Golf Alltrack SE
Contents
Golf Alltrack SE#
This page is a log book of all the modifications I’ve done to my 2019 Alltrack.
Dec ‘22 Clutch Bleeder Block Mod#
I posted the installation steps in a dedicated post here:
Oct ‘22 Jack Pads#
This modification makes it easier to put my car on jack stands in my garage. It adds a second set of jacking points to the car so I don’t have to jack up the car from the opposite side when rotating my tires. It was really easy to install too. In fact I installed this kit without needing to jack up the car at all and removing the old trim pieces was really effortless.
Items used:
Pick tool to pull out old covers and push in tabs, you can probably also use a flathead screwdriver.
Instructions:
Pictures:
Parts included in the kit I bought from ShopDAP (excluding the pick which I got from Amazon).
Rear (Driver Side) Before
I started with the rear. This is how it originally looked like. I used the pick tool to stab and yank out the two plastic covers.
Rear (Passenger Side) Installation
I installed the rear pad by pressing it into the front hole first until it snapped into place. I then rotated the pad and the rear side snapped in easily. I didn't need to use any type of grease either.
Done with both rears.
Front Before
Remove the Torx screw first. Then push in the two tabs on the other side and slide the trim piece towards the rear.
This is what it looks like with the trim piece removed.
Install the rubber piece first (not visible here). Then slide in the new trim piece (there are three guides that should hold the corners of the trim piece in place as you slide it). It should click into place. Screw in the Torx screw and then install the final cover piece (I used my floor jack to press it into the rubber piece). Again I didn't need to use any grease.
Aug ‘22 OEMTools 24938 Gauge Mod#
Another dedicated post loosely related to my Alltrack:
Jun ‘22 HomeLink Rearview Mirror#
I posted the installation steps in a dedicated post here:
Jan ‘22 MIB2 Developer Mode#
My Alltrack came with an MIB2 Composition Media infotainment system. These are the steps I took to enable development mode and get some information about it. Enabling development mode also lets me take screenshots by holding down the Media button for 3 seconds and have them saved to the SD card. You’ll need an OBD11/OBDeleven or VCDS.
5F Multimedia
Change service
Set to Development mode
Adaptation
Developer mode
Set to Activated
Write
Reboot head unit by holding down the power button/knob for 10 seconds.
It will first go to sleep mode (with the clock), then the display will turn off and it will automatically boot back up.
In the FEC/SWaP menu I have the following features enabled and disabled:
- Installed Codes
00070100(VoiceControl / SDS)00050000(Bluetooth)00030000(AMI / USB)00060100(Vehicle Data Interface)00060300(MirrorLink)00060800(Apple CarPlay)00060900(Google AndroidAuto)
- Disabled Codes
00040100(Navigation)00060200(AudiConnect / VW CarNet)00060500(Porsche SportChrono)00070400(Electronic Voice Amplifier / ICC)
Dec ‘21 Euro Tail Lights#
Loading...I’ve always preferred amber turn signals over flashing brake lights in my vehicles. My 2010 JSW had them but my 2019 Alltrack lacked the amber turn signals.
I bought my 2019 Golf Alltrack SE with the Driver Assistance and Appearance Package. It came with North American Region LED tail lights (not sure if this is a standard feature of 2019 models or only for vehicles with the appearance package) so when I bought the EUR LED kit I had to take this into account when choosing the wiring harness. Even with this choice I still had to make modifications to the harness before installing, which I’ll go over below.
Items purchased:
Mk7 European Light Switch 5GG941431D
Chinese switch (works fine)
Auto Lights: Yes
Front Fogs: Yes
Rear Fog: Yes
OEM Euro LED Tail Lamps 5G9945095G 5G9945093L 5G9945094K 5G9945096G
Do you need an adapter harness?: Tail lamps and adapter harness
Rear Fog: 2
Style: 2018+ NAR LED to Euro LED, tinted
Euro Switch#
Since I’ll be installing new tail lights with fog lights I had to purchase the Euro light switch. Installation is very easy, at position 0 push in the switch and turn it towards Auto then pull it out.
Modify Harness#
Outer harness before modification# |
Outer harness trimmed# |
Inner harness trimmed# |
Before getting to my car I had to make some modifications to four wiring harness connectors with an X-ACTO knife. It would have been easier to trim off plastic from the connectors in my car but I wanted to avoid irreversibly modifying anything in my car if I could help it.
On both outer taillight wiring harnesses I had to trim off a plastic key rail that was in the way. Since I didn’t have X-ACTO blades narrow enough I had to sacrifice the guiding rail right next to the key rail. Thankfully the connector still fit snugly with no play. For the inner harness connectors I had to remove one key rail but ended up having to sacrifice a second key rail.
