Activating bumper lights

As per the image below, I am looking to activate the lower bumper lights at all times, rather than just when the bootlid/trunk is open.



I'm hoping that there is enough detail in the attached screenshot, to work out the adaption/coding?

The interesting part (I think) is the last sentence in the activation mechanism section (top right).
Where it says:

If there is too much time lag between both signals when closing the tailgate, the additional tail lights are not deactivated for safety reasons.

Click to expand...

CocoPops said:

As per the image below, I am looking to activate the lower bumper lights at all times, rather than just when the bootlid/trunk is open.

I'm hoping that there is enough detail in the attached screenshot, to work out the adaption/coding?

The interesting part (I think) is the last sentence in the activation mechanism section (top right).
Where it says:

Click to expand...

CocoPops: (love the name!) Whilst my car is a mk7 Golf, our vehicles are similar in that they were both built on the MQB platform. A bunch of us on the vortex forum have been trying to fathom the way that VW has implemented their lighting functions for the MQB platform. With the kind assistance of Andy@RT (heaps of plaudits to Andy), I think that we have nutted-it-out!

I reckon that the answer to your question can be found in an adaptation channel in the BCM (09- Cent Elect.). As an example, I provide the following table which lists an adaptation channel from the BCM for four mk7 Golfs. I'm hoping that this table can demonstrate what to look for in your quest to change the lower bumper light.


If you look first at the "Adaptation Channel Description", the naming convention for light functions on MQB platform vehicles goes something like this:

Anatomy of Adaptation Channel Description for MQB (exterior) lights

• The bracketed number is an identifier for the part of the light that can be programmed. There are 19 such identifiers for each programmable light on MQB platform vehicles;
• "Leuche" clearly means "light";
• "NSL" is the German abbreviation for the light. In this case NSL means "Nebelschlussleuchte hinten links", or in English "Fog-Light Rear Left";
• "26" - This appears to be a simple sequence-number (i.e. 1-34) which that ties together "Leutche" channels to "Lighting configuration" channels - but this is another topic!;
• "Lichtansteuerung" means "Light Control " in English. This is a general command term that changes with each adaptation channel. See post #5 for other command terms;
• "LA72" means: "L" for links (German), or Left . A72 is the physical pin connector on the BCM (i.e. Socket A, pin number 72);
• "HD" means the Trunk Lid (in German);
• "AB" refers to two of 8 functions that can be programmed for every controllable light. Each of these functions (identified by the letters A to F) can be separately programmed in pairs

As you will see from my table, for the 4 vehicles listed, three have a stored value of "only_if_closed" and one has a stored value of "always". This means that in the first three cases, the Rear Left Fog Light will illuminate only if the Trunk Lid is closed, whilst the fog light will be always illuminated in the last case. This is the stored value that I think that you want for your lower bumper light.

So, this is how I think that you should proceed

• First, you need to get a pin-out diagram of the BCM for your Audi and find the pin number for the lower bumper light that you want to change (or perhaps someone else here knows this pin number).
• Then using the Adaptation control map for your BCM (and the pin number) identify the 19 adaptation channels for that light.
• Then, find the particular channel that controls the Trunk lid (i.e. find the "HD" channel for the light - it will be the bracketed number "7"). This channel should have a stored value "only_if_closed".
• Change the stored value for this channel to "always".

PS: You will need to enter the security access number for the BCM before you make this change.

My apology for the complicated description, I hope that I haven't confused you.

Edit: Further to my explanation above regarding the anatomy of the adaptation channels that control exterior lighting on an MQB platform vehicle, I provide below the complete list of Lamps and their details as listed in the BCM.

Thanks,

I registered for the erWin system and downloaded all the PDFs for the Q3, so I'll try and take a look in there for BCM details.

Ok, someone will have to point me in the direction of which manual the bcm is likely to be detailed.

CocoPops said:

Ok, someone will have to point me in the direction of which manual the bcm is likely to be detailed.

Click to expand...

CocoPops: (your handle still cracks me up!). If you are having problems identifying the pin-numbers, you could try tackling the problem from the software end.

It's a bit more fiddley, but you could start by examining the Adaptation control map for the BCM. Not sure if you have had a look at one of these for an MQB vehicle, but it's a fairly scary beast at first sight! I have the "Mid" version BCM on my car and it has 1,748 adaptation channels. The Golf R that I referred-to in my earlier post has the "High" version BCM and it has 1,984 Adaptation Channels!!!

The reason that I'm telling you this is that if you go down the software path, you will need to "parse" the adpmap text file into an application like MS Access, or MS excel, so that you can search for data. It's not hard to do, but it does require a certain amount of computer skills. Anyhow, if you want to try this approach, then I wrote a short paper on how to create a database of adaptation channels which you can find here.

