About to embark on Skoda ownership, Superb L&K Estate

[commievid]

Something unimportant:

 

Got a replacement shell from eBay for £7.99. Made the assumption it would be a case of transferring the brains over from the old to the new, but it wasn't as straightforward as I'd imagine.

 

So most guides on the internet and Youtube etc. have steps for how to replace the battery, which is still perhaps a little more fiddly than one would expect. Standard advice appears to be to take out the emergency key blade bit, and put it back in but at an angle so you sort of wedge it side by side to loosen and free the rear cover:

 

Then the battery is s standard CR2032 than can be flicked out with a flat screwdriver or fingers and slotted back in.

 

This is pretty much where nothing else appears to exist that I'm aware of. So first thing that can be seen is a tiny screw in the bottom right corner, securing the bottom metal part of the fob. Unscrew that (aftermarket one is a small crosshead, and the OEM appears to be a tiny torx, I can't tell the size, one where if you have a micro spanner set for iPhone's etc. would probably has the appropriate size bit).

 

Once you do that, it appears the bottom cover is slotted in at angle. What I did was use the emergency key and pushed it up along the groove it sits along which appeared to be enough to get it loose and free:

 

The top cover is next. Took a while to figure it out, but with a flat head screwdriver here:

 

Then a bit of force upwards, it'll eventually come free:

 

There's a hook it seems on the opposite side:

 

So the screwdriver lever attempts to lift it from the opposite side. This is made a bit more tougher because there's a sort of adhesive attached as well.

 

Eagle eyed viewers will notice I've taken pictures from both of the fobs so they're both in different states of disassembly when I took pictures of the above.

 

But you'll be presented with this:

 

On the aftermarket one, the white plastic cover was able to be lifted. However I couldn't do the same with this one.

 

After all sorts of attempts at levering (and cracking the original case as a consequence), it looks like the brains of the unit comes out as one whole piece:

 

The keys are help in place by being sandwiched between the brains and the case, so the buttons all fell out. Did the same with the other case to remove its empty brain, as it were.

 

Gave this a quick wipe and clean with some rubbing alcohol:

 

Then it's pretty much a case of reverse of disassembly:

 

I used my fingernails to remove the old Skoda sticker badge and it looks like there's enough adhesive left behind to keep it in place on the new one. Sod's law it'll fall out eventually, so I'll have to prepare to source a replacement.

 

I also used a dab of superglue in the same place for the top cover, which is probably unwise long term, but I can't really tell what adhesive was used before, probably some PVA or contact adhesive maybe.

 

Anyways, here's a picture of what is essentially the same as the first:

 

Eagle eyed viewers should be able to spot the crack I introduced on the lower right of the old one. Bin fodder now.

 

It looks like some more parts have arrived as well from Czechia (I think that's what they call themselves now), so I'll collate and take more pics this evening!

 

Maintenance: £1344.91 (+£7.99)

Upgrades: £337.06

Miscellaneous: £584.95

Edited 8 March by commievid

[commievid]

Last night, I did some dry runs of the suspension assembly. As I also received this:

 

Although I have a pair of spring compressors which have served me well over the last decade, the workshop manual implies the rear springs could well require compressing to get free, and I suspect I won't have enough ground clearance off the driveway to get the lower arm down enough to free them without one.

 

This particular compressor also has plastic covers which would help in reducing scratches, and also, only one tool is required to tighten or loosen the spring rather than going from one side to the other, and then finding out it fouls the strut or something.

 

This thing was £86.44 from eBay, but given its a very generic spring compressor tool, I won't tally it up in the miscellaneous section, as it isn't really Skoda/VW group specific.

 

Anyways, had to play around with the components just to keep in mind the right ordering, so the upperpart of the strut bearing has a slot that the bump stop plonks into:

 

The dust cover also slots into the centre, with a bit of fettling:

 

The lower part then slides on, the above shows a notch on the right side, which slots into a cut out in the lower part:

 

The result can then slide over the strut:

 

So it would be a case of the spring goes on, then the strut bearing with the attached bits, then the bolt on the top tightened up.

 

So this morning, back to the original task of removing the seats.

 

In every other car where I've removed the seats, its been a case of 4 bolts, slide forward for the rear, slide backwards from the front. The steps are the same, but with the notable difference of being electric. So slowly slide the seats forward:

 

So the bolts are revealed, which are M10 spline bits, akin to the type attaching the steering wheel onto the column:

 

So remove those:

 

Then proceed to move the seat backwards, I did it just enough to get access to the front screws:

 

So undo those:

 

So the seat is now able to be freed:

 

Repeat for the other side. Before I proceeded, I then disconnected the battery:

 

I would suspect this car is modern enough to have airbags in the seat, so this is to remove power and to make sure any remaining current and what not is drained (I don't actually know if capacitors are involved in airbags, probably).

 

So instead of waiting around, decided to assemble the front suspension, as it was quite a sunny day.

 

So here's my makeshift workbench:

 

Just a garden table (with some seasoning wood moved aside).

 

I then assembled the spring compressor, took some deep breaths, and began the process of mounting the spring onto the compressor:

 

The compressor has a 21mm socket on the end, so got my ratchet spanner onto it and began tightening. It goes without saying, please WEAR EYE PROTECTION, and also be absolutely sure that whatever is to the left and to the right of the spring is something you don't mind putting a potential hole in if things go awry.

 

As per yesterday, I assembled the remaining bits ready for quick putting together:

 

One thing I also did was to apply corrosion block grease on the shiny part of the lower strut bearing. The spring appears to sit on this part, but in general seems exposed to the elements, so a thing layer of the grease hopefully keeps it from rusting too badly.

 

I also did the same for the spring, as the springs appear to have a tiny nick on the finish.

 

The compressor needs to compress the spring it quite a bit, and it certainly gets tighter as you do so. The compressor is either then following the springs orientation, or its bending.

 

To be honest, the compressor is a solid lump, a good 12kg of metal, so it was probably better than it looked. So once sufficiently compressed, I then try to dry fit it:

 

Basically, once the thread of the strut goes through the strut bearing with what looks like enough thread for the nut, then you're nearly there. Basically, put the nut on and after a few turns, breath a sigh of relief.

 

Just also make sure the spring is aligned appropriately to the bottom seat insulator and the strut seat:

 

Here's the nut attached on, so the spring compressor is essentially ready to be removed:

 

So undo the spring compressor, and eventually it'll loosen enough to free itself from the spring:

 

So that's pretty much it. The workshop manual says to tighten the top bolt to 60nm.

 

I don't really have a specialist tool to allow for torque tightening, maybe something I might invest in, but for now, just used a swan neck spanner and a hex bit. I believe it was a 22mm nut and a 7mm hex socket.

 

I just did it until I couldn't really tighten it anymore.

