GolfGTIforum.co.uk
Model specific boards => Golf mk6 => Topic started by: FroGTI on 05 October 2009, 08:19
-
I am in the process of swapping all the little interior bulbs, which I find a bit 'yellow', for LEDs. I have done most of them (footwells, glovebox, rear passengers' reading lights, etc.), but am stuck on the two most important ones, the front overhead driver/passenger lights.
I can't work out how to remove the plastic surround (the one with the sunglasses holder) to get to the lights/bulbs. The rear cluster was really easy, 2 seconds and the housing was unclipped, but there doesn't seem to be any way in at the front.
Does anyone have any ideas?
P.S. if you also know how to swap the puddle lights in the exterior mirrors, that would be great, too :smiley:
P.P.S. I tried LEDs in the rear number plate and front side lights, too. Simple to fit, but the computer didn't appreciate them, so I put the old 'yellow' bulbs back :sad:
-
Jeez man that's all a bit OTT. You can have too many led's!!!
-
Jeez man that's all a bit OTT. You can have too many led's!!!
You can't see that they're LEDs, they just provide white light instead of the stock yellow.
-
I'm pretty sure the lens just unclips - it did on my Passat and that's the same. The clips are quite tight though - if I recall you need to ease the lens outwards at the middle/front if that makes sense. If not, the whole panel can be removed by levering down the rear edge by the mic grilles.
Pics here: http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=4404125 (http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=4404125)
-
Excellent, merci beaucoup, mac7. I will give it a try thie afternoon :smiley:
-
Well, it worked like a charm. Thanks again, mac7, for the invaluable link :smiley:
Here's a before & after shot for those wondering what I'm banging on about. It's very difficult, even with a decent camera, to get an accurate picture of what the finished result looks like. The blue tint around the mirror is exaggerated, but the stock bulb appears even more yellow in person next to the LED. I used white 4-LED W5W replacement bulbs. There are lots of different models available, some with 5, 6 or even 9 LEDs, but larger bulbs will not fit physically into the holders - you have been warned :wink: 4 LEDs also seem to put out about the same light as the stock incandescent bulbs and still fade in & out like the originals. For comparison, the garage lighting in the background is 'daylight' fluorescent strip lighting, so the LEDs are slightly bluer. I would say almost xenon colour, in fact.
(http://www.golfgti6.com/ledbulb.jpg)
(http://i.ebayimg.com/11/!B,zob0w!2k~$(KGrHgoH-D8EjlLlyV52BKtJ1lDKKQ~~_12.JPG)
-
No worries, mate. The LED's look good by the way - very 21st century. Do they match the new instrument lighting like this Mk5 R?
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/darkneo2k1/DSC_0056.jpg)
-
Frog any links for where you got the LED's? Cheers.
-
Frog any links for where you got the LED's? Cheers.
I would say the overall result is very close to the picture above of the old R. As for the bulbs, I sourced them on the French eBay, but they're all over the Net. Do a search on W5W LED bulbs :smiley:
-
Cheers my man. It looks a good upgrade.
-
Cheers my man. It looks a good upgrade.
No problem. You need 8 bulbs in total:
2 for the front
3 for the rear
1 for the glovebox
2 for the footwells
-
Looks great its a must! Quite a handy bugger arent ye!
-
Quite a handy bugger arent ye!
Lol, tweaking my cars is one way of avoiding any more children coming along. We've already got 7...! :rolleyes:
-
Are there any LEDs that work in the sidelights and number plate lights?
-
Lol, tweaking my cars is one way of avoiding any more children coming along. We've already got 7...! :rolleyes:
I'm surprised you've got any money for a new car with 7. :wink:
-
Ah, but this is socialist France - you should see how much family allowance the government gives us. Gordon Brown would have a fit :wink:
-
I've been having a read about the LEDs and a lot of places suggest you need a Load Resister or you can get faults logged. Did you have to fit this as well?
-
You do with the 'important' bulbs on the outside, but the OBC doesn't seem to monitor the interior bulbs (it must assume you can see for yourself when they're blown). This particular mod is just plug & play.
-
I am wondering is these LEDs are 'dimmable' ?
Im not sure about the Mk6, but on the Mk4 the cabin light dims out when starting the car or locking.
Do the LEDs simply switch off instead ?
-
No, they dim on and off like the stock lights (somewhat surprisingly).
-
You do with the 'important' bulbs on the outside, but the OBC doesn't seem to monitor the interior bulbs (it must assume you can see for yourself when they're blown). This particular mod is just plug & play.
