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How to retro-fit the fire extinguisher to a Mk7 Golf

golfdave

Autocross Champion
Location
Scotland (U.K.)
Car(s)
Mk7 Golf GT Estate
Disclaimer:- This info is for community usage. I am NOT affiliated to, or sponsored by, any company/individual to promote them or their products. Companies/individuals may NOT use my name, photos, or threads/technical guides, for financial or personal gain (fraudulent misrepresentation).

Part 1 of 3
Vehicle used in this guide
UK spec, 2014yr model, Mk7 Golf Estate (GSW), GT (Highline) trim, 1.4lt TSI (140PS) CHPA petrol engine, MQ250 6speed manual gearbox, multi-link rear suspension.

Vehicles that this guide is applicable to
Any VAG (Audi/Seat/Skoda/VW) cars with the MQB platform.

Introduction
Having been in a car accident & with the car on its roof, I can confirm that having a fire extinguisher to hand whilst in your seat is the best option, as you might not be able to get out to retrieve it from the boot/trunk!

Research
So where to install it? Not many options as you will either kick it moving in & out, or it takes up room where your feet need to be, or it gets in the way of the seat adjustment. Then there are not enough strong plastic panels to take the weight etc., etc.. Thankfully VW offer this as a factory fit option in certain countries. factory “PR” codes 6A1 to 6A9.
6A0 = Without fire extinguisher
6A1 = Fire extinguisher under driver's seat
6A2 = Preparation for fire extinguisher, front passenger seat
6A3 = Fire extinguisher, drivers seat
6A4 = Fire extinguisher preparation
6A5 = Fire extinguisher under right front seat
6A6 = Fire extinguisher, front passenger seat
6A7 = Fire extinguisher
6A8 = Fire extinguisher
6A9 = Fire extinguisher

There are different versions of the bracket & holder which have the following PR codes:-
Item No.6, 5G0-860-290 is 2,4,7
Item No.6, 5G0-860-2900-A is 2,4,5,7
Item No.8 1K0 882-607-A is 4,7
Item No.8 1K0 882-607-E is 5


Unfortunately, VW want too much £££ for their fire extinguisher. However, it is just an “off the shelf” model & is made by Gloria GmbH, & is also available under the “Kidde” brand. These are the “Easy action”, 1kg powder versions which fit the VW holder. Usually they can be had for about £50 on eBay, Amazon, & are usually listed for BMW’s!

These extinguishers use powder, which has good "knock-down" properties on a wide range of materials/fires. Unfortunately if you are trapped in an enclosed scape with the fire, e.g. the cabin, power is not good as you can suffocate! If this concerns you, do not get the VW extinguisher & VW holder, but get a much better “foam” or “halon” type of extinguisher & fit its holder to the VW seat bracket! Halon was banned under the Montreal agreement 1994, but more “eco-friendly” versions are allowed & are currently used in motorsport, defence, aviation, etc., as they have the best “knock-down” & clean-up properties!

I decided to fit the biggest & best, so got myself a Lifeline Zero 360 (halon type) handheld 1kg (341mm x 90mm O/A). This is the exact same size bottle (260mm x 90mm) as used for their 1lt foam, except the head is about 1cm taller on the halon type. Also, the 1kg (1lt) of ZERO 360 has the same amount of fire “knock down” as a 1.75lt foam! Costs are, “Zero 360” circa £275, “Foam” circa £80.

https://www.lifeline-fire.co.uk/hand-held

Parts required
VAG ETKA illustration for VW Golf Mk7/Body/Fire Extinguisher/No.860-860

Parts list & approx. costs in UK £
Item No.6:- 5G0 860 290A,
Seat bracket £18.19

To FIT as per VW
Item No.7:- 908 123 02,
Pop rivet (6mm x 10mm) £0.63 (x3)
Item No.8:- 1 06 321 02, Bolt (M6 x25 T-Star) £0.47 (x2)
Item No.10:- 3D0 860 277, Fire Extinguisher £229.52


Other parts which may be required:-
M8x20mm dome (button) head bolts (x3), M8 washers (x6), M8 half height nuts (x3), M6x25mm dome (button) head bolts (x2) (all to be stainless steel), black cable ties, black spray paint, metal primer spray paint, black adhesive lined heat shrink tubing, blue threadlock liquid (medium strength).

fire-Ext-ETKA.jpg
 
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golfdave

Autocross Champion
Location
Scotland (U.K.)
Car(s)
Mk7 Golf GT Estate
Part 2 of 3
Fitting


Removing the seat & storage drawer:-

Because I have drawers under both from seats & the VW bracket is made for the passenger seat in Europe/NAR (driver’s side in UK), I had to first remove the storage drawer. I removed the four seat rail bolts (12 point spline, 10mm size) from the driver’s seat rails (slide seat to front & undo rears, slide seat to back & undo fronts) & then tipped the seat backwards (pack under the rear of the rails to protect carpet. There is then the main seat electrics cable loom to slacken, I just cut the cable tie & prised up the black plastic pop rivet in the carpet to make more room for cable movement.