Once you have created the Adpmap database for the BCM, then its just a matter of searching for the German words for "rear indicating light", "rear fog light" etc. Once you have found the light, you will know the socket/pin-out identifier. Using this identifier, then look entries with the same socket/pin-out and with stored values that say "only_if_closed". Then just try changing (one-by-one) these stored values to "always" using your VCDS cable and look at the lights to see what happens. I acknowledge that this approach is far less elegant than my first suggestion-it's a bit hit-and-miss, but if you don't get the correct result, then just roll back the setting to the original value.

A word of warning though - if you want to try this approach, I suggest that you keep a very accurate log of the changes that you make and you are precise when selecting the adaptation channels (because of the likely need to roll back settings). I can't stress the importance of this enough.

Edit: Here's an example of what I mean. The table below is from my car (i.e 103TSI) and it shows the 19 adaptation channels for the Left Brake/Tail Light. I have coloured the rows to indicate how the "A, B, C.. F" functions are grouped together and how the pairs are controlled by the last two entries for each pair (i.e the adaptation channels that show the "two letters"). For the A and B functions, the control command for the Trunk lid is different from the remaining alphabetical functions (which are dimming and dimming directions). The hierarchy of the programmable functions is like this: GH>EF>CD>AB (not that this is important for your exercise, but others reading this might be interested to know). The first three adaptation channels for each light are set-up rows (I think). I believe (albeit I haven't got any evidence as yet) that the entries in (2) and (3) are Hex numbers related to error reporting for lamp short/open filaments - again, not of interest to you for your problem.

I reckon that your focus should be on the row that I have coloured black

Hope that this helps explain what I'm trying to say (badly in my written diatribe)!

I think the Q3 is actually MK6 based, not MQB as per the MK7, so might be slightly easier?
Anyway, I intend to take a look and see how we stand.

Thanks for your replies.

Oh and as for CocoPops... I was using it for network games back in uni (1997) and have used it ever since (if it's not been registered by someone else), even my Xbox Live! tag is CocoPops (I've had that for 11yrs now according to my MS profile).

CocoPops said:

I think the Q3 is actually MK6 based, not MQB as per the MK7, so might be slightly easier?
Anyway, I intend to take a look and see how we stand.

Thanks for your replies.

Oh and as for CocoPops... I was using it for network games back in uni (1997) and have used it ever since (if it's not been registered by someone else), even my Xbox Live! tag is CocoPops (I've had that for 11yrs now according to my MS profile).

Click to expand...

Coco pops: ok. My bad. I read the following headline "The Audi Q3 will receive the MQB platform" on Google and assumed the rest ! Good luck

DV52 said:

CocoPops: (love the name!) Whilst my car is a mk7 Golf, our vehicles are similar in that they were both built on the MQB platform. A bunch of us on the vortex forum have been trying to fathom the way that VW has implemented their lighting functions for the MQB platform. With the kind assistance of Andy@RT (heaps of plaudits to Andy), I think that we have nutted-it-out!

I reckon that the answer to your question can be found in an adaptation channel in the BCM (09- Cent Elect.). As an example, I provide the following table which lists an adaptation channel from the BCM for four mk7 Golfs. I'm hoping that this table can demonstrate what to look for in your quest to change the lower bumper light.

If you look first at the "Adaptation Channel Description", the naming convention for light functions on MQB platform vehicles goes something like this:

Anatomy of Adaptation Channel Description for MQB (exterior) lights

• The bracketed number is an identifier for the part of the light that can be programmed. There are 19 such identifiers for each programmable light on MQB platform vehicles;
• "Leuche" clearly means "light";
• "NSL" is the German abbreviation for the light. In this case NSL means "Nebelschlussleuchte hinten links", or in English "Fog-Light Rear Left";
• "26" - This appears to be a simple sequence-number (i.e. 1-34) which that ties together "Leutche" channels to "Lighting configuration" channels - but this is another topic!;
• "Lichtansteuerung" means "Light Control " in English. This is a general command term that changes with each adaptation channel. See post #5 for other command terms;
• "LA72" means: "L" for links (German), or Left . A72 is the physical pin connector on the BCM (i.e. Socket A, pin number 72);
• "HD" means the Trunk Lid (in German);
• "AB" refers to two of 8 functions that can be programmed for every controllable light. Each of these functions (identified by the letters A to F) can be separately programmed in pairs

As you will see from my table, for the 4 vehicles listed, three have a stored value of "only_if_closed" and one has a stored value of "always". This means that in the first three cases, the Rear Left Fog Light will illuminate only if the Trunk Lid is closed, whilst the fog light will be always illuminated in the last case. This is the stored value that I think that you want for your lower bumper light.

