# Calling all retrofit gurus



## Philip J. Fry (Jan 1, 2005)

Having trouble with a retrofit project I got myself into. Details are as follows:

Vehicle: MK4 Jetta (2004.5 GLI)
Headlights: OEM housings, painted matte black
Shrouds: plastic, painted to match the housings
Projectors: OEM Mercedes-Benz E55s
Ballasts: unknown 12v 35w ignitors
Bulbs: OEM D2S bulbs
Harnesses: appear to be wired as plug and play

Low beams are fully functioning. When I click the column stalk inwards for "flash to pass" the high beams fully function. However, when I push the cloumn stalk out for "high beams on" the projector goes dead (no light output). The amber driving lights in the headlights always stay on, so I know that power is still going to the headlights.

I'm thinking it's a wiring issue, but I suppose it could also be a relay/ballast issue. Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks to anyone that tries to help. I've been searching around online throughout the day trying to get some ideas.

:beer:


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## dennisgli (May 17, 2003)

On the Jetta the low beams turn off when you turn the high beams on. So you need to wire the ballasts so they are on all the time and not just on the stock low beam circuit.


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## Philip J. Fry (Jan 1, 2005)

dennisgli said:


> On the Jetta the low beams turn off when you turn the high beams on. So you need to wire the ballasts so they are on all the time and not just on the stock low beam circuit.


I came across something like this in an old post on here, but you've explained it a lot better than what I found. Thank you. I read that you have to take off the steering wheel in order to wire them in off of the stock low beam circuit. Can you confirm if this is true by chance? I was hoping that I might be able to just re-pin one of the wires in the harness as they are set up essentially as plug and play right now.


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## Philip J. Fry (Jan 1, 2005)

From the look of this picture, it appears like I could just tap the (+) and ground wires from the projectors directly into the high beam (+) and ground wires on the existing OEM harness? 

However, because mine are set up as plug and play (unlike this picture), I'll need to find a headlight pin diagram to see where to run the wires directly to the high beam circuit. Would this cause my low beams to not function though?!


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## Philip J. Fry (Jan 1, 2005)

So, hopefully I can just connect a wire from the projectors to the high beam (+) and common high beam/low beam ground to fix this issue. I'm still confused by how to do this though, or if it would even work. I guess if the high beam (+) is always hot, but the relay just cuts the power when the low beams are on, it would work to directly tap into the high beam (+) and common ground like I'm describing. Can anyone chime in on this?


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## Philip J. Fry (Jan 1, 2005)

Found this on The Retrofit Source website:

Bi-xenon Relay Harness:
A bi-xenon harness is a bit more complicated compared to a standard low beam wire harness. A typical dual-filament halogen bulb has 3 pins: one for the low beam, one for the high beam, and a ground. In low beam or high beam mode; only that pin is receiving a signal from the factory harness. The low beam mode is simple, but in a bi-xenon retrofit, you need the low and high beams powered on at the same time. Otherwise, when you hit the high beams, the projectors will turn to high beam mode but the ballasts will turn off - leaving you with nothing but darkness. A properly configured harness will correct for this problem. There are two ways a bi-xenon harness can be setup to do so.

1N5404 Diodes are often used to keep a circuit on when it would otherwise turn off by default. With a diode:
The diode will be installed between the low and high beam input wires on the harness. A diode is a like a one-way road that lets current flow from the high beam lead into the low beam lead - which not only keeps the relays powering the ballasts but passes through to the bi-xenon solenoids to activate the hi beam.

MotoControl Relays keep the low beam circuit on when high beam mode is active for seamless functionality in bi-xenon retrofits With a control box:
This will control the function of the low and high beams via it's own specialized/smart circuitry. When the control box reads "low beam input pin active" it will only output power to the ballasts. When the control box reads "high beam input pin active" it knows to send current to the ballasts and the bi-xenon solenoids at the same time. These are more complicated and less serviceable, but often times more universally applicable with positive and ground switched circuits.