 

As I did a final inspection, I noticed a booboo:

 

I guess as I was turning the strut around when aligning it to the spring and the seat and so on, I must have turned it and put weight on it in such a way that cracked the cover for the connector for the Damptronic/DCC bits. I'll remain optimistic that I can just use the ones on the existing struts, but if not, I'll either source a replacement, or just duct tape this back in shape.

 

So I think the first strut took 45 minutes, and the other 30, primarily because I'm super scared of spring compressors when I'm using it, so I'm always checking and double checking every step of the way:

 

So that's the front struts. I'll put a stop on this post and return back to the seats.

 

Maintenance: £1344.91

Upgrades: £337.06

Miscellaneous: £584.95

[commievid]

The original job this weekend was to take out the interior seats, primarily to get a good opportunity to clean out the carpet.

 

So with the front struts assembled, that should have been ample time for the airbag gubbins to be safely disconnected. I probably shouldn't have bothered:

 

Just your usual mankiness.

 

Basically, the seats look like they tilt backwards once the screws are undone relatively easily. However, once I started to look at the wiring:

 

Basically, my head started to hurt.

 

I was able to make a start, getting a trim removal tool to disconnect some of the parts attached with clips, but once I'd cleared about 3 or 4 of the connectors, I then saw further parts of the loom weave themselves further into the seat, I presume going to bits like the rear footwell light and the buttons for the seat motors.

 

At that stage, I decided to give up. The photos above show the extent of the required carpet cleaning, and tilting back was more than sufficient to get a decent chunk of the carpet sorted.

 

Whilst having the seats out could have allowed for a good wipe and clean of the frame and the runners, I think that would be something for the long distant future.

 

So decided to crack on with the carpet cleaning. The two modules under the seats, were removed by undoing the two plastic rivets (using the trim removal tool), then a couple of nuts and a bolt, to undo the frames that keep the modules in place.

 

The passenger side I believe is the amplifier for the Canton sound system, and the driver side is the TV tuner.

 

I also removed the foot rest in the drivers side foot well. I believe it was a T20 torx bit:

 

Then with a bit of sliding and wiggling, it'll come free:

 

With those removed, proceeded to attack the carpet as best as I could:

 

The driver side still needs a few more goes, but under the seats is probably fine now, and the seats are technically ready to go back in. The modules under the seat and their frames are back in the house and they'll be given a wash and wipe down before reassembly.

 

I was exhausted by then, a good few hours on this.

 

Decided as the sun was still sorta there but coming down, to assemble the rear suspension, so back to the "workbench":

 

Slot the bump stop into the top mount bit:

 

The dust cover needs to be slotted into the top mount:

 

It needs a tiny bit of persuasion, but once it's in, it should be quite firmly in place:

 

This can then all slide into the rear strut:

 

The workshop manual specifies 25nm for the top bolt, but again, just did it as tight as possible:

 

Eagle eyed readers can see the 17mm spanner used, and this time decided to use a 5mm allen key.

 

So this is much more straightforward, pretty much 15 minutes for both:

 

So that's it. The suspension is all ready to be fitted pretty much (depends on the rear springs and whether the compressor is needed though.

 

Been alright with the exception of the broken connector cover really, and I guess the general exhaustive work when cleaning a car. I note that I haven't even began to look at the rear seats. I'll need to swot up on that, as I recall there being some one use only plastic clips or some such, which seems a bit strange.

 

I'll probably take a few more pics of when I put back those modules into the car.

 

Maintenance: £1344.91

Upgrades: £337.06

Miscellaneous: £584.95

[commievid]

So here's some pics of reassembling the modules under the seats.

 

Here's the amplifier and its frame:

 

I've wiped them down a bit, but the amplifier just has what I can only assume is corrosion on that metal bit, quite wild given its inside the car.

 

Here's the TV Tuner:

 

It's really the reverse of disassembly, so for the passenger side with the amplifier:

 

There is a bolt, and two nuts, with the former on the side and the latter two with captive threads on the car floor, so it slots into those:

 

The amplifier then sorta slides into place, with a bit of jiggling:

 

This actually should be done after sorting out the connectors, as one of them is one of them super secure ones, similar to ECU connectors:

 

So you have to slide the purple (fuschia?) locking tab thingy into place:

 

So that's that. The other side is pretty much the same:

With the same bolt and two nut securing arrangement:

 

There's a few more connectors for the TV tuner but its relatively idiot proof:

 

The TV tuner has some metal tabs on the side, which are used to keep it in place in the frame, so the unit essentially slides in from the rear towards the front of the car where it will then click into place:

 

Eagle eyed readers will not I haven't put the nuts in place. This is because in my vacuuming of the carpet, I may have also sucked one of the nuts. So its pretty much gone.

 

I'll need to rummage around the garage or order replacement ones, but they look to be a standard M6 flange nut really, not the end of the world.

 

I think that'll be it for this weekend. I could probably hook up the power back now that everything is reconnected (or in the case of the seats, not disconnected at all). I may still take the rear seats yet, and maybe they might have some wiring.

 

So I guess for next week, I'll probably embark on the actual process of installing the suspension. I managed to squeeze my phone into the wheel well behind the wheel and aimed upwards:

 

This could be interesting! I sense I should source some drop links.

 

Maintenance: £1344.91

Upgrades: £337.06

Miscellaneous: £584.95

[commievid]

Whilst I'm here, this is the poorly Bilstein connector cover thing:

 

So the inside reveals E4-XK1-Z034A03 which Google actually returns a response for. Unfortunately it's a website https://www.ecstuning.com/b-bilstein-parts/replacement-cap/e4-xk1-z034a03~b/ where it's apparently no longer available, so that's interesting.

 

If anyone has a spare one possibly lying around, do get in touch!

 

Maintenance: £1344.91

Upgrades: £337.06

Miscellaneous: £584.95

[nicknorman]

Some great work there, at least you didn’t find anything else too embarrassing under the seats! When I replaced the rear LH spring my spring compressor didn’t fit - the manual shows kind of blade things that engage with the spring, while the screw bit is off to the side. But I discovered that it was easier to drop the lower suspension arm right down -  this involved disconnecting the drop link and the position sensor as well as the damper of course. But dropping the arm right down enabled the spring to be inserted un-tensioned, then I jacked up the lower arm to tension the spring until the damper could be reconnected. The droplinks etc do look rusty, but there was no play in them when I did this job a year or so ago. Mind you with shiny new dampers, maybe rusty drop links will offend!

[commievid]

Looks like rain will stop play today.

 

So I'll catalog up some more boxes of stuff that have arrived the last week, and also to help me keep track.

 

I've found https://www.lllparts.co.uk/catalogs/skoda/CZ/SUP/851 a fountain of knowledge as the part catalog is pretty comprehensive, 

 

So on 28 February, I placed an order. They then do some sort of delivery calculation and within 30 minutes an updated price is sent to cover delivery.

