MK5 Golf GTI

All Things Mk5 => Mk5 General Area => Topic started by: DMcG on May 04, 2010, 05:26:17 pm

Title: Reverse & Fog light switched!
Post by: DMcG on May 04, 2010, 05:26:17 pm
Not long had my GTi and noticed due to darkness that the reverse lights are crap. On further investigation it seems that when I select reverse the fog light iluinates and when I select the rear fog the reverse light iluminates which come MOT time willbe a fail!

Anyone got any ideas on a quick fix? Had a look in the boot and the two cables to the iner clusters look pretty tight so I don't think I can swap them?

As you can imagine its driving me insane and it wont be long before I park the car in the house down my narrow drive!

Title: Re: Reverse & Fog light switched!
Post by: RedRobin on May 04, 2010, 05:56:06 pm
^^^^
Er.. Which way around are they re the car?

On cars fitted with a single rear fog light, it MUST be on the driver's side legally/MOT. So that means the single reversing light is on the passenger side in the UK.
Title: Re: Reverse & Fog light switched!
Post by: DMcG on May 04, 2010, 06:00:17 pm
The lights are in the correct position e.g. reverse n/s and fog o/s just the wiring appears to be the wrong way round.
Title: Re: Reverse & Fog light switched!
Post by: VC on May 04, 2010, 06:19:11 pm
if its more illumination your after how about mounting some stealth white LED's somewhere?

eg inside to the left and right of the 3rd brake light, under the recess of the numberplate, tucked under the rear valance etc etc
Title: Re: Reverse & Fog light switched!
Post by: matsu on May 04, 2010, 06:29:12 pm
i,m having my leds fitted on thurs and they are left handers so technically illegal and the wiring has been done just keep them there but if i quickly swap the originals just for the MOT. but guy doing my new bumper says if i fit an extra fog in the tow bar recess i,m legal again?
is that any help?
matsu
Title: Re: Reverse & Fog light switched!
Post by: animal on May 04, 2010, 06:48:59 pm
i,m having my leds fitted on thurs and they are left handers so technically illegal and the wiring has been done just keep them there but if i quickly swap the originals just for the MOT. but guy doing my new bumper says if i fit an extra fog in the tow bar recess i,m legal again?
is that any help?
matsu

A reverse light isnt a legal requirement but having the fog light on the wrong side is just could be dangerous - why not just switch them around like others have managed to or get hold of some RHD Ed30 inner sections.

Back on topic... This almost sounds like a software problem. Get it to a dealer and have them check the settings or better yet, find someone local to VCDS to give the car a once over.
Title: Re: Reverse & Fog light switched!
Post by: RedRobin on May 04, 2010, 07:40:12 pm

..guy doing my new bumper says if i fit an extra fog in the tow bar recess i,m legal again?
is that any help?
matsu

....But what happens when your tow bar is needed if you have a breakdown?  :confused:

(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdaz.co%2Fmedia%2FRedRobin_05%2FMods%2FRED_Tow_panel.jpg&hash=dd6ec608aae021a6e1eceba75c4c30a9ae79c599)
Title: Re: Reverse & Fog light switched!
Post by: Teutonic_Tamer on May 04, 2010, 07:47:45 pm
Not long had my GTi and noticed due to darkness that the reverse lights are crap. On further investigation it seems that when I select reverse the fog light iluinates and when I select the rear fog the reverse light iluminates which come MOT time willbe a fail!

Anyone got any ideas on a quick fix? Had a look in the boot and the two cables to the iner clusters look pretty tight so I don't think I can swap them?

Someone has been fiddling with the settings in VCDS or VAS - there is a specific code to switch the operation of the rear fog and reverse lamp!


As you can imagine its driving me insane and it wont be long before I park the car in the house down my narrow drive!

OK, I agree that the standard reverse light is pants, but I generally turn on the rear fog as well when reversing - not ideal, but it does help.
Title: Re: Reverse & Fog light switched!
Post by: Teutonic_Tamer on May 04, 2010, 07:52:41 pm
i,m having my leds fitted on thurs and they are left handers so technically illegal and the wiring has been done just keep them there but if i quickly swap the originals just for the MOT. but guy doing my new bumper says if i fit an extra fog in the tow bar recess i,m legal again?
is that any help?
matsu

Nope, as Red pointed out, if the car only has one rear fog, then it must be on the drivers side (right for UK, and left for Europe).  Or, it can be centrally mounted as found on some cars like SportKa.