It looks like soldering in a diode between the low beam and high beam wires will solve the problem. If anyone has any other options, I'd be happy to hear them. Again, sorry... electrical stuff is outside of my understanding/literacy for the most part.


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## RodgertheRabit II (Sep 13, 2012)

Bixenon harness is the easy way out. 

However, I'd recommend Wiring the high beam solenoids right to the interior wires (white/brown) and jumper the headlight switch (pin3 to pin7). Basically you mimic the wiring of a gti


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## Philip J. Fry (Jan 1, 2005)

RodgertheRabit II said:


> Bixenon harness is the easy way out.
> 
> However, I'd recommend Wiring the high beam solenoids right to the interior wires (white/brown) and jumper the headlight switch (pin3 to pin7). Basically you mimic the wiring of a gti


 Yeah, looking into the possibility of a Bi-xenon harness from TRS, would just need to redo some of the wiring and connectors to have it work correctly. I was hoping a diode would do the trick, still not sure if it's worth trying.


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## dennisgli (May 17, 2003)

Not sure where you were going to put the diode?

But yes, I'd just wire the ballasts up to pin 7 (56*) on the light switch. Assuming that you don't want the HIDs as DRLs.

Golf/Jetta IV Light Switch


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## Philip J. Fry (Jan 1, 2005)

dennisgli said:


> Not sure where you were going to put the diode?
> 
> But yes, I'd just wire the ballasts up to pin 7 (56*) on the light switch. Assuming that you don't want the HIDs as DRLs.
> 
> Golf/Jetta IV Light Switch


I wasnt' sure where I was going to put it either, to be honest with you. After some more research, I don't want to wire the ballasts to the headlight switch wires (a.k.a. the jumpering method?). Apparently at start up, and for the first few seconds of cold-start operation, the ballasts can draw up to triple the amount of operating current. Over time this can be very bad for the stock relays.

The control box/relay solution from TheRetroFit source is the way I want to go. I just can't figure out some simple wiring information like:

In the stock 9007 (blue) connector in the MK4 Jetta, I know that between the three wires - (1) brown, (1) white, and (1) yellow, they separately control ground, low beam (+), and high beam (+). I just dont know which wire controls what. I found a thread through searching that suggested brown - ground, white - low, yellow - high, but the user who posted that information wasn't sure.

Anyone with insight on this?


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## Philip J. Fry (Jan 1, 2005)

I've narrowed down my issues:

1. What do the three wires leading to my bi-xenon solenoid control? One is red, one is black, one is green. I'm guessing one is a ground, and the other two are hot for low beam and high beam function. I plan to test these with a 9V battery. I hope that works. (_see picture below_)










2. From the OEM 9007 dual filament connector. What corresponds to the three following wires - brown wire, white wire, and yellow wire. One is for ground. One is for low beams (+), and the last is for high beams (+). (_see picture below_)










Can anyone help me with this?


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## dennisgli (May 17, 2003)

Philip J. Fry said:


> After some more research, I don't want to wire the ballasts to the headlight switch wires (a.k.a. the jumpering method?). Apparently at start up, and for the first few seconds of cold-start operation, the ballasts can draw up to triple the amount of operating current. Over time this can be very bad for the stock relays.
> 
> The control box/relay solution from TheRetroFit source is the way I want to go.


Not sure what "stock relays" you are talking about? Wiring directly to the light switch wouldn't involve any relays.

I'm not sure what the TRS "control box" does - control the shutter; power the ballasts?



Philip J. Fry said:


> 1. What do the three wires leading to my bi-xenon solenoid control? One is red, one is black, one is green. I'm guessing one is a ground, and the other two are hot for low beam and high beam function. I plan to test these with a 9V battery. I hope that works.


I don't think think these connect to the high and low beams. My understanding was that they were ground, "hard", and "soft" power to the shutter. Maybe they go to the "control box"? I think I've seen a schematic somewhere here on how to make your own control unit to provide the two power levels to the shutters.