Tip
Before removing any taillight I suggest checking if all the wiring harnesses connect to the new lights and your car’s connectors.
Outer Taillights#
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This is the easy part. Installing the outer lights is as easy as:
Access the taillight connectors by removing the felt covers in the cargo area.
Unplug the existing connectors.
Remove the plastic screw with your hands by twisting them off.
Pull out the old taillights and install the new lights.
Connect them using the modified outer wiring harnesses.
My passenger side taillight fit fine and flush but the driver side seemed to stick out a bit. I fixed this by turning the plastic adjustment screw with a T15 bit and ratchet.
Inner Taillights#
Since I bought taillights with two fog lights (one for each side) the included inner wiring harness came with two wires connecting the two. This means the two inner lights will connect to each other with these two wires that must be routed behind the inner plastic body trim. If you didn’t get fog lights and only received the outer lights with the amber turn signals then you can skip this section.
First remove both taillights by removing the plastic access cover and using an 8 mm hex socket. Each light has two nuts that need to be removed. Then you can remove the lights by pivoting them away from the center of the tailgate. Install the new inner taillights in the reverse order and tighten the four nuts.
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Hatch with all inner body trim pieces removed. The main piece to remove is the largest one, but I found it easier to first pop off the long piece spanning the top (when closed) of the hatch and then popping off the two side pieces.# |
You have a couple of options when wiring the inner lights. You can take the easy route and follow the included instructions, which is to blindly snake the wire and harness from one side to the other using the access panels for the inner lights. I didn’t like the idea of a wire being loose back there so I went with the slightly (but not much) harder route and remove the hatch inner plastic trim to get a complete unobstructed view of where the wire will go.
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I ended up zip tying the harness wire to the existing wiring in the hatch. I then put back all the body trim pieces.
Coding#
Without coding the wrong lights will be designated as brakes and blinkers.#
The final step is to apply coding so the right LEDs light up when braking or signaling. The instructions given were for VCDS/VAG-COM but all I have is OBD11/OBDeleven. Luckily the settings are very similar. Set aside 20 to 30 minutes to do all the coding. You’ll need to write changes before tapping “Back” since OBD11 doesn’t queue up new settings.
To start you’ll need to enter an access code to enable writing:
09 Central Electrics
Security access
Login code: 31347
Tap “Enter”, it should say “Verifying login code” then “Success”
The next step I believe is to enable the rear fog lights to work with the Euro switch I mentioned above.
09 Central Electrics
Adaptation
Aussenlicht uebergreifend (search for “ueb”)
LDS mit Nebel Schlusslicht
Set to Yes
Write
Finally it’s time for the main event; grab some coffee for this. Go through each setting and either make the change or verify the settings match the values below:
- Leuchte18
Dimming Direction CD: Minimize
Dimming Direction EF: Maximize
Dimming Direction GH: Minimize
Dimmwert AB: 0
Dimmwert CD: 0
Dimmwert EF: 127
Dimmwert GH: 0
Byte DTC-DFCC: 16
Lampendefektbitposition: 8
Lasttyp: 43 - allgemeine LED
Lichtansteuerung HD AB: Always
Lichtfunktion A-H: Nicht aktiv
- Leuchte19
Dimming Direction CD: Minimize
Dimming Direction EF: Maximize
Dimming Direction GH: Minimize
Dimmwert AB: 0
Dimmwert CD: 0
Dimmwert EF: 127
Dimmwert GH: 0
Byte DTC-DFCC: 18
Lampendefektbitposition: 18
Lasttyp: 43 - allgemeine LED