 

This then arrived yesterday, so smidgen over a week and a half:

 

One thing I felt was strange that it was missing on this Superb is the levers in the boot that drop the rear seats. It was something we found on the Octavia VRS Estate when we was shopping around and is something I can see myself using when logging longer than anticipated loads.

 

So it's what I'm hoping is enough components to retrofit this feature. I could find it to be terribly stupid an idea, but we'll see.

 

So the bits involve:

 

The rear levers (3V9 885 591 A 9B9 and 3V9 885 592 A 9B9) which came to £21.29 each.

 

Then the parts that presumably go into the seat frame itself:

 

These were 5G0 885 915 B and 5G0 885 915 C for the left and right, interestingly the former being £14.86 and the latter £10.36.

 

I added some caps as well (5G0 886 296), which I think are for the above, 82p each.

 

I also ordered the trims for the top of the rear seats (3V0 885 893 9B9 and 3V0 885 894 9B9) just in case, at £2.89 each.

 

I also ordered two of 5E9885344A which are the bowden cables, which unfortunately also came with the levers, so they're kind of a waste, but came to £6.55 each.

 

So all in all came to £92.64. So the original plan of removing the seats is still necessary for this in order to fit some of the gubbins into the rear seat back rest, but I could be being naïve about it being a relatively straightforward process.

 

Maintenance: £1344.91

Upgrades: £429.70 (+£92.64)

Miscellaneous: £584.95

[commievid]

Whilst Googling around for prices and things, I stumbled upon https://www.skoda-parts.com/, so decided to give this a go, actually using LLL parts to obtain parts number and then searching through:

 

I will recommend these guys. I made an initial order, and their site had the ability to keep adding to orders not shipped yet, so ended up doing that twice. Despite this, they still ended up sending it all with only a slight delay. The original order was placed on a Saturday 2 March, and additions added twice on the Tuesday, and via Fedex, the thing arrived on a Friday. Top notch!

 

So firstly:

 

These are the gasket for the third brake light (as you can see with my labelling), mainly should I need to remove the third light to diagnose that rear washer (which I may not need to). This is part 5E9 945 170 as per the upside down label and was €7.20 each (I bought two in case).

 

Perhaps more importantly:

 

Replacement suspension nuts and bolts. I'll forever bemoan the VW group for essentially requiring sacrificial suspension bolts. I suppose the argument is that these aren't replaced on the regular, and whilst in isolation they're reasonably priced, they do add up. I decided to get several nuts just in case.

 

The list is:

 

6 x N 912 464 01 - M8 x 32 bolts for the front struts to the body (3 per side). €10.23

2 x N 106 283 01 - M12x1.5 x 90 bolts for the rear struts to the lower arm (1 per side). €8.60

2 x N 909 548 02 - M12x1.5 x 80 bolts for the front struts to the steering knuckle (1 per side). €3.20

4 x N 906 484 02 - M10 x 35 bolts for the rear struts to the body (2 per side). €10.42

10 x N 101 064 02 - M12x1.5 nuts for the above M12 bolts, bought 10, just to keep some spare. €11.52

 

I also added:

 

I may have mentioned it in an earlier post, but these should be the grommets that the rear seat bench clip into, and are apparently sacrificial? They start losing their initial grip after removal. Pretty wild to be honest. Part 5G0 886 373 and came to €12.20 for 4 (again, some spares just in case).

 

So the initial order came to €80.04, with €9.51 shipping.

 

By the Tuesday, I also decided to add these:

 

The workshop manual calls them "plenum covers", I'd call them windscreen cowls, and Skoda Parts themselves call it scuttle panel trims. These were €25.46 per side, so decided why not. It looks like whoever took off the driver side did it in a rather ham firsted manner, and damaged it. I'll take pictures once I near that part of the car.

 

Buying spares also allows me to be ham fisted whilst I remove these the first time, and the price of them new was pretty much similar to used ones from eBay. Parts 3V0 819 415 A 9B9 and 3V0 819 416 C 9B9 for left and right respectively (I think). I wonder if the 9B9 code (which looking at other things I've ordered, suggests satin black) means there are other colours for these panels available?

 

I think this added €8.48 to the order, fair enough as the packaging now needs to be larger.

 

This then also coincided earlier in the week with noticing the lack of lower spring isolators. The black bit that the front springs sat on within the dampers, pictures in previous posts.

 

This was part 5Q0 412 545 D and I decided to get aftermarket ones at €8.12 for a pair, as opposed to closer to €20 for genuine ones. For those, they only wanted an extra €4.16 to the order, I'm guessing because it doesn't affect postage, or they were being very nice about it.

 

So the entire order from the invoice came to €144.05 which added up to £123.56 looking at my transactions. I'm leaning towards these as my go to parts people.

 

Maintenance: £1468.47 (+£123.56)

Upgrades: £429.70

Miscellaneous: £584.95

Edited 10 March by commievid

[commievid]

One more:

 

The replacement clock spring to replace the replacement clock spring:

 

Part number 5Q0 953 569 B which aligns more to others retrofitting experiences. I could probably swap that into the existing replacement stalks, so I could probably do that.

 

Now, this is from https://www.cars-equipment.com/en/shop/steering-wheel-modules-11/oem-5q0953569b-airbag-spiral-cable-steering/ which was priced at £140, so went with it. They have a strange approach to sorting out the shipping, giving you several options.

 

It looked like DHL was at £21 and made most sense because air mail for something this pricy might not be wise.

 

A few days prior, I also ordered https://www.cars-equipment.com/en/shop/golf-3/43696-heated-steering-wheel-cable-set/ the Kufatec heated steering wheel adapter loom thingy:

 

This was £35.49, and for this one I chose the air mail option, adding £4.00.

 

After sending the first order through, they noted that UK customers probably shouldn't use air mail as it could take 6 weeks to arrive compared to Fedex or DHL. The picture above suggests otherwise.

 

The bag says 43696, I was sure it's supposed to be 43696-1 for right hand drive. worse case scenario, I guess I will need to splice an additional length of wire for the power and ground.

 

They both arrived on the same day, with the loom ordered on 29 February, and the clock spring ordered 3 March (sent on 4 March). as mentioned, both arrived 8 March.

 

Now here's the rub. DHL decided to charge me an additional £50.92 to handle import duty and tax. This kinda annoyed me as I basically could have it sourced it closer to home at a similar price. Or sod's law, paying £3 more for Fedex might have avoided it (or maybe not).

 

I'll jot it down to some bad luck. It does mean that this heated steering wheel retrofit is spiralling cost wise. I still haven't got an adapter for it due to being a facelift wheel...

 

Maintenance: £1468.47

Upgrades: £681.11 (+£251.41)

Miscellaneous: £584.95

Edited 10 March by commievid

[Warrior193]

23 hours ago, commievid said:

The original job this weekend was to take out the interior seats, primarily to get a good opportunity to clean out the carpet.

