Light sensitive/auto on headlights.

[Alex JB]

Has anyone upgraded the C5 headlight switch to a switch from a later model (and ancillaries) to get the lights to ‘auto on’ and leave the switch in that position and they go completely off when ignition is off with the switch still in Auto?


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[alien_brain]

is it simple to do? drop in replacement?

[Alex JB]

It seems like the C6 switch unit is a similar size to the C5, but the mount plate etc is different.

C6
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180302/6773e493b3315c8a1d061854cbb418eb.jpg

C5
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180302/eaa3d530d809e378cb66e9725bed2374.jpg

I’m sure the mounting is the least of the problems!

If provision is in the wiring to add the light sensor to utilise the ‘auto’ position then this may be worth investigating, but if not and no one has tried (or been bothered) to do this before, then it may be a bit dead in the water.

My A4B8, A6C7 and the wife’s Touran all had/have the auto position and it would be nice to never flatten a battery again by leaving the lights on!



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[chris86vw]

C6 pins/connector likely not the same.

There are after market little modules that let you retrofit auto lights to the later cars, did a Tiguan a few weeks ago, they in theory would work on a c5 but would need a switch with an auto position. Sadly those also use the later smaller connection.

[hoganalley]

I have an MKZ that has Auto lights - I constantly leave the lights on in the allroad all the time.

I would like to do this, but because of the different switches not fitting properly, I left it alone.

You would need a rear view mirror that has the light sensor and wire accordingly.

Make the switch fit, and look good, and I think you can do it.

I have not studied the wiring diagrams to be 100% sure

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[rollerton]

The cars that had that option had completely different electronics and central electric/ lighting modules. You can't do this in a C5 with OEM parts, you'd have to run the headlight switch through some aftermarket management system. Stay away from the cheap ones, they can cause your lights to go on and off as you drive around dark or lighted streets due to cheap photo sensors.
If there was any type of OEM gadget that could do this you 100% know Tighe (eurylo) would already have the shit installed!

[chris86vw]

Not disputing the potential for problems but when I installed the cheap chinese one in the tiguan and tested it there was a delay between it switching the lights off, but they would come on quickly. Basically it seemed to be smart enough that it wouldn't flicker on and off from overhead lights outside. After I tested it a few times it actually just stayed on until the key was cycled, as in I think it learned after 2-3 cycles of holding the flashlight on and off that something weird was going on and defaulted to on. I got scared I broke it testing..

Never liked auto lights, don't plan to start.. didn't use them in my car that had them.

[V1nny]

I tried aftermarket on Allroad, it would trigger alarm randomly on the middle of the night. Not sure if all of them like this.

[Alex JB]

If there was any type of OEM gadget that could do this you 100% know Tighe (eurylo) would already have the shit installed!

If that’s the case then I will can the idea.
Worth asking though, I’m sure I’m going to leave the lights on at some point and flatten the battery.


Side question...
Do other C5 owners have a buzzer or sound that reminds them that the side lights are on as you open the door?



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[m_haiser]

they all should. if yours doesnt then id bet your microswitch in the door latch is bad. does your dome light turn on when you open the door?

[Alex JB]

Yes, door operates the interior light as expected.
Any idea where the buzzer itself is?


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[m_haiser]

i dont know unfortunately. hopefully someone will chime in

[Alex JB]

Ah, it must have been the passenger door that opened, tried again tonight and the drivers door does not turn on the interior light, so it seems that it’s the switch in there that is not turning on the light and buzzer


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[m_haiser]

then there you have it

[Alex JB]

Read up in what seems to be a fairly common problem with the courtesy light/buzzer, seems to be a micro switch in/on the door lock mechanism that fur’s up and sticks.
I guess it will have to wait for better weather before I take the door apart to get at that!


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[PaperToast]

p/n for the microswitch 3BD998786
gonna finally get these done in my ride after 9 years of them not working

i have to laugh, whenever id get in a car that has the lights set to 'auto', off position it went, hard to believe that folks cant turn one switch to 'on' the few times they drive in the dark [cool]

[Alex JB]

I’m getting used to the switch, I would like to get the buzzer working though.

I have been trying to reverse the coding in vagcom for my wife’s stop/start so it defaults to ‘off’ because she doesn’t like to press the button each time... she’d rather keep her foot on the clutch at the traffic lights and bend my ear about it at the weekend ;)


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[8520]

Auto lights would be super simple to wire up with a simple relay to interrupt the constant power to the headlight switch.

30 - Constant power in
87 - Constant power out
85 - ground
86 - ignition, which could be grabbed from 75x under the dash.

[chris86vw]

Auto lights would be super simple to wire up with a simple relay to interrupt the constant power to the headlight switch.

30 - Constant power in
87 - Constant power out
85 - ground
86 - ignition, which could be grabbed from 75x under the dash.


Technically would work with one issue that would create, parking lights no longer parking lights.

The headlights already shut off when you turn the key off, so you wouldn't need to do anything to make that circuit work with the ignition.

The parking lights are what remain on when you turn the key off and the switch is still in the on position. So by making the parking lights relayed to the ignition you would gain auto light function of leaving the light in the on position all the time.. But you would lose the ability to just have the parking lights on. This is not something most people use so probably not an issue for most, but worth noting.

Also Xenons really should not be run all the time, their light output is reduced with every hour of use and are generally producing less light output than a halogen by even only 1500 hours. So for vehicles with Xenons, if you commuted an hour each way that would be under 2 years in bulb life on expensive bulbs. Halogens would not reduce their output over time like the Xenons but having much shorter service lives to begin with you would be replacing bulbs quite frequently with them on at full blast all the time not dimmed like most DRL systems do.

As a backup and used just for auto off in case you forget to turn them off, it would work fine and wouldn't reduce bulb life significantly. Would still present the issue with the parking lights.