Lichtansteuerung HD AB: Always
Lichtfunktion A-H: Nicht aktiv
- Leuchte20
Dimming Direction CD-GH: Maximize
Dimmwert AB: 127
Dimmwert CD: 127
Dimmwert EF: 0
Dimmwert GH: 0
Byte DTC-DFCC: 3D
Lampendefektbitposition: 13
Lasttyp: 43 - allgemeine LED
Lichtansteuerung HD AB: Always
Lichtfunktion A: Brake light
Lichtfunktion B-H: Nicht aktiv
- Leuchte21
Dimming Direction CD-GH: Maximize
Dimmwert AB: 127
Dimmwert CD: 127
Dimmwert EF: 0
Dimmwert GH: 0
Byte DTC-DFCC: 3E
Lampendefektbitposition: 23
Lasttyp: 43 - allgemeine LED
Lichtansteuerung HD AB: Always
Lichtfunktion A: Brake light
Lichtfunktion B-H: Nicht aktiv
- Leuchte23
Dimming Direction CD-GH: Maximize
Dimmwert AB: 127
Dimmwert CD: 0
Dimmwert EF: 0
Dimmwert GH: 10
Byte DTC-DFCC: 29
Lampendefektbitposition: A
Lasttyp: 38 - LED Blinkleuchten
Lichtansteuerung HD AB: Always
Lichtfunktion A: Blinken links Hellphase
Lichtfunktion B-E: Nicht aktiv
Lichtfunktion F: Parklicht links (beidseitiges Parklicht aktiviert li & re)
Lichtfunktion G: Nicht aktiv
Lichtfunktion H: Parklicht links (beidseitiges Parklicht aktiviert li & re)
- Leuchte24
Dimming Direction CD-GH: Maximize
Dimmwert AB: 127
Dimmwert CD: 0
Dimmwert EF: 0
Dimmwert GH: 10
Byte DTC-DFCC: 2A
Lampendefektbitposition: 1A
Lasttyp: 38 - LED Blinkleuchten
Lichtansteuerung HD AB: Always
Lichtfunktion A: Blinken rechts Hellphase
Lichtfunktion B-E: Nicht aktiv
Lichtfunktion F: Parklicht rechts
Lichtfunktion G: Nicht aktiv
Lichtfunktion H: Parklicht rechts
- Leuchte25
Dimming Direction CD-GH: Maximize
Dimmwert AB: 127
Dimmwert CD: 0
Dimmwert EF: 127
Dimmwert GH: 0
Byte DTC-DFCC: 30
Lampendefektbitposition: 28
Lasttyp: 43 - allgemeine LED
Lichtansteuerung HD AB: Always
Lichtfunktion A: Standlicht allgemein (Schlusslicht, Positionslicht, Begrenzungslicht)
Lichtfunktion B-H: Nicht aktiv
- Leuchte26
Dimming Direction CD-GH: Maximize
Dimmwert AB: 127
Dimmwert CD: 0
Dimmwert EF: 0
Dimmwert GH: 0
Byte DTC-DFCC: 54
Lampendefektbitposition: 0
Lasttyp: 43 - allgemeine LED
Lichtansteuerung HD AB: Always
Lichtfunktion A: Standlicht allgemein (Schlusslicht, Positionslicht, Begrenzungslicht)
Lichtfunktion B-H: Nicht aktiv
- Leuchte27
Dimming Direction CD-GH: Maximize
Dimmwert AB: 127
Dimmwert CD: 0
Dimmwert EF: 0
Dimmwert GH: 0
Byte DTC-DFCC: 53
Lampendefektbitposition: 0
Lasttyp: 43 - allgemeine LED
Lichtansteuerung HD AB: Always
Lichtfunktion A: Standlicht allgemein (Schlusslicht, Positionslicht, Begrenzungslicht)
Lichtfunktion B-H: Nicht aktiv
- Leuchte28
Dimming Direction CD-GH: Maximize
Dimmwert AB: 127
Dimmwert CD: 0
Dimmwert EF: 0
Dimmwert GH: 0
Byte DTC-DFCC: 31
Lampendefektbitposition: B
Lasttyp: 43 - allgemeine LED
Lichtansteuerung HD AB: Always
Lichtfunktion A: Nebelschlusslicht wenn kein Anhaenger gesteckt
Lichtfunktion B-H: Nicht aktiv
Oct ‘21 EcoHitch Install#
I decided to go with the EcoHitch x7315. Installing was straight forward, but it ended up taking my entire Sunday to complete. Overall I’m very happy with how it turned out.
I ended up getting my own bolts instead of using the bolts that came with the hitch based on what jjvincent said, but this is optional. If you want to do the same I bought them from McMaster-Carr (from: https://www.mcmaster.com/bolts/fastener-strength-grade-class~class-12-9/extreme-strength-metric-class-12-9-steel-hex-head-screws/thread-size~m8/).
I used the following tools:
13mm and 10mm sockets
1 ft socket extension
Ratchet
T25 and T15 Torx drivers
Crescent wrench (adjustable spanner)
Plastic trim removal tools and a flat screwdriver
Loading...Sept ‘21 Rear Dashcam Pair#
Installed a second pair of cameras to get a better view out of the rear of my car for read-end crashes as well as another IR camera pointed towards the front of the car. This way I have a sort of 360 view from both inside-pointing cameras. Like the front camera I also bought a tamper-proof case for the rear one. Similarly I also use BlackVue batteries to keep the camera powered overnight.
