Technical Car/Motor Issues > Volkswagen Golf V - 06 1.9 Headlights not working on main beam
Thread Author: PologirlAgain Replies: 11
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New Mon 10 Jan 11 11:53 
 Volkswagen Golf V - 06 1.9 Headlights not working on main beam - PologirlAgain
Hi all, second time I've written this so I'll get straight to the point before I get logged out...
I noticed on the way to work that my headlights appear not to be working properly. The side lights work, but when I switch on main beam there is just a tiny flicker and they stay on side lights. Full beam works fine.

Could it Just be that the two bulbs have gone at the same time, or something else. I can pop to halfords at lunch time if bulbs are all that's needed, but if it's something else I need to make sure I leave work before dark!

Any ideas? Thanks!
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New Mon 10 Jan 11 11:56 
 Volkswagen Golf V - 06 1.9 Headlights not working on main beam - Zero
Both my headlight bulbs failed at the same time last month. Couldn't believe it was possible, but that was the case.
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New Mon 10 Jan 11 15:42 
 Volkswagen Golf V - 06 1.9 Headlights not working on main beam - Iffy
...Both my headlight bulbs failed at the same time last month...

I lost both rear sidelights in similar circumstances, which I also thought was unlikely.

Trying new bulbs is the most logical first step.

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New Mon 10 Jan 11 12:43 
 Volkswagen Golf V - 06 1.9 Headlights not working on main beam - VxFan
>> but when I switch on main beam there is just a tiny flicker and they stay on side lights.
>> Could it Just be that the two bulbs have gone at the same time,

By "main" do you actually mean dipped?

If they flicker for a brief moment then chances are the bulbs are still working. Taking the bulbs out and putting a multimeter across the bulb terminals (set mm to continuity test) should verify if the bulbs are ok or not. Remember to clean the glass part of the bulbs with iso-prop alcohol or meths to remove any finger grease before refitting.
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New Mon 10 Jan 11 18:23 
 Volkswagen Golf V - 06 1.9 Headlights not working on main beam - PologirlAgain
Two new bulbs sorted it without me getting my hands dirty. Thanks all.

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New Tue 11 Jan 11 11:13 
 Volkswagen Golf V - 06 1.9 Headlights not working on main beam - VxFan
Baffled that 2 bulbs can flicker when their filaments are broken.
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New Tue 11 Jan 11 21:05 
 Volkswagen Golf V - 06 1.9 Headlights not working on main beam - Runfer D'Hills
Hi PG. Long time no post?

Funnily enough, my wife reported the dreaded fast indicator syndrome when she got home. Fearing the front offside indicator bulb had gone I went to investigate. Can't really see any way without major surgery to get to that one but thank goodness the problem was in a rear cluster. Now here's the thing, when I went to test it, the bulb was working again but that one indicator dimmed noticeably when the brake light was on. Anyway, changed the bulb and all's well. I always thought bulbs were either dead or alive. Seems this one was just a bit ill.

There's another reason why the Mondeo was better. Changing headlamp bulbs was easy. Unclip the radiator grille ( ten seconds ) pull out two sliders ( ten seconds ) remove headlamp cluster ( ten seconds ) change bulb ( ten seconds ) reverse process ( 30 seconds.) Have fag... ( oops not supposed to do that anymore ) say little prayer of thanks instead...
Last edited by: Humph D'Bout on Tue 11 Jan 11 at 21:09
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New Tue 11 Jan 11 23:25 
 Volkswagen Golf V - 06 1.9 Headlights not working on main beam - bathtub tom
>>that one indicator dimmed noticeably when the brake light was on.

That screams earth fault to me.
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New Wed 12 Jan 11 00:40 
 Volkswagen Golf V - 06 1.9 Headlights not working on main beam - VxFan
>> That screams earth fault to me.

And me.
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New Wed 12 Jan 11 07:35 
 Volkswagen Golf V - 06 1.9 Headlights not working on main beam - Runfer D'Hills
Yeah, that's what I thought too. Odd thing is, it seems to be working ok now I've changed the bulb. I'll keep an eye on it so to speak.
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New Thu 13 Jan 11 21:36 
 Volkswagen Golf V - 06 1.9 Headlights not working on main beam - Kevin
>I always thought bulbs were either dead or alive. Seems this one was just a bit ill.

My previous XJ8 (X308) was a bit fussy about bulbs. It started moaning intermittently about bulb failure when I was braking so I replaced both tail/stop lamps with cheap generic items from a motor factors.

The moaning continued so I swapped 'em for Bosch. Problem solved.
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New Fri 14 Jan 11 12:34 
 Volkswagen Golf V - 06 1.9 Headlights not working on main beam - DP
>> The moaning continued so I swapped 'em for Bosch. Problem solved.

The exact same thing occurred on my S60 when I put cheap bulbs in it. Weird. I thought a bulb was a bulb, frankly.
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