cscmc1
Veteran Member
I recently purchased aftermarket JSW/Golf fog lights on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01B3V2LAQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) and thought I'd share my installation experience. I have read numerous times that folks have purchased the ECS Tuning wiring harness to use this kit with an OEM fog light switch, but the supplied harness, I found, works just fine.
The Amazon (and, I assume, eBay) kit comes with a chintzy on/off switch; it can be discarded entirely if you want an OEM-style installation with a factory headlight switch. The harness that comes with the Amazon fog light kit has a white wire that leads to a three-pin connector (with the red and black wires in addition to the white one). Simply cut the white wire close to the connector, and toss the rest; this white wire will be your "trigger" wire and is what you'll adapt to connect to the OEM light switch.
You'll need a "VW fog light trigger/repair wire" (https://www.amazon.com/REAR-LIGHT-Y...w+fog+light+repair+wire&qid=1590381525&sr=8-1) to insert into the factory harness at the light switch itself. They are readily available for around $8 on eBay and Amazon; color doesn't matter, so I just bought the yellow one. It has the necessary pin on the end to properly fit into the headlight switch harness. Insert this into pin 5 for the front foglights, and splice it onto the white trigger wire mentioned above. The only other connections are a good, solid ground (I used one just behind the driver's side headlight), and 12v + power (which I tapped into at the fuse box). ECS tuning has a nice writeup on the installation that is super-helpful (http://bd8ba3c866c8cbc330ab-7b26c6f...en_MK6_Golf_Jetta_Sportwagen_Fog_Light_R1.pdf). Note that removing the battery tray is NOT necessary to route the white wire through the firewall! The coat hanger trick the writeup suggests is great, and you can easily access the rubber grommet mentioned without removing the battery tray on the JSW (or I could on my 2011, anyway). The folks who insist that the ECS wiring harness is necessary, however, are dead-wrong. The supplied kit works just fine. I can't comment on any differences in quality between the kits (relays, wire gauge, etc...), but I can say that my Amazon harness works fine (so far) and integrated just fine with an OEM VW fog light switch.
Happy modding!
The Amazon (and, I assume, eBay) kit comes with a chintzy on/off switch; it can be discarded entirely if you want an OEM-style installation with a factory headlight switch. The harness that comes with the Amazon fog light kit has a white wire that leads to a three-pin connector (with the red and black wires in addition to the white one). Simply cut the white wire close to the connector, and toss the rest; this white wire will be your "trigger" wire and is what you'll adapt to connect to the OEM light switch.
You'll need a "VW fog light trigger/repair wire" (https://www.amazon.com/REAR-LIGHT-Y...w+fog+light+repair+wire&qid=1590381525&sr=8-1) to insert into the factory harness at the light switch itself. They are readily available for around $8 on eBay and Amazon; color doesn't matter, so I just bought the yellow one. It has the necessary pin on the end to properly fit into the headlight switch harness. Insert this into pin 5 for the front foglights, and splice it onto the white trigger wire mentioned above. The only other connections are a good, solid ground (I used one just behind the driver's side headlight), and 12v + power (which I tapped into at the fuse box). ECS tuning has a nice writeup on the installation that is super-helpful (http://bd8ba3c866c8cbc330ab-7b26c6f...en_MK6_Golf_Jetta_Sportwagen_Fog_Light_R1.pdf). Note that removing the battery tray is NOT necessary to route the white wire through the firewall! The coat hanger trick the writeup suggests is great, and you can easily access the rubber grommet mentioned without removing the battery tray on the JSW (or I could on my 2011, anyway). The folks who insist that the ECS wiring harness is necessary, however, are dead-wrong. The supplied kit works just fine. I can't comment on any differences in quality between the kits (relays, wire gauge, etc...), but I can say that my Amazon harness works fine (so far) and integrated just fine with an OEM VW fog light switch.
Happy modding!
