# One headlight stuck on - help?



## lyric911 (Sep 7, 2012)

Background: Recently purchased a 2006 GTI. The driver's side headlight didn't work when I bought it. There was no ballast. Ballast finally came in today. As soon as I plugged it in (car off, key removed) the headlight lit up. No matter what, this light won't turn off. Any idea where I should start troubleshooting this? 

The passenger side light works as intended.


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## lyric911 (Sep 7, 2012)

Update: Tried the passenger side headlight on the wiring for the driver's side, and the behavior stays with the wiring.


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## lyric911 (Sep 7, 2012)

Update 2: Pin 6 on the driver's side is @ +12V with key off. Passenger's side is 0.


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## jrscpu2004 (Sep 2, 2012)

*Your Headlight*

Hello, I owned a 2006 VW Jetta S. The first night, I happened to use my left side turn signal to park 
at the curb next to my house. When I got out of the car, I noticed my whole left side lights were on!
That also included the tail light as well. I was totally baffled. I was worried it would have drained the battery, so I pulled the fuse for the Left Side headlight. I went to the dealer and was told, that this was a European Feature! Just make sure your turn signal when you park isn't left in the left or right 
turn signal position when you turn off the ignition. Evidently, the Europeans are mandated to have this feature if they are parked in a car at night, to signal on coming cars that your there? Who would of thunk? 
I don't thing my 2009 Jetta GLI has it though.


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## lyric911 (Sep 7, 2012)

I wish it were that simple. The turn signal is not on.


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## NFrazier (Jul 22, 2006)

lyric911 said:


> I wish it were that simple. The turn signal is not on.


I know that some features, if you have the HID headlights, are programmable via vag-com (I don't know if this is the issue or not), or there could be a short in the wiring. Without a diagram on what pin 6 is supposed to be doing at given points I can't give you a way to go.


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## lyric911 (Sep 7, 2012)

Does anyone know if DRL can be disabled via vagcom? I need to double check by testing the other side, but I think that's what that pin is for. Although, disabling it might not work since it seems to be a wiring fault of some kind.


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## NFrazier (Jul 22, 2006)

lyric911 said:


> Does anyone know if DRL can be disabled via vagcom? I need to double check by testing the other side, but I think that's what that pin is for. Although, disabling it might not work since it seems to be a wiring fault of some kind.


http://www.myturbodiesel.com/1000q/a6/euroswitch-drl-vw-golf-jetta.htm

halfway down i believe shows u but it usually does both lights at a time.

Where did you buy this car from? I know in MA a dealer cannot sell a car that won't pass state inspection (headlight not operating would fail safety here).


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## Saw2005 (Jul 1, 2012)

Doesn't the parking brake turn off the day time running lights ? Mine does . 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## NFrazier (Jul 22, 2006)

Saw2005 said:


> Doesn't the parking brake turn off the day time running lights ? Mine does .
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


e-brake up does turn on DRLs momentarily (until released).


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## JoeyLupo (Jul 5, 2017)

*Any luck?I'm having the exact same issue*

Im having the exact same strange issue as you.
12V constant on pin 6 of driving side connector.
Light constantly stays on with key out . Changed ballast
ignitor and bulb. Seems like there is a short in a relay or fuse
somewhere. Have you had any luck fixing the issue?
Any help would be greatly appriciated. Any chance you had an airbag fault along with this issue?


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## JoeyLupo (Jul 5, 2017)

*Did you find out ?*

Did you fix the issue? Im having the same EXACT issue as you are having


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## lyric911 (Sep 7, 2012)

This was 5 years ago, so my memory might not be exact here...

But I believe the dealer had to replace the FEM, it was a computer fault.


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## lyric911 (Sep 7, 2012)

JoeyLupo said:


> Im having the exact same strange issue as you.
> 12V constant on pin 6 of driving side connector.
> Light constantly stays on with key out . Changed ballast
> ignitor and bulb. Seems like there is a short in a relay or fuse
> ...


No airbag fault in my case.

I hate to say this, but changing anything *after* the always hot pin is guaranteed to not fix it. It obviously has to be something upstream, not down.


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## JoeyLupo (Jul 5, 2017)

Yup i followed that hot 12V wire and it goes directly into the CECM.
Cracked it open to only find out left side relay on the circuitboard was
defective. Swapped it with a new microchip and everything is back to normal.
Saved myself the headache of getting a new cecm ($150) and reprogramming everything


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## 5KMITg (Mar 6, 2017)

*One hid light stuck on?*

Hello, having the same issue now. do you remember exactly which realy needs replacment?


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## itsjaylow (Jan 10, 2016)

JoeyLupo said:


> Yup i followed that hot 12V wire and it goes directly into the CECM.
> Cracked it open to only find out left side relay on the circuitboard was
> defective. Swapped it with a new microchip and everything is back to normal.
> Saved myself the headache of getting a new cecm ($150) and reprogramming everything


Do you have specific info on what you replaced? Having this issue now.
Thanks.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk


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## itsjaylow (Jan 10, 2016)

5KMITg said:


> Hello, having the same issue now. do you remember exactly which realy needs replacment?


Having this issue also, did you find a fix? 

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk


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## drumsticks (Mar 27, 2007)

*Currently troubleshooting this exact problem on driver's side with new Headlight fixture, HID Light, and ballast*

Hi JoeyLupo or anyone that may know,

Would you mind letting us know what the microchip is (ie the product number) where you purchased it and where would this cecm be located, please?

I have put two brand new headlights on my 2006 Jetta GLI and as soon as I plugged it in, the HID light came on without a key in the car.

Thank you for your time,


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## drumsticks (Mar 27, 2007)

*Driver's headlight stuck on - Update*

I found a CECM underneath the driver's side dashboard and began removing relays only to find that the driver side HID headlight still remains on. I'm not sure where to go from this point. Is there possibly a relay somewhere else that is stuck? 
I know that it is something related to the wiring somewhere on the driver side as I have swapped headlights and the headlights turn on immediately when plugged in only on the driver side. I also placed a meter into the pins and there is a 12 V coming out of the headlight plug on the driver side and not on the passenger side.

Would anyone have any recommendations on what I can do to troubleshoot this issue or know what/where this problem is coming from?


Thank you all for your time!
Ryan


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## JoeyLupo (Jul 5, 2017)

The relays are soldered on the CECM(circuitboard). You need to replace onboard relay or get a new CECM from scrapyard and reprogram it using VCDS if you're not handy with soldering or electronics. The CECM is located on the drivers side underneath panel. You should see a few other relays plugged into the entire unit. The wiring that goes into the unit can be a little tricky to unplug to get the unit out. Also its clipped in on both sides, but I yanked that sucker out and broke the clips without realizing it was secured with clips. Another horrible VW design 🙄


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## brandi_ham1979 (Feb 16, 2020)

JoeyLupo said:


> Im having the exact same strange issue as you.
> 12V constant on pin 6 of driving side connector.
> Light constantly stays on with key out . Changed ballast
> ignitor and bulb. Seems like there is a short in a relay or fuse
> ...


Did you fix the issue? Im having the same EXACT issue. It obviously has to be something upstream, not down.


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