Philip J. Fry said:


> 2. From the OEM 9007 dual filament connector. What corresponds to the three following wires - brown wire, white wire, and yellow wire. One is for ground. One is for low beams (+), and the last is for high beams (+).


I think it is the other way around - white for high beam and yellow for the low beams.


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## Philip J. Fry (Jan 1, 2005)

Thanks, I really appreciate the help/advice. Isn't there a stock relay connected to the main relay panel for clicking power on and off to the headlight switch? Or does the power for the headlight switch come directly from the battery through a fuse in the main fuse box? Either way, if the ballasts can draw up to three times operating power at initial start up, I'd want to power the ballasts directly from the battery instead.

Definitely my mistake in talking about the three wires connecting to the bi-xenon function of my projectors. Two of those wires definitely connect to the control box. The control box has two outputs for each headlight (one to the ballast, and one to the bi-xenon function on the projector). When I mentioned two of these wires connect to the low beam hot and high beam hot, I meant they connect to the output connector from the control box getting a signal from the low beam hot or high beam hot when that is selected from the driving column stalk (power coming through the stock 9007 connector).

Thanks for the clarification on the white and yellow wires on the stock 9007 connector. I couldn't find an answer one way or the other there. One guy on a search I conducted said "I'm pretty sure they go like this..." but couldn't confirm and no one else chimed in after that.


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## dennisgli (May 17, 2003)

Philip J. Fry said:


> Isn't there a stock relay connected to the main relay panel for clicking power on and off to the headlight switch? Or does the power for the headlight switch come directly from the battery through a fuse in the main fuse box? Either way, if the ballasts can draw up to three times operating power at initial start up, I'd want to power the ballasts directly from the battery instead.


The power to the light switch comes from the ignition switch - that's why the lights turn off when the car isn't running. Power to the ignition switch comes from the 110amp fuse on top of the battery - so if you wire directly to the light switch you definitely want to install another fuse.



Philip J. Fry said:


> Definitely my mistake in talking about the three wires connecting to the bi-xenon function of my projectors. Two of those wires definitely connect to the control box. The control box has two outputs for each headlight (one to the ballast, and one to the bi-xenon function on the projector). When I mentioned two of these wires connect to the low beam hot and high beam hot, I meant they connect to the output connector from the control box getting a signal from the low beam hot or high beam hot when that is selected from the driving column stalk (power coming through the stock 9007 connector).


If you have a shutter with three wires then I think you need control unit with two outputs for the solenoid. Here is the wiring diagram that I was referring to.


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## Philip J. Fry (Jan 1, 2005)

I tested the projector solenoid wires with a 9V battery to test their polarity with the functions of the shroud. The green was ground, the red was positive and the black was negative. Therefore the fix should be very simple. I'll cap the green ground from the projector and connect the black and red wires to the connector to the control box. Essentially, I can treat the projector wiring like a two-wire setup.

Dennis, I want to thank you again for your willingness to hear me out with the problems I was having. :beer: Happy holidays, all.


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## dennisgli (May 17, 2003)

Sorry if I'm being a pain but I don't think you can determine this with a 9volt battery. If it's a solenoid it doesn't have a positive, negative, or ground - it's just a coil of wire (or two).

From the Automotive Lighting FAQ:


> *How do I wire up solenoid of the 2002+ Bosch Bi-Xenon projector unit?
> *
> Just like all other Bi-Xenon units with movable cutoff shield to get high beam, this one also has a solenoid to operate the shield. Solenoid is only pulling one way, there is a spring that will move it back. Solenoid operates after "pull" and "hold" principals. Which means that solenoid must be activated in pull mode and held in place by the hold mode. There is three wires coming out of the solenoid. Color coding varies, but it seems like these colors are the most common:
> # red - positive
> ...


Note the last paragraph. I just don't want others that find this thread to get misinformed.


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