xenon out

[Lams]

Hello all,

Our latest passat part to go wrong is the LHS bi-xenon

I thought I was very clever and planned to switch bulbs between the two sides to see if it was the bulb. But the bloody thing actually requires you to remove the headlights to get the bulbs out

My question is - have you guys had your passat xenon fail? Which part was it? I'm hoping it's the bulb as the other bits are a lot more expensive.

This is just the latest part to fail following:
2 parking light switches
driver side airbag replaced
passenger side airbag still faulty
low tone horn faulty
wheel bearing replaced
rattles and squeaks everywhere

It's a brilliant car but... it surely won't win the reliability award

[ope126]

Lams, luckily I have not had problems with my Bi-Xenon headlights...

Could be the bulb, ballast or something wrong with loom or electrics...

Could it be the rain effecting them???

Is the car still under warranty, maybe VW can shed some light!

Keep us up to date...

[ope126]

Hello all,

Our latest passat part to go wrong is the LHS bi-xenon

I thought I was very clever and planned to switch bulbs between the two sides to see if it was the bulb. But the bloody thing actually requires you to remove the headlights to get the bulbs out

My question is - have you guys had your passat xenon fail? Which part was it? I'm hoping it's the bulb as the other bits are a lot more expensive.

This is just the latest part to fail following:
2 parking light switches
driver side airbag replaced
passenger side airbag still faulty
low tone horn faulty
wheel bearing replaced
rattles and squeaks everywhere

It's a brilliant car but... it surely won't win the reliability award

Why have you had a drivers airbag replaced? Did it go off?
And side airbag? Is there a warning light on the dash?

Wheel bearings are VERY commonn in large front wheel drive cars.
Horn, $20 part, easy fix. Did you get fixed under warranty?

As for squeeks / rattles, have you tried the felt tape, there is a whole thread about its benefits...

[marckhor]

Hello all,

Our latest passat part to go wrong is the LHS bi-xenon

I thought I was very clever and planned to switch bulbs between the two sides to see if it was the bulb. But the bloody thing actually requires you to remove the headlights to get the bulbs out

My question is - have you guys had your passat xenon fail? Which part was it? I'm hoping it's the bulb as the other bits are a lot more expensive.

This is just the latest part to fail following:
2 parking light switches
driver side airbag replaced
passenger side airbag still faulty
low tone horn faulty
wheel bearing replaced
rattles and squeaks everywhere

It's a brilliant car but... it surely won't win the reliability award

My bi-xenon failed 3 months after I received my Passat. It was caused by a faulty wiring loom. They replaced the wiring under warranty.

[Lams]

no... not under warranty.
I've stuck felt tape everywhere but it's no good.
The wreckers wanted $60 for a horn so I left it.

I should have been more specific. The driver's side airbag had a fault and they replaced the wiring. now after warranty the passenger side airbag's doing the same. It's a fault which says something like 'upper control limit exceeded - MIL on'

We also had a battery boil the battery fluid, still in battle with them as the repair cost was in excess of 1300.

The good news is that I have read in a few different places, that a xenon bulb typically goes pink before it dies, which is what happened to ours. These places also suggest replacing both bulbs at the same time as a new bulb is more yellow than an aged one.
I may just take the gamble and order two D1S bulbs. What a pain in the rear to have to remove the headlights to change the bulbs though, so I only want to do that once

[Lams]

so much fun!



after taking the old bulb out (the xenon gas appears to be all vapourised inside the capsule) and replacing both new bulbs
one side still dead. swapped the ballasts around and the dead side followed the ballast
VW wants >$600

I found several Valeo LAD5GL (4pin version not 12pin) for 200 including shipping, this should fix it...

[PassatB6]

so much fun!


after taking the old bulb out (the xenon gas appears to be all vapourised inside the capsule) and replacing both new bulbs
one side still dead. swapped the ballasts around and the dead side followed the ballast
VW wants >$600

I found several Valeo LAD5GL (4pin version not 12pin) for 200 including shipping, this should fix it...

Lams,

I remember you got your Granite Green wagon about the same time as me. Sounds like you're getting out of the bixenon problem without breaking the bank. I've had a leaking washer bottle which was replaced under warranty. Somewhat dissatisfied with the aircon- needed a fan and an intake replaced out of warranty but VW paid about 75% due to me having reported aircon issues during warranty. Currently got a grinding sound in the front could be worn tyres but wondering if its the wheel bearings. What did yours sound like?
I've had to replace rotors and pads some time ago but luckily no unexpected major expense yet. Hoping to make it through to June to trade as the car will be 41/2 yrs old by then. My build Date is Jan 06. I'm claiming the oldest b6 passat on VWW!

