Low-Beams Don't Work

Ferg

Active member
Joined
Aug 16, 2005
Location
Ogden, UT
TDI
2010 Jetta Cup Edition
2003 Jetta. 75,000. Miles Manual.

The low-beams do not com on. Whether the light switch is on or off, the low-beams do not work. All other lights work. All fuses are good.

I pulled the right side headlamp to see if by some wierd comic happening, both lights burned out at exactly the same time. The bulb looks good. I checked the main fuses over the battery, all connections look clean and good.

I rarely if ever use the high-beams. I don't think that the swith has been used 20 times in the last year (other than today while troubleshooting.) The emergency brake is dis-engaged and the "brake" light on the dash is off.

Any ideas?

Ferg
 

Powder Hound

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 25, 1999
Location
Under a Bridge, Crestview, FL, USA
TDI
'00 Golf 4dr White 5sp, '02 Jettachero 5sp, Wife's '03 NB Platinum Gray auto(!)
Replace the passenger side anyway to check. I only say that because I assume the passenger side is easier to change than the driver side.

Sometimes a bulb can either break a filament so that it does not look like it has burned out. I have actually had bulbs where the filament, held by support wires that "unbent themselves" was perfect but the bulb failed due to the filament no longer making contact.

It is also possible that there's contacts that have undone themselves, or your light switch has failed, or even a fuse that looks OK but is cracked instead of burned out. But the easiest first check is to replace a bulb with a new or known good one to check.

And yes, they might both burn out. Mine always have died within days of each other.
 

Ferg

Active member
Joined
Aug 16, 2005
Location
Ogden, UT
TDI
2010 Jetta Cup Edition
I can't believe it. I just replace both lights and they were both burned out. I guess it happens more often than you would think.

Thanks for you response.

Ferg
 

gern_blanston

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 3, 2002
Location
PNW
TDI
Golf, '03, Silver
Yep. I had both low-beam bulbs bite the dust at the same instant a year or two ago. Glad you got 'er fixed.
 

Joeviocoe

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2007
Location
San Francisco, CA
TDI
1999 VW Jetta TDI (Mk4) 1.9L ALH 5spd [VNT-17/22 Turbo, RC4, PP520 Nozzles]
Can someone school me on how the high-beam \ low-beam headlight system works...

Problem: My driver-side low-beam light went off but both bulbs works with high-beams.

Do the bulbs have seperate filaments for high and low?

The fuses are good and I switched them around to see if maybe they were cracked on the inside, but no change. Is there a seperate relay or control. My Haynes manual (pg 12-28) shows that after the fuses, there is a LH (lefthand\driver) headlight starter and a LH headlight control unit. Both of these look fairly small and simple on the diagram with only one transistor.

Please help if you know what I should do.
 

Joeviocoe

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2007
Location
San Francisco, CA
TDI
1999 VW Jetta TDI (Mk4) 1.9L ALH 5spd [VNT-17/22 Turbo, RC4, PP520 Nozzles]
ARRRRGGGG.... I pulled off the bulb to find the wire harness has melted. Anyone know where besides the stealer I can get the 3-wire harness for the driver-side headlight bulb?
 

wolf1477

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 21, 2007
Location
Tony,WI
TDI
2000 Golf
Joeviocoe said:
ARRRRGGGG.... I pulled off the bulb to find the wire harness has melted. Anyone know where besides the stealer I can get the 3-wire harness for the driver-side headlight bulb?
I would imagine any auto parts store would have a generic harness for your light (H7, H3, 9007, etc etc).
I would probably try NAPA or something similarly reputable. I've bought many bum electrical components (including harnesses) fromplaces like AutoZone & Checker. I guess ya really do get what ya pay for.

Wolf, hth
 
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