 

So with the front struts assembled, that should have been ample time for the airbag gubbins to be safely disconnected. I probably shouldn't have bothered:

 

Just your usual mankiness.

 

Basically, the seats look like they tilt backwards once the screws are undone relatively easily. However, once I started to look at the wiring:

 

Basically, my head started to hurt.

 

I was able to make a start, getting a trim removal tool to disconnect some of the parts attached with clips, but once I'd cleared about 3 or 4 of the connectors, I then saw further parts of the loom weave themselves further into the seat, I presume going to bits like the rear footwell light and the buttons for the seat motors.

 

At that stage, I decided to give up. The photos above show the extent of the required carpet cleaning, and tilting back was more than sufficient to get a decent chunk of the carpet sorted.

 

Whilst having the seats out could have allowed for a good wipe and clean of the frame and the runners, I think that would be something for the long distant future.

 

So decided to crack on with the carpet cleaning. The two modules under the seats, were removed by undoing the two plastic rivets (using the trim removal tool), then a couple of nuts and a bolt, to undo the frames that keep the modules in place.

 

The passenger side I believe is the amplifier for the Canton sound system, and the driver side is the TV tuner.

 

I also removed the foot rest in the drivers side foot well. I believe it was a T20 torx bit:

 

Then with a bit of sliding and wiggling, it'll come free:

 

With those removed, proceeded to attack the carpet as best as I could:

 

The driver side still needs a few more goes, but under the seats is probably fine now, and the seats are technically ready to go back in. The modules under the seat and their frames are back in the house and they'll be given a wash and wipe down before reassembly.

 

I was exhausted by then, a good few hours on this.

 

Decided as the sun was still sorta there but coming down, to assemble the rear suspension, so back to the "workbench":

 

Slot the bump stop into the top mount bit:

 

The dust cover needs to be slotted into the top mount:

 

It needs a tiny bit of persuasion, but once it's in, it should be quite firmly in place:

 

This can then all slide into the rear strut:

 

The workshop manual specifies 25nm for the top bolt, but again, just did it as tight as possible:

 

Eagle eyed readers can see the 17mm spanner used, and this time decided to use a 5mm allen key.

 

So this is much more straightforward, pretty much 15 minutes for both:

 

So that's it. The suspension is all ready to be fitted pretty much (depends on the rear springs and whether the compressor is needed though.

 

Been alright with the exception of the broken connector cover really, and I guess the general exhaustive work when cleaning a car. I note that I haven't even began to look at the rear seats. I'll need to swot up on that, as I recall there being some one use only plastic clips or some such, which seems a bit strange.

 

I'll probably take a few more pics of when I put back those modules into the car.

 

Maintenance: £1344.91

Upgrades: £337.06

Miscellaneous: £584.95

Did you include the 20p credit for the find under the seat?😆

[commievid]

15 hours ago, Warrior193 said:

Did you include the 20p credit for the find under the seat?😆

It was a £1 coin! Which the wife swiftly snatched off me. Easy come easy go!

 

Will see if I can crack on with the rear seats should I get a brief lull in weather and work.

[commievid]

So managed to find bits of spare time today to have at the rear seats.

 

So one thing the workshop manual neglects to mention (or maybe it's mentioned somewhere away from the interior section), is when the rear seat bench (the lower bit) has Isofix attachments:

 

So the workshop manual says to lift up from the front with sharp upwards direction, then some wiggling to get the bench free, but not mentioning that these clips are probably in the way first.

 

So if anything this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VTj0yUAYew nails the steps required. It's for a Golf R, but it's nigh on the same car (right?!) and the steps are actually the same.

 

 

So essentially, looking at bit closer:

 

The mankiness in this clip will need to be sorted later, but the clips have a sorta angle in its groove meaning a tug from the underside upwards is enough to free them:

 

Lo and behold it starts coming loose and then pops free, to be pulled out, do so for all four:

 

Then, as per the YouTube video, sorta use your knee or something to get some purchase to push the bench slightly back, and then upwards in a U like shape, and eventually:

 

Do the same for the other side:

 

You'll then be presented with a couple of electrical connectors, so free those, and that should the bench freed.

 

This then reveals the central seat belt anchor mounting:

 

This was a 17mm nut, so undo that, and then disconnect the electrical connector. This one is a little fiddly, there's a tiny tab to be pulled away on one of the connectors whilst being pulled. A thin screwdriver and some delicacy should suffice.

 

The next step to remove the backrests is the removal this central part, which is really there to keep the seats from popping out. It firstly comprises a plastic cover:

 

The video showed it pulling out by hand quite easily, but I had to use a tool:

 

Which subsequently made the cover pop out and fly around the rear of the car:

 

But its removal reveals the bolt for the main metal bit that keeps the seats in place. This was a T30 torx:

 

Once removed, the metal black part that does the work can then be removed. I had to do some wiggling and messing around with the seat back rests in order get it free, and I may have bent or damaged some of the backrest plastic doing so:

 

Regardless, there's now nothing to stop the backrests from being removed. They both sit on the hinge in the middle, and without the metal clip, can be lifted up:

 

With one side lifted up, you can then wiggle it away from the side of the car:

 

The white stub can be seen in the above, which is what the seat locates into. Disconnect the wiring from the backrest:

 

Then repeat for both sides, and the seats are then freed:

 

Once the seats were removed and placed aside, I noticed this:

 

Decided to remove this vent from the centre console, looks like a stray foot or ham fist pulled off the left side tab thingy. I imagine sourcing a replacement is probably easier than attempting some repair.

 

Looks like 3V0 819 203 A.

 

Once I had another spare moment, I went over the seats with a damp rag, with some elbow grease on stubborn bits, then gave it a go with some Leather Cleaner. Auto Glym stuff which was lying around the garage:

 

If I'm keeping this car long term, I'll probably have to arrange a leather guy to do some spot repairs, just a few little imperfections, but otherwise perfectly functional and comfy.

 

With the seat backrests in front of me and easily inspected, I started to think about the seat release from the boot, and to be honest, am pretty stumped.

 

I started to look at the rear and peel it away, using a hair dryer to add some heat to loosen the glue:

 

At this point, I was expecting to see some sort of opening, or something to indicate how it might be possible to retrofit the bowden cables.

 

However, I couldn't immediately see it, so I chickened out and have patted the rear cover back onto the contact adhesive. I sense I will need to be even more destructive to get at it, probably needing to remove that side padding completely to get anywhere.

 

If anyone has any reference pics at this stage, I would greatly appreciate it!

 

Maintenance: £1468.47

Upgrades: £681.11

Miscellaneous: £584.95

[commievid]

A few days back, after noticing the cracked cover for the connector on the Bilstein damper, I emailed bilstein-shocks to enquire about whether the part can be ordered.

