RGB Ambient Lighting for Mk7 and Mk7.5

[Genebaby]

Only £12,000?? You are too kind sir. Please take my money!!

 

[Cuzoe]

It is slightly more work to use the mirror switch as the looms aren't designed for that method, but yes that seems to be what the instructions were saying.

I'm thinking I would just need to pick up Comfort CAN somewhere (as opposed to Infotainment CAN). The diagram for the mirror switch only shows 4 wires, connected to the driver door control module. That module is on Comfort CAN. If the master module only needs CAN connection I won't go into the door to pick it up, PITA.

 

[IWMTom]

I'm thinking I would just need to pick up Comfort CAN somewhere (as opposed to Infotainment CAN). The diagram for the mirror switch only shows 4 wires, connected to the driver door control module. That module is on Comfort CAN. If the master module only needs CAN connection I won't go into the door to pick it up, PITA.

Ultimately you need to take the door card off anyway though?

 

[Cuzoe]

Yes, but removing the door card is simple. I've run wires into the door before (for blind spot monitoring) and it's... annoying. If the main module only needs power/ground and CAN I can get all of that easily in the lower dash area.

 

[IWMTom]

Yes, but removing the door card is simple. I've run wires into the door before (for blind spot monitoring) and it's... annoying. If the main module only needs power/ground and CAN I can get all of that easily in the lower dash area.

I don't think we're on the same page here...

You will be removing the door card to add the LEDs, which are fed by the controller, so why wouldn't you be obtaining CAN, Power, and Ground from within the door?

 

[Cuzoe]

I may have misread your install instructions. I thought the master controller (which you mounted in the dash) was the only one that needed CAN (and of course power/ground). And that the slave controllers siphon power/ground in the doors but receive commands wirelessly. Since the dash trim piece looks to be hard-wired to the main controller the main controller still needs to go in the dash.

If the above is true, it makes more sense for me to grab CAN (comfort instead of infotainment, for mirror switch control) somewhere in the dash. This would avoid having to run any wiring between main cabin and doors. Mounting the main controller in the door would mean running (what looks like 4) wires for the dash LED from the door into the cabin.

 

[IWMTom]

I may have misread your install instructions. I thought the master controller (which you mounted in the dash) was the only one that needed CAN (and of course power/ground). And that the slave controllers siphon power/ground in the doors but receive commands wirelessly. Since the dash trim piece looks to be hard-wired to the main controller the main controller still needs to go in the dash.

If the above is true, it makes more sense for me to grab CAN (comfort instead of infotainment, for mirror switch control) somewhere in the dash. This would avoid having to run any wiring between main cabin and doors. Mounting the main controller in the door would mean running (what looks like 4) wires for the dash LED from the door into the cabin.

I think you may be overcomplicating this!

To use the mirror switch you would install the main controller inside the door, and use a slave controller for the dash trim/footwells.

 

[Cuzoe]

Ohhhh, so there's nothing unique about the main controller? Looking at your high level drawing I assumed the main controller must be connected to the dash LED.

 

[IWMTom]

Ohhhh, so there's nothing unique about the main controller? Looking at your high level drawing I assumed the main controller must be connected to the dash LED.

If used in OEM/non-OEM steering wheel arrangement, that would be correct. Using the mirror switch is an exception to that though.

The main controller is unique in that it has CAN connections, but other than that it's the same as the other modules (with four pigtails for light emitters).

 

[Cuzoe]

I think I'm with you now... so your high level drawing shows 2 connections from the main controller (dash emitter and a second that is split to all the footwell lights). But are you saying that any of the wireless modules could also have two connections?

So my (hypothetical) install for mirror switch controls would be...
Main Controller - Driver door, connection to CAN and driver door emitter)
Wireless Module - Passenger, Door (connection to emitter)
Wireless Module - Rear Left Door (connection to emitter)
Wireless Module - Rear Right Door (connection to emitter)
Wireless Module - Dashboard (connection to Dash emitter and footwell emitters)

 

[IWMTom]

I think I'm with you now... so your high level drawing shows 2 connections from the main controller (dash emitter and a second that is split to all the footwell lights). But are you saying that any of the wireless modules could also have two connections?

