Turning off number plate lights

[golffather]

Hi all

Does anyone know how to turn off the number plate lights?
They are constantly on.

There is no option in VCDS, only side lights via terminal 15 can be unselected.

Thanks

[albob]

Fairly certain that it is compulsory to have your number plate lit. Or you saying that the number plate lights are on when you have your other lights off ??

[golffather]

Yes they are on all the time with ignition on, regardless of the headlight switch position.
Are they hard wired in to be ON like the front dipped beam on the 2014 onwards polos?

[RUM4MO]

What country do you live in, I have never ever noticed that!

Edit:- you have not done something like swopped the filament bulbs for LEDs have you?

[golffather]

its a standard UK polo mate.

[RUM4MO]

Ah, sorry I've just edited my last posting - maybe have another look at it.

[golffather]

Actually i do have OEM LED units fitted, but that shouldnt make a difference, there should be no power going to them at all when the headlight switch is 0 !

[RUM4MO]

I suspect that if you refit the filament bulbs this will sort this out, what could be happening is that the "switch" for each of these lights is a solid state device and need Xmilliamps draw to be able to switch reliably, and your LEDs are probably drawing 1/10X or so milliamps.

Edit:- what you need to do is to find out where you can change the coding from filament to LED - you can normally do that in VW cars, it is just finding it, well at least you can do it on some Audis.

[golffather]

Just checked wiring diagrams and number plate lights connect directly to J519 via T73b/7

But that pin should be empty as per elsawin...

[RUM4MO]

Hum, nothing ever looks like it should?

Now if it that car came fitted with filament number plate lights, and you have changed them to the VW Group LED versions, then if you find the Byte, you should be able to change it to accept these LED lights, unless VW used a different power controller, or BCM, ie J519 for cars that came with LED number plate lights like my wife's 6C SEL Polo did.

[golffather]

Just to close this thread, there is a pin in the headlight switch (B) which needs isolating.
All good now.

[RUM4MO]

Just to close this thread, there is a pin in the headlight switch (B) which needs isolating.
All good now.

Do you mean that this car has always been like this since you bought it?

I'm finding this hard to understand, can you expand on this a bit more please?

[golffather]

On 2013 onwards Polo 6R's, the dip beam and number plates are always on as part of the DRL system - a cheap fix by VW from factory to comply with EU regulations

The power for these comes from the TFL and the B terminal of the headlight switch

To disable this, you need to isolate or remove the pins from the headlight connector

[peter_dk25]

I have a Blue GT 6R model Year 2014. Only the DRL's in front are on - no license plate lights etc....

[RUM4MO]

I would have thought that the plan to use dipped beam headlights for DRLs had been dropped in the bin about 20 years ago when Ford etc were forced by UK only regs to provide all new cars with "dip dip" as a fore runner to DRLs - that plan was outlawed by EU as being restrictive as it meant cars being specially spec'd for UK only sales.

Though, there was talk of some VXs being sold advertised as having DRLs when in fact all they had was the dipped beam coming on with ignition, so maybe this car was an earlier attempt by VW Group to comply with DRLs regs, what a nuisance!, though I'd think that this way of doing things only covered cars from 2010ish to "a bit later" - shocking if it was left this way until the 6C was launched.

Now I'll need to eyeball any 6R Polo I drive past!