RGB Ambient Lighting for Mk7 and Mk7.5

[Alvi]

Introduction
This thread is sort of a continuation of a discussion I was having with a few other members on this thread where a French fella had retrofitted RGB ambient lighting, but refused to share any details on how he did it. Having done some in-depth research into this retrofit, I came up with very little information on the subject and had to piece together various bits of knowledge from the RossTech forum and GolfMk7.

The basic problem so far is as follows....

• A Mk7 BCM does not support OEM 10 colour or 30 colour ambient lighting.
• Only a small selection of Mk7.5 BCMs support 10 colour, and an even smaller selection support 30 colour.
• It's incredibly difficult to retrofit a Mk7.5 BCM into a Mk7 car because the long coding has been moved entirely to adaptations.

After purchasing a supported Mk7.5 BCM and trying for several hours to sort out the adaptations, I gave up and decided to look for an alternative.

I purchased a kit on AliExpress from VAGBASE/VAGEXPRESS (they're got a few other names too). My biggest motivation for buying this kit was the marketing of "Do not need coding, wiring, high BCM or high head unit".

Whilst the listing isn't showing on AliExpress any longer, they seem to have it on their own website here. It's important to note that they seem to have a few different kits for our car at varying prices, but it's not clear what the difference is... for the record, I paid £301.03 (GBP) and the kit was delivered to me in the UK from China 16 days after ordering.

The kit contains 17 individual lights, made up of:

• 4x Door Trim
• 4x Door Pocket
• 4x Door Handle
• 1x Dash Trim
• 4x Footwells

It also contains:

• 1x Main LED Controller
• 4x Slave LED Controller
• 2x Rear Door Light Diffuser
• 1x Dash Light Diffuser
• 1x Hole Saw (for door pocket lights)
• 1x Drill bit
• Various wiring harnesses

Originally when I bought the kit I wasn't completely sure how you would be able to get this to work in a Mk7.
For a short while, I was under the impression that the Main LED Controller would act as a Man-In-The-Middle on the CANBUS and act as the ambient segment of the BCM without needing to upgrade it, thus the MIB would display the ambient colour selection... I was wrong.

In hindsight, I expected a bit too much.. but this kit does offer an alternative for pre-facelift cars, albeit not completely OEM.

The Main LED Controller has a few different configurations (controlled via 4 dip switches on the side of the controller), but it all comes down to your car as to which configuration you should use. They are:

• Mk7.5 OEM - main controller can automatically flash and code the BCM/infotainment unit, with ability to listen and respond to changes via the infotainment screen.
• Mk7/Mk7.5 non OEM (mirror switch) - in this configuration, the main controller is within the driver door, and the mirror switch is used to change the colours/brightness.
• Mk7/Mk7.5 non OEM (steering wheel) - in this configuration, the main controller is around the glovebox, and the steering wheel buttons can be used to change colours/brightness.

At this point I'd like to make it clear that I have not fitted this kit yet. I'll be doing some preliminary test fitting in the coming days and will try my best to document it in as much detail as possible.

I've attached the Chinese instructions provided to me by the seller. I find that Google Translate does a good job of translating the entire document (although it does remove the images!).

Excellent Post, I will be creating a Video on a similar installation and will mention your write up which is Super. Thank you so much for sharing. I am installing a similar kit with same Modules but no with High Can and Low can, It has an App based Setting. The question I have is when you connect all the Module to the 4 Doors which are on Live 12v feed. Does it drain the battery for any reason or when the Main Module is off all slaves also turn off.

 

[ronniecss]

How do I install the electrical wiring for the red tailgate LEDs, it is not RGB only red?

 

[sofro88]

Are these kits by Ali dimmerable using the infotainment?
Thanks

 

[Lori87Mi]

take the positive and negative from the window switch command. and so they will light up when the ligh is turned on.

it is dimmable together with the adjustment of the interior lights from the infotainment

 

[salvatore_calzone]

this popped up while scrolling through aliexpress and now my current lighting feels inadequate ?

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mKqrdqj

I don’t believe it integrates with the infotainment at all and has its own app (in some ways maybe that’s a good thing because going to the car settings to change the color can get annoying). I probably am not going to order it (yet) but I do really like that the entire trim piece is lit up and not just the one strip.

 

[Cuzoe]

this popped up while scrolling through aliexpress and now my current lighting feels inadequate ?

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mKqrdqj

I don’t believe it integrates with the infotainment at all and has its own app (in some ways maybe that’s a good thing because going to the car settings to change the color can get annoying). I probably am not going to order it (yet) but I do really like that the entire trim piece is lit up and not just the one strip.

What if I told you I have this kit on the workbench at my job? And also that I bought an entire set of door cards so that I could do the modification at my leisure without driving around with my doors in pieces?

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mrMMrpD

Now of course I already have OEM style RGB ambient lighting in all the doors. But this looks better than the job I did with those.

I've got to take pictures of the kit but it's really nice. Wiretaps via double pigtail connectors all around so completely reversible (outside of any modification to the door card itself, but then I'm using my second set ?). I actually got the speaker ring lights and had them to throw in 5 extra lights (not free, but they made a private listing for me, $15 cost adjustment) for locations that are not normally illuminated... cup holder, ring surrounding the cigarette lighter, etc.

