Transforming the interior of your Volkswagen Golf 7 with ambient lighting is a fantastic way to add a touch of personalization and sophistication. While not for the faint of heart, this DIY upgrade can significantly enhance your driving experience. This guide, inspired by the original forum post, provides a detailed walkthrough for installing aftermarket ambient lighting in your Golf 7. Please note: This modification requires a Dremel with grinding/sanding attachments and a drill, ideally with a 10mm spade bit.
Front Door Ambient Lighting Installation
Let’s begin with the front doors, where the installation process involves both electrical wiring and door card modifications.
Wiring the Front Doors
First, you’ll need to access the door control module. Start by removing the door card, referring to your Golf 7 repair manual for specific instructions on door trim removal. Disconnect the 20-pin connector (B) from the door control module. The ambient lighting kit typically comes with a wiring loom designed for a piggyback connection. Separate the connector block for the small control wires from the main connector body and combine it with the identical connector block from the ambient wiring loom. Connect the original connector block to the female connector of the ambient loom as a piggyback. This method cleverly taps into the power supply for the ambient control module without cutting any original wires. Reconnect the final plug back into the door controller. At this stage, you can connect light emitters to the loom to test if power is being received correctly.
Modifying the Front Door Card
Now comes the more intricate part: modifying the door card to accommodate the new ambient lighting. This requires careful grinding and patience.
Locate the plastic welds on the door card trim, usually circled in red in installation guides or videos. These welds secure the trim to the door card. Using your Dremel with a grinding attachment, carefully grind down these plastic welds. Once all welds are sufficiently ground, you should be able to gently pry the trim away from the door card. Pushing from the back at each weld point can assist in separation. If the trim is still resisting, grind down the welds further.
After separating the trim from the door card, detach the door handle section of the trim by releasing small clips. You should now have the trim fully separated.
If your Golf 7, like the Golf R in the original example, has existing door cards with solid light emitters, you may need to remove the old emitter PCB. This involves grinding more welds, similar to the initial trim separation. Grind away the welds circled in red on the emitter backing and gently pry to separate the sections, exposing the emitter PCB.
Remove the original emitter PCB. The hole left behind might not be large enough for the new ambient light emitter. Use your Dremel to grind away material until the new emitter fits snugly in the opening.
Test the new light emitter at this point to ensure the light travels along the intended path without obstruction.
Reassemble the trim pieces and use hot glue to secure them where the plastic welds were originally. You might need to grind down remnants of the old welds to ensure a flush fit.
Installing Door Handle and Pocket Lights
With the trim light functional, focus on the area behind the door handle and the door pocket light. For the door handle light, if your Golf 7 already has some form of illumination, modifications might be needed to fit the new emitter.
Using a 10mm spade bit, drill a hole at an angle through the top door card bolt channel. This is to route wiring for the new lights. Drill at an angle from the rear of the card.
Using the drill bit provided in your ambient lighting kit, create a hole at the appropriate location for the nub on the new emitter to poke through. Affix the emitter in place.
Finally, using the hole saw from the kit, drill a hole for the door pocket light in your desired location.
Attach the ambient controller to the door or door card in a convenient location and connect all wiring. Reattach the door card and test all emitters to ensure they are working correctly.
Rear Door Ambient Lighting Installation
Moving to the rear doors, the process is slightly different due to the absence of door controllers.
Wiring the Rear Doors
Remove the rear door cards, again consulting your Golf 7 repair manual for trim removal instructions. Since there are no door controllers in the rear doors, the piggyback wiring method used in the front won’t work. Instead, you’ll need to splice into the window regulator motor wiring. Cut a connector off the ambient loom and use T-splice connectors to tap into the power supply of the window regulator motor, following a high-level wiring diagram specific to your ambient lighting kit and Golf 7 model. Test your connections by briefly connecting an ambient controller to the loom.
Modifying and Assembling Rear Door Cards
Similar to the front door cards, locate and grind down the plastic welds on the rear door card trim to separate it from the door card.
Once the trim is removed, further grinding might be needed to remove the existing light guide, if present, to make way for the new ambient lighting strip. Grind the circled welds as indicated in your kit’s instructions.
Fit the new ambient light strip (often referred to as a ‘chopstick’ due to its shape) in place of the old light guide and secure it with glue.
Drill a small hole using the provided drill bit to pass the rubber fiber optic style emitter to the rear of the door card for handle illumination.
Attach an emitter to the fiber optic tube and glue it to the card. Install the door handle emitter and door pocket emitter in the rear doors in the same manner as you did for the front doors.
Refit the door cards and test the operation of all ambient lights.
Conclusion
Installing ambient lighting in your Golf 7 is a rewarding but challenging DIY project. It requires patience, precision, and the right tools. While this guide provides a comprehensive overview, always refer to the specific instructions included with your ambient lighting kit and consider consulting online forums and communities for additional tips and support. The result is a significantly enhanced interior ambiance, making your Golf 7 stand out with a touch of personalized style. Enjoy the glow of your newly installed ambient lighting!
