RGB Ambient Lighting (hopes/dreams)... pre-facelift Mk7

[xabhax]

Hopefully I will get time tomorrow. And of course the only other one I saw on eBay is gone now. That wouldn’t be any of you would it

 

[xabhax]

An alternate part number is 4n0-857-755-d mnb

Available from us dealers for 80 bucks new

 

[Cuzoe]

It wasn't me... I ordered from the dealer.

Yes, that part number.

 

[xabhax]

Not a very good picture.

 

[Cuzoe]

@xabhax A very good result though! I'm excited now... wish I could find the rears for less money.

How did you end up wiring them? And does the light turn off when buckled?

 

[xabhax]

@xabhax A very good result though! I'm excited now... wish I could find the rears for less money.

How did you end up wiring them? And does the light turn off when buckled?

I just half assed the wiring, just wired up the light portion to the rear footwell lights. So the light might turn off when buckled but they don’t for me

Ya been looking for the rears, I like ‘em, but not for what they are charging.

 

[Cuzoe]

I just half assed the wiring, just wired up the light portion to the rear footwell lights. So the light might turn off when buckled but they don’t for me

Ya been looking for the rears, I like ‘em, but not for what they are charging.

Do you have RGB footwell lights? If yes, isn't that 12V on battery bus... which would mean your buckle light is on all the time?

I was hoping (I guess) there was something internal to the buckle that would turn the light off when buckled. Although they will never be in your eye line, and I assume aren't super bright anyway, so it doesn't really matter. And heck, they might double the price to add that feature .

 

[xabhax]

Do you have RGB footwell lights? If yes, isn't that 12V on battery bus... which would mean your buckle light is on all the time?

I was hoping (I guess) there was something internal to the buckle that would turn the light off when buckled. Although they will never be in your eye line, and I assume aren't super bright anyway, so it doesn't really matter. And heck, they might double the price to add that feature .

I don’t think it’s 12v battery bus, they are on with the ambient lights and off when the footwell lights are off. They are pretty dim. Unless your looking at them they aren’t noticeable at all. Obviously these aren’t original Audi parts. They are bulkier than the originals

I did find something on AliExpress that’s interesting. Looks like you can get the housing of these buckles. These have light pipes and ambient led assembly things. Get them to change color with all the other lights

 

[Cuzoe]

I don’t think it’s 12v battery bus, they are on with the ambient lights and off when the footwell lights are off. They are pretty dim. Unless your looking at them they aren’t noticeable at all. Obviously these aren’t original Audi parts. They are bulkier than the originals

I did find something on AliExpress that’s interesting. Looks like you can get the housing of these buckles. These have light pipes and ambient led assembly things. Get them to change color with all the other lights

Ooohhh where are those links, I have some (small amount of) money I need to part with, haha.

Regular footwells are not on battery bus. They're connected to a BCM light channel. But all the LIN connected RGB lighting is (normally) on battery bus, so they light up when you unlock the doors, for example.
Of course if you wire them to 2V acc/ign bus there's no harm, just you won't have the RGB lighting with ignition off.

Edit: Found a couple...
Set of 5... https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804938307225.html?
Just 2... https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804598497684.html

I assume these housing replace the existing housing. I guess I would also assume all the VW/Audi housings are the same (as far as overall shape, attachment) so these would work with our buckles too.

 

[xabhax]

Ooohhh where are those links, I have some (small amount of) money I need to part with, haha.

Regular footwells are not on battery bus. They're connected to a BCM light channel. But all the LIN connected RGB lighting is (normally) on battery bus, so they light up when you unlock the doors, for example.
Of course if you wire them to 2V acc/ign bus there's no harm, just you won't have the RGB lighting with ignition off.

Edit: Found a couple...
Set of 5... https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804938307225.html?
Just 2... https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804598497684.html

I assume these housing replace the existing housing. I guess I would also assume all the VW/Audi housings are the same (as far as overall shape, attachment) so these would work with our buckles too.

