OEM Plus Exhaust Switch - MK7.5 Golf R

[MQB_7.5R]

This is a my personal install guide for an oem plus optioned exhaust switch. This kit was purchased from vagexpress. I was skeptical at first since I have limited experience with wiring and there were very few install instructions provided (none in English).


Shipping took about 2 weeks from China. Here is everything included in the kit.

Tools Used:
Flathead Screwdriver
Interior Trim Tools
Wire Cutters
Needle Nose Pliers
T25 Torx
T15 Torx
T30 Torx
Razor Blade
Magnet
and Patience!!!

Side by side comparison of the old and new set of buttons.

To begin, remove the rear carpet along the driver side. You need to remove a decent amount of trim to access the wiring behind the carpet. I used this for reference.

The button uses the purple wire pictured here to turn on and off the exhaust valves. Next is the fun part of routing wiring.

Removed the center console trim to route the harness under the trim. I followed this video to remove the trim.

Then, remove the lower seat portion of the rear seats to run the wiring under the carpet and to the trunk. I used nylon cord to help guide the wiring.

A picture of how I ran the wiring.

Back to the front of the car, install the pins labeled 4 and 7 in the corresponding positions. It took me awhile to realize the factory connector has a lock that holds the pins in place. Take a tiny flathead and pry on both sides of the connector like pictured to release the locks.

Continued Below

 

[MQB_7.5R]

Then run the red wire from the harness to an ACC power supply (preferably ignition powered). I just tapped into the wiring I already had ran for my dashcam (Fuse tap is the easiest). Connect the brown ground wire to the ground bolt located behind the dash cubby on the driver side.

To mount the controller module, I used 3M tape and attached it as shown below on the lower portion of the driver side center console.

After running all wiring from the front to the back, I connected the blue and purple wires from the harness to the oem purple wire in the trunk that controls the factory exhaust actuators. Cut the oem purple wire and attach the blue and white wire from the new harness to the top half of the oem purple wire. Then attach the purple wire from the new harness to the lower part of the oem purple wire.

All the wiring is done, so it is time to test everything! The new exhaust switch allows you to open/close the exhaust valves in any driving mode. Changing modes no longer adjusts the exhaust sound. Just like the traction control button, the new exhaust button does not light up (the mode selector button still lights up when pressed).

Once everything works, install the trim pieces that were removed, and everything is complete!

Total install took about 4 hours with me being careful with trim removal.