Hi-Beam issue

[deewee]

So I recently replaced both my headlights because my passenger side blew, so I replaced both sides. Now upon replacing them, my driver side high-beam does not engage , but my passenger side does.


Before the bulb replacement ( and before the right headlight blew ) both high-beams worked without any issue.

I am not too sure what could be causing this issue, could it be a loose igniter? I am not very familiar with how these bi-xenon headlights work regarding high-beams.



Other post, same issue, a bit more detail

 

[pkchancey009]

Same here bud. MKV Jetta Wolfsburg with driver side out. I've tested the buld on opposite side with success. I believe I need a new female connector.

 

[JetTurbo]

So what is malfunctioning, the Xenon high beam or the inner Flash-To-Pass halogen light?

The Xenon high beam is a mechanical shutter.
There is no change in the light from the bulb
in a HID/Xenon high beam, just the mechanical movement of the shutter.
HID bulbs can not be dimmed or change output level,
the HID bulb is either on or off, no other operating states.

So no, the igniter is unrelated to Xenon high beam operation.
If your Xenon low beams work, then any Xenon high beam issue
is unrelated to the bulb.

Did you remove the bumper and the headlight fixture to replace the bulb
(the VW recommended procedure and the reason
the dealer charges so much labor to change a bulb)
or did you wrestle the HID bulb change with the headlight fixture in place?
i.e. Possibly you damaged your shutter mechanism during your bulb change?

Easy to check the shutter operation.
Key off, headlight switch on, high beams off,
car pointed at a wall about 8 meters away
where you can clearly see the headlight "cut off".
Start the engine, immediately after engine start with headlights on low,
the shutters of both lights will "calibrate" in unison
by slamming the stops both high and low
and then returning to normal low beam position.
i.e. you will see both the shutters swing the cutoff from
very low to high and then settle at the correct low beam leveled position.
The shutter is what makes it a "Bi-Xenon",
i.e. both high and low beam Xenon operation from one fixed output HID bulb.