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HID Headlight Problems

brosevelt

Ready to race!
Location
Chicago
Initially, my driver's-side headlight went out so I bought two D2C 5000k bulbs off amazon to replace it with.

After getting them installed (FINALLY... It's a bitch to do), the driver's-side one works again, but now the passenger side won't work.

I swapped the working bulb to that igniter and that didn't fix it. So then I swapped the whole igniter with bulb from the other side and that still didn't fix it.

I've tried both bulbs and both igniters in the driver's side and it works. Any ideas?


Edit: FIXED! See below for the result. Had water in my ballast.
 
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bulldogger

Going for broke
Location
Hawaii

brosevelt

Ready to race!
Location
Chicago
This^

Gotta swap ballasts. Hopefully it might just be a loose connection. If not, I suggest buying a used ballast from Ebay as opposed to a new OEM ballast.

OEM list price according to 1st VW Parts is $492.90 vs used/tested Ebay part at $79.95.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/OEM-05-06-0...Parts_Accessories&hash=item19e54862f2&vxp=mtr

Thanks so much for the link!! This will be huge. I'll be taking my car up to my parent's house to use their garage this weekend so I'll check the ballasts at that time.

Seriously, thanks again!
 

brosevelt

Ready to race!
Location
Chicago
Well... Fixed.

I got everything pulled apart (which took damn forever), and noticed that the underside of the ballast was damp...



All of this water was INSIDE the ballast!



I took it apart and used a blow dryer on it for a while to make sure everything was nice and dry.



Almost back together...




YES!! I got SO lucky that the ballast still worked after drying out. Saved me a ton of money!

I'm guessing the water got in there from when we had some flooding and I had to drive through a few flooded streets. Didn't think it was deep enough to get water splashing up in there, but apparently it did somehow... I've checked all the seals now and everything looks like it should be OK.
 

tymu27

New member
Location
Richmond, VA
Well... Fixed.

I got everything pulled apart (which took damn forever), and noticed that the underside of the ballast was damp...



All of this water was INSIDE the ballast!



I took it apart and used a blow dryer on it for a while to make sure everything was nice and dry.



Almost back together...




YES!! I got SO lucky that the ballast still worked after drying out. Saved me a ton of money!

I'm guessing the water got in there from when we had some flooding and I had to drive through a few flooded streets. Didn't think it was deep enough to get water splashing up in there, but apparently it did somehow... I've checked all the seals now and everything looks like it should be OK.



I'm having some issues with my driver side headlight, and I believe it is the ballast. Could you tell me where the ballast is located once I pull everything off? Or how I should check it out? I cant find any DIY on here.
 

brosevelt

Ready to race!
Location
Chicago
I'm having some issues with my driver side headlight, and I believe it is the ballast. Could you tell me where the ballast is located once I pull everything off? Or how I should check it out? I cant find any DIY on here.

Unfortunately, to remove the ballast you will need to take the headlight assembly off, as it is located underneath the actual headlight.

You can use this DIY to get the headlight assembly out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ryUllFJoVg
 

tymu27

New member
Location
Richmond, VA
Yeah thats what I ended up doing so I could test and make sure it wasnt my ballast, before I dropped another $100 on a new bulb. I bought a pair on Amazon which ended up being the reason the bulb blew after 6 months of use.
 

bushtucker

New member
Location
SGP
Brosevelt, thanks for the solution.

My left headlight had similar issues, swapped igniters and bulbs, no luck. Issue started on a rainy day, initially the xenon turned dim, after that it didn't light up anymore.

Gonna try the hair dryer method.
 

DriV3n

Ready to race!
Location
Memphis, TN
Car(s)
'09 CW GTI
This post has great timing. My Passenger side HID just went out yesterday. My information center between the gauges post this upon starting the car: "Front right dipped beam not working!"

However, the HID briefly flashes when you turn the headlight switch to on. Any possibility that this could just be a loose connection? Not sure if it could be faulty ballast or a failing igniter since it briefly flashes.

Any advice on what could be the problem is appreciated.
 
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Chenzo_GTI

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
United States
I'm having the same problem as Driv3n, I changed my ignitor with a brand new OEM one, and replaced the bulb (with eBay ones)
I'm getting the turning on, flickering then off (all within 30 seconds)
Does this sound like a bad ballast?
 
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