Auto headlights

[Mjr001]

I have a fl octavia and want to out the auto lights on it. I heard the car must have rain sensors which it does so do I just get a switch ?  Would I need to activate anything in vcds? There are posts which say it works and some say not so all help would. E good before I get one

[slow_nick]

As well as a replacement switch you will also need to check whether you have all the wiring in place by counting the number of wires in the plug that goes into the headlight switch. For auto operation there needs to be 10 wires; you may only have 9, in which case you'll need to run a wire from the plug to the BCM under the steering wheel. It's not a major job, it will take about 30 minutes. I have done it on mine.

 

Yes it needs to be coded in, very easy for someone with VCDS. You can then enable coming home / leaving home features too.

Edited 22 December, 2019 by slow_nick

[Mjr001]

Ok thanks I will check to see what's there in the morning. Do you have a guide to be able to wire the extra wire in if I dont have 10

[slow_nick]

OK, so you will need:

 

1) Headlight switch (part number 1Z0941431J) there are aftermarket ones available online, I went for one of these. About £12 brand new and work perfectly even with the green backlight to match the rest of the car. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/372862009790

 

2) Repair wire (part number 000979009E) these are absolute extortion at £4.99 and the wire isn't even long enough to reach between the two places it needs to go so you'll need to extend it. I cut the repair wire in half and joined the two halves with a metre of single core 0.75mm2 cable I had laying around. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254303047910

 

Ignore number 2 if your switch plug already has 10 wires. The job will be much simpler if this is the case. But I have a late 2010 Elegance and mine didn't have the 10th wire there.

 

To remove the headlight switch turn it to the off position, push the switch inwards and turn it to the right. This unlocks the whole mechanism and then you can pull it out.

 

The BCM is under the steering wheel. Remove the under dash panel, I think there's just a few bolts or torx screws (can't remember), it's pretty simple just look around the edges. I think one is behind the dash end panel and one is behind that trim around the headlight switch which just pops off.

 

 

The BCM is a thin black box with a bunch of relays in front of it, and 3 chunky coloured plugs inserted into the bottom. You need to remove the left-most one (black), if I can remember rightly it is locked in with a lever type mechanism. Once it's out, use a thin flat blade screw driver to remove the plug body from its housing. Your repair wire needs to go into pin 20 on that connector, I think the pins are numbered on the connector so you should easily be able to count to the one you want. Obviously pin 20 should not be populated already.

 

 

Once you've got the repair wire in put the BCM plug back together and connect it back to the BCM making sure you lock the plug in correctly. Run the wire up through the dash to where the headlight switch is and insert the other end of the repair wire into the unpopulated pin on the plug. Tidy up with cable ties or self amalgamating tape if you fancy. Plug the headlight switch back in and put everything back together. The hard part is now done.

 

 

Turn on the ignition and switch the light switch to auto. You should get a warning chime and the headlights will come on. If this happens then you've done everything right, the warning chime is because the BCM has received an implausible signal from the switch, since it doesn't know you have auto lights. It assumes there is a fault and as a fail-safe it will keep the lights on all the time when the switch is in the auto position.

 

To code the auto lights in properly you will need VCDS, I think it's under controller Central Electrics, use the long coding helper to find the setting "Assisted driving light installed" or something like that and tick it. Apply. You can then enable LH/CH lights and you'll be able to access those settings through maxidot if you have it.

 

I have CH/LH home via fog lights, set to 60 seconds duration (the max), CH activated by door opening. I also have the day running lights enabled only with headlights on auto setting.

Sorry I haven't provided more photos, I didn't take many while I was doing the job. If you're relatively technical, you will find it easy anyway. I figured it out without any photos

Edited 23 December, 2019 by slow_nick

[Mjr001]

Thank you.  You have been extremely helpful. Mine is a late 2010 elegance also so will probably have to add the wire. Will check tomorrow. many thanks

[slow_nick]

Edited my post with the correct part number for the auto switch, the eBay link to the aftermarket one is still correct though. 1Z0941431J

[Mjr001]

Thanks

[Mjr001]

Ive just taken the switch out but can't count exactly how many wires are in the plug. The previous owner had a dashcam system hardwired into the car and all the cables are attached to the loom and I cannot get it forward enough to access them. God knows how they did it. It looks like either somehow they removed the fuse box or air vent to get the cables zip tied up. 

[Vrsburnzy]

1 hour ago, Mjr001 said:

Ive just taken the switch out but can't count exactly how many wires are in the plug. The previous owner had a dashcam system hardwired into the car and all the cables are attached to the loom and I cannot get it forward enough to access them. God knows how they did it. It looks like either somehow they removed the fuse box or air vent to get the cables zip tied up. 

if you shine a bright light into the end of the connector can you see the connectors inside of the plug? It’s not foolproof as sometimes the populate the whole plug including unused pins, but nick might be able to say whether his connector was empty in the tenth slot or not.

