7.5 GTI - Single DRL to Dual DRL - what happens?

[genebaby]

I'm wondering if I managed to get a set of dual DRL GTI headlights for the 7.5 GTI what would happen if they were installed, without initial coding. Could you drive around for a little while until the programming was sorted? I think the connectors are the same. It's LED for LED but the duals have a bit more functionality.

Anybody know?

[DV52]

genebaby: hmm........ according to VW, the "single DRLs" are a special feature of the GTI - the marketing material says that they are GTI signature Headlights!!

It really depends on how close the new Dual DRL fittings are to the factory headlights - but there shouldn't need to be much in the way of extra coding (if any) because for TRUE-OEM fittings, the the two "angel eyes" on each car side are simply wired in parallel. So should not be a coding matter

Of course it's anyone's guess how so called "plug-and-play OEM" headlight fittings are wired - but I expect that they are the same.

Don

[Lucas_R]

I dont think genuine 'dual DRL GTI headlights' exist, as all GTI's I have ever seen have just have the outer section illuminated. The R models have the dual DRL and are the only versions with dual DRL's to my knowledge.

It is possible that the dual DRL modules are actually fitted to your current headlights, but the inner portions either not wired or not coded to work.

[DV52]

Lucas_R: Yes, that's what I meant !! There are indeed NO "genuine", dual angel-eye headlights for the GTI - only the GTI signature fittings. So, the Golf R version headlight is the only TRUE OEM alternative plus lots of fake OEM versions, I suspect

As for the suggestion that inner angel-eye in OP's headlight fittings may be present but disabled - I very much doubt it. In true VW practice for its MQB platform fleet, there ain't any superfluous equipment, or copper -there's just enough stuff for the car's needs and no more! The inner angel-eyes on the GTI have the u-shape outer-tube (for esthetics) - but no LEDs, or driver circuits, alas!

Don

[genebaby]

There are actually true, OEM Dual DRL headlights available, and in Australia, I'm surprised you guys haven't seen any. A few times a month I see local GTI's with them and am annoyed VW took them away.

Prior to the MY19 change to the GTI when the PP became standard for power and brakes etc the GTI lost it's option for twin DRL headlights and they became single DRL, and similar to the regular 7.5 Golf, except they have the signature red lines of course.

So from the release of the 7.5 GTI in Austraila cars were being delivered with dual DRL's, inluding the GTI Original, seen a few of those for sale online with the duals.

I could have made this part of my life easier when buying my GTI as the TCR was finally being released here, and it has cool lighting, but terrible interior options. The TCR has the dual DRL headlights and the cool R style tail lights with the dynamic blinkers.

The tail lights like that were easy to buy and get installed and I've had those for years, casually chasing the headlights along the way. I would easily have bought a TCR if you could get it it as fully optioned as a regular GTI, but no leather, no Dynaudio sound and no sunroof, and no 7spd DSG. VW were telling us porkies that they put the 6spd in because the car needed it, in all other markets it had the 7spd. It would have purely been cost cutting as our emissions allowed them to use the 6spd. I know the 6 is good, but I knew I was going to have this car for a looooong time and it would have killed me to have a 7.5 with the 6pd.

So I figured it will be easier, and cheaper to change the lights as it will be impossible to get the missing options afterwards. Both cars are fast and I was never going to buy a car with manual seats again.

There's also a little more than just dual DRL's going on, as those headlights have Dynamic Light Assist and the single DRL ony has Light Assist, so there is some different functionality and I'm led to understand that the opening sequence differs as well.

The headlights are expensive, obviously, to buy, and from overseas you need to get ones for RHD, and you don't usually get the control box with them. They are hard to find as most cars for wrecking are very smashed at the front, and also don't have them, just singles.

In overseas markets, I think Europe, the GTI comes with dual DRL headlights and the cool tail lights, but we got hosed on both of those from MY19 onwards.

There are people in Melbourne who I could have sent my lights to and they would upgrade them to twin DRL and also have the pointless upgrade of different colours, but it will end up being even more money than what I'm doing now, and wouldn't give me the Dynamic Light Assist functions.

So I'm pretty sure there will be some coding needed, just not sure what will happen if they are plugged into my car with no extra coding. It seems like nobody might know.

