OEM bixenon high beam shutter issue
Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2020 10:14 pm
Hello!
I recently bought a set of OE xenons locally my 6R Polo. The lights were very cheap due to a small issue with the high beam shutter.
The previous owner explained that every so often (every few months), the projector shutter for one of the headlights would get stuck open while the high beams were on, causing him to inadvertently blind other drivers and being unable to fix the issue short of turning the headlights off. Evidently, the issue is random and the shutter works most of the time.
I don't know much else about the problem, but the PO seems to have just bought a new set of lights and sold these ones in "project" condition. Having done some research, it seems that the shutter getting stuck is a fairly rare issue. Not many posts exist on the topic anywhere, which leads me to believe that either the problem goes away eventually or someone figured out a fix. A few posts on Golf forums refer to solenoids that control the shutters.
For what it's worth, I haven't had the lights on the car yet as I'm waiting for an adapter harness and D3S bulb to arrive.
Questions:
- Is the shutter entirely controlled by (solenoids inside) the ballast or by a separate circuit inside the headlight housing? Might a replacement ballast fix the issue?
- Is it worth cracking the housing open to give the headlight a good clean, maybe grease the shutter mechanism? Will I need a new rubber seal or can I silicone the light shut again?
I went through a very similar project on a BMW last year, so I'm more or less familiar with what I would need to do.
I recently bought a set of OE xenons locally my 6R Polo. The lights were very cheap due to a small issue with the high beam shutter.
The previous owner explained that every so often (every few months), the projector shutter for one of the headlights would get stuck open while the high beams were on, causing him to inadvertently blind other drivers and being unable to fix the issue short of turning the headlights off. Evidently, the issue is random and the shutter works most of the time.
I don't know much else about the problem, but the PO seems to have just bought a new set of lights and sold these ones in "project" condition. Having done some research, it seems that the shutter getting stuck is a fairly rare issue. Not many posts exist on the topic anywhere, which leads me to believe that either the problem goes away eventually or someone figured out a fix. A few posts on Golf forums refer to solenoids that control the shutters.
For what it's worth, I haven't had the lights on the car yet as I'm waiting for an adapter harness and D3S bulb to arrive.
Questions:
- Is the shutter entirely controlled by (solenoids inside) the ballast or by a separate circuit inside the headlight housing? Might a replacement ballast fix the issue?
- Is it worth cracking the housing open to give the headlight a good clean, maybe grease the shutter mechanism? Will I need a new rubber seal or can I silicone the light shut again?
I went through a very similar project on a BMW last year, so I'm more or less familiar with what I would need to do.
Thanks.
Is that from a factory bulletin or workshop manual? Any place I/we could view those?