Anyone added the rear seat USB charger ports from China?

[Techobrien]

I sort of suspect none of these are truly "OEM" harnesses, because they're retrofit harnesses. I imagine installed from the factory these go somewhere else and are terminated properly with a fuse or something, instead of piggy-backing off of an existing connector. That said, I think there are OEM parts / wires that are used to make these harnesses, and non-OEM depending on the vendor. All the connectors are off the shelf TE electrical parts, but some have different colors, moldings, etc for VW use. Sounds / looks like your vendor have more of the generic parts than the VW ones, and mine looks a little bit more official (minus the flex sleeve instead of the cloth tape).

 

[TheMuffinMan]

I sort of suspect none of these are truly "OEM" harnesses, because they're retrofit harnesses. I imagine installed from the factory these go somewhere else and are terminated properly with a fuse or something, instead of piggy-backing off of an existing connector. That said, I think there are OEM parts / wires that are used to make these harnesses, and non-OEM depending on the vendor. All the connectors are off the shelf TE electrical parts, but some have different colors, moldings, etc for VW use. Sounds / looks like your vendor have more of the generic parts than the VW ones, and mine looks a little bit more official (minus the flex sleeve instead of the cloth tape).

You know, I'm not sure about it, maybe though? 100% agree they're just connectors from TE, I may go and try to track down the one you have and de-pin the black one so I actually have a matching one to the USB port.

For mine I *definitely* have VW USB ports and VW trim piece - even came in a VW box with VW part numbers, it would be an incredibly convincing fake if it was. Fit/finish was what I expected. The harness is definitely the most suspect part.

 

[Techobrien]

Oh yeah, definitely. The trim and USB are absolutely VW parts, or at a minimum parts from the VW factories. I more meant just the wiring harnesses themselves, since I don't really think VW sells OEM retrofit-kits, and the original wiring harness would be much different for our vehicles.

 

[AeroHead]

Could there be some alternate way of wiring this by just running a USB adapter plugged into the 12v (lighter style) receptacle inside the armrest with a wire to the new USB ports 10” away...and avoid taking all sorts of trim apart?

 

[TheMuffinMan]

Could there be some alternate way of wiring this by just running a USB adapter plugged into the 12v (lighter style) receptacle inside the armrest with a wire to the new USB ports 10” away...and avoid taking all sorts of trim apart?

Maybe I'm misunderstanding here, I don't have any ports inside the armrest I could piggyback off of, the closest thing I've got is the 12V accessory which is what this harness uses.

And TBH taking apart the time, while time consuming being cautious, wasn't really too difficult.

 

[Techobrien]

On the MK7 models that have the manual e-brake (like mine), there is a cigarette lighter inside the arm rest, and the connector for that cig lighter is RIGHT behind the rear vent trim piece next to where these ports go, probably about 5 inches away. You could probably make the harness about 12" long and it would work perfect for these models.

@AeroHead I think you're onto something, and that was actually my plan once I had time to look into the connector. It's like a larger version of the footwell lighting / glovebox light connector. I have a spreadsheet of all the VM OEM / TE PN's for pins and connectors and will try to match it up. I think it's the same pins as the harness that shipped with my trim piece, but a different connector housing (2 pin instead of 3 pin). Might just be able to swap over the pins and trim off the extra length. Will keep you posted.

 

[madwazzabi]

Long time lurker first time poster...
toddlers just stepped all over the vent grills snapping one of the pivot pins, looks like I'm replacing the vents and will likely go with this USB charger option.

So I had a look at the connectors, 1J0972752 + 1J0972762 would be needed to tap off the 12V socket found in our NAR GTI armrest compartment. Wanted to see if it could be confirmed if the pins and contact of the provided harness match those used in the OEM 1J0972752 + 1J0972762 connectors of that 12V socket? If you had pin removal tools a cheap mans solution would be to do a swap, take the connector on the 12V socket and install it on the harness and install the socket on the provided harness on the 12V socket cable. Just make sure you set it up for the correct two cables. The third cable of the harness would become redundant.

 

[Genebaby]

This style of USB in the rear is exactly what is in our 2019 Polo.

I've ordered one of these for my car the vendor says will work as most say they are for LHD vehicles. Fingers crossed it works out ok.

 

[TheMuffinMan]

Quick update on my end, I opened a dispute with the Aliexpress seller way back when even after correcting the harness myself as they acknowledged the harness they sent was bad. They also mailed me a replacement harness which is LIGHTYEARS better than the other one. This one has OEM VW connectors on it along with the correct USB side connection (had to trim the other one).

I paired that with an Atlas USB port I ordered here in the US which also was slightly better build quality than the Chinese one. Took everything apart today and swapped it out.

I'll give the vendor a thumbs up IF you can get the correct harness from them.

 

[Techobrien]

Quick update on my end, I opened a dispute with the Aliexpress seller way back when even after correcting the harness myself as they acknowledged the harness they sent was bad. They also mailed me a replacement harness which is LIGHTYEARS better than the other one. This one has OEM VW connectors on it along with the correct USB side connection (had to trim the other one).

I paired that with an Atlas USB port I ordered here in the US which also was slightly better build quality than the Chinese one. Took everything apart today and swapped it out.

I'll give the vendor a thumbs up IF you can get the correct harness from them.

What was the Atlas USB port you mentioned? A different charging module?

 

[TheMuffinMan]

What was the Atlas USB port you mentioned? A different charging module?

Yep, when my USB ports weren't working but I verified I was getting power to the connector I assumed my USB ports were potentially broken and ordered a similarly numbered part from the Atlas.

5Q0-035-726-L

Exact same part, they used security Torx screws though instead of standard Phillips to hold the heatsink in and it seems slightly sturdier plastic. Performance and fitment is identical.

 

[sandmangti]

States not for 7.5.
Comments from customer.

 

[VAG Parts Bin]

Mine arrived today from Aliexpress seller Performance Tuning Parts. Everything including the box is OEM VW (China Market). I ran the part number and it is off of a Polo as mentioned above. Think is was $62 shipped with the PayPal fee.

Now I need to find time to rip apart the console...

 

[Genebaby]

Still waiting for mine, and then of course the time to pull apart the new car, hoping it will actually fit! Good luck, let us know how you go.

 

[Techobrien]

Mine arrived today from Aliexpress seller Performance Tuning Parts. Everything including the box is OEM VW (China Market). I ran the part number and it is off of a Polo as mentioned above. Think is was $62 shipped with the PayPal fee.

Now I need to find time to rip apart the console...

Funny enough my box looked very similar, but had the VW / Audi logo removed (and was slightly dented).
VW PN's inside match yours.