It's really unfortunate that German manufacturers spec'd "biodegradable" wiring in their headlight assemblies (I have the same problem too), and it's probably too late to take any sort of action about it now. However, have you looked into repairing the wiring, either yourself, which is not an easy job, or professionally, which, although may be costly, but would probably still be cheaper than buying new assemblies.
08 Touraeg headlight assembly replacement
I am having major issues with my headlights. Headlight went out so I purchased new H7s. Opened it up to find nothing but bare copper wire. The headlights are now draining my battery. So I have to get a jump everyday. So I am now looking to replace both LH and RH headlight assemblies but I'm not sure I am looking for the correct part. My headlights have both the H7 halogen bulbs and the D1S HID bulbs. They are priced quite differently. The headlight assembly w/HID is anywhere from 350.00 and up. Where as the headlight assembly with halogen bulbs is about 150.00. I am just trying to make sure I order the right part and don't end up just giving my money away.
1 - 5 of 15 Posts
Oh my, that looks exactly like the inside of my headlight housings🤣 Funny you ask.. I attempted trying to repair the wiring myself. Honestly it was just to much. I got most of the wiring out from inside of the housing but couldn't quite get 1 of the fasteners or the main plug out. I'll attach pictures.
So I wonder if I purchase new assemblies that are halogen only can I take the ballasts and whatnot off of my current lights and upgrade the new ones to be halogen and hid?
What are you planning on doing to fix your headlights?
To be honest, I think the best solution is to just go ahead and buy new headlights. Unless you're an electrician and you can do a proper rewiring, and only if the assembly itself is in otherwise good condition, then I would just fork over the 700-800 dollars for new lights. It would be worth it in my opinion if you're planning on keeping the car long term. That's what I'm going to do. Eventually.🤣 Funny you ask.. I attempted trying to repair the wiring myself. Honestly it was just to much. I got most of the wiring out from inside of the housing but couldn't quite get 1 of the fasteners or the main plug out. I'll attach pictures.
So I wonder if I purchase new assemblies that are halogen only can I take the ballasts and whatnot off of my current lights and upgrade the new ones to be halogen and hid?
What are you planning on doing to fix your headlights?
It might be. The main problem is getting to the whole harness inside the "unopenable" housing. From the access ports you can barely fit two fingers in, and sometimes not even so. In other words, it was purposefully designed to be a disposable item with the only serviceable parts on the inside being the bulbs.They make a brush on insulation, I wonder if that would be feasible?
Thanks Jim. It's reassuring to know that it's not hopeless. Just one question: did you have to open up the housing to get the harness out, or can it be removed without opening? Also, if you can elaborate a bit more on the process of removal of the harness from the box, it'd be much appreciated.Here is what I did. I have adaptive bