DIY: VW Golf R City Lights
Disclaimer: I, nor anybody else is/are responsible for anything that happens, to you, your car, anybody around you or whatever else. There is NO warranty nor any guarantee on this. You proceed at YOUR OWN risk. This worked for me, my car still drives and I’m still alive.
PLEASE take the time to read through the wall of text as it can possibly help understand what needs to be done, and give you a general idea of what to do before you begin, although it’s not complicated, it might answer some questions and prevent some headaches.
Info for understanding:
The Golf R did not come with the wiring to on the car-side headlight harness that is needed to control the city lights, like the GTI did, therefore no matter what change you do in VCDS, it simply won’t work because the wire to light them up is not there. BUT, since the headlight housing is shared among other VW models, the bulb, and everything else on the headlight side, is there. So as you might have guessed, you have to add a wire to the CAR-side headlight harness to communicate with the correct pin in headlight. The pin on the harness that controls the city lights is #10.
To power on the city lights, you have the option to get power from the side-markers OR from the daytime running lights (DRL)
This DIY is based on using the side-markers as the power source.
To tap into DRL’s, you’ll need to tap into the constant power wire out of the three it has. Review the following thread and it will make more sense: http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?6087642-DIY-LED-DRL-Full-Brightness-with-Headlights-on
What will the end result be?
Considering NO VCDS coding changes were done:
If you get power from the side-markers: The city lights would be on in any situation the side markers are.
With original US Spec headlight switch in headlight position Headlights On, Dimmed DRL On, City Lights On, Side Markers On, Tail-Lights On
With the euro switch in parking position: Dimmed DRL On, City Lights On, Side Markers On, Tail-Lights On.
If you get power from the daytime running lights (DRL) The city lights will essentially be on whenever the DRL are on which is most of, if not all the time while driving.
It has been reported by multiple people that removing the side marker bulbs will NOT throw a code. If you prefer, remove them and let us know. Yes, if you wire your city lights there, they’ll still work with the side-marker bulbs removed.
What’s needed?
[]VW Repair Wires Part #000 979 133 E (they come in a pair and that’s all you need) from local dealer or elsewhere.
**Note: Some have mentioned this now comes as a single wire. Make sure, if so, you’ll need two **
[]Scissors/knife
[]A pick tool(s)
[]T-25 bit [fender liner screws]
[]Cloth tape [if you want to wrap the yellow wire to make it look oem]
[]I would recommend picking up LED bulbs. deAutoKey sells nice OSRAM ones that match the DRL’s very well.
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n245/Coderedpl/GolfR/CityLights/th_IMG_3884.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n245/Coderedpl/GolfR/CityLights/th_IMG_3888.jpg
What needs to be done:
Step 1:
The basics: Make sure ignition is off, lights off, cool engine, and if you want to get crazy, disconnect the battery.
Step 2:
Starting with the wires you got, cut one end of the repair wire, on both wires.
Starting with drivers side:
Step 3:
Disconnect the harness from the headlight then take your pick and remove the green cap on pin #10
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n245/Coderedpl/GolfR/CityLights/th_IMG_3899.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n245/Coderedpl/GolfR/CityLights/th_IMG_3885.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n245/Coderedpl/GolfR/CityLights/th_IMG_3886.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n245/Coderedpl/GolfR/CityLights/th_IMG_3887.jpg
Step 4:
Take your pick again and poke a hole through the green cap as you will want to put the wire through it.
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n245/Coderedpl/GolfR/CityLights/th_IMG_3889.jpg
Step 5:
Take your wire and slide green cap on it with the slimmer side of the cap towards the end with the prongs. This might be an annoying task, but keep doing it and it will slide eventually. The more the cap hugs the wire, the better.
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n245/Coderedpl/GolfR/CityLights/th_IMG_3890.jpg
Step 6:
Go back to your disconnected headlight harness. Look inside and you will see a pinkish sort of lock there that needs to be unlocked.
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n245/Coderedpl/GolfR/CityLights/IMG_3896.jpg
Step 7:
Take your pick, or whatever, put it on the very end of the pinkish lock, and slightly push the pinkish plastic to the side. Push it out just enough so it’s flush with the opening on the side. If you pull too much, you might not be able to get the wire in.
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n245/Coderedpl/GolfR/CityLights/IMG_3897.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n245/Coderedpl/GolfR/CityLights/IMG_3898.jpg
Step 8:
Take a look at how the prongs inside the harness are aligned.
Position the prong from your wire the same way, and put it inside the PIN #10 hole you took the green cap off from earlier. This might get tricky aswell and you might need to move the pink lock back or forward a little bit.
Once you feel like the wire bottomed out, or it sort of clicked into place, push the pinkish lock back into position and check that the prongs are at the edge like the rest. Give the wire a small tug, if it stays in place and doesn’t move it’s fine.
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n245/Coderedpl/GolfR/CityLights/IMG_3899.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n245/Coderedpl/GolfR/CityLights/IMG_3900.jpg
Step 9:
Slide down the green cap as much as you can to fill the space, just as a safety barrier. It wont go too far in, but a little bit is better than nothing at all right?
Step 10:
I would suggest removing the side markers from both sides as this will help you see the wires you will be working with so that you know where they all go. It’s easier to figure it out once you know what’s what.
Step 11:
Moving on.
You can essentially do this from inside the engine bay reaching in towards the wiring, drivers side seems easier in this part.
If you peek inside the engine bay and inside the fender-well, you will see there is sort of a clip holding the wiring for the side-markers in place, you can just pull it off as it will help you figure out where the wiring goes. If you give it a small pull and you follow it, you will see its split from the main harness which also holds the headlight connector. The wiring is wrapped around with self-adhesive cloth tape it seems, the usual.
You can tap in right at the split from the main harness, or follow the wire down a bit. Tapping into the side-markers, you should have enough wire + slack to not require any extra wiring.
You have a choice of using quick splices, soldering, or whatever you want to do. You can use something like this:
http://www.jammaboards.com/store/images/detailed/1/quick_splice_red.jpg
BROWN IS GROUND
OTHER COLOR is LIVE (I believe it was gray)
So you put that over the live wire, put the yellow repair wire in the other hole, squeeze, close, and that’s it.
Step 12:
Connect the harness back to the headlight. Reconnect battery if disconnected. Go to your car, turn the headlight switch to the on positive, or parking light position and check to see that the city lights are now lit up. (car doesn’t need to be started)
Finished wiring:
Drivers side:
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n245/Coderedpl/GolfR/CityLights/IMG_3903.jpg
Passenger side:
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n245/Coderedpl/GolfR/CityLights/IMG_3904.jpg
The passenger side is almost identical EXCEPT the side-marker wire that is split from the main harness goes UNDER the headlight, so it’s a bit tougher to get to. The repair wire should be long enough for you to get it connected. Test the length of the wire to find a place you can make it work. On passenger side BROWN is also ground and other wire is live.
Feel free to ask any questions. If this helped you, don’t forget to say thanks, goes a long way. Support is always appreciated
Most of all, enjoy!
End result pics:
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n245/Coderedpl/GolfR/CityLights/IMG_3905.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n245/Coderedpl/GolfR/CityLights/IMG_3907.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n245/Coderedpl/GolfR/CityLights/IMG_3906.jpg