However, if a car has two rear fog lamps, then they MUST be symmetrically mounted in both horizontal and vertical planes.  So for the LED kit, either swap the red inner lense from left to right, or remove red lense and paint BOTH bulbs red (and enable both in VCDS), and get a separate reverse lamp.
Title: Re: Reverse & Fog light switched!
Post by: Teutonic_Tamer on May 04, 2010, 07:54:37 pm

..guy doing my new bumper says if i fit an extra fog in the tow bar recess i,m legal again?
is that any help?
matsu

....But what happens when your tow bar is needed if you have a breakdown?  :confused:

(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdaz.co%2Fmedia%2FRedRobin_05%2FMods%2FRED_Tow_panel.jpg&hash=dd6ec608aae021a6e1eceba75c4c30a9ae79c599)

He meant REAR fogs Red, and I presume he also meant a tow bar for towing trailers, rather than the temporary towing eye!
Title: Re: Reverse & Fog light switched!
Post by: RedRobin on May 04, 2010, 08:52:04 pm

He meant REAR fogs Red, and I presume he also meant a tow bar for towing trailers, rather than the temporary towing eye!


....Duh! Robin, duh!

[I just wanted an excuse to post that pic]
Title: Re: Reverse & Fog light switched!
Post by: cmdrfire on May 04, 2010, 08:56:05 pm
Agree with TT, sounds like you need to have a play with VCDS and change the lighting to EU settings if you've got original lights.

i,m having my leds fitted on thurs and they are left handers so technically illegal and the wiring has been done just keep them there but if i quickly swap the originals just for the MOT. but guy doing my new bumper says if i fit an extra fog in the tow bar recess i,m legal again?
is that any help?
matsu


Why not just swap the two lamp covers around within the light unit? Everyone with fogs has done it, took me about 30 minutes with a scalpel and some hot melt. Or if you're old and crochety like Red you can get someone to do it for you, it's super easy. Remove the two inner units, remove the two bulbs, cut away the plastic weld, swap the lens covers, hot melt them back into place (or plastic weld back into place) refit bulbs and that's it!
Title: Re: Reverse & Fog light switched!
Post by: RedRobin on May 04, 2010, 09:12:23 pm

Why not just swap the two lamp covers around within the light unit? Everyone with fogs has done it, took me about 30 minutes with a scalpel and some hot melt. Or if you're old and crochety like Red you can get someone to do it for you, it's super easy.


....Being a wise elder has its advantages  :evilgrin:
Title: Re: Reverse & Fog light switched!
Post by: Richn83 on May 04, 2010, 09:18:39 pm
dont think switching the lenses will help in this situation as the fog light will still be on the wrong side, even though it will now be red not white!  he will need to sort out what the computer is doing to the wiring.
Title: Re: Reverse & Fog light switched!
Post by: Teutonic_Tamer on May 05, 2010, 08:27:52 am

He meant REAR fogs Red, and I presume he also meant a tow bar for towing trailers, rather than the temporary towing eye!


....Duh! Robin, duh!

[I just wanted an excuse to post that pic]

LOL - we all know you're just a picture whore at heart!  :drinking:

BTW <off topic alert> does your car pass the MoT with your front towing eye attached?  Or do you normally remove it?
Title: Re: Reverse & Fog light switched!
Post by: Teutonic_Tamer on May 05, 2010, 08:30:51 am
Agree with TT, sounds like you need to have a play with VCDS and change the lighting to EU settings if you've got original lights.

i,m having my leds fitted on thurs and they are left handers so technically illegal and the wiring has been done just keep them there but if i quickly swap the originals just for the MOT. but guy doing my new bumper says if i fit an extra fog in the tow bar recess i,m legal again?
is that any help?
matsu


Why not just swap the two lamp covers around within the light unit? Everyone with fogs has done it, took me about 30 minutes with a scalpel and some hot melt. Or if you're old and crochety like Red you can get someone to do it for you, it's super easy. Remove the two inner units, remove the two bulbs, cut away the plastic weld, swap the lens covers, hot melt them back into place (or plastic weld back into place) refit bulbs and that's it!

Exactly.  Or - you could have two symmetrical rear fogs like Shaun Hollamby has done in his BTCC racer.  But to keep the bulbs 'equal', you'd need to remove the red lens from the left, and use some red bulb paint.
Title: Re: Reverse & Fog light switched!
Post by: RedRobin on May 05, 2010, 08:45:58 am

BTW <off topic alert> does your car pass the MoT with your front towing eye attached?  Or do you normally remove it?


....I only have it attached for track use. Most trackdays insist on both being fitted - At least that's the case in Europe and I have yet to do a trackday in the UK.

However [another excuse for a pic] I don't bother removing my rear one as it's tucked well out of the way:
I'll have to wait and see how the MOT reacts in July to the rear tow-eye but it's easily removed.

(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi22.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb308%2FRedRobin_05%2FOZ_reartow.jpg&hash=d9e6a4f392cbb46283cca4c9c530fce8134b95e2)

^ Pic includes a rear fog, so I guess I'm kinda now back on topic  :wink:
Title: Re: Reverse & Fog light switched!
Post by: animal on May 05, 2010, 09:08:09 am

BTW <off topic alert> does your car pass the MoT with your front towing eye attached?  Or do you normally remove it?