 

I got an email today, where they've literally added the item to their online store: https://www.bilstein-shocks.co.uk/products/replacement-cap-b6-damptronic-23-254343-e4-xk1-z034a03

 

£6 each, but looks like £10 delivery, plus tax.

 

I decided to order 2, just to keep one spare, coming to £26.40.

 

Not ideal, but I don't think there was any other option.

 

Maintenance: £1494.87 (+£26.40)

Upgrades: £681.11

Miscellaneous: £584.95

 

Edited 12 March by commievid

[commievid]

Also decided to take out the rear ash tray:

 

It involved opening it up, and tugging the right side straight up, and then wiggling the tray away from the left side. Kind of like the rear seat backrests.

 

There were a couple of bright yellow scuffs on the cover (which unclips from the main bit). So gave it a go with a magic eraser and some elbow grease:

 

Eventually needed to scrape the remainder with my fingernail, but that's that sorted.

 

I might entertain removing the centre console as a result of this, give myself more nooks and crannies to clean.

 

Maintenance: £1494.87

Upgrades: £681.11

Miscellaneous: £584.95

Edited 13 March by commievid

[commievid]

I've started down a road I'm beginning to be reluctant to proceed with:

 

So the workshop manual has steps involving removing the felt cover from the back, which is incorrect.

 

For this smaller of the back rests (and I suspect for the other), the leather cover appears to be clipped into this rear metal frame by means of really tight fitting plastic guides into metal channels in the frame.

 

I've essentially sacrificed my thin screwdriver to wedge into that channel and forcibly lever the plastic out, and then using the trim tools to undo it the rest of the way:

 

I have no idea if I'll be to reattach all this without it being "off".

 

Regardless, this then gives enough purchase to lift the foam away to reveal the latch, held on by a pair of M10 spline bolts:

 

The latch then slides up and away, with some fiddling of the still attached leather seat cover:

 

Looking at the underside, you can then just about see where the Bowden cable will go to for the release:

 

So I got the Bowden cable ordered earlier and offered it up:

 

The actual process of getting it in place was a lot more fiddly than I liked, with use of anything thin to try and get the cable in place:

 

It looks like there's also a bit to clip it further on the latch:

 

This is roughly how it looks unfortunately once placed back:

 

So I sense that there's probably a distinct difference between the foam bits and maybe even the frame depending on whether this option was specified or not.

 

I then took the rest of the cover away from the frame, to separate out the parts, so the foam and leather is one part (hog rings keep those two together) and the frame as the second.

 

The only other thing keeping the two parts together was the headrest guides, the plastic bits the headrest slots into. You essentially have to tilt the seat foam in order to see the sides of the guides, and some brute force squeezing of the tabs will eventually allow them to slide out and free.

 

This is pretty much what I'm left with:

 

So at the moment, I can only suspect that the foam needs some cutting, to essentially create a channel for the Bowden cable and that rectangular bit at the bottom to sit. This will probably also need to be combined with some cutting out of the side of the seat cover so this part is revealed, which will be needed in order to hook up the main Bowden cable to this internally fitted one.

 

There will be no turning back if I do this, and I haven't been able to find any reference images or anything to try and gain some confidence. So this will be quite scary!

 

The best I could muster is this from eBay of rear seats from an Octavia:

 

Where the Bowden cable is still attached. It looks like it will take the same route as the wiring on my seat (there's wiring for the heating elements on mine), and the rectangular covers are see on the bottom sides of the seats. Just about.

 

Some quick Googling on LLL parts suggests that the seat foam 3V0 885 775 A E is the one needed, as opposed to 3V0 885 775 R which is the code stamped on my particular seat foam. Some additional cross reference confirms UK1 in the PR codes meaning "Standard rear seat release" and UK3 meaning "Mechanical rear seat release". So if anyone has any images or anything of what that looks like, or whether the frame itself is different, would greatly appreciate it!

 

Got some of the service bits today, so will catalog those later this evening I think.

 

Maintenance: £1494.87

Upgrades: £681.11

Miscellaneous: £584.95

[commievid]

So some random Googling has led me to:

 

https://www.vwgolf.org/removing_and_installing_rear_seat_backrest_cover_and_padding-1024.html

 

and

 

https://www.vwgolf.org/removing_and_installing_bowden_cable_for_remote_release_mechanism_for_seat_backrest-1007.html

 

which look like the closest I will get to a reference image:

 

It doesn't illustrate how the foam is going to be handled, but it at least implies the Bowden cable looks like it's clipped onto the frame...

 

[commievid]

So with me procrastinating over the seat and the foams needing some potential slicing, decided to look at the clock spring and the indicators:

 

The idea was to swap them over so it's ready to go straight in. I've noticed that these clock springs have a useful 0 degree indicator:

 

For the facelift one above, the window inside the clock spring has a white ribbon which aligns with the 0 degree marker to the left of it.

 

For the pre facelift clock spring, it looks like a notch that is within the inner part of the clock spring:

 

The white notch is to the right, with the arrow pointing at it on the upper part. It isn't there if its any number of revolutions out.

 

The clock spring is attached with 3 screws, T15 bits:

 

Then it's two electrical connectors, sorta chunky style ones at the bottom:

 

Then one at the top, which has a few awkward latches:

 

It will then come free:

 

This is where it dawned on me that this was all a waste of time. The connectors aren't all compatible with one another, the left and right indicators having different number of pins, and the connectors locations on the clock springs themselves slightly different here and there.

 

I've decided to give up on these indicators, as it doesn't seem worth the effort. Shame really, need to come up with another way to spruce up the existing ones.

 

With that laid to bed, I decided to take pics of the stuff for servicing:

 

The main bits for most of a 'C' service. Oil filter, air filter, cabin filter, spark plugs, and the DSG filter.

 

For reference, I use an A, B, A, C service schedule for all the guys I look after. It keeps things simple, and most of the time means overdoing things. Some cars will have an oil and filter change in between, but in general, it's annual.

 

I'll be doing the C service for this car primarily to zero off the time line for this car, and because 8 years of age marries up to the C service perfectly. It'll also mean just a quick look and oil change next year.

 

I don't have shares in Mann, but it does usually end up with me always using Mann stuff. The cabin filter above is apparently some fancy type, so cost a bit more than normal or activated charcoal ones.

 

The above was all from Autodoc, and came to £104.36, a case of scraping a few pounds compared to EuroCarParts or GSF.

 

Now, one disadvantage of the DSG gearbox is the sheer amount of expensive oil required:

 

So I have 7l of the stuff, plus a litre of stuff for the Haldex differential:

 

Again, I've found myself using Mannol stuff for the last 4-5 years and I haven't found any of the cars blowing up yet, so more than happy with using the same for the DSG and Haldex. I imagine the Haldex will end up being changed every 2 years (the B service) and 4 years appears to be the expectation for the DSG.

 

It was £12.15 for the Haldex oil, and £48.86 for the DSG oil.

