Guide: B7 Passat footwell lights

[passat123]

Been wanting this quick addition to my car for ages! There are perforated areas for footwell lights in the B7 Passat range, I think the CC has provision too.

The installation including enabling the lights via VCDS should take under 1 hour.. The only tricky part is fishing from the passenger footwell to the drivers side..

[passat123]

DIY: Installing Front Footwell Lights in B7 Passat

There are a few different ways the cabling can be run and earthed for this job.
I chose to do it the easiest way which involves the least amount of panel removal and no cutting or modifying of any original panels, harness or brackets. It took around 1 hour including activation via VCDS.

I used a kit from BoldSport because it is plug and play.
Feel free to ask for more info on the install. It's really simple and looks amazing once complete.

Please read instructions carefully especially the ones in red typed on the photos.

Items needed:
BoldSport B7 Passat front footwell light kit (http://www.bold-sport.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&path=43_75_76&product_id=131)
Electric tape
Nut, bolt and washer (for earth)

Total Cost: under $35.00

Tools needed:
VCDS (to activate the lights)
Torx bit (trim removal)
Phillips screw driver (for earth bolt)
Cable tie (or wire drawing snake)
Cable tie 4.8mm (for BCM Plug)
Torch
Side cutters


STEP 01
This step is not compulsory, I just did it for myself.
Wrap the wiring harness in electric tape. Just roll it along in a spiral motion (should take 2mins to do the lot).

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STEP 02:
Remove the footwell trim, there are two hand screws which need to be released from the passenger side and 3 torx screws on the drivers side.

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STEP 03:
This is the fiddly part. Fishing the route.
I used a thick cable tie because my cable snake/tongue was in my other car and I was too lazy to get it.
Feed from the passengers footwell.
There is a clear route about 3 inches away from the firewall, just poke your fingers behind the trim and feed the snake (cable tie) through until you feel it glide for about 30cm. Once it gets hard to push it would have gone behind the dead pedal, go over to the drivers footwell and push it back until you have the end of it and bring it over the trim.

The wiring harness will need to be taped to the end of the cable tie (at the drivers side) then simply pull the snake from the passengers side until about 40cm comes through.

Be sure to only tape the passengers side of the wiring harness (the plug with the least wires from it).

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[passat123]

STEP 04
It should look something like this:

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STEP 06
Run the earth wire (with the O ring) up the drivers side fuse box and screw it to the existing hole.

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[passat123]

STEP 07
Now look at the BCM (J519) which is located above the drivers side footwell, to the right of the steering column.

The white BCM plug has a small tab in the middle of it, press that down then pull back the black latch. This will release the white plug (T52b).

Cut the cable tie which holds the factory wiring harness in the plug (T52b) - keep in mind, you will replace it soon.

The wire on the footwell wiring harness with the pin on it will simply plug in on position/hole #50 of the T52b plug.

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STEP 08
Once the wire is in hole #50 put it back in the shell and replace the cable tie which was cut to prevent any chance of the factory wiring harness coming out.

Make sure when you re-assemble the plug you hear the clicks when the tabs are closed.

STEP 09
Connect the footwell lights to the wiring harness plugs which should be hanging out of the holes of the factory trim (perforated rectangles - just push them out).

Before cleaning up and putting the trim back the car should look something like this:

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[passat123]

STEP 10
Once the footwell trim is screwed back on the lights should look like this (after coding)

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[passat123]

STEP 11
VCDS Coding..
This must be done, otherwise the lights will NOT work, they won't be visible on the MFD and there will be no voltage detected at the pins on the light plug.

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Once ALL 11 steps are complete the lights will be able to be controlled at the MFD and will have the OEM gradual off style switch off when the doors are closed.

Feel free to ask for information I may have left out.

Enjoy the quick mod!

[passat123]

If anyone else has completed this mod, feel free to upload photos or issues during the installation

[enixsr]

WOW ace. Thanks for sharing. Will come really handy when I'm getting mine done

[booba]

Will be installing this with the rear footwell mod. Will take notes and photos.

[booba]

I installed the front/rear footwell illumination today.