[genebaby]

Here's a quick look at a 2018 GTI. This is why a lot of people got confused, me included, when the options became smaller and the dual DRLs went away. VW Australia just lie to explain away anything they do that saves them money. This is the proper GTI signature look, but now we have the "is it a Highline" look, LoL....

[genebaby]

So essentially I will need to enable DLA, but I'm wondering if I can drive around a bit without doing anything, or if I have to be ready when the lights go in.

[DV52]

Here's a quick look at a 2018 GTI. This is why a lot of people got confused, me included, when the options became smaller and the dual DRLs went away. VW Australia just lie to explain away anything they do that saves them money. This is the proper GTI signature look, but now we have the "is it a Highline" look, LoL....

genebaby : OK - if you say so!!!

So essentially I will need to enable DLA, but I'm wondering if I can drive around a bit without doing anything, or if I have to be ready when the lights go in.

Good-luck with that. Let us know how you it works-out for you - please
Don

[Lucas_R]

Funnily enough I just saw a post about this on one of the Aussie VW Golf facebook owners groups. Apparently the only GTI's with dual DRL's were early Mk7.5 models (pre 2019 apparently) that were highly optioned (driver assistance package / adaptive lights options). Anything after 2019 and/or lower spec early 7.5's only had the outer DRL's illuminated.

Was news to me.

[genebaby]

Yes Lucas, this is what happened. They annoyingly no longer allowed the DLA headlights to be available so it was only certain early cars that got them. It has led to countless threads and posts about activating the "other" DRL. Looking at it, it looks just like the one that lights up, only it has no LED's and the DLA functions are gone. A strange cost saving measure that's a real pain to fix, as I was expecting to have dual DRL's.

Don, I'm surprised you don't have much to offer, as in my renewed research into this, now that I have the headlights, I can see many threads where you're been involved in just this sort of thing, including a crazy guy who got those cheap aftermarket ones designed for halogen cars. He's so lucky he got those working, but I still have no faith in the quality of the aftermarket units.

So I think I now know the adaptations/long coding I need to change, it is not too much. The big problem is the paramater file that tells the lights how to work, so I think if I just did the coding that they will work ok, but no high beam, which I can't remember the last time I used, but of course having high beam is nice, especially when it's the whole point of DLA, LOL.

[DV52]

genebaby: It wasn't my intention to be short - I just didn't have "much to offer" because there was simply not enough information to understand what you were attempting to do!!

Let's reset and make sure that we are ALL on the same page by providing some foundational information for this project. I'm really confused - I assume from your opening words that you intend to buy dual angel-eye headlights for this GTI and I understand from your later posts that you have sourced TRUE-OEM fittings that come with DLA.

So if my understanding is correct - from the luggage-label sticker on this car - what is the PR number for the headlights that were factory fitted to this car? I assume (albeit I don't know for sure) that the PR number for the new DLA headlights is either A9R, or CYFB. Which is correct?

Your answers to my foundational questions above will tell us whether your assumption that adding DLA to a Golf mk7.5 that wasn't built with DLA - is simply a matter of changing the headlight fittings and making coding changes. Meaning that the same BCM wiring and Headlight Range Control module (J745) can be used.

I don't know the answer to these questions - but I'm more than happy to look at the mk7.5 wiring diagram once your answers are provided.

Don

[genebaby]

Hi Don, yes, this is a LA to DLA upgrade, which also comes with dual DRL's, sourced from cars that had this function as sold in Australia. I could get lights from Europe fundamentally, as long as they were for RHD vehicles. Probably easier to get LHD ones. So much to think about !

I am unsure of the PR number for my current headlights, but I can tell you that the DLA headlights I have end in 059A and the lights in a GTI TCR, with DLA end in 114A (I took this down many years ago at a VW dealership). Using the TCR number has always been confusing as it did appear that there is more than one part number that has this feature back when I was looking into those lights.

I'm not going to rush into this too much, I'm going to look into some sort of refurbishment of these lights so they match my immaculate ones.

This is helpful as I don't know how long it will take to get the parameter file that is needed, otherwise, from what I can ascertain, it's a bit of long coding, with the file on top.

Long coding and no file will apparently give me lights that work except for high beam, as that is what the paramter file is for.

Plugging them in with no coding at all is unknown, but seeing as the coding is simple, it could be done right away and at least provide working lights, save the high beam.

I haven't put much more effort recently into the file, but when I do have that, I'll be looking at this more closely.