Hey everyone,

 

I bought a Superb MK3 L&K with wonky ambient lighting in the dash trim and the passenger side front door. This isn't really a big issue, but I got annoyed enough to try and do something about it.

 

There's two separate problems:
 

1. I removed the dash ambient lighting trim panel and it looks like the optical fiber is cracked, so the light from the SMD LEDs travels only up to a certain point. I looked at replacing the whole trim panel, but it's ~300EUR for the thing (https://www.skoda-parts.com/spare-part/3v1858418bn77-decorative-bar-skoda-46513.html). I want to try and save some money by to replace the optical fiber myself first. There's really nothing to loose since I can always buy the OEM part if I somehow mess things up. I noticed the actual panel has two parts with small clips and melted plastic. I can try heating up the plastic with a fan. Has anyone tried removing the optical fiber from the trim panel? Any tips?
2. The passenger side front door also has wonky ambient lighting. It seems to be working halfway, which makes me thing it could be that one of the LEDs died. I'm going to try to remove the trim panel and the SMD PCBs and if one's dead, I'm going to solder in a new one (I have an SMD soldering station). I've read somewhere online that the trim panel is welded to the door card, so I might have to drill it, then melt plastic into the whole when reassembling it. Does anyone know if I can remove the door trim panel by itself, or do I need to remove the whole door card to get to it?

Edited 4 May, 20242 yr by matteeyah

The ambient lighting trim bit is plastic riveted to the door card.

U can see it in the pic below.  This is my rear door card.

 

Well that's.... a lot of rivets. That's what I thought. I wasn't sure if I wasn't applying enough force when trying to pry off the trim or if it was riveted. It's going to be a nightmare to replace that panel if it ends up being the optical fiber. At least the LEDs are easily accessible. Thanks!

The trim piece with the LED strip incorporated can be had new for around £150, you’ll need the replacement metal rivet caps to fit it after drilling out the OE plastic ones.

Fairly straight forward process 

 

I removed the door card. I originally thought it's two LEDs per optic fiber for the ambient light, but it looks like the door ambient lighting only has one. I still can't figure out if it's the LED or the fiber. The fiber does light up all the way through, but about 1/3 or 1/2 of the way it starts being very dim. I tried swapping the LED from the dash ambient light and the door to check if it's the LED itself, and it's a little better, but similar. If it was the fiber, then the light would stop at some point, i.e. the light wouldn't shine all the way through, right? Makes me think that the LEDs just got weaker over time. Is that even possible?

 

I found the OEM part number for the light (https://www.oemvwshop.com/3v1947194a-led-light-p1473174/). But what's confusing me is that the LED itself costs about half of what the trim piece including the light costs (https://www.skoda-parts.com/spare-part/3v0867061drj9-decorative-bar-skoda-47683.html). I'm not sure if the prices on that website are just off, or what.

Edited 6 May, 20242 yr by matteeyah