Low Beams head lights are dim

PSVW · Post by **PSVW** » Mon Nov 08, 2010 8:35 pm

The lowbeam lights on my Golf are of a differant flavor then I am used to, this is is a German spec Golf and when you look at them from the front they just do not look like US headlights I am used to. Anyway the low beam illumination is well ,frankly terrible and I was thinking of getting new ones , bright lights are great , I have replace sealed beam headlights on my older cars/trucks in the US and it made a huge differance ,before I give up Euros over here just wondering if anyone has any input on this. Again bright lights are fine but normal night time low beams are weak . hate to change out lights and have same condition.

82vdub · Post by **82vdub** » Mon Nov 08, 2010 10:27 pm

Try to measure the voltage at the headlights. With all the power for the headlights running through the switch, sometimes resistance knocks down the power quite a bit by the time it gets to the lights. There's a relay kit that you can purchase to bypass most of the wiring and resistance and brighten up the lights.

http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTricks ... oltageTest

http://www.4crawler.com/Diesel/CheapTri ... ingHarness

The above links are to VWcaddy's help pages.

Quantum TD · Post by **Quantum TD** » Mon Nov 08, 2010 11:03 pm

Sometimes on the 9004 and H4 bulbs, I've seen one bad bulb affect the two bulbs. Kinda strange, but it happens.

vwtyp133 · Post by **vwtyp133** » Wed Nov 10, 2010 3:09 am

9004 sockets are mostly crap, especially if you install higher-wattage bulbs. BTDT

Fortunately, now there are H/D H9004 replacement sockets, with ceramic or high-temp plastic socket bodies. Between upgraded sockets, high power bulbs, and the previously-mentioned relays, you should be good to go.

The Euro patterns do "take a bit of getting used to", but IMO are superior to the US DOT lights that throw glare all over, even on 'dipped beam'. Driven your Euros in any real fog yet? When it happens you'll likely be amazed at how little blinding 'glare-back' there is, compared to the US DOT headlights.

One of our family's newer vehicles has its low beams with the Euro-style lighting pattern, and, because it has a very flat vertical cutoff, I was able to raise its adjusters just slightly, to answer my wife's complaints about the low beams "not going out there far enough". Surprisingly this vehicle actually has nice flat cutoff fog lights also, the best factory units I've seen on an under-$50K car. (I'm waiting for her positive comments when/if she ever drives it in actual fog conditions; that hasn't happened yet.) You might be able to adjust your Euro-beam headlights up a little also, taking care not to blind other drivers, of course. Don't give up on them just yet!

joat · Post by **joat** » Wed Nov 10, 2010 4:05 pm

just look for the brown wire ( ground ) and avoid it....use a meter and find out which of the remaning 2 wires on the bulb is the low beam. then hook a wire up to the battery, and strip the other end.... turn the low beams ON and touch the new wire to the low beam wire on the bulb... if it gets brighter, then you should use the relay kit... if nothing changes you would be wasting your money and time.

the other possibility is that someone installed 9007's in place of the 9004's... the bulbs are wired and grounded differently.

PSVW · Post by **PSVW** » Fri Nov 19, 2010 9:26 pm

Just got word , we are off this weekend , 3 weeks straight through, 12 hour days , gotta work on Pixie to get these light s brighter , the low beams are kaput as far as distance , high beams are well, illuminating great gonna check voltage and tweek bulbs up a bit . driving home I have been testing and do not get alot of people flashng me when I use the brights, am I alone on the theory that headlight bulbs get weak with age ? Seriously I have change sealed units out and seen huge improvement.

Quantum TD · Post by **Quantum TD** » Fri Nov 19, 2010 9:33 pm

Sometimes the reflective paint on the inside of the housings flakes off. This usually happens when water gets into the housings via a chip or crack in the lens. Once the the reflective paint comes off, it won't matter what bulbs you have in there. They won't do too much.

I'd check that first. Then, new bulbs (should be 9004 bulbs, or perhaps H4 depending on the light setup you have).

The switches on the MK2 were somewhat notorious for failing, but when they did, it usually meant no lights at all.

Voltage check can't hurt though...

PSVW · Post by **PSVW** » Fri Nov 19, 2010 9:44 pm

Thanks Quantum , Gonna get to VW Dealer also tommorow if time permits ....

VWCaddy · Post by **VWCaddy** » Mon Nov 22, 2010 12:51 am

Might also check that the bulb pin-out matches that of the headlight connectors. Not uncommon to find a mismatch there. With the 9004 bulbs/connectors, someone might have put a 9007 bulb in there and they have different high-low-common connections:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTricks ... Connectors

Or with the H4s, some of the off-brand bulbs can have funky pin-outs and you might end up with the low beams going from the high to low beam terminals, running both filaments in series with a dramatic reduction in light output.