....I only have it attached for track use. Most trackdays insist on both being fitted - At least that's the case in Europe and I have yet to do a trackday in the UK.

However [another excuse for a pic] I don't bother removing my rear one as it's tucked well out of the way:
I'll have to wait and see how the MOT reacts in July to the rear tow-eye but it's easily removed.



It would be looked upon pretty dimmly - anything protruding from the body work is a no-no due to crash safety regs.
Title: Re: Reverse & Fog light switched!
Post by: RedRobin on May 05, 2010, 09:30:42 am

BTW <off topic alert> does your car pass the MoT with your front towing eye attached?  Or do you normally remove it?


....I only have it attached for track use. Most trackdays insist on both being fitted - At least that's the case in Europe and I have yet to do a trackday in the UK.

However [another excuse for a pic] I don't bother removing my rear one as it's tucked well out of the way:
I'll have to wait and see how the MOT reacts in July to the rear tow-eye but it's easily removed.



It would be looked upon pretty dimmly - anything protruding from the body work is a no-no due to crash safety regs.

....The rear tow-eye doesn't protrude beyond the line of the bodywork and there's plenty cars with such which are permanently fixed. However, it's no big deal and so easily removed for MOT.
Title: Re: Reverse & Fog light switched!
Post by: animal on May 05, 2010, 09:52:34 am

BTW <off topic alert> does your car pass the MoT with your front towing eye attached?  Or do you normally remove it?


....I only have it attached for track use. Most trackdays insist on both being fitted - At least that's the case in Europe and I have yet to do a trackday in the UK.

However [another excuse for a pic] I don't bother removing my rear one as it's tucked well out of the way:
I'll have to wait and see how the MOT reacts in July to the rear tow-eye but it's easily removed.



It would be looked upon pretty dimmly - anything protruding from the body work is a no-no due to crash safety regs.

....The rear tow-eye doesn't protrude beyond the line of the bodywork and there's plenty cars with such which are permanently fixed. However, it's no big deal and so easily removed for MOT.

Perhaps not but it's still a rigid item perpendicular to the rest of the bodywork. In a pedestrian impact, a bumper will flex - a tow eye will not. Most, in not all, modern cars now have detachable towing eyes to conform to crash safety legislation. But like you say - it's easily solved. Also worth noting that it's clearly less of an issue at the rear. Better safe than sorry though.
Title: Re: Reverse & Fog light switched!
Post by: DMcG on May 06, 2010, 06:39:29 pm
Cars boked in for Thursday at Beadles in Sevenoaks. They said they might need it a couple of days! Useless! I'm hoping it is just VCDS setting!

Title: Re: Reverse & Fog light switched!
Post by: RedRobin on May 06, 2010, 06:58:21 pm
Cars boked in for Thursday at Beadles in Sevenoaks. They said they might need it a couple of days! Useless! I'm hoping it is just VCDS setting!


....A couple of days to sort out your reverse and fog lights!!? They're taking the piss aren't they!?
Title: Re: Reverse & Fog light switched!
Post by: Teutonic_Tamer on May 07, 2010, 09:50:48 am
Cars boked in for Thursday at Beadles in Sevenoaks. They said they might need it a couple of days! Useless! I'm hoping it is just VCDS setting!

You could drive upto mine, get it done for free (or a slab of Becks if you twist my arm), and get home again - long before the pathetic stealer has even done the paperwork!

Surely there must be someone in your neck of the woods who can plug in a VCDS enabled lappy?  And you'd have the added benefit of actually being told exactly what was being done, rather than suffer the blatant cloud of secrecy and incompetence from the main stealers!
Title: Re: Reverse & Fog light switched!
Post by: Richn83 on May 07, 2010, 10:16:01 am
Im in Bromley with a VCDS cable, if Teutonic can let me know the controller and settings to look at id be happy to have a look with you DMCG?   :happy2:
Title: Re: Reverse & Fog light switched!
Post by: Teutonic_Tamer on May 07, 2010, 12:59:09 pm
Im in Bromley with a VCDS cable, if Teutonic can let me know the controller and settings to look at id be happy to have a look with you DMCG?   :happy2:

It's in module 46 - Central Convenience!  Use the long coding helper, and it should be fairly self-explanitory.

HTH
Title: Re: Reverse & Fog light switched!
Post by: mortygttdi on May 07, 2010, 04:30:08 pm
TT I thought all the fog setting where in 09 central electrics or is the car setup in 46 CC for LHD one of the adaptation??

Darren
Title: Re: Reverse & Fog light switched!
Post by: DMcG on May 08, 2010, 11:27:21 am
Rich83 thanks for the offer. When are you about? Im nr Sevenoaks so not too far away.
Title: Re: Reverse & Fog light switched!
Post by: Richn83 on May 10, 2010, 09:18:31 am
DMCG, will send you a PM