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#1 ·
[2009] [SOLVED] Bi-Xenon [HID] randomly shut off individually. Maybe from bumps

[ISSUE SOLVED. SEE LATEST POST]

09 Rabbit Factory Stock with HID's & Fog Lights
Just bought it in May 2015.

Issue
Either the driver or passage side applies to the following:
It seems as though any kind of slight vibration tends to cause the HID to go out.
Sometimes a few taps to the unit will set it off. However, other times driving over a large pothole causes no issue.
It is very random.
One thing to note however, only one side will go out. Not both. This is random as well.
Sometimes the passenger side, sometimes the drivers side. Again, never both.
The headlight dash icon with the exclamation mark comes up on the dash when this happens indicating one of the bulbs is out.

Other things to note
My daytime running lights never turn on.
My fog lights works as they are supposed too.


What I've tried so far
I've tried both OEM HID bulbs and aftermarket HID's.
I've checked for any loose connections to the HID igniter or other cables to the headlight assembly. All are fine. None seem to be loose or get loose.
I've had a mechanic check to see for any loose grounds and running a Vagcom Diagnosis. Nothing turned up.
The mechanic did some other minor electrical tests that I imagine where mostly wiring within the headlight assembly or grounds to which all seemed to be normal.


Potential Culprits
After lots of searching I have found someone with a similar issue.
They said the problem could be with the ballast which from what I understand is usually described as the HID Control Module.
I'm not to sure if this controls all the headlights or just the HID's.
Does anyone know?
This is a very pricey part to replace. Close to the 500$ mark.
Its strange though that if this is in fact the problem, that both are now broken.


Next Steps
Next thing for me to start with is replacing the daytime bulbs. If that fixes the daytime lights issue, then thats great.
Although I imagine it will not solve the HID turning off issue. But stranger things happen I suppose.

I'm hoping someone can tell me if the HID's always come. I can't recall if the HID's always came on with the daytime lights or they only come on when set by the knob in the car.

If anyone has any thoughts, they would be very much appreciated.
This is tricky to diagnose.
 
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#2 ·
Re: [2009] Bi-Xenon [HID] randomly shut off individually. Maybe from bumps

Bumps and flickering are 1 of 2 things. Bad Ground to the ballast. or IFFY connections to the bulbs or ballast.
clicking the brake handle up one notch indicates to me a connectivity issue or that your ground may be back feeding.

One click up, the brake light should come on, which is the ground switch on the e-brake is back feeding ground to the headlights.

The Ballasts should be close to the lights. I have had issues in the past where pins push back out of the connector as you put it back on making them intermittent.

You also may want to check all your fuses, as a bad fuse can cause a back feed of the circuit.
 
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#3 ·
Re: [2009] Bi-Xenon [HID] randomly shut off individually. Maybe from bumps

[UPDATE]

I have now noticed that the issue more likely occurs when doing a sharp turn or swerve. More so at higher speeds.
After looking under the car I found out that my HID Leveling Sensor is damaged.
Not sure if this is related to issues that I'm having but it could be linked somehow.
 
#5 ·
My 09 Rabbit is Factory Stock with HID's and Fog Lights.

I assume drl's are the light on the inside of the assembly (closest to the grill).
Are the drls supposed to be on at the same time as the HIDs?
In any event, my drls never turn on anyway. Ever.

When turning headlights switch on,
- My HID's stay on.
- My drls do not come on.
- My side wall red lights turn on.


When I turn on high beams,
- My HIDs shine brighter or adjust the angle. (not sure exactly what it actually does) I do hear a motor noise from there when turning on high beams so I assume its just an angle change.
- My drls are still off and do not come one.

Turning on the fog lights work as they should.
 
#9 ·
[SOLVED]
So I thought it would be to update this thread to SOLVED now since I finally figured out the issue.
The issue was bad / defective xenon bulbs.
In a funny way I would have never thought that brand new xenon bulbs would have been the issue. Strangely enough it was.
I had purchased (back then) new bulbs to replace the OEM ones which at first worked just fine.
Perhaps about a month or so latter, thats when the problems arrived.

Many months after (now) I finally contacted the retailer explaining that vibrations cause the xenon bulbs to go out and they sent me new ones free of charge.
Lets hope these last.

Moral of the story, don't always trust new replacement parts if your issue revolves around them.

Thanks to all those who helped with their many theories and suggestions.
 
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