So my (hypothetical) install for mirror switch controls would be...
Main Controller - Driver door, connection to CAN and driver door emitter)
Wireless Module - Passenger, Door (connection to emitter)
Wireless Module - Rear Left Door (connection to emitter)
Wireless Module - Rear Right Door (connection to emitter)
Wireless Module - Dashboard (connection to Dash emitter and footwell emitters)

Sounds right yes.

The main controller loom has 4 pigtails for lights. The slave controller looms have 3 pigtails for lights.

 

[Cuzoe]

Then I'm confused again maybe, could be a terminology disconnect, with regard to pigtails/looms. I guess I'm not understanding how the black lines in your high level drawing correspond to pigtails/looms. Or maybe they don't, and that assumption is where the confusion exists.

This is my interpretation of your high-level:
Door looms (4 EA) - with 3 light connections (strip, pocket, handle) - 1 connection to a module
Footwell loom - with 4 light connections (2 front, 2 rear) - 1 connection to a module
Dash light loom - with 1 light connection (dash strip) - 1 connection to a module

So that means in your install the main module (installed in the dash) has 2 connections (ignoring CAN and power/gnd), represented by black lines in your drawing. And each of the 4 wireless modules (installed in your doors) has 1 connection (ignoring power/gnd), represented by a black line.

But you are saying the wireless modules also support 2 connections (ignoring power/gnd)?

 

[IWMTom]

Then I'm confused again maybe, could be a terminology disconnect, with regard to pigtails/looms. I guess I'm not understanding how the black lines in your high level drawing correspond to pigtails/looms. Or maybe they don't, and that assumption is where the confusion exists.

This is my interpretation of your high-level:
Door looms (4 EA) - with 3 light connections (strip, pocket, handle) - 1 connection to a module
Footwell loom - with 4 light connections (2 front, 2 rear) - 1 connection to a module
Dash light loom - with 1 light connection (dash strip) - 1 connection to a module

So that means in your install the main module (installed in the dash) has 2 connections (ignoring CAN and power/gnd), represented by black lines in your drawing. And each of the 4 wireless modules (installed in your doors) has 1 connection (ignoring power/gnd), represented by a black line.

But you are saying the wireless modules also support 2 connections (ignoring power/gnd)?

Each loom has one plug to a module. The emitter wiring splits off into a few "pigtails" (shorter runs of wire split off a central source).

The footwell loom connects to one of these pigtails. I can see where your confusion lies as there's two black lines coming from the main controller at seperate points when really this should be a single point which splits off into four (of which only two are used).

All modules (main and slave) have a single plug on them. That plug contains all the wires for the loom. At various points, wires split off (remember, the lights aren't addressable so they can simply split the loom into other smaller sections to connect multiple lights on what is ultimately a single wire).

Does that make more sense?

 

[Cuzoe]

Okay, I think I'm following now. A given loom can have any number of lights split off of it because they aren't addressable, but a loom uses one pigtail from a module.

The main module has 4 of these pigtails... you used 2... dash trim, and footwell lights (a loom, which splits into 4 lights)
The slave modules have 3 pigtails... you used 1 (a loom that splits 3 lights; strip, pocket, handle)

-or-

The main module has 4 of these pigtails... you used 2... dash trim, and footwell lights (a loom, which splits into 4 lights)
The slave modules have 3 pigtails... you used all 3... trim, handle, pocket

I guess that in either case, I could install the main module in the door (and use either 1 or 3 pig tails) and a slave module in the dash (using 2 pigtails).

 

[IWMTom]

Okay, I think I'm following now. A given loom can have any number of lights split off of it because they aren't addressable, but a loom uses one pigtail from a module.

The main module has 4 of these pigtails... you used 2... dash trim, and footwell lights (a loom, which splits into 4 lights)
The slave modules have 3 pigtails... you used 1 (a loom that splits 3 lights; strip, pocket, handle)

-or-

The main module has 4 of these pigtails... you used 2... dash trim, and footwell lights (a loom, which splits into 4 lights)
The slave modules have 3 pigtails... you used all 3... trim, handle, pocket

I guess that in either case, I could install the main module in the door (and use either 1 or 3 pig tails) and a slave module in the dash (using 2 pigtails).

It's the latter example. Loom splits into 4, 2 used. Loom splits into 3, all 3 used.

For avoidance of doubt, you can use the main controller loom in the door, and a slave for the dash/footwells.