 

Also some gubbins for the Haldex:

 

First RacingLine mod! Even if it's just some replacement fill and drain bolts. They contain a bunch of washers which is probably the reason I went for those. The pic also has washers for the DSG drain bolt, and also a pump for the Haldex oil, just the usual pump for these situations (have a few in the garage for the manual gearboxes when needed).

 

It was £4.55 for the washers, £6.69 for the pump and £29.99 for the RacingLine bolts.

 

I forgot to take pictures of the Haldex o-rings as well. Specifically https://www.haldexrepairs.co.uk/shop/haldex-other-small-parts/o-ring-seals-for-gen-5-haldex-pumps/ and https://www.haldexrepairs.co.uk/shop/haldex-other-small-parts/large-rear-o-ring-for-vw-audi-seat-and-skoda-n90443301/ which came to £10.14 with delivery.

 

Here's a bag of nuts:

 

This is for the modules under the seats, as I vacuumed one by accident over the previous weekend being too earnest. Usually take the opportunity to replace things with stainless when appropriate, such as this. £3.32 from eBay.

 

Some random tools as well:

 

Some picks, as I don't have any, and when I used to service the wife's SEAT Ibiza, I usually always had to get out some sort of screwdrive for the o-rings for the filters and whatnot. £6.95 from eBay.

 

Another pick:

 

This one for trim pieces, which seems to be mentioned quite a bit in the workshop manuals, £4.99, again from eBay.

 

These also arrived today:

 

New connector cover to replace the broken one, with one spare just in case.

 

So quite a bit, and I'll probably miscalculate the total knowing my luck. I haven't included engine oil, brake fluid, or coolant, primarily because I have that stuff already.

 

Maintenance: £1678.25 (+£183.38)

Upgrades: £711.10 (+£29.99)

Miscellaneous: £603.58 (+£18.63)

Edited 14 March by commievid
Corrected totals

[nicknorman]

Wow huge amount of work there! I’ll just mention that the Haldex fill screw has a very small hex socket that is made of cheese. I wasn’t quite clear from the above whether you have one, but I’d get a new fill hole bolt before changing the Haldex fluid. It will be interesting to see how much gunge there is on the Haldex filter and in the oil. It was horrendous the first time, better but still fairly grotty the second time. Maybe it will be less grotty this time if the wear has settled down. Hopefully we’ll see.

[commievid]

13 minutes ago, nicknorman said:

Wow huge amount of work there! I’ll just mention that the Haldex fill screw has a very small hex socket that is made of cheese.

 

I had a feeling as they're a bit small and pretty exposed on the underside, hence ordering the Racingline replacements, which I can only presume are a bit more robust (otherwise, their magnetic bits for picking up crud are going to end up in the gubbins!).

 

They came with 5 washers for each of the bolts, so technically enough for a decades worth of changes, so it must mean something!

[commievid]

Quite a sunny morning, so decided to crack on with the interior. Want to remove the centre console, for additional cleaning as some of the storage containers have just enough nooks and crannies to make wiping it down in the car a bit too annoying.

 

This will be a little unstructured, and also missed some pics here and there, as the whole process is a little long winded, so some bouts of impatience got the better of me.

 

So some exploratory use of the trim removal, firstly at the climate controls:

 

The trim should pop off without too much drama:

 

You'll then be presented with the climate controls, and where they are attached to the car, which appears to be via some rubber grommets, akin to the engine cover on these VAG mobiles. This means a bit of brute force with the trim removal tools, but they eventually pop out:

 

There's a bunch of connectors, which have red locking latches on them, so those need prying up before removal:

 

The next relatively easy step is the side trims under and along the centre console, which have a single screw on each side, underneath a piece of removable trim:

 

I think it was a T20 torx:

 

Once removed, the trim can then be pulled downwards, as its held by about 3 metal spring clips:

 

It's then a case of wiggling away between the seats and the centre console. Then repeat for the other side:

 

I randomly decided to remove the front air vents:

 

Used the trim pick tool I acquired earlier, where I followed the workshop manual to reach the rear of the vent and give it a tug outwards. Repeat that for the other side and there should be enough to get other tools in to free it:

 

The side vents are easier as a trim tool can be used on the outside of them to lever outwards.

 

I didn't take pics of how to disconnect them as they were a faff, some of the worse connectors I've ever had to endure. They are the connectors for any of the lighting, and it looks like theoretically, you push inwards a tiny dot in the middle of the connector to free them.

 

What I ended up doing is getting a thin screwdriver and wedging it into the connector, in order to push the connector outwards instead of pushing the thing inwards. There was a big danger of breaking connectors doing this (I think one has been damaged as a consequence), but worse case scenario I'll just wrap the connector with duct tape or something. Genuine pain.

 

Went back to the centre console, and this time at the rear:

 

Now, I made a bit of a mess of this, as there's two trim pieces involved here, in my case the piano black part, and then the chrome outer part. I had to involve a great deal of force to free this, thinking it was one piece. No idea if undoing them in separate pieces might have made things easier.

 

I then had to do some hand gymnastics to free the rear climate controls:

 

They're sort of angled into the trim, then rotated into place, so the reverse is done, freeing the clips on one side and rotating it free. This was a bit of a faff.

 

My force with this part of the rear trim produced a casualty:

 

A clean crack on the chrome outer part. Something I'll have to replace if I care enough.

 

Once that part is done, there are two T20 hex screws at the bottom, which when undone, allows for a part of the centre console to be removed:

 

This then allows for the armrest bolts to be accessible:

 

I believe these were T30 torx bolts, so the nearest pair were undone.

 

However, the furthest pair had a bit of difficulty with access. After some um'ing and ah'ing, decided to just grab the air tunnel and just pull it:

 

It was only push fitted into the larger air ducts in the centre console, so with disconnecting the connector on this air duct (presumably some sort of temperature sensor), the right bolt could then be undone. It was still a bit tight on the left, so decided to undo the two screws at the top of the centre console, near the top of the armrest itself, and then lifted up the centre console partially:

 

This lifting gave enough clearance to undo that last bolt:

 

I luckily have one of those knurled 1/4" spanner attachments so I could use my fingers to undo it. The rear of the centre console needs to be lifted slightly as a matter of course, because it's the only way to free the armrest:

 

It then snags on some wiring that is attached to the armrest:

 

It is then a case of some more wiggling but eventually:

 

Moving more things into the house and it's starting to look a bit busy:

 

I'll finish this post here, as it's nice interval. Next posts will be the rest of the centre console and anything else I remember!

 

Maintenance: £1678.25

Upgrades: £711.10

Miscellaneous: £603.58

[commievid]

So to remove the centre console, the front trims and gubbins now needed to be freed. First is the gear selector trim, which was done with a thinner trim removal piece. This piece is attached to the gear gaiter, so its lifted a bit to gain access to the other bits.