[gregozedobe]

We also had a battery boil the battery fluid, still in battle with them as the repair cost was in excess of 1300.

I think you probably had a dodgy voltage regulator suppling WAY too high a voltage to your battery (and everything else electrical too). That would account for your electrical problems (including burnt-out HIDs - these usually last way longer than normal halogen globes).

[tryingavw]

I think you probably had a dodgy voltage regulator suppling WAY too high a voltage to your battery (and everything else electrical too). That would account for your electrical problems (including burnt-out HIDs - these usually last way longer than normal halogen globes).

this is pretty easy to check - measure the voltage at the car battery while revving - the voltage should be around 13.6V and a bit lower at idle. any higher means it could be out of calibration.

[gregozedobe]

this is pretty easy to check - measure the voltage at the car battery while revving - the voltage should be around 13.6V and a bit lower at idle. any higher means it could be out of calibration.

I figured the voltage problem had probably already been fixed (if not then the cost of "in excess of 1300" was awfully expensive to just replace a battery

Some modern cars are now running up to 13.9 -14.1 volts (and cheap multimeters can sometimes be a bit inaccurate).

[Lams]

Lams,

I remember you got your Granite Green wagon about the same time as me. Sounds like you're getting out of the bixenon problem without breaking the bank. I've had a leaking washer bottle which was replaced under warranty. Somewhat dissatisfied with the aircon- needed a fan and an intake replaced out of warranty but VW paid about 75% due to me having reported aircon issues during warranty. Currently got a grinding sound in the front could be worn tyres but wondering if its the wheel bearings. What did yours sound like?
I've had to replace rotors and pads some time ago but luckily no unexpected major expense yet. Hoping to make it through to June to trade as the car will be 41/2 yrs old by then. My build Date is Jan 06. I'm claiming the oldest b6 passat on VWW!

Hi PassatB6,

VW warranty has been good to my family and our cars - but now that they're coming out of warranty we're starting to worry little.

Wheel bearing failures can cause all sorts of noise, but for us it was a low pitch mechanical whine that increased with speed. Of course VW first blamed the tyres. So I swapped the wheels with another set we had lying around and they had no choice but do what they were suppose to - look at the car and fix it. I imagine any good mechanic would be able to diagnoise it for you.

gregozedobe,
The battery was installed for 4 months but when it failed, it was by far the hottest day it's experienced. $1300 repair cost was not a battery alone, but it involved cleaning up of the engine bay, a new starter motor, a new VW battery.
I took it up to the manufacturer and they said best they could do was replace our faulty battery. Of course this isn't good enough...
I often monitor the fault codes in this car with VCDS, as there's always little things wrong with it. I've never seen any faults related to overcharging / too high voltage etc. The VW battery made it through summer without any issues
I'm not too sure what killed the xenon, but I spoke to an ex VW foreman and he says he's replaced numerous ballasts. Just this morning I saw a passat on the road with only one xenon headlight working...

[tryingavw]

Some modern cars are now running up to 13.9 -14.1 volts (and cheap multimeters can sometimes be a bit inaccurate).

I did a check on the tdi and the voltage went from 13.8V at idle to 14.0V at full revs. which is higher than other cars i've tested in the past so i stand corrected.

However, fact is even cheap multi-meters on Volts DC will be quite accurate ( Better than 1% or 0.1V ) as long as the 9V battery isnt flat.

[Lams]

Hi all,
if this is useful to anyone in the future

all fixed now. Replaced parts were:
Philips D1S bulbs - 110 for a new pair shipped from the US
Valeo LAD5GL - 200 for a used ballast from the US. LAD5GL is a 4pin ballast, LAD5G is 12 pin. Passats use the 5GL don't buy the wrong one!

Taking the car apart wasn't much fun, but it wasn't hard, just fiddly. You'd need a well lit environment. Don't do this work on grass, as it's likely that you'd drop screws and things. Don't do this in the late afternoon a week after good rain, lots of mozzies about.

I also planned to chop off the under-seat airbag plug (there's a TSB on this) but turns out it was already done. I cleaned the airbag connector between the seat and the car, reset the fault code and the airbag light has disappeared. I have a feeling it'd be back though

But it is nice that everything works once more. For now.

[OilBurna]

glad to see all sorted Lams, not sure if I would be game to pull the front bumper apart.. Glad I have bought the extended warranty though. Currently just about to get the car serviced and have 3 issues, whine from rear left (not sure if bearing or tyre), DSG keeps stalling when cold, and oil has needed to be topped up twice since last service. Good luck.