A couple of points to note.

With the ground connection, there is a much better location right behind where the bonnet pull is.

The procedure is the unclick the white clip that will flip upwards, it will be pretty straight forward then undo the bolt. connect the ground cable which will fit directly if you have the bold sport loom then do the bolt and place the white clip back on.

By doing this, you will probably disconnect a number of components of the car. There will be various modules showing malfunction and you will need to reset these in VCDS. My tpms complained along with many other modules, don't be alarmed as this is normal.

The second note is running loom to rear seats. I ran these under the door sill where it says passat, these just pull upwards. I found that loosening the seats to be the easiest way to run the cable under the carpet out around about where the factory cable comes out. You will need a 10mm triple square bit fo this. I have the schwaben ones from ecs.

Sorry about not taking photos, i was so keen to get it going and it looks mint! Wife loves the look as well and probably is now jealous as her golf gti only has factory fronts. I will probably find myself fitting them to the rears for her.

[enixsr]

10154

I did it!! Took me a while to fully understand the guide but it is all worth it. Thanks for the write up!

[passat123]

Did you use LEDs or the standard halogens? Can you upload clear pics if they're LED? I'm thinking to swap mine but not sure..

[dopey]

Man, I've had the kit for front & rear foot well lights with LED bulbs sitting here since October 2012... I'm such a procrastinator haha

[booba]

haha, same here. I had my front/rear kit since october 2012 as well. finally installed about 6 weeks ago and they look mint.

i have the boldsport kit with 8 led modules. so bright, much better than the stock ones in the new golf r.


Man, I've had the kit for front & rear foot well lights with LED bulbs sitting here since October 2012... I'm such a procrastinator haha

[seanmau5]

I did this installation a while back on my 09 CC. Have the optional LEDs installed too. Does anyone else with this kit installed have an issue with the lights blinking? I also don't have control on the MFD to turn them on/off or change brightness yet footwell lights is definitely available in the light and vision option.

[passat123]

I had that issue when I changed the lights to LED. Replaced the LED and the problem went away, simply faulty LEDs.

I activated the lights and vision/conv option via VCDS

[snerlo]

The footwell lights will blink when you first start the car up as the car is checking for blown bulbs. Mine does it after I converted mine to LED.

[kamold]

You can turn on cold diagnostics for them and they won't flicker.

[seanmau5]

Thanks for the help guys, I had a bit of a fiddle with the footwell lights this afternoon and came to the following conclusion..

Firstly, about six months ago, I installed the front footwell lights via the BCM and activated them via VCDS. I also coded the car to provide ambient lighting whenever the headlights are on. The footwell light setting was available on the MFD.

I noticed that after installing the door courtesy lights (which required disconnecting the battery, possibly resetting the coding I did to provide ambient light??) the light provided by the footwell light was very dull and the brightness couldn't be controlled through the MFD. When this happened I noticed there was very slight flickering but just ignored it.

Over the last few weeks it has been getting progressively worse so this is what I did today:
- change the drivers side LED that was provided by Bold-Sport with the kit to another LED I had on hand. Same issue. Is the number on what appears to be the resistor a rating? (Bold-Sport LED has '301' on it and spare LED has '351')
- I then tried the original halogen that was provided. With the door open the halogen bulb was at 100% brightness as expected, but with the door closed it was off! And the LED in the other footwell fitting was dull and flickering.
- I then tested with a multimeter when the door was open; 13v as expected... Door closed and the voltage fluctuated between 0.15 and 0.31 volts; just enough residual voltage to light up the LED and change the brightness in conjunction with fluctuation.

Anyway, probably all pointless information for this thread but just thought I would share my findings..

[Steve28]

I'm looking at doing this mod and have a couple of questions I haven't seen answered above.

If I go with the LED version, do they dim/fade with the interior lights, or are they just on and off?

Can I have them fully wired up before updating the VCDS, or do I wait until I'm able to program the VCDS?


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[passat123]

Yes, the LEDs dim via the MFD and fade too when you lock the car.

You can fully wire it up and have all connected then get it activated later.

I had mine wired up and activated then a few days later.