I found a vid of them being installed, they go over the buckle. So it would be hella bulky. Seeing that I don’t think I’d do it

 

[Cuzoe]

I found a vid of them being installed, they go over the buckle. So it would be hella bulky. Seeing that I don’t think I’d do it

Ugghhh... that's a no for me!

 

[Lorecst97]

Hi everyone,
first of all I would like to congratulate Cuzoe, the work and time you have dedicated to this project is truly amazing!! A very very big job!!
I own an Audi A3 8V Restyling and I too would like to install the RGB LEDs and manage them via MMI. I enclose the admap of the 09 and 5F (if they can help), without any modifications, like when I bought the car.
My current goal is to install the footwells and the door trims, I'm waiting for the LEDs to arrive (8W0 094 415 B and 8W0 094 355 H) to start doing some tests.
My main doubt concerns the display and management via MMI. The graphic interface of the A3 is different from Golf, I don't think I have the management of all the various zones available as for Golf (in the various videos of Audi Q2 and Audi A4 only 2 zones are available) therefore I don't know if this would work to influence the parameters to be set to make everything work correctly.

It would be really cool if some of you have an admap of an Audi Q2 with stock RGB ambient light.

@Cuzoe, did you ever get a look at Audi for RGB ambient light as well? Do you have any advice for me?
I would like to create a guide similar to yours for Audi, maybe if it's not a problem we could talk privately so as not to fill the topic with perhaps useless messages and finally share the complete guide for Audi as well.

Also, do you know the supply voltage that physically reaches the LED? I was also thinking of making a "converter" to be able to manage common LED strips controlled by an original module.

Thank you in advance

 

[Cuzoe]

@Lorecst97 Your scans will be the first from an Audi that I have seen, which is not a big help for RGB, haha. I don't know anything about the Audi MMI or what it will display. But I will say the BCM in my car, with working RGB, is from an Audi A3. So the support is there on that side. Your BCM is software CG which has support for 10 colors, software DD increases to 30 colors.

I wouldn't worry too much (yet) about the number of zones. Once you code them (via the BCM) then you'll see what controls appear on your screen. If you're unlucky maybe only 2, but maybe more.
These 2 links don't cover any Audi firmware but give an idea of how the zones work. Some cars have more than others.
https://www.drive2.ru/l/594910833369180584/ and https://www.drive2.ru/l/596309137281783715/

All RGB LEDs are connected to battery terminal, getting 12V power. The brightness is controlled with command from the LIN bus for the RGB lights.
Single color lights are voltage (current) controlled and would be connected directly to a light channel of the BCM (or to a door module) which would provide that control.

If you want to install common LED strips wire them to one of the available BCM Leuchte channels. On your current BCM Channel 30 (Leuchte30) is used for footwells. But Leuchte31 - Leuchte34 are unused currently and are actually designated ambient light channels.

 

[Lorecst97]

Thanks for the reply, I'm trying to compile the 09 admap with all the changes needed to activate the ambient light (thanks to all your precious and very useful information), as soon as it's finished I could share it and maybe, if you have time, I'd like a your check to understand if I have set everything correctly.
It doesn't matter how many zones my car can handle, 2 are more than enough (footwell and door trims).

This is a video that shows the ambient light management on an Audi A4, I think the management is the same for mine too.

And here is a link where they show that the work was done on an A3, but sadly I can't find anything about the coding.
https://www.drive2.ru/l/635568574341067551/

Regarding common leds my idea was to use an original module from which to "take" the RGB signal to control other generic RGB LEDs. Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think the Leuchte31 - Leuchte34 can handle RGB leds from MMI, is that correct?

 

[Cuzoe]

Absolutely share your map with the changes and I'll have a look through it.

The factory are RGB lights are not generic in the way that you might be thinking. They get 3 wires... Power (constant 12V), Ground, LIN Bus.
Each of the lights has a LIN Bus address and responds to commands for that address. Generic (off the shelf, if you will) RGB LEDS will not have addressing system.