So, this is how I think that you should proceed

• First, you need to get a pin-out diagram of the BCM for your Audi and find the pin number for the lower bumper light that you want to change (or perhaps someone else here knows this pin number).
• Then using the Adaptation control map for your BCM (and the pin number) identify the 19 adaptation channels for that light.
• Then, find the particular channel that controls the Trunk lid (i.e. find the "HD" channel for the light - it will be the bracketed number "7"). This channel should have a stored value "only_if_closed".
• Change the stored value for this channel to "always".

PS: You will need to enter the security access number for the BCM before you make this change.

My apology for the complicated description, I hope that I haven't confused you.

Edit: Further to my explanation above regarding the anatomy of the adaptation channels that control exterior lighting on an MQB platform vehicle, I provide below the complete list of Lamps and their details as listed in the BCM.

Click to expand...

I detest huge quotes but wanted to be specific. This post has educated me more than most other materials I have read.

Don, you are a legend. Thank you.

^^^ arrh....shucks!!!!

In truth (and as I have said in my post) these early learnings were a group effort by a "bunch of us on the vortex forum". Also of considerable importance to our collective education in those days was a write-up in German by the true Leuchte-Meister: TBAx !!!

But thanks for the kind words!

Don

DV52 said:

CocoPops: (love the name!) Whilst my car is a mk7 Golf, our vehicles are similar in that they were both built on the MQB platform. A bunch of us on the vortex forum have been trying to fathom the way that VW has implemented their lighting functions for the MQB platform. With the kind assistance of Andy@RT (heaps of plaudits to Andy), I think that we have nutted-it-out!

I reckon that the answer to your question can be found in an adaptation channel in the BCM (09- Cent Elect.). As an example, I provide the following table which lists an adaptation channel from the BCM for four mk7 Golfs. I'm hoping that this table can demonstrate what to look for in your quest to change the lower bumper light.

If you look first at the "Adaptation Channel Description", the naming convention for light functions on MQB platform vehicles goes something like this:

Anatomy of Adaptation Channel Description for MQB (exterior) lights

• The bracketed number is an identifier for the part of the light that can be programmed. There are 19 such identifiers for each programmable light on MQB platform vehicles;
• "Leuche" clearly means "light";
• "NSL" is the German abbreviation for the light. In this case NSL means "Nebelschlussleuchte hinten links", or in English "Fog-Light Rear Left";
• "26" - This appears to be a simple sequence-number (i.e. 1-34) which that ties together "Leutche" channels to "Lighting configuration" channels - but this is another topic!;
• "Lichtansteuerung" means "Light Control " in English. This is a general command term that changes with each adaptation channel. See post #5 for other command terms;
• "LA72" means: "L" for links (German), or Left . A72 is the physical pin connector on the BCM (i.e. Socket A, pin number 72);
• "HD" means the Trunk Lid (in German);
• "AB" refers to two of 8 functions that can be programmed for every controllable light. Each of these functions (identified by the letters A to F) can be separately programmed in pairs

As you will see from my table, for the 4 vehicles listed, three have a stored value of "only_if_closed" and one has a stored value of "always". This means that in the first three cases, the Rear Left Fog Light will illuminate only if the Trunk Lid is closed, whilst the fog light will be always illuminated in the last case. This is the stored value that I think that you want for your lower bumper light.

So, this is how I think that you should proceed

• First, you need to get a pin-out diagram of the BCM for your Audi and find the pin number for the lower bumper light that you want to change (or perhaps someone else here knows this pin number).
• Then using the Adaptation control map for your BCM (and the pin number) identify the 19 adaptation channels for that light.
• Then, find the particular channel that controls the Trunk lid (i.e. find the "HD" channel for the light - it will be the bracketed number "7"). This channel should have a stored value "only_if_closed".
• Change the stored value for this channel to "always".

PS: You will need to enter the security access number for the BCM before you make this change.

My apology for the complicated description, I hope that I haven't confused you.

Edit: Further to my explanation above regarding the anatomy of the adaptation channels that control exterior lighting on an MQB platform vehicle, I provide below the complete list of Lamps and their details as listed in the BCM.

Click to expand...

I see some ?????? in your table. 27NSL is rear fog light right, left and right rear fog lights are still a thing in some countries. If not used it could serve a different purpose obviously.

MasterTommy said:

I see some ?????? in your table. 27NSL is rear fog light right, left and right rear fog lights are still a thing in some countries. If not used it could serve a different purpose obviously.

Click to expand...

Tom: thanks for the reply. Leuchte27NSL RC6 was indeed a mystery in those early days - and yes, the NSL label in the title does suggest Nebelschlussleuchte (like 26NSL). However, while it's true that in "some countries" this Leuchte-set may well used as the rear fog light - the WD for my early Golf mk7 suggests something different based on the fact that the C6 in the title name means pin #6 on the "C" socket on the BCM (see below):



So, we found-out much later that this Leuchte-set actually controlled the shaded LED sector in the diagram below:


Don

PS: in the same WD, it appears that 26NSL controls the rear fog light regardless of which side the steering wheel is installed