When you say important bulbs, do you mean sidelights and number plate lights?
What is the load resistor that was mentioned?
I plan to change all the interior and exterior bulbs when I get my car.
-
Yes, I meant important as in the ones you're legally required to have (sidelights & rear plate).
-
This will sound stupid but I have to ask.
Are you guys changing sidelight bulbs in the standard lights? What sidelight comes in the xenons?
-
Has anyone else changed their interior lights to LED?
I changed the rear 3 and it is so much better for the kids.
My problem is the footwells. I removed the actual box the bulbs go into but it looks like a sealed metal box the bulbs are housed in and the only way in is to break the box which obviously I don't want to do.
With the Frog appearing to have disappeared, has anyone else changed these bulbs?
-
Not got my car yet so can't comment on the footwell lights, but I was wondering where you got your LED bulbs from - there seem to be good ones and bad ones out there...?
-
Quite a handy bugger arent ye!
Lol, tweaking my cars is one way of avoiding any more children coming along. We've already got 7...! :rolleyes:
Hmmm 8 bulbs and 7 kids me thinks 1 more to go to make it even :rolleyes:
Nice mod was looking to do this as well, you have just made it easy. Cheers FLC
-
Not got my car yet so can't comment on the footwell lights, but I was wondering where you got your LED bulbs from - there seem to be good ones and bad ones out there...?
www.ebay.co.uk (http://www.ebay.co.uk) item number 270337545471
Only went with them as they were doing packs of 10.
Seem fine to me.
-
so would these do the job ?:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/501-W5W-4-Quad-Ultra-Bright-LED-Bulbs-Green-10-Pack_W0QQitemZ270337545108QQcategoryZ72233QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m263QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DSIC%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BIEW%252BFICS%252BUFI%26otn%3D11%26ps%3D63 (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/501-W5W-4-Quad-Ultra-Bright-LED-Bulbs-Green-10-Pack_W0QQitemZ270337545108QQcategoryZ72233QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m263QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DSIC%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BIEW%252BFICS%252BUFI%26otn%3D11%26ps%3D63)
-
:laugh:
-
so would these do the job ?:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/501-W5W-4-Quad-Ultra-Bright-LED-Bulbs-Green-10-Pack_W0QQitemZ270337545108QQcategoryZ72233QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m263QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DSIC%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BIEW%252BFICS%252BUFI%26otn%3D11%26ps%3D63 (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/501-W5W-4-Quad-Ultra-Bright-LED-Bulbs-Green-10-Pack_W0QQitemZ270337545108QQcategoryZ72233QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m263QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DSIC%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BIEW%252BFICS%252BUFI%26otn%3D11%26ps%3D63)
They are the ones I ordered yesterday :cool:
-
so would these do the job ?:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/501-W5W-4-Quad-Ultra-Bright-LED-Bulbs-Green-10-Pack_W0QQitemZ270337545108QQcategoryZ72233QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m263QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DSIC%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BIEW%252BFICS%252BUFI%26otn%3D11%26ps%3D63 (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/501-W5W-4-Quad-Ultra-Bright-LED-Bulbs-Green-10-Pack_W0QQitemZ270337545108QQcategoryZ72233QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m263QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DSIC%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BIEW%252BFICS%252BUFI%26otn%3D11%26ps%3D63)
They are the ones I ordered yesterday :cool:
which did you go fro, blue or white ?
-
Let me know if you manage to change the footwell ones as I couldn't get in to them :sad:
-
Let me know if you manage to change the footwell ones as I couldn't get in to them :sad:
You can open them with a little care: pry the metal casing open with a flat-bladed screwdriver and the whole unit can be disassembled. The hard one is the glove box, as it has a resistor in it. Rathre than mess about, I simply ordered another footwell unit (cost about £3), fitted the LED bulb and then popped it into the glovebox aperture :wink:
-
Cheers.
Did you put different LED's in the footwell as the normal LED's would point to the side rather than down!!
Also the front dome, I followed the other thread but I'm unsure what bit to lever of as the other thread is for a MK V and different.
And welcome back :laugh:
-
so would these do the job ?:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/501-W5W-4-Quad-Ultra-Bright-LED-Bulbs-Green-10-Pack_W0QQitemZ270337545108QQcategoryZ72233QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m263QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DSIC%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BIEW%252BFICS%252BUFI%26otn%3D11%26ps%3D63 (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/501-W5W-4-Quad-Ultra-Bright-LED-Bulbs-Green-10-Pack_W0QQitemZ270337545108QQcategoryZ72233QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m263QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DSIC%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BIEW%252BFICS%252BUFI%26otn%3D11%26ps%3D63)
White buddy.