[Steve28]

Thanks for confirming.

Once installed I'll put the call out for anyone that can help re-code in Melbourne area. Otherwise, is a dealer an option or do they just charge a fortune?


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[passat123]

Depends who you talk to from the dealer. The ones in Sydney told me it is not possible to activate with the software they have BUT another dealer in Sydney has VCDS/Ross Tech and was charging $80-$120 to code it, I just for a forum member to activate it..

The activation only takes 2 mins.

[limiteded]

Ive installed LED foortwell illumination in both my passats, my mothers mk6 golf, and my partners mk7 golf.
ive usec the same genuine ones in all vehicles, sourced from carsystems.pl
they have the option of buying the wiring harness also which i dont bother with because ive got terminals, tools, knowledge and manuals.

with all the above mentioned, coding is required, and the leds work fine, but uve goto tell the bcm that they are leds. Vcds has these options.
also because they are leds i code the footwell lights to be on with terminal 58d ( driving lights). From the mfd you can then select if you want them on, and the brightness.
mk7 its fromthe center screen in the car menu

earthing is best to use a dedicated earthpoint. The designed point is the lower a pillar earthpoint.

alsowhen plugging into the bcm, you must disconnect the battery before removing the 52 pin plug. The bcm may melt down if you lust yank a plug out live, sine the CAN bus is broken live, and all the other functions

[leonhartsberger]

Thanks for this great tutorial! It's been hard to find something for the B7 version, I only found for B6 before...
I am trying to instal footwell lights in both front and back, so I have a few questions, that perhaps you could help me:

Is there any closer earth point than the one indicated? My cables are too short to get there (I bought the kit from aliexpress if I remember correctly). I imagine you had to buy a new screw, because I don't have that screw in my car - it's very difficult to see on the side unless I remove the door?
Is it necessary to unplug the battery before removing the 52 conector?
Since I have to install both front and back footwell lights, I have 2 earth points to connect and 2 links. Should I plug them to pin 50 and 51 or where do I connect the backseat footwell light?


Thanks in advance! Love the tutorial! I hope I can also share my experience in this forum

[ZR36]

this is not standard in the b7??? Looks like alot of work for a few lights especially being factory in the r36.

[Throbbinhood]

Does anyone know if it's the same process in a B6?

[Throbbinhood]

Thanks for confirming.

Once installed I'll put the call out for anyone that can help re-code in Melbourne area. Otherwise, is a dealer an option or do they just charge a fortune?


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Hey mate, Im in Melbourne's South East. I can help you recode, can you help me install? I don't have the right tools etc. B6 Wagon FWIW.

[leonhartsberger]

Does anyone know if it's the same process in a B6?
I think this is for B6: Fußraumbeleuchtung vorn | Passat3c.info - powered by Contrexx Web Content Management System (http://www.passat3c.info/cms_neu/index.php?page=152)
Perhaps you need to translate it elsewhere as it's all in german!

Other nice tutorials in german:
Umbauten | Passat3c.info - powered by Contrexx Web Content Management System (http://www.passat3c.info/cms_neu/index.php?page=141)


I also found this for B7 but doesn't help me:
VWVortex.com - DIY: Installing OEM Front and Rear Footwell Lighting (http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?6900054-DIY-Installing-OEM-Front-and-Rear-Footwell-Lighting)

Can anyone please help with my questions from above? Thanks!

[Throbbinhood]

I think this is for B6: Fußraumbeleuchtung vorn | Passat3c.info - powered by Contrexx Web Content Management System (http://www.passat3c.info/cms_neu/index.php?page=152)
Perhaps you need to translate it elsewhere as it's all in german!

Other nice tutorials in german:
Umbauten | Passat3c.info - powered by Contrexx Web Content Management System (http://www.passat3c.info/cms_neu/index.php?page=141)


I also found this for B7 but doesn't help me:
VWVortex.com - DIY: Installing OEM Front and Rear Footwell Lighting (http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?6900054-DIY-Installing-OEM-Front-and-Rear-Footwell-Lighting)

Can anyone please help with my questions from above? Thanks!

Cheers bloke, legend!