# '06 GTI HIDs not working



## got_a_vdub (Sep 6, 2004)

So, my passenger side HID was not working. I just replaced the OEM bulbs two years ago with some ZIZAs from ECS. Install was not too bad, but not easy either. In any case, I figured that it was probably a bad bulb and got a set of new bulbs, Morimotos, since ZIZA doesn't make them anymore for the Mkv. Once I got the igniter off, I had a HELLUVA time getting the ring off. Took the bulb out and did not really notice anything wrong with it, but decided to put in the new bulb just to be sure. Had an even harder time trying to get everything back on correctly. I did eventually, but to no avail- the bulb still did not come on. Figured it was not the bulb so decided to swap the driver's side igniter to see if that was the problem... Struggled further trying to get those mounting rings and the igniters back on, but finally did... Still no luck. Was going to switch them again, but ended up breaking both mounting rings trying to get them on after switching and ended up getting really frustrated. 

So, I bought two new mounting rings, as well as a new igniter, which I just tried today with the old ZIZA bulbs, because I read about the Morimotos not being that great and got nothing. SO, now I am back to troubleshooting. My problem is this- I know that there is the ballast that could be the problem, or it could be a fuse, but I haven't figured out which fuse controls the headlamps yet...anyone know what fuse to check??

My other issue is, that almost all the insulation on the wiring inside both headlamps has fallen off. Most likely due to the car being in Key West for the last 5 years and the heat is atrocious down there and my car typically had no shade, let alone a garage. Do I bother trying the ballast, or bite the bullet and get some new lamp units? I don't know if they come with the ballast or will i be using the same ones I have, in which case I may need to replace them anyways? I doubt that they come with that, so I don't know what to do... 

Really in a pickle here, because I can't take my car anywhere right now, because it is our only car for at least another week. I really don't want to take out the headlamps, because that is a PITA, but i will if I have to; I'd like to refurbish my lenses again, and it would be much easier if they are out of the car. Been there, done that.

In any case, looking for some sage advice....thanks!


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## got_a_vdub (Sep 6, 2004)

So, an update to my predicament....

Got two new Osram bulbs and got the passenger side installed, but could not get the driver's side installed, mainly due to the tightness of space, but also because no matter how I tried, could not get that plastic mounting ring on the housing. Finally decided to swap the passenger side to the driver's side and got it on in seconds. Now trying to get that same ring on the passenger side and it's not going on again! I take the bulb out and I can get it on, albeit with somewhat of a struggle still, but I can get it on. Finally after much persistence, I get it on!! Now both igniters on and try the lights and the driver's side works again, but still no pax side. Since I bought a new igniter ( and by now have forgotten which one is the new one, but I know that the old one has a broken locking tab, so it's easily identifiable) I take off the the igniter that is on there an put the old one back on. Doesn't work. Swap the good one from the driver's side and put another one on the driver's side, now both don't work. Put the good one back on the driver's side and now that doesn't work again!! I am turning the lights on and off repeatedly, as I have read that sometimes this will reset them, but no luck there. I do have a new ECU(ballast), but am reluctant to replace that because of the work involved and I can't get that involved right now...

Anybody have ANY advice AT ALL??


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## got_a_vdub (Sep 6, 2004)

AND my high beams work, but not always. With the car running and the headlights turned ON, the high-beams sometimes work/sometimes don't and I can hear them trying to switch when they don't work, because I hear a clicking sound.... With the car off, but the key on in the accessory position, and the lights turned ON, they do NOT work at all. With the key off and the lights turned off, the high-beams work. Not sure what that has to do with anything, but has to be associated somehow.


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## got_a_vdub (Sep 6, 2004)

Another update to my previous updates....

Went for a drive after having not luck getting either lamp to work in the garage, and lo and behold, the passenger side now works!! I do believe that this was the igniter that was originally on the driver's side when it worked. I took the one off with the broken tab and not even using it, since it seemed to me like it was not working at all so... I know at least that it is not an ECU since both sides have worked with both bulbs and (I believe) both igniters... Still can't quite figure out what is going on. I have a feeling it might be my wiring that is missing insulation that might be shorting things out....


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## got_a_vdub (Sep 6, 2004)

This forum has become so useless, I don't know why I ever bothered to post a question on here to begin with...


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## got_a_vdub (Sep 6, 2004)

Wooooooowwww. Just proved my point. This site has become so lame, that nobody is even jumping all over me about my last post about how lame this site has become...


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## got_a_vdub (Sep 6, 2004)

In spite of the worthlessness of the forum, I am going to update my situation in hopes that maybe it does help somebody with an MkV GTI.

In any case, I finally got my headlights working. Had to buy new housings though so...$300+ x 2 for those suckers. I chose to do that since the wiring inside each housing was shot. Almost all the insulation was gone, probably from the heat of the bulbs as well as the heat of the Keys for 5 years. I attempted to do some restoration work by using an automotive electrical tape to cover the wires, since my thinking was they were touching and shorting the lights out, but that didn't work. Anyways, got the new headlights yesterday and installed them today. That was a treat...After having tried to troubleshoot them a few weeks ago, I had figured out pretty well how much of the bumper to detach and got pretty good at doing this job. Anyways, I swapped bulbs and ignitors as well as the ballast on each one, from old to new. The biggest issue I encountered was unplugging each headlight- those plugs are a bitch to pull off and I ended up breaking the tabs on each one in the process. Then, trying to get them back on was a challenge too. In any case, only the driver's side worked initially. I had bought a refurbished ballast off of eBay which hadn't solved the problem with the old lamps, which is what led me to believe it was the wiring. So, I took of the pax side off again and swapped ECUs and put it back on and voila! it worked. 