Items Purchased#
- BlackVue DR750-2CH IR LTE Dashcam
$450
1080p main camera
1080p infrared second camera
LTE, WiFi, GPS, microSD slot
LTE seems to only use about 6 MiB a day on average
- Blackvue B-124X Power Magic Ultra Battery Pack
$330
Installed in the cargo area
- BlackVue B-124E Power Magic Ultra Battery Expansion
$269
Photos#
Loading...Sept ‘21 OBDeleven#
These modifications are done with an OBDeleven device.
Refuel Quantity#
Adds a screen in my MFD where the car estimates how much fuel it would take to fill the tank. Handy for when I have to prepay with cash at gas stations.
Apps > Refuel quantity in dashboard > ON
https://forum.obdeleven.com/thread/536/refuel-quantity-dashboard
Automatic DST#
Instead of having to toggle DST manually the car does it automatically.
Vehicle > 5F Multimedia > Long Coding > Summertime-automatic > USA
https://www.golfmk7.com/forums/index.php?threads/automatic-summer-time.341637
Aug ‘21 Drag Race#
Taken off of Shoreline Hwy in Stinson Beach CA.
Also took it to the drag strip.
Aug ‘21 P3 Vent Gauge#
Installed this to have a boost gauge in my air vent: P3 V3 OBD2 - VW Mk7 / Mk7.5 Gauge (2014-2020)
I didn’t bother hooking up the dimmer wire since you can dim it manually by holding the right button. I mounted the controller box using zip ties (it’s on tight and doesn’t move at all) and I heatshrinked the unused wires to avoid any potential shorts.
June ‘21 Fire Extinguisher#
Bought a rechargeable 2.5 lb fire extinguisher from Amazon: Amerex Dry Chemical Fire Extinguisher B417T
I then zip tied it to my car placing some velcro around the fire extinguisher, so it’s easy to pull out during an emergency. It stays put after driving for weeks and doesn’t get in the way of lifting the cover to access my spare tire.
Oct ‘21 Update#
Every now and then the fire extinguisher would move a bit, getting in the way of the bottom cover/floor. I fixed this by using some zip ties to hold the extinguisher in place. I made sure it’s still easy to remove during an emergency, just slide off the zip tie with my thumb.
Feb ‘20 Front Dashcam Pair#
I installed a BlackVue dashcam along with multiple batteries to get about 2 days of recording time while my vehicle is parked. I live in San Francisco and while my car is parked overnight in a garage, I occasionally park my car in the street and after a year nobody has broken in to steal the camera.
As a precaution I bought the tamper-proof case so a thief can’t just pull out the wires and take the camera. Additionally I zip tied the wires tightly to the internal metal part of my rearview mirror (and threaded it through a narrow hole for more strength). Hopefully this means anyone that wants to steal the camera will need to bring a knife or scissors along, and I’m hoping those are the minority of opportunistic thieves in the city.
Note
I suggest covering up unused ports on the BlackVue battery with electrical tape. When I was unplugging and plugging in wires I accidentally plugged the input power cable in the expansion port of the main battery, sending 12v from the battery back to my car. Luckily nothing broke but I kept getting ABS errors until I figured out my mistake.
Items Purchased#
- BlackVue DR900S-2CH Dashcam
$490
Installed behind rearview mirror
4K main camera
1080p infrared second camera
WiFi, GPS, microSD slot
- Blackvue B-124X Power Magic Ultra Battery Pack
$330
Installed in the cargo area
Comes with 3 meter long cables which just barely reached with no slack left
- BlackVue B-124E Power Magic Ultra Battery Expansion
$267
Front Camera Pair#
I first installed just the two cameras in the front and wired them to the batteries in my cargo area. For now I didn’t wire the batteries to my fuse panel, using the rear 12v outlet instead.
Loading...Hardwire Batteries#
Once I was happy with the cameras I finished the project by hardwiring the batteries to my fuse box. I used the included fuse taps and I used 15 amp fuses. In the photos below you’ll see two pairs of wires from my fusebox. I ran a second wire from a second tapped fuse since I may add a second pair of cameras in the future. I tapped fuse 48 and 36. These are switched fuses so when the ignition is off they’ll lose power and prevent the BlackVue battery from draining my car’s battery when parked.
Loading...Feb ‘20 Under-Seat Drawer#
Just like my old TDI I wanted the OEM drawer under the driver seat to store things. Unlike my old TDI there is no passenger seat drawer available for the Alltrack. While installing, I also lined the drawer and the dash cubby that came with the car with felt so things wouldn’t rattle.
I bought the drawer for $156 on ECS Tuning: Driver’s Seat Tray Kit Titanium Black 5GM 882 599 KT
Loading...Jan ‘20 Trashcan#
Bought this from Amazon: display4top Auto Car Trash Can Bin Waste Container
Sadly it’s no longer available.
Comments#