Okv

My old BMW also has this, kind of surprised the '91 GT does not..

Anyway, can someone with LED interior lights try just to connect a reasonably large capacitor electrolytic, 1000 - 10000 uF, make sure polarity of ocnnection is right, + on + and - on -, voltage minimum 16V) in parallell with the lights, this would be an easy and low-risc upgrade, only nedds 1 - 2 second delay fade really.

If I knew the current that is drawn from the LED lights I could calculate the exact capacitor value, but it may be just as simple just to try a reasonable large one.

It would also work for stock lamps (not LED), but they would require a much larger capacitor.

hans14914

I was recently digging around for another project, and ran across a soft-off module that may help solve this old thread. What do you guys think about this $20 unit:

http://curioustech.home.insightbb.com/remote.html

Its posted towards the bottom and called DMR.

Thanks
Hans

Jadz928

Reads pretty good to me. All necessary source wires are located in the pax footwell near the CE panel. Could make for a clean/easy install.

heinrich

Cool find Hans...

hans14914

I am in communication with the developer of the DMR unit i posted above. He is going to get me a test board to try in the 928. With an uprated pigtail, this has the ability to control both the stock or led lighting, as it is PWM based, and has the overhead (approximately 8amps) to be compatible with either incandescent or LED.

Alan or any any of the other 928 electrical brainiacs - can we simply replace relay 928.618.225.01 or the equivalent on other cars with a plug-in harness to interface with the DMR module? It would be convenient this way, as it should have the 12v source, door pin switch lead, and the light output leads all there.

Thanks,
Hans

Alan

Note that this is for LED only - that means you'd need to swap every interior light for LED's including the door end lights and CE panel light (where equipped).

I did build the earlier posted dimmer design for the incandescent lights - and its capable of dimming the full ~60W load of the stock lights - but you have to build it yourself. For an off the shelf unit there aren't many choices.

Alan

hans14914

Alan,

I spoke with the developer of this unit today (by email), and it is fully capable of dimming the standard incandescent lights. The wiring that he includes with the LED is a little thin, and he thinks it gets a bit too warm. That is the only part that needs to be changed - heavier gague wire on the pigtail. He builds all the units himself, and can change the wiring acording to the need. He rates his unit at 8amps, and the stock fuse for our lights is 7.5amp so I think it should be relatively plug-and-play. It would be even better if we can just pull the standard delay relay, and tap into its port.

His unit is micro-controlled, and has adjustable delay and fading-rate programmed by a button on the device. He is going to build a unit for me for testing. Do you any advice on integrating this directly with the factory delay relay point?

Thanks,
Hans

Nicole

If anyone wants to upgrade their interior dome lights with the beautiful black ones shown in Heinrich's photos above, they are still available from VW and not overly expensive:

They were used in the Golf/Jetta MK4 series
VW Part Number: 3B0-947-291-B-B41
https://www.vwpartscenter.net/oem-pa...-3b0947291bb41

Nicole

Alan

Nicole I did eventually swap all mine for black ones - looks better in my black interior car. Roger used to stock these and the pigtails - assume he can still get them?

Alan

Nicole

The black ones are very hard to find on eBay. I didn't know they were offered by any of the 928 vendors, so I ordered one from the VW parts place. I'm so sick and tired of fuses blowing from the stupid original fixture. I replaced it a few times in the past, because it got hot and deformed.

Once I switched to LEDs, it didn't make any trouble for years - until last week. No visible deformities or other issues. But the moment I push it all the way in, the fuse #25 (7.5A) blows. I hope the VW part will be good to me and my otherwise super reliable car.

Nicole

Final result after conversion to LED.