go back up to an old school incandescent trailer on a lot in town (perhaps asking first) and see if you can properly illuminate it

 

Figured it out. More details later

 

Please post details. I used the adaptor in post #36 above and it worked like a charm. I also never left home without an extra one squirreled away just in case Murphy rear's his ugly head.

 

In for the dets!

 

While I agree the clip on extensions are helpful, they are NOT REQUIRED under Virginia Code. Sticking to the facts, here's the law which is on the books:

 

Not a GTS, but just towed last week, a trailer with LED Lights, no issues. Ours is a 2009 S model Cayenne. I do not use any LED bypass adapters.

 

The fact is that you are not interpreting the Code correctly. Read it again for practical application.

Remember the OP is towing an RV which blocks the center mirror. Both side mirrors need to provide a rearward view of of at least 200 feet. Thus on a Cayenne you must have side mirror extensions to clear the view around a RV.

This is not only my interpretation, but also that of Campbell County PD. (warning no ticket... 0400 rolling up Rt 29 pulling a dodgy 1948 Spartan trailer with no tags. Scetch as hell, but the PD were nice about it. TV was a GMC 3500 but w/o mirror extensions.)

IMO you would be 50 shades of stupid not to put mirror extensions on a Cayenne towing an RV no matter what your particular State Code says.

 

The fact you got a "warning" vs. a Virginia Uniform Summons (ticket), kinda shows the opposite of "required" by law. I am not suggesting there wouldn't be benefits to tow mirrors or extensions, but the side mirrors can and do provide a line-of-sight 200' or more on the Cayenne. Again, I'd probably run the extensions, but not required by state code, as I have read again.

 

I do not think you understand what a Warning is... Yes, it is against the law the cops were just nice about it after chatting for about 15 minutes. Your analogy implies that a Warning for speeding instead of a ticket means that it wasn't illegal = logic disconnect.

Campbell County VA PD real world application > XS29L9B online opinion.

Back on track... Where is JD_GTS with those details for LED? Left his own 20 questions high and dry...

 

...waiting

 

I recall two written warnings which were not for speeding. Keep in mind, both warnings were unfounded, but I took them and drove away without argument or further discussion. Here's the examples of "warnings":

From a one-way street to a 4 lane with double-yellow separation. I made my left turn and took the inside lane, one closest to the double yellows. Marked cruiser at intersection makes u-turn from the "curb lane", cutting off the car beside, pulling me over. Said, "you almost hit the car (to my left) as I made my turn. You should have taken the outer lane as I made the turn". I said, not how I was taught, and not how my state views this. He wrote me a warning and we parted ways.

Next example, I made a right turn at a light from an off ramp -only way one could go... Got to next intersection and was marked, no u turn. I made a right after waiting for green light, went down the block, saw it was a dead end, made a u turn in a parking lot, then came back to the light and waited. Once green, made a left and traveled back towards the original area near end of ramp. Got pulled over... Written warning for "evading a traffic control device". I suggested that I waited for two lights, and evaded none. Here's the Code of VA which he cited, and I successfully debated:
Anyways, back to your original point you tried making... Where is the 200' measured? Center of lane? Any point in lane, as visible to you behind? Not an attorney, but holes could easily be shot through this one.

Again, not suggesting it's a good idea, but extending mirrors are not an absolute. Not how I see it, no pun intended.

 

I've done all sorts of dumb stuff and been pretty lucky with the cops. You don't win them all and I count on a ticket every few years... Some more stupid than others.

As long as you get a good conversation going with the cop, usually you have a much better chance of a "warning".

I look forward to getting pulled over in the CS for sliding it through a sweeper Other than that the CS blends in as another appliance SUV for daily sleeper status. I didn't buy this mommymobile pig to drive like a minivan.

 

Cheers!

 

Sorry guys, been really busy lately. I'll update tonight on how I resolved this. Definitely useful info for the next guy and would like to get community thoughts on why/how it happened.

 

Ok so here's the update. Long story short, the LED trailer lights had nothing to do with the brake lights not working. In fact, the issue was coding related! It finally dawned on me that this was not LED lighting related when I performed some tests with a test light and experienced weird results (dim blinking when brakes applied).

I searched through VCDS and finally found "Trailer Recognition Coding" under:

Select Control Module >> 69-Trailer (Electronics 1 tab) >> Coding:



As it turns out, my software coding was set to ROW - 0016385.

I changed it to North America/Canada - 0016386 and that fixed the problem!



Hope this helps!