There are about two T-Star screws (T25 size) which secure the drawer, some are accessed with the drawer open & resulting in access holes aligning. I also had to undo a couple of extra screws for the external facing plastic trim piece to allow better removal. I also had to move the metal support bar for the plastic trim to help remove the plastic drawer support clips. Again one screw is only accessible when access holes in the metal height adjust frame are moved into position. All fixings are only visible from under the seat.

Fitting the VW seat bracket:-
With the drawer removed (if you have one fitted) then there are two sets of three holes which could be used to fit the bracket. Unfortunately, one set all align, but are 8mm diameter (rivet requires 6mm diameter), & the other set are 6mm diameter (correct), but the rear single hole does not align with the bracket!

I looked at various mounting positions under the seat. I even looked at directly mounting the wire cage holder to the seat, but that means the extinguisher is “under” the seat & getting it out with the seat in certain positions is very difficult! I finally decided to use the first set of holes as the bracket is in a better position for the extinguisher, basically best of a bad lot! As the front two holes are used by the drawer & have existing threaded insert clips fitted, you could reuse the bolts from the drawer, & only have to “sort” the rear fixing on the bracket.

I however, decided to remove the existing threaded clips (push sideways into the square hole at side), I then enlarged the holes on the bracket from 6mm to 8mm. I got some M8x20mm dome head stainless bolts as these have the lowest/smoothest head, some half height nuts (no blue nyloc inserts), washers, dome cover nuts, etc. Using great dexterity I pushed the bolts up through other holes & along & down between the foam padding & the seat frame. I then used a bit of blue thread loc on the bolt & did up one of the half height nuts one each. This creates a fixed solid stud which protrudes from the seat. I used pliers on the end of the thread of the bolt to gently stop the bolt rotating whilst tightening the nut with a small spanner. I left it overnight for the thread loc to go “off”.

Now just using washers each side of the bracket & the dome nuts I tightened up the bracket to the “studs”. The washers & half height nuts also moved the bracket down (6mm) from the seat which creates a small space between the fire extinguisher & the front of the seat. This stops the front seat cushion from pressing onto the fire extinguisher from your leg weight! Don't move the bracket down too much though as it will cause the fire extinguisher to interfere with the floor!

At this point I refitted the seat, so the seat rail bolts require a torque setting of 40Nm when refitting. Don’t forget to fit a new cable tie to the seat electrics loom, re-fit any screws/bolts moved for the plastic side trims/metal bars, & re-fit the black plastic pop rivet to the carpet!
 

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golfdave

Autocross Champion
Location
Scotland (U.K.)
Car(s)
Mk7 Golf GT Estate
Part 3 of 3
Fitting the wire cage holder


Now to fit the holder which came with the Lifeline extinguisher. These are just “generic” wire rod cages. The saddle straps on the back bars are movable, only if you prise the joins apart on the back face. Then slide them up or down until you are happy with the position, then re-clamp tight.

The final position has to make the extinguisher NOT interfere with the seat lever, or trip you up, or contact the floor then the seat is lowered! The seat lever has side to side play so allow for this! So I decided the best position was with the base of the extinguisher facing the seat lever, but not overlapping it or it’s handle, then have the head of the extinguisher in the space behind the seat cosmetic side trim.

Once final adjustments are made to the wire cage, I then re-sanded the whole cage down & primed & re-sprayed using black “Plasti-Kote” spray paint. I also removed the red plastic covers on the wire cage holder which are for the neck of the bottle to sit in. Instead I fitted black adhesive lined heat shrink tubing as it is more “discrete” & does not move around! I then bolted the holder (using the large washered rivet-nut holes on the seat bracket) using M6x25mm stainless dome head bolts & blue thread loc. I then had to cut (neatly) with a sharp knife, part of the seat trim to allow the head to fit properly. Final finish on the trimmed plastic edges was done with wet&dry 1000 grade sandpaper.