For whatever reason the first link I posted doesn't actually show the speaker rings but this link shows them even though the style of trim piece I got is in the first link. I thought the "Galaxy and Rubik's Cube" style of this link with a little bit too much...
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mLo9dIT

I'll use Google translate to scan the instructions... which are actually pretty good... and post them. It can be integrated with OEM on screen controls, controlled via side mirror knob, MFSW (I don't know if this would work with the mk8 wheel), and of course through the app. The instructions mention that selecting the last color on the list (10 or 30 depending on your BCM) will set the lights to rainbow mode so that it cycles through colors... which I guess is customizable in the app.

These other functions are allegedly available, we'll see how those work but I will be fine even if they don't...


Again I'll get pictures of the kit and you all know what door cards look like, but the door cards and the kit were delivered on the same day ?. Door cards in that big awful box but wrapped up really well inside and undamaged (had to get a Golf R set in order to get leather and gray stitching that matches my TDI S door cards, I assume Autobahn door cards are leather but would have red stitching and I couldn't find any plain Golf cards that were not cloth) The full light kit in that white box.

The kiddo is like what is all that stuff by my car ?

 

[salvatore_calzone]

@Cuzoe so it does integrate with the CAN/head unit… ? I don’t need another project but I may need this ?

please post your progress as you work on it, I’m excited to see how it goes.

 

[Cuzoe]

@Cuzoe so it does integrate with the CAN/head unit… ? I don’t need another project but I may need this ?

please post your progress as you work on it, I’m excited to see how it goes.

My link and yours are different sellers. But I have to think it's the same product and the same control boxes. The seller from my link has been responsive to every question I've asked.

And the pattern I chose was originally not available in a 25 light set (the extra four being the speaker rings). I first asked them if they would sell the speaker rings separately because I wanted a different pattern and they told me to give them a day to create the listing of the pattern I wanted but as set with the speaker rings... It's the 25 light set, although they did not update the pictures so it doesn't show the speaker rings in the listing.

I added these to my wish list when they were up over $500 around Black Friday but I wasn't going to spend that given I already have RGB ambient lights and like you I wasn't really interested in another project. I also used two part epoxy to put my door card trim back together and I don't know if I have the patience to try and drill that out. Drilling out the factory plastic welds is easy.

With the price drop, and the dismantler in Texas accepting my offer for the door cards (which I had on my watch list for months) all of it together was about $600 shipped... Which included DHL for the lights. They didn't offer any other shipping options but the lights got to me in a week, 4 days in transit, 3 days from order placed to them shipping out.

 

[Meesters]

@Cuzoe , very interested in the result, already saw them a year a go, and I was sceptical about how it would like in real life, and I thought I would loose control over infotainment.

Oh, and I can't open your links?

 

[Cuzoe]

@Cuzoe , very interested in the result, already saw them a year a go, and I was sceptical about how it would like in real life, and I thought I would loose control over infotainment.

Oh, and I can't open your links?

The links work for me.. but they are for Aliexpress.us which is where I get re-directed if I try to go Aliexpress.com. In any case it's TMPro store.

The exact description in the listing is "TMPRO Car Ambient Lights For Volkswagen Golf 7 2014-2020 Automotive Interior Decoration 64 Colors LED Safety assistance systems" so a search of some of those terms might get you there... listing picture looks like this...

 

[mzermouni]

@Cuzoe So my friend moment of truth a couple months later. Have you installed the kit and how is it? Also I have tried to follow along as much as possible in the thread but my pea size brain is struggeling. Will i be able to use this latest kit you posted with a BCM from a MK7 Golf?? Sorry if i am just repeating a already answerd question...

 

[Cuzoe]

@Cuzoe So my friend moment of truth a couple months later. Have you installed the kit and how is it? Also I have tried to follow along as much as possible in the thread but my pea size brain is struggeling. Will i be able to use this latest kit you posted with a BCM from a MK7 Golf?? Sorry if i am just repeating a already answerd question...

So I bought a full set of door cards and installed the kit into those. I still haven't installed those door cards, haha.

The kit will work with any BCM. If you have an older "Mk7" BCM control will be with the app or with side mirror controls (app might be easier in this case).

 

[mzermouni]

So I bought a full set of door cards and installed the kit into those. I still haven't installed those door cards, haha.

The kit will work with any BCM. If you have an older "Mk7" BCM control will be with the app or with side mirror controls (app might be easier in this case).

Amazing thank you for the response, i did some research and i have one if the later mk7 BCMs and have even coded in the background lighting menu. My car however, only has foot lights and the factory door trim lights. Question is if i buy this kit does it come with instructions to code in all the other parts of the kit to be screen controlled or do i have to figure that part out ?

 

[Cuzoe]

It comes with an OBD plug that you temporarily connect to the main unit. Then you use the app to select your car and it will do the programming.

My car is already programmed for RGB lights so I'll take a scan before and after using the app. I expect a lot of the settings will be the same.

 

[mzermouni]

It comes with an OBD plug that you temporarily connect to the main unit. Then you use the app to select your car and it will do the programming.

My car is already programmed for RGB lights so I'll take a scan before and after using the app. I expect a lot of the settings will be the same.

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Thats sick! Thank you so much for the answers. I think i am going to bite the bullet and buy the kit!