Club 80-90 Forums

I have just built a little circuit which works a treat. It allows the courtesy light to stay on and dim over about 10 seconds after the door closes. This gives just enough time to get your key in the hole and get settled. (It also gives the van a slightly more modern feel!!)
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I used TIP33A instead of 2N3055 as it is more compact and fitted a small alu heatsink as it gets hot if you open the door a few times in a row. If you put a 3mm lucar connector on the pos lead and neg lead they will push onto the spare lugs on the back of the light. Positive goes to the lead that goes to the switch (the thicker single brown wire) and the negative lead goes to the lug where the double brown thinner wires go (permenant negative). If you are clever and build it the right size it fits in a film canister and shoves up behind and to the left of the light.

Genius! I feel a couple of sessions with a soldering iron are in the offing.

Good stuff, but those not wanting to build a circuit could also just fit the Mk2 Golf light with delayed switch-off, 191 947 111, this is a direct replacement for the T3 light, but needs the Golf connector to splice onto the T3 wires.

The T3 Carat had a factory system for dimming the interior lights, using a relay (251 919 542), which is probably a bit rare. I have the wiring diagram if anyone needs it. Later Audi's (a4 etc) used a similar relay which might be more obtainable, 4D0907121 (#382).

i have the golf light, works a treat and makes all the internal lights do the delay thing

I like the sound of that. Would love to try and make one , how about a master class with pics on how to do it

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Few there to look at too. Just wire them in. Not sure how these circuits handle LED festoon bulbs but should be ok.

I suppose £7.00 is pretty good really, I didn't see those before I decided to make one. It depends whether you ever dabble with a soldering iron? I happened to have resistors and capacitors as well as vero board in my shed. I already had the bc558 and the TIP33a as well so It did not really cost a lot!! Bc 558 are around 30p the resistors and capacitors only pence, Tip33 is about £1.00 (usually used as an amplifier output transistor). So £7 may be worth it if you havent got a few bits already. I like to think I have made things my self. I am going to make another one so will try to take some pics although my camera was playing up last time I tried.

The Audi relays are listed from ~£4.40, I must try and dig out a wiring diagram..

CovKid wrote:Not sure how these circuits handle LED festoon bulbs but should be ok.

Defo won't work properly with LEDs. You will get a very slight dimming, then they will just blink off. It's to do with a thing called the LEDs "striking voltage".

I jumped on this bandwagon last year and ordered a few sets of these from ebay cheap, but only got one loom section.





I started by adding a switched earth to driver, passenger, and sliding door.




Then I wired the perm live, earth (borrowed from drivers side loom which routed next to the factory passenger hole!) and switched earth (fun threading that down A pillar ) to the one plug I had on passenger side and fitted a led (10x cob festoon on ebay for a few quid:371205050441)







really good bulbs, nice clear even light dispersion and no probs with delay function.

Drivers side, much the same, but snipped off o.e connections and put female spades on, insulated them all with heat shrink and pushed onto pins of light (sorry no piccy!)

Result is when I open a door, just the light for that door comes on. When I shut it, it stays on for a while then goes off.

Exception is my slider. Its using a T4 light, looks the same, but no delay. its not needed here, vans a panel, so when shut theres no need for light, just instant lights out.


I haven't finished it yet though as I have a problem on the slider, i haven't managed to get the triggered earth wire up and out the top of the B pillar yet, and need to make the factory air vent hole smaller (with bond and ply)

IMO its much better to use factory parts when you can, you get a quality item that will work as designed, and you cause less problems for any future owners/maintainers.

Abyss wrote:I started by adding a switched earth to driver, passenger, and sliding door.

It's funny how much these vans vary from one "trim level" to another. I always thought they all had those pin switches fitted as standard. Another example is my Tin-Top which does not have a re-set on the odometer, nor does it have delayed wiper function, whereas the other 2 I have owned had both. The one I would / must retro fit is a pin switch on the tailgate, mostly for the benefit of the alarm system.

Abyss wrote:...
fitted a led... really good bulbs,.... no probs with delay function.

I am glad that ^^^ dimmer function worked OK using LED bulbs
I thought it wouldn’t due to the way LEDs respond to voltage and current.

ghost123uk wrote: I am glad that ^^^ dimmer function worked OK using LED bulbs
I thought it wouldn’t due to the way LEDs respond to voltage and current.

Theres no dimming with these lights and leds that i notice! just delay in going off.

That being said, I have leds in my dash pod, really brightens up the display and uses hardly any juice, and dimmer function still works with them.

Abyss wrote:

ghost123uk wrote: I am glad that ^^^ dimmer function worked OK using LED bulbs
I thought it wouldn’t due to the way LEDs respond to voltage and current.

There's no dimming with these lights and leds that I notice! just delay in going off

Ah, got you now, delay, not dimming / delay

Abyss wrote:That being said, I have leds in my dash pod... and dimmer function still works with them.

Ah, so same applies, glad that works. I can see me doing a bit of experimenting on this in my "man shed"

Digging up this thread from the grave. As the nights have closed in I thought I'd fit a 382 relay for the courtesy lights... just so I'm not fumbling with keys or anything else.

Got it fitted lights come on when opening the doors.. no delay.. I thought the 382 relays had a 10 second or there abouts delay on the lights?

Either ive got it wired wrong it its duff??

Got LED lights in the bulb holders. maybe thats a factor, but as they use leas power id assume the delay would work fine if not longer..