They are the ones I ordered yesterday :cool:
which did you go fro, blue or white ?
White buddy.
-
Cheers.
Did you put different LED's in the footwell as the normal LED's would point to the side rather than down!!
Also the front dome, I followed the other thread but I'm unsure what bit to lever of as the other thread is for a MK V and different.
And welcome back :laugh:
Thanks :smiley:
If I remember correctly, there's some kind of reflector in the housing to ensure that the light is focused downwards into the footwell. So yes, I used the same LED bulbs as in all the other locations.
As for the front dome, I followed the other thread and it worked a treat. I seem to remember using the second suggestion for accessing the bulbs.
-
Cheers froggy, i've done them all except the footwells, what did you pop out exactly?
-
Cheers froggy, i've done them all except the footwells, what did you pop out exactly?
Cheers Mr Frog :cool:
Gossa did you manage the front lights ok? I'm not sure exactly what bit is hinged and don't won't to force it.
The footwells looked a nightmare to remove. I took the wee box into the house and tried to ply it open but it wasn't for coming!!
-
Cheers froggy, i've done them all except the footwells, what did you pop out exactly?
Cheers Mr Frog :cool:
Gossa did you manage the front lights ok? I'm not sure exactly what bit is hinged and don't won't to force it.
The footwells looked a nightmare to remove. I took the wee box into the house and tried to ply it open but it wasn't for coming!!
The fronts were easy, I have a small leatherman and used the knife to just prise bits out. The centre bit in front of the plastic surround of the actual front lights pops out easily and then you can prise out the cover for the fronts.
So how did you get the footwell box out? It was dark tonight when I did all this!
-
You can lever it from the side no problem and the whole thing comes out.
Then just unplug it. It looks like this http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=4337725 (http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=4337725)
Despite trying, I couldn't remove the metal box even although I had wedged it open at both sides!!
-
The box is made of pretty flimsy metal. I just bent it open with my fingertips once I'd levered the plastic bit out a bit with a screwdriver. Complete assemblies are only a couple of quid from the dealer, so even if you break it, it's not the end of the world.
-
Hey Mr Frog
Are you not our administrator any more?
-
Cheers.
Did you put different LED's in the footwell as the normal LED's would point to the side rather than down!!
Also the front dome, I followed the other thread but I'm unsure what bit to lever of as the other thread is for a MK V and different.
And welcome back :laugh:
I've changed front and back inside that car too wet for the foot wells need to be outside. To change the front LED's I used a thin screw driver to prise out as below, just see it on the left.
(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2527/4117631850_276148b766_m.jpg)
1 in 1 out
(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2748/4116863523_fcc8c80983_m.jpg)
All back to normal
(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2709/4117629336_2653b1c5d7_m.jpg)
-
Good job, well done :cool:
-
Tis a nice crisp light. As soon as the rain go's the other will be done. I so want them in the puddle lights that would be really cool (sound like a 18 year old) THERE has to be a better way than removing the glass
-
I had the electrician from my local VW dealer round at my house a couple of weeks ago to hardwire my TomTom and I quizzed him about the puddle lights. He said that the mirror has been designed to be prised out (apparently it's held in place by some sort of clip), but they shatter about 1/3 of the time. That's too big a risk for me, I'm afraid.
... no, I'm not a Mod any longer :grin:
-
I've changed front and back inside that car too wet for the foot wells need to be outside. To change the front LED's I used a thin screw driver to prise out as below, just see it on the left.........................
Thanks for the pictures.
I was still unsure about prizing a screwdriver between the plastic panels in case it dented / marked them. In the end I slid a credit card between the 2 plastic panels and they popped out with no problem and more importantly no gouges / marks :grin:
-
I've changed front and back inside that car too wet for the foot wells need to be outside. To change the front LED's I used a thin screw driver to prise out as below, just see it on the left.........................
Thanks for the pictures.
I was still unsure about prizing a screwdriver between the plastic panels in case it dented / marked them. In the end I slid a credit card between the 2 plastic panels and they popped out with no problem and more importantly no gouges / marks :grin:
Glad I could assist they are nice and crisp, bloody VW making the puddle lights hard to get too