Interior light fitting damaged after left on for 7 hours (Jetta)

[DionM]

So my wife accidentally left the interior light on the other night when she got home late. Noticed it 7hrs later.

I thought all I might be faced with was a flat battery, but no, what has also happened is the fitting has been damaged by heat. The clear plastic in front of both overhead lights has become all sticky/foggy from plastic melting, and the "paint" has started to bubble in a few places on it.

I seriously cannot believe VW has designed an interior light that melts if left on for too long? Anyone else had this happen?

[Tom87]

Honestly what did you expect from this company?

My jeep was put together with longer lasting and therefore higher quality materials (even if it didn't have the same nice finish).

To be fair you did push the boundaries of what this particular component was expected to endure. There's very little room for pushing any component beyond its intended design. Though i'm a little surprised your lights stayed on. Mine seems to turn everything off after a period of inactivity unless the ignition is turned on regardless of switch position, doors open/closed etc.

[daveaus]

So my wife accidentally left the interior light on the other night when she got home late. Noticed it 7hrs later.

I thought all I might be faced with was a flat battery, but no, what has also happened is the fitting has been damaged by heat. The clear plastic in front of both overhead lights has become all sticky/foggy from plastic melting, and the "paint" has started to bubble in a few places on it.

I seriously cannot believe VW has designed an interior light that melts if left on for too long? Anyone else had this happen?

Do you know if the bulbs are the original ones?

[DionM]

Interior light fitting damaged after left on for 7 hours (Jetta)

Yep the bulbs are original. Well, I've never changed them and I've owned the car since new (only time it could have been changed is at the dealer). I know it's not normal to eu interior lights for that long, but it's not a very unlikely event. Disappointed they didn't seem to cater for that likelihood in design. I've left lights on all night in other cars (Nissan and a Jeep) with no issues.

[Guest001]

So my wife accidentally left the interior light on the other night when she got home late. Noticed it 7hrs later.

I thought all I might be faced with was a flat battery, but no, what has also happened is the fitting has been damaged by heat. The clear plastic in front of both overhead lights has become all sticky/foggy from plastic melting, and the "paint" has started to bubble in a few places on it.

I seriously cannot believe VW has designed an interior light that melts if left on for too long? Anyone else had this happen?

Any incandescent bulb left on in a small space will generate enough heat over time to melt the plastic cover as in a courtesy light in a car.

Usually can tell when the plastic is hot as it smells like cat pee.

[DionM]

Any incandescent bulb left on in a small space will generate enough heat over time to melt the plastic cover as in a courtesy light in a car.

Usually can tell when the plastic is hot as it smells like cat pee.

I certainly understand the amount of heat generated. What I can't understand is VW not accounting for this foreseeable event. I can't think of any other car where this has happened? It also begs the question as to the condition of the wiring up there now.

[Guest001]

Have seen it happen in other cars and most would just open a door to turn it on and not switch it into the always on position.

Whilst VW may not have tested them for 7 hours its hardly their fault.

If you have owned the car for a while it would be reasonable to think that the users were aware of things like that and look before leaving it.

What wattage is the bulb May shed some light on the reason it burnt the plastic (Pun intended)

[DionM]

Hillbilly,

I am not apportioning fault to anyone, however I am very surprised at this oversight. And yes, it is reasonable to "check these things before leaving" but not everyone is perfect and sometimes things are forgotten.

I have spoken to another MkV Jetta owner at my work who has left his interior lights on all night as well, but his did not melt. His Jetta is a 2011 build. So I cannot understand why mine melted, so either something changed from 07 to 11 or there is/was a fault with the lights in my Jetta.

Funnily enough the back seat reading lights have been left on for longer with no ill effects (including this time as well). My kids like to fiddle.

[polski_ogurek]

Someone left the interior lights on in dads 06 Jetta once overnight(1 door wasn't shut properly), and there are no issues with the lights burning the plastic cover, maybe a manufacturing fault or batch issue?? seems a bit odd that it would melt it, have u tried contacting VW and seeing if they can shed a light as to maybe some known issue?

[greg32]

The contacts can start to get resistive with age. This will also generate more heat in the terminals as well. Contact Oli on here to get a replacement and retrofit some LEDs for the interior lighting.

[The One]

Can't compare this with your mates issue, as you would then need to factor in different temperatures, e.g was your cars inside temp hotter then you mates?

Also it is hardly Volkswagen's fault for not testing the light surround being on for 7+ hours to see if it melts so they can rectify this issue, unfortunately Volkswagen overlook some things, for example, owners utter stupidity.

[Diesel_vert]

I'm not surprised that Volkswagen have specified such a poor choice of material (but at least looks and feels good, right?) however, I'm actually surprised the bulb was able to affect the cover.

You'd think the cover of any bulb would remain unaffected if it were left switched on 24/7, but there we are - though it didn't appear to affect the other interior light.

You'd also think the battery would've gone flat, but there we are again.

Odd.

Anyway, unless the dealer is sympathetic, looks like you're up for the cost of a new cover.

[JustCruisn]

The light in my Jetta has burned itself also. Not from the heat of the bulb and there is no outward sign of burning.
The light will not come on, so I removed the whole light module and found the curcuit board is melted. Map lights work OK but the middle light does not come on when doors open.
I'm a bit disappointed to say the least, new module is close to $100 from ebay.

[Mattlock]

In my MY08 Golf, the interior lights will turn themselves off if left on. I've left them on overnight to only find in the morning they're off whilst the switch is on.