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MK7.5 NAR market AFS tweaks

Reggie Enchilada

Autocross Newbie
Location
nowhere
Car(s)
yes
I was looking into the long coding of the multifunction module today and found some very interesting things. May have found a way to get some of the AFS lighting features from the Euro market to work on NAR (north american region) cars.

For reference, these tweaks were done on a 19 GTI with the LED headlights with AFS.

I'll be doing some testing tonight once it gets dark and will report back. Since we don't get the matrix headlights here, I won't be attempting to enable the functions that are specific to them. If this works, I should have the expanded AFS movement range. I'll do a write-up once I'm sure the tweaks work. Things look promising so far. The changes were accepted and I was able to perform the basic settings.
 

Reggie Enchilada

Autocross Newbie
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nowhere
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yes
Initial test results are good. The lights are much more responsive to steering inputs and they swivel faster. The auto-leveling while driving is slightly more responsive. The light pattern's height didn't change, but it seems like they illuminate slightly better at the top edge of the pattern.

I'm going to keep testing over the next few days by toggling the modified settings back and forth to make sure it isn't a placebo.

I could use some help with testing and verifying the results. Send me a PM if you're interested and I'll give you the list of tweaks.

Since these tweaks change the headlight functionality, I want to test them thoroughly for issues before posting the list for everyone.
 

Acadia18

Autocross Champion
Location
The Greater Boston Metropolitan Area
Car(s)
2019 Golf R

Reggie Enchilada

Autocross Newbie
Location
nowhere
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yes

Reggie Enchilada

Autocross Newbie
Location
nowhere
Car(s)
yes
Did some more testing. Not getting any lighting errors and the changes persisted across power cycles. Looking good so far, but still have more testing to do. I've got someone helping me to test the tweaks on his cars. That will hopefully be done this weekend, so I should have more info this coming week.

For now I can say that there are at least two settings which act as rate governors and apply smoothing curves to the headlight's movement.
 

lordnikon228

Go Kart Champion
Location
CA
Car(s)
Golf GTI Rabbit
Please post OBD11 coding instructions if you can.
 

Reggie Enchilada

Autocross Newbie
Location
nowhere
Car(s)
yes
Here is the write up for the tweaks. Keep in mind that the following directions were created by using OBDEleven. The tweaks can also be done with VCDS, with some of the names being slightly different. Google Translate is your friend. These tweaks are only applicable to the facelift cars '18+ with the LED headlights. The tweaks have been tested on a '19 GTI SE and two '19 Alltrack SEL's. Please post your results after making the tweaks so we can compare any differences between years and models.

Warnings:
1: Make a backup of the Multifunction Module 4B.
2: Make sure that your car is parked on a flat and level surface with the steering wheel completely straight.
3: Pay close attention to the channel names. The names are case sensitive and punctuation sensitive. There are multiple names that are very close to each other. Any changes other than the ones listed may have unintended results.
4: After making the changes, run the two settings adaptations listed. Only run those two.
5: DO NOT CHANGE THE REGION SETTING! On previous cars this worked, but on the facelift models it doesn't. Changing this caused all sorts of errors, everything from front turn signals to communication and more.

Steps:
1: Turn on the car, but do not start it
2: Enter the Multifunction Module 4B
3: Make a backup of the coding
4: Enter the Long Coding section
5: Change the following entries to the following values:
Headlight Regulation > not enabled​
Dynamical_Low_Beam_Light > enabled​
rain_light > enabled​
highway_light > enabled​
All-weather lights > enabled​
6: Apply the changes. In OBDEleven press and hold the check mark. You should get a message stating that the changes were accepted.
7: You will get multiple errors displayed on the dashboard. That's expected and they will be resolved next.
8: Exit the Long Coding section
9: Enter the Basic Settings section
10: Select Basic headlamp setting. Then run the setting by pressing and holding the check mark. You should get a message saying that the setting has started.
11: Go back to the list of settings
12: Select Acknowledge basic setting. Then press and hold the check mark to run the acknowledgement
13: Exit out of the Basic Settings section.
14: Start the car. The lights should perform their normal adjustment and self-check when the car is started.

Results:
I noticed that the headlights were faster to respond to steering input and their movement range has increased. Both the low's and high's were more responsive. The delay and smoothing factors that were being applied are gone now. This happens at low speeds, highway speeds, and interstate speeds.

I noticed a small difference in the visibility when driving at night in the rain. Things appeared to be illuminated slightly better. Almost like the beam pattern was evened out.

Some people may not like how fast the lights move after this. There is a way to get an in-between setting, about halfway between the before and after tweak speeds. Let me know if you want that setting too.

If you're interested, please give the tweaks a thorough test and let me know what you find. I'd like to get as much data on this as possible. Hopefully you notice the same things that I did.

One last thing to note:
There are lots of options under the Long Coding section that pertain to the additional functions that the DLA headlights support. Unfortunately we don't get those as a factory option in the US. A retrofit may be possible, but it would really depend on how the headlight connectors are wired. The options for the different functions are all in there, along with several things labelled with Matrix Headlights.
 
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2018gti

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Massachusetts, USA
Car(s)
Golf GTI Autobahn MT
If the functions are the same as the mk7 with xenon, the rain light is engaged by turning on the fog lights. You’ll see the driver side low beam move slightly to the left to broaden the beam pattern.
I noticed the same thing (I have the facelift lights). Good thing I wasn’t just seeing things 😵

I’ve had the last 3 values enabled for a while but never changed the first two. Definitely trying it tonight!
 

branman1

Drag Racing Champion
Location
DE
Car(s)
2019 GTI 2021 GLI
Thanks for getting this sorted. My only issue with these headlights is they just move to slow. Hopefully the coding changes will take care of that!
 

Reggie Enchilada

Autocross Newbie
Location
nowhere
Car(s)
yes
As a follow up to this:
You can also go to the Live Data section and view live data readouts for multiple different parameters related to the Multifunction Module 4B and the AFS system in general.

One other thing to note, make sure that your steering wheel is straight before running the settings adaptations listed above. I'm adding that to the write-up now
 

Reggie Enchilada

Autocross Newbie
Location
nowhere
Car(s)
yes
If the functions are the same as the mk7 with xenon, the rain light is engaged by turning on the fog lights. You’ll see the driver side low beam move slightly to the left to broaden the beam pattern.
I tested it tonight in the rain. Had the wipers on and turned on the fogs. The driver's side light lowered and moved to the left slightly. It took a second to complete the movement but it did work. Moving the fog switch triggered it. I'll test it without the wipers on tomorrow night
 
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