 

The same thin trim removal piece is then used at the bottom of the buttons on either side of the gear selector:

 

The wiring to these buttons were a little difficult to access in situ. Not actually sure how, maybe the centre console itself was freed enough to allow it to move upwards and allow more room to disconnect it, didn't keep track of the sequence. However it happened, the buttons eventually come free:

 

The remainder of the trim with the last three buttons can then be lifted. I think I have just grabbed it with my hands and pulled it straight upwards:

 

Disconnect the last of those connectors and eventually:

 

This exposes these two screws at the front of the centre console, used to keep the storage compartment in place:

 

First snag here was that the compartment wasn't coming free. Obvious step to look at was the electrical connectors for the cigarette socket and USB/aux sockets:

 

The connectors here were a little bit more awkward than others. I was forced to use a thin screwdriver and some praying nothing snapped.

 

Even then, the storage compartment wasn't coming away. It was fouling the gear selector. So did some Googling and there's apparently a button of some sort that allows the gear selector to be moved. As it is, with no power connected, the gear selector is locked in P.

 

The user manual itself also highlights this emergency override, which is a yellow thingy. Youtube videos corroborate this. What they don't show is:

 

This lump of foam. Decided at this point to see if the centre console could be removed and see if that helps with the storage compartment.

 

With the trim from the gearbox, the front and rear climate controls, the rear ashtray and armrest all removed, what should remain is a few screws:

 

Two on the side at the bottom, which the side trims normally cover. There is also a pair on the inside of the centre console:

 

Next to the gear selector. There are a couple at the front:

 

These are hidden by the climate controls, hence it's removal being a requisite. The remaining two are at the rear:

 

Now, the previous post has shown pics of these removed, as the armrest requires this, and the console being lifted to remove it. This pic is from earlier, as the armrest is still visible here, but I've put it here for the flow!

 

Sadly, the storage compartment and the whole centre console is still fouled by the gear selector:

 

So I was forced to find this yellow thing. Eventually was able to determine it by slipping a finger between the gear selector and the foam on the right side front and rummaged for something. I found said something, pressed it inwards to the left, and lo and behold, the gear selector could be changed. Two clicks down to N.

 

I've taken a pic for future reference, which involved some destruction of the foam to do so:

 

Not too fussed really. Could use some duct tape I suppose.

 

With that, the centre console now has a clear path. It is lifted up from the rear, which then angles the front to release it, as it has clips at the front. Then the console is pulled back slightly then up. With some additional wiggling:

 

No doubt I will completely forget the steps to install this, even if its just this post backwards.

 

I think it took about 4 hours to get to this stage, with time delays mainly around scratching my head around this yellow emergency gear selector release. I think it could be done within an hour if it was a mad scramble.

 

So one moral of this story is to ensure you've got the car in neutral if you're going to remove the centre console!

 

Note, I also put wheel chocks before putting the car in neutral, just in case. I'm sure the parking brake was engaged before the power was disconnected, but just in case.

 

Maintenance: £1678.25

Upgrades: £711.10

Miscellaneous: £603.58

[commievid]

Riding high on that removal of the centre console (and to procrastinate), decided to tackle other parts to be removed.

 

Started with the glovebox, which is attached to the car with a number of screws:

 

Not a great pic, but there are three along the top above the head unit (MIB2, or is it 2.5 these days).

 

There's also a couple that are quite difficult to see, and require the glovebox to be closed (or at least not wide open) to reach and undo:

 

The above is the left side, the right is somewhere similar. One has to assume the "Lotus position" https://www.lotustalk.com/threads/the-lotus-position.485688/ to get at them.

 

Whilst I was there, I removed the head unit:

 

I spent far too long running around the house trying to find the removal keys, despite only using them fairly recently. Managed to find them though. The head unit then slides out, but appears to catch on something. I don't think I did what was needed correctly as I head an uncomfortable crack but it came free:

 

There was a myriad of connectors which I didn't take pictures of. Some were pretty awkward, again requiring a thin screwdriver and being extra cautious in case I broke something. Tried to figure out how to disconnect the big one into separate connectors but failed.

 

Regardless, and you might have noticed in the pic above, the glovebox comes down with a bit a shove after the screws are undone. The wiring is then wiggled free:

 

So with the glovebox removed, this was certainly the best time to fit the new cabin filter:

 

Like last time, I used a thin screwdriver to slightly undo the latches at the top, and the cover then flips away and out. Slide the new one in:

 

I think the airflow is downwards...

 

So, decided next step was the steering column surround. There is a reason for this which I will get to. Started with the top of the cowl, firstly, disconnected it from the front panel, underneath the dash. A thin removal trim tool was needed:

 

Going around the trim (which is attached to the leather bit) and it'll pop out and free:

 

Used the same trim tool to start lifting up the front of the upper cowl:

 

It'll pop free, and repeat for the other side:

 

Now, at this stage, I hit a block. The lower cowl appears to be attached with 3 screws, with two awkwardly placed requiring the steering to be turned 90 degrees left and right, akin to what's needed to remove the airbag.

 

However, with the car not having any power, the steering wheel immediately locked. Normally I'd stick a key in the barrel and wiggle it to disengage the steering lock and carry on, but this isa keyless car...so if anyone has any suggestions or workarounds, I'd greatly appreciate it, as otherwise, I'll have to wait for the car to be powered back (and then I guess put the car into ignition and then disconnect the power?).

 

So the original task of actually cleaning up the car cannot be avoided now:

 

 

The carpet around where the centre console was given a quick carpet and the area given a general dusting:

 

The weather was still holding up, so popped the gloves on for a first pass of the area where the rear seats were:

 

The left looked like rust to my horror, but it wasn't. I'm still not sure what it is, but there was basically another pound coin, and some sticky green stuff.

 

So got myself a bucket of hot soapy water to act as a first pass, to wipe away whatever the heck that all was. Several goes and some vacuuming:

 

I'll probably give it another spruce once I've calmed down.

 

I'm fortunate to not need to entertain anyone for a while:

 

You can see that both rear seats have enough of their covers removed for the whole release mechanism retrofit. I'll do some pics of those a little later, in addition to some other random things.

 

So yeah, any advice regarding the steering lock on a keyless car with no power, I'd greatly appreciate it.

 

Maintenance: £1678.25

Upgrades: £711.10

Miscellaneous: £603.58

 

Edited 16 March by commievid
Removed stray pic

[commievid]

Now for something completely different:

 

This is probably pointless, but heck, why not. A wireless charger that should fit in the storage compartment. AliExpress https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006105481992.html which I paid £54.58, it looks to be cheaper now.

 

It also included a wiring harness, which isn't in these pics, as I've sneakily already dry fitted it into the car (given chunks of the interior is now removed, this is best time to do anything like this).

 

This particular charger doesn't contain a connector for the aerial, like I've seen on others on AliExpress and genuine. I didn't actually see any connectors that look like it might serve that purpose when I removed the storage compartment from the car, so presume it isn't on this car anyway, which is more luck than intention.

