[_dan_]

After a little advice please.....

Previous owner fitted a Xenon upgrade to the R33. In the last few months, I've noticed that either the left, or right, or scarily both headlights go go off, and to get it/them back on again, I have to turn the lights off for a couple of seconds and back on again. Actually, it seems to be triggered quite often going round bumpy corners.

I've tried cleaning fuses and tapping relays, but nothing seems to fix the problem. I'm guessing it's either the bulbs or the ballast in that case?

Anyone got any advice on fixing this, or where to get (cheap??) replacement bits from?

Cheers :thumbsup:

 

[Mookistar]

Probably just low quality ballasts if its an aftermarket upgrade.

 

[_dan_]

OK, that'd make sense. Are they an easy swap? Do they cost a fortune to buy? Cheers.

 

[Smartdj]

I didn't have any problems with mine but because I was removing them to refurb the outer lens I found the wiring to be terrible. They had used chocolate block "school boy electrics" lol which had seen some weather and wasn't far from giving up so I got the soldering iron/heat shrink out and gave them a new lease of life.

Might just be worth a quick look at the wiring. You never know what monkey did what to your car before you owned it

 

[Brains]

Where are the ballasts located? Some turn off if overheated.

 

[Cris]

After a little advice please.....

Previous owner fitted a Xenon upgrade to the R33. In the last few months, I've noticed that either the left, or right, or scarily both headlights go go off, and to get it/them back on again, I have to turn the lights off for a couple of seconds and back on again. Actually, it seems to be triggered quite often going round bumpy corners.

I've tried cleaning fuses and tapping relays, but nothing seems to fix the problem. I'm guessing it's either the bulbs or the ballast in that case?

Anyone got any advice on fixing this, or where to get (cheap??) replacement bits from?

Cheers :thumbsup:

Sounds like wiring to me. Perhaps the earthing.

If you don't wire (anything) up properly you'll have problems like this. Have a look at how the wiring is done and pay attention to the feed for the ballasts (should come directly from the battery) and check that the earth is valid.

Testing the ballasts is easy. They all seem to use the same connections so jsut swap over a known good pair.

 

[_dan_]

Thanks for the replies. I had a quick look in the engine bay earlier and couldn't see where the ballasts have been installed. I'll take a closer look later on.

 

[R32 Combat]

I have a HID 'upgrade' kit on my Passat. I have gone thought 2 left side ballast packs but no right hand side. Failure seems to start with delayed light up followed by mostly not coming on and flashing.
They are cheap and it carry a spare in the car rather than a bulb.

 

[matt j]

Try cleaning the contacts on the stalk first, that's what mine did a while ago and I just cleaned the contacts and everything was fine again.