Soooooo, in the end, the wiring harness was probably the main culprit and that cannot be replaced. I am guessing that it was shorting everything out and possibly even damaged the ballast on the one side. I did not buy an OE ballast either, so hoping that it will last. And my old headlamp lenses were all fogged over too, even after having refurbished them myself about 2 years ago. So having those nice crystal clear, sparkly lenses is a really nice thing to have again. The other ones were looking so crappy and then all the insulation was falling into the front of the headlight too so, also not nice to see.

Hopefully this little post might help somebody else that has the same issue. If I could, I would love to buy a new Mk7, but just not an option for me right now, so gotta keep the old MkV running the best I can... Anyways, feel free to ask any questions about the process and i'll try to answer them the best I can.


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## SelfReflected (Aug 21, 2019)

got_a_vdub said:


> In spite of the worthlessness of the forum, I am going to update my situation in hopes that maybe it does help somebody with an MkV GTI.
> 
> In any case, I finally got my headlights working. Had to buy new housings though so...$300+ x 2 for those suckers. I chose to do that since the wiring inside each housing was shot. Almost all the insulation was gone, probably from the heat of the bulbs as well as the heat of the Keys for 5 years. I attempted to do some restoration work by using an automotive electrical tape to cover the wires, since my thinking was they were touching and shorting the lights out, but that didn't work. Anyways, got the new headlights yesterday and installed them today. That was a treat...After having tried to troubleshoot them a few weeks ago, I had figured out pretty well how much of the bumper to detach and got pretty good at doing this job. Anyways, I swapped bulbs and ignitors as well as the ballast on each one, from old to new. The biggest issue I encountered was unplugging each headlight- those plugs are a bitch to pull off and I ended up breaking the tabs on each one in the process. Then, trying to get them back on was a challenge too. In any case, only the driver's side worked initially. I had bought a refurbished ballast off of eBay which hadn't solved the problem with the old lamps, which is what led me to believe it was the wiring. So, I took of the pax side off again and swapped ECUs and put it back on and voila! it worked.
> 
> ...



Soo I know this post is old and no one responded, but thanks for updating and continuing your story.. very helpful. I have a question if you don't care..? so did the new headlight housings come wired up already? with the clip already on them to plug and play with the ballast?


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## got_a_vdub (Sep 6, 2004)

SelfReflected said:


> Soo I know this post is old and no one responded, but thanks for updating and continuing your story.. very helpful. I have a question if you don't care..? so did the new headlight housings come wired up already? with the clip already on them to plug and play with the ballast?


You are QUITE welcome! Glad that somebody is benefiting from my post. I have learned a number of things off of this message board, but lately it just seems mostly useless... But I digress.

YES, the headlamps came fully wired. I did not have to do anything to them other than install them, install the bulbs along with the original ignitors and the original ballast. They did not come with any of those things... I bought them off of ECS Tuning and like I said, they were $300 something a piece. New ballast are about the same price as the headlamp assemblies, which is why I chose to find a used one. So far, I have not had any issues, only that the headlamps use to go through the self-leveling test upon starting the car and the day-time running lamps come on, or when turning on the headlamps at night using the headlight switch. I don't think they do it at all now, but I had the car in for service and asked them to check and they said that they were indeed self-testing, but I don't know about that. This was not a VW dealer, but a high-end repair shop, but I think my little old VW was low on the their list of priorities, even though they have a guy that is certified by VW and owns a couple GTIs as well as a Scirocco... Anyways, I have a VAG reader and just haven't gotten around to scanning the computer yet to see what it says. They said that it's showing that they are doing the self-test in the OBD so I don't know. Just happy to have nice new headlamps.

Hope that helped. Let me know if you need anything else answered...


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## dyogenese (Aug 6, 2004)

thanks for your post I have been trying to do research on my issue and then hitting a brick wall I just made a new post about my headlight issue as well everything is pointing in the direction that I may need new housings....what my issue was weird because the light will go out and if I shut the lights off and turn them back on they work just fine until I go out again and in the occasionally the computer gets the side wrong on which side the headlight is out on


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## Bonzerrelli (Feb 22, 2013)

got_a_vdub said:


> In spite of the worthlessness of the forum, I am going to update my situation in hopes that maybe it does help somebody with an MkV GTI.
> 
> In any case, I finally got my headlights working. Had to buy new housings though so...$300+ x 2 for those suckers. I chose to do that since the wiring inside each housing was shot. Almost all the insulation was gone, probably from the heat of the bulbs as well as the heat of the Keys for 5 years. I attempted to do some restoration work by using an automotive electrical tape to cover the wires, since my thinking was they were touching and shorting the lights out, but that didn't work. Anyways, got the new headlights yesterday and installed them today. That was a treat...After having tried to troubleshoot them a few weeks ago, I had figured out pretty well how much of the bumper to detach and got pretty good at doing this job. Anyways, I swapped bulbs and ignitors as well as the ballast on each one, from old to new. The biggest issue I encountered was unplugging each headlight- those plugs are a bitch to pull off and I ended up breaking the tabs on each one in the process. Then, trying to get them back on was a challenge too. In any case, only the driver's side worked initially. I had bought a refurbished ballast off of eBay which hadn't solved the problem with the old lamps, which is what led me to believe it was the wiring. So, I took of the pax side off again and swapped ECUs and put it back on and voila! it worked.
> 
> ...




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## xabhax (Nov 3, 2019)

Maybe no one replied because you displayed a complete lack of common sense. If swapping bulbs and igniters didn’t work once, why did you think buying more bulbs would work. 


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