 

So it looks like the plastic frame on the left has slots and clips for the charging cradle to clip into, so it's a case of attaching this frame to the storage compartment:

 

I took this opportunity to give the compartment a good run under the tap and a quick wipe down and clean. I cleaned out the slot and mechanical bits that the lid rides on, and sprayed some dry PTFE along those bits. Hopefully it's good for a while yet.

 

The frame has a couple of hooks on the rear, which match whats on the compartment, so this was unlatched on the compartment, and then it comes away:

 

Now, the frame doesn't go into the storage compartment straight away. It looks like whoever designed it obsessed over symmetry as opposed to actually fitting. The right front plastic tab bit is slightly further away on the original, but is the same length on this replacement frame.

 

Decided the easiest path is to bodge it:

 

Just got some pliers and came it some to break it free. This then allows it to slot in quite snugly:

 

The charging cradle then goes in:

 

Unfortunately, it doesn't look like a perfect fit, and doesn't click in place in a satisfactory manner. It'll either need more force or I just deal with it.

 

No instructions came with this is regards how its wired up, so I've done some swotting. This seems to be the best summary from https://forum.obdeleven.com/thread/6451/help-installing-wireless-induction-charger:

 

Quote

- pin 1: Power. 0,5mm red/blue to fusebox (interconnects with same colored wire from amplifier)

- pin 2: Power on signal from infotainment unit. 0,5mm yellow/red to grey connector on infotainment unit pin 5 (interconnects with same colored wire from amplifier)

- pin 3: Data/LIN bus from infotainment unit. 0,5mm yellow/blue to grey connector on infotainment unit pin 11

- pin 4: Ground. 0,5mm brown to ground (i used another bundle of ground wires near the bottom of the A-pillar)

- pin 5: No idea what it does. 0,5mm white to 73-pin plug B pin 14 on BCM (this pin is already in use if you have keyless access. in that case this goes to the Kessy control unit. Strip a piece of isolation and connect to existing wire.)

 

So cross referencing some of the workshop manual bits, the fusebox connection looks most apt at Fuse 16:

20240316 61 Fuse 16.pdf

 

Quote

2-way amplifier for mobile service -J984- , Storage compartment with interface for mobile phone -R265-

 

Which is meant to be 5A. So that's one.

 

There are a pair which are yellow with different stripes, correlating to what should be the grey connector pins 5 and 11, which I suspect is this one:

 

I haven't figured out if the grey connector comes free from the big block, but even if not, should be able to insert the pins in as appropriate.

 

I suspect there are ground points behind the passenger side kick panel, so that's something I can remove from the car to have a look later.

 

The connection to the BCM will be something that is kicked down the curb. It sounds easy enough to connect or splice in, but I doubt anything involving a 73 pin connector is going to be straightforward.

 

So tried to gauge how access to that fusebox is. It came away easily enough with the clips around the side of the fusebox, but the fusebox only came out a certain distance:

 

Annoyingly, can't seem to get enough clearance to easily access the rear to insert any terminals for the fusebox, which would include this wireless charger in addition to the heated steering loom from Kufatec.

 

If anyone has any advice to easily reach the back, let me know!

 

Maintenance: £1678.25

Upgrades: £765.68 (+£54.58)

Miscellaneous: £603.58

[commievid]

Not so many pics today, sunny day this afternoon so more time spent on the garden than anything, its been underwater for long spells over winter so there's a big cleanup task over the next few months.

 

Anyways, with swathes of the interior in pieces, parts were cleaned up, some under a hot tap with Fairy liquid, before a once over with Autoglym Interior Shampoo, then another with Vinyl and Rubber Care when applicable.

 

The centre console is probably as good as it will get, so is now dry fitted back into the car.

 

Then decided to look at the grey connector I mentioned in the previous post, in order to wire up the wireless charger.

 

Looks like it was actually just a simple latch that kept in place of what I think is called the quad lock connector:

 

Lifting that latch is enough to immediately get the grey connector to come free, so once out, it was a case of adding the two wires to their respective terminals:

 

Just stared at the connector, to identify pins 1-6 on the top row and 7-12 on the bottom, with the yellow and red wire onto pin 5 and the yellow and blue wire onto pin 11.

 

Now, I believe the connector has locking bits that need lifting before the terminal can be inserted, but I ended up just pushing them in until I heard a click, which then lifted said locking bits slightly. Squeezed those back into place, and then returned the connector back to the quad lock block.

 

It only leaves the main power bits I believe:

 

With the Kufatec one for the heated steering wheel. I believe I have been sent the wrong one, as it looks like it won't be long enough. However, it looks to be just the power and ground. There is a random additional power wire which I don't think is needed, so I think it's just a case of extending power and ground as required.

 

Back to the wireless charger, as per the previous post, Fuse 16 will be its intended connection, and I've noticed from other posts that there's purple plastic bits on the side which act as the locking tabs for the fuseboxes on a row by row basis. I still can't seem to twist the fusebox around enough to get access to the back, so either something else needs undoing, or I'll have to try and insert it relatively blindly.

 

The ground will probably be attached to one of the bolts nearby on the metal dashboard frame, simply as its nearest.

 

I'll need to plan how to do the last remaining white wire. From this part of the workshop manual:

J519 RHD T37c.pdf

 

It appears that the 73 pin connector, specifically pin 14, is the "Input of interface for entry and start authorisation -J965- (Wake up wire)" so related to the Kessy gubbins.

 

I can see where this particular connector is, nearby the intended ground point really, but how I splice this wire into the existing wire, no idea. Will be extremely difficult to do in a way that isn't butchering the existing wiring (which I'm loathed to do).

 

Maintenance: £1678.25

Upgrades: £765.68

Miscellaneous: £603.58

[commievid]

I've spotted this post: 

So the diagrams I've seen thus far have a rectangular cover which slots just over the Bowden cable mechanism that is installed in the seat, rather than this slightly larger version which appears to cover the hinge as well...

 

Did some additional swotting on lllparts and found https://www.lllparts.co.uk/product/3G0886295B and https://www.lllparts.co.uk/product/3G0886296B which is different from what I ordered.

 

Decided to order those from Skoda parts, as it looks like it covers the lower corner, which might be useful if I'm a bit more cack handed than I'd like when I start butchering the seat foam and upholstery of the seat cover.

 

I think I've managed to get the red wire for the wireless charger into the requisite slot in the fuse box, so I'll need to actually procure some fuses! More luck than skill though as it's still relatively blind as it's at an awkward angle.

 

The workshop manual suggests that the BCM is lowered down, but firstly the plugs themselves need removing. It's all quite tight down there, so not sure if it's just a case of persevering with my hopefully small enough fingers, or if there's a smarter way to get at them.

Edited 18 March by commievid