Results

Is an extinguisher which can be easily removed with the seat in any position, without interfering with the seat controls etc, & can be got at whilst the seat is occupied! My extinguisher also came with an additional safety strap which fits through one of the wire cage bolts. I would advise you to get one if yours does not come with it!

Conclusions

Enjoy NEVER having to use it................hopefully!!!

Fire-extinguisher-fitted.jpg
 
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carl s

Ready to race!
Location
United Kingdom
Good write up, lets hope you never have to use it
 

flygteye

Ready to race!
Location
Wisconsin
Thanks for posting this. I've had extinguishers in all my cars since I was in high school, but of course that was "after" I had the fire......doh!!!
 

LeGti

Ready to race!
Location
France
Thanks for that very helpful writeup!!
 

golfdave

Autocross Champion
Location
Scotland (U.K.)
Car(s)
Mk7 Golf GT Estate
What was the cost of this? Was it expensive?

All prices in UK pounds "£" are listed next to the items in the guide which is at the start of this thread, please re-read the guide again. :cool:
 

spielwurfel

Ready to race!
Location
São Paulo, Brazil
Car(s)
Golf MK7 2014
Nice DIY! Glad that you didn't do as in Brazil's Golf where it's mandatory to have a fire extinguisher from factory. VW was capable of putting an extinguisher with the only kind of trigger model I´ve ever seen that blocks partially the movement of the lever that adjusts the seat position. Because of that you have to pull the lever like hell, and still you get a jammed and partially stuck movement that makes the seat feels like crap. You see on the photo what I mean? Inverting the position of the extinguisher is not possible due to the shape of the extinguisher cradle. Rotating the extinguisher in one direction makes it only worse, and to the other isn´t possible as well. Damn VW, how can you make such a great car with such a design failure!? xD




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golfdave

Autocross Champion
Location
Scotland (U.K.)
Car(s)
Mk7 Golf GT Estate
Nice DIY! Glad that you didn't do as in Brazil's Golf where it's mandatory to have a fire extinguisher from factory. VW was capable of putting an extinguisher with the only kind of trigger model I´ve ever seen that blocks partially the movement of the lever that adjusts the seat position. Because of that you have to pull the lever like hell, and still you get a jammed and partially stuck movement that makes the seat feels like crap. You see on the photo what I mean? Inverting the position of the extinguisher is not possible due to the shape of the extinguisher cradle. Rotating the extinguisher in one direction makes it only worse, and to the other isn´t possible as well. Damn VW, how can you make such a great car with such a design failure!? xD

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think you find that the fire extinguisher in your photo is not the VW original designed one like these.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Fire-Safety/Kidde-KSF1GM-1-0kg-Action-Extinguisher/B000WTKT0U

The ETKA picture shows the correct type & shape (I have seen these), which is shorter than mine & yours & fits into the cradle properly. Yours does not fit in the cradle properly & has a gap between the cradle & the extinguisher....
 

spielwurfel

Ready to race!
Location
São Paulo, Brazil
Car(s)
Golf MK7 2014
Holy shit! That fire extinguisher you showed fits perfectly on the cradle I have!
Well, I can say mine is not the original design, but came with my mexican Golf. Terrible adaptarion from VW Brazil or Mexico or whatever... [emoji19][emoji19][emoji19]


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golfdave

Autocross Champion
Location
Scotland (U.K.)
Car(s)
Mk7 Golf GT Estate
Holy shit! That fire extinguisher you showed fits perfectly on the cradle I have!
Well, I can say mine is not the original design, but came with my mexican Golf. Terrible adaptarion from VW Brazil or Mexico or whatever... [emoji19][emoji19][emoji19]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Go back up this thread to my first picture which is the ETKA drawing, that is the VW factory fit items.

You can see that the fire extinguisher I just linked to looks exactly like the item No 10 in the ETKA drawing, that is because it is the non-VW branded version from the original manufacturer.

Looking at your photo you should have all the items fitted (except Item No.10). So either buy the correct fitment extinguisher, or unbolt the holder (item No8) & then buy a standard short extinguisher & bolt the wire cage which comes with it to the seat bracket (item No.6), which is what I did...
 

golfdave

Autocross Champion
Location
Scotland (U.K.)
Car(s)
Mk7 Golf GT Estate
Nice write up!

Wonder if it could it be fitted on the passenger side instead.

I sort of like the drawer under the driver seat. :)

My UK drivers seat is your USA & Europe passenger seat..........we drive on the other side!
 
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