11 Nov 2024 • 3 min read

Replacing the Smoked Rear Lights

Fed up with the 'riced up' look of smoked rear lights, I swapped them for original GTI Mk6 lights, giving the Edition 35 a more refined and color-matching appearance

The car came with smoked black rear lights, which can look great on cars like a white or black Golf, but on my blue Edition 35, they just didn’t suit the color. The lights gave off a “riced up” vibe, making the car look like it was owned by an 18-year-old, which I definitely didn’t want. So, I decided to replace them with original GTI Mk6 rear lights, almost identical to the Edition 35's (slightly brigther, Golf R and ed. cars have dimmed versions).

*The smoked black rear lights that didn’t fit with the blue color of the car.*

I started by contacting several scrapyards, asking for prices on regular Golf rear lights. One scrapyard quoted me a ridiculous 650 euros for worn, old lights that were far from perfect. However, a breakthrough came when Sigurd sent me a Facebook Marketplace listing for original GTI rear lights in near-perfect condition. The seller was asking only 1200 DKK (160 euros), claiming they were “brand new.”

*The Marketplace listing for the original GTI rear lights in excellent condition.*

I quickly got in touch to confirm the condition and shipping to Norway, and after receiving a positive response, I made the purchase. The total came to 254 euros, including shipping and import fees—half the price of those scrapyard lights.

When I received the lights, I found that while they were used and had some minor scratches, they were in far better condition than the alternatives. A simple polish would restore them to near-new quality.

Replacing the lights was easier than expected, considering the previous owners had left behind a mess. Upon revealing the wiring, I was greeted with a surprise—glue, sugar cubes (as splicing connectors), and other makeshift fixes. The cable management was horrendous, and even the resistor for the lights was dangling around, knocking into the body when the car moved. It was clear why the rear door had a loud bang when closing—though that wasn’t the root cause.

After swapping the lights, I also discovered that the small rear lights don’t work when the rear door is open. This took us a bit of time to figure out, but after troubleshooting, we confirmed everything was functioning correctly. We checked the blinkers, fog lights, and reverse lights, but the brake lights didn’t activate without the ECU in place.

*The original GTI rear lights installed on the car, looking much better and matching the color perfectly*.

*The original GTI rear lights installed on the car, this time with lights on*

With the new lights in place, the car looks so much better. The color match is perfect, and the rear end feels much more cohesive. The smoked lights are priced around 400 euros each, so if I’m lucky, I might be able to sell them for 300 euros each, which could help recoup some of the costs. All in all, the car is definitely looking more refined now with the original rear lights back in place.