mroberte

So I have the base model and have done a number of things to the car so far (check signature for the full list).

I'm a fan of making the interior and exterior very subtle and with the recent Bilstein Ride Control Coilovers, it required a hole to be cut somewhere in the cabin to put the button that controls the comfort and the sport mode of the coilovers.

I obviously didn't want to drill a hole in the interior so I looked at purchasing the center button module and use the drive select button to control the coilovers.


Its actually pretty easy to install and use the other buttons as you please as they are all on their own circuit. So if I wanted to add a homelink button, I could do that too, or any other accessory that needs a momentary switch. I have three additional switches for any future upgrades.

I ended up popping off the blank button covers from the original switch and putting them on the new switch as I didn't want the auto start, parking sensor and parallel parking button images since they will be dummy buttons for the time being. If you do try and pop these off, do so carefully as I learned they are easy to break the plastic that holds them in place.


Popping off the button covers

All in all, works well without ruining the clean lines of the interior.



Added center switch block to add the Drive Select button to control Bilstein Ride Control Coilovers.

I still have the original switch in the glovebox as well.



Original Bilstein Switch in glovebox.

If you are wondering if just plugging the drive select button up and hoping the car will respond, no such luck... the wires are not there at all.

DennisMitchell

Bravo.

mroberte

I took out the switch today so I could wire up the light on the second switch to indicate the coilovers are in sport mode.

On the plug on the back, there are two rows...
If you look at the switch from the back the two rows have 10 pins.

From right to left the pins on the TOP are as follows:
1) Ground, 2) LED light for switch #2, 3) LED light for Switch #3 4) LED light for switch #4 5-10 are existing wires.

From right to left the pins on the BOTTOM are as follows:
1) Monetary switch control for Drive Select button, 2) Switch control for button #2 (auto start) 3) switch control for button #3 (Parking Sensors) 4) Switch control for button #4 (Parallel Parking Assist), 5-10 existing wires.

Hope this helps anything that is curious.











Tapping into the Bilstein Switch wires. Yellow is for sport mode light, Green is for comfort/sport mode on/off.

daves4

You are my new hero. Amazing job!

mroberte

BTW, if wondering how to take the control panel out, use the same blade type tool that you remove the radio to unclip the clips holding and pull out.

Mr.Gatsby

Mroberte,

Would you be able to provide a part # for the new switch strip? And where you sourced it from?

This past weekend I installed S3 catback onto my A3, and I am looking for oem+ options to operate the valves. I like the idea of using drive-select but swapping the blank button onto it.

Are all the switches momentary?

Thanks for your help, and great job so far on your A3.

-Devin

mroberte

Hey Devin, bought the switch off of ebay. Make sure to find one that has all the switches if you should need them in the future. I'm going to wire up one of the switches to manually turn on the rear view camera, the other is for coilover control and still gives me two more buttons for the future (hopefully the JB4 will allow some type of change).

Here is the link of the seller I bought from: http://www.ebay.com/itm/331577621120?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
You'll find the better deals if you search in EU regions. Aliexpress.com has some too, but I think they are for right hand drive cars.

Looking forward to seeing your installation! Are you using relays or the sort? I was able to control the flaps via VCD but it didn't sound like it made a difference with my stock exhaust and threw some error codes along with it.

Mr.Gatsby

Thanks MRO,

I must have missed it, I didn't see you discussing your exhaust swap? Did you put S3 cbe on the car or does your A3 have valves on it. Details on mine is here in my vortex thread:

VWVortex.com - I'm Devin, this is my A3.

I just got my base wiring setup last night for the valves. I am not going to wire them to the CCM or ECU - rather, I am hardwiring them and using a switch. Most likely autohold, or one of the blanks in the panel you linked. I want it to look OEM. I have 85% of wiring done, and am running a temporary rocker switch right now to beta test the whole setup. I can tell a difference in shifts, heavy load, and low rpm cruising to a stop when the valves are open. My thought is once I have a DP it will be a more noticeable changeover. So far I am really liking the swap. Waaaay cheaper than any aftermarket setup, and I retain OEM quality, and fitment. Since the switches are momentary I am gonna have to hook up some sort of latch or pulsing relay to convert a momentray signal to a constant one for the valves. Looking into that now with a friend on how we want to wire it all up.

mroberte

I have the stock A3 exhaust and was playing around with the Vag-com cord and then did a test that opens/closes them, so I guess all cars have the flaps, just the A3's are not as loud. I was surprised!

Loving your writeup about the S3 exhaust. Man... now I want this lol. It sounds exactly on par of what I'm looking for. Where/how much did you get this for? Eager to hear it with the valves closed.

*won't work*<s>{As for the switch, you can use a regular ol' relay. So you click the switch, the relay then turns on (like a on/off switch) and stays on, you click the switch again and the relay turns off. So in the picture from below use 85 from the center console switch, the 87 goes to the exhaust.}</s>

This should be your solution for SPDF latching relay.

Mr.Gatsby

Thanks, I think I have some relays lying around so I will try that out for sure!

Are you sure your A3 has flaps in the exhaust? My stock cat-back definitely did not. Nor did it have any wiring being routed to the rear. You can even see on the oem A3 rear muffler that the casing has a provision on it for a second set of outlets, but they are filled in (unlike the S3/Golf R). If your A3 has OEM motors/flappers It would be the first I have seen.

At idle when I toggle the motors i cannot hear a difference in sound, but when driving there is definitely a difference. The valves also seal the pathway very well, when closed you cannot feel any exhaust gasses from the valved side. Pretty cool!

Thanks again, I am gonna try to mess with that this weekend and see if I can get it to work wiring wise, then order my switch if it works. Sorry for hijacking this thread. I should make my own timeline over here on AW. I just hate updating both here and vortex/fourtitude.