 

ultimately though, if you do need to add the extra wire you’ll have to untangle the mess anyway, so maybe remove what ever has been added, and make it stock again.

[slow_nick]

If you don't have the 10th wire there won't be a pin in the plug, it will be unpopulated. Should have made my terminology more clear. It'll be the same case on the BCM too. Can you post a photo of the wiring mess in yours? It's very easy to get to the wiring in a standard car, you only need to get the headlight switch cable out far enough to insert the repair wire in the back of the plug.

 

Edited 23 December, 2019 by slow_nick

[Mjr001]

So eventually got the mess of wiring out the back of the light switch. Professionally wired. Really. Cigarette lighter cable from dashcam to cigarette lighter socket which was then hardwired to the fuse box and cable tied and taped everywhere. 

Found out there was 9 wires in loom not 10 so switch and wire needed to complete it

[Mjr001]

So just about to order the switch and repair wire on Amazon. It says the left most relay which is black but in the pic it looks beige or yellow ?

 

I assume the sensor for auto lighting is already in the car?

[slow_nick]

24 minutes ago, Mjr001 said:

So just about to order the switch and repair wire on Amazon. It says the left most relay which is black but in the pic it looks beige or yellow ?

 

Read my post again carefully, it's not the relay you are removing. It's the big plug on the bottom of the BCM, in the photo I am holding it in my hand as I've already unplugged it.

 

You'll need to cut and extend the repair wire as it won't be long enough to reach where it needs to go.

  

24 minutes ago, Mjr001 said:

I assume the sensor for auto lighting is already in the car?

 

The RLS (rain and light sensor) is a combined unit which you already have, as the Elegance has automatic wipers as standard. It's attached to the top centre of the windscreen behind the rear view mirror.

[Mjr001]

Yes apologies. Didn't look closely enough at the photos. Thought all plugs on the back of the relays were black. My bad. Was going by the left hand relay. Yes I understand the pin has to be wired into the plug. I am ordering the cable through Amazon but they do also do it In 1m sizes on Ebay

[Mjr001]

Does the plug separate at the headlight switch to be able to insert the wire into pin 10?

[slow_nick]

9 hours ago, Mjr001 said:

Does the plug separate at the headlight switch to be able to insert the wire into pin 10?

 

Yes, push in the little spring tab on the side and pull the plug out.

 

You'll need a small flat blade screw driver or a pen knife to separate the plug from its housing so you can insert the wire. It just pushes in

Edited 19 January, 2020 by slow_nick

[evlo]

I have bought aftermarket switch (not the "aliexpress" variant with light sensor, but just aftermarket replica of the 1Z0941431K.

Used the push in and turn to remove the switch without auto position, replaced for the new one.

I did not figure out how to remove the connector for the switch from the housing, so dunno if the wire to "bcm" is present.

I do have rain sensitive wipers.

Headlights do tun on in auto position. I think there is the described relevant chime.

I do not have VCDS.

 

During the day in auto position headlights do not switch to running lights.

 

This is the codding of the control unit with automatic low beams  that I can see.

Another screen that I can see

 

Mostly I'm interested in getting this to work so that the aftermarket headunit switches backlight intensity correctly when going trough tunnels etc.

 

Is there a way to make automatic low beams work without VCDS? I do only have this "autocom" software and VCI and then carista app, but I do not have their adapter, so it works not 100% stable

 

Edited 23 March by evlo

[evlo]

Or maybe if the rain light sensor coding, autocom shows this

[evlo]

Sadly again no way to edit or merge posts

 

based on the screenshot from VDS that I have randomly found

 I have tried changing 

EC 43 00 00 AE

to

EC 43 04 00 AE

 

 

I even accidentally verified messing with carista that it changed it to

EC 43 08 00 AE

as I tried enabling the coming home lights based on light sensor or something, so seems to be the correct byte

 

 

 

but no luck, still in "live data" (or whatever it is called) it show that light switch automatic position is not installed and in "auto" it says that the switch position is implausible

[evlo]

Sorry for the screenshot quality, anyways ....

 

 

... I just gave up and got me VCDS

EC 43 04 00 AE

should be

EC 43 10 00 AE

 

I did not understand how bin to hex works (still don't), so I just did 000100 not worrying about the last byte, which clearly ones still need to sum(?).

Anyways, now I do not need to use my brain, as vcds does it for me with all the nice descriptions.

 

For others doing this without VCDS, this still might be helpful. In my case no wire was needed and I did test it throwing pizza box over the sensor and all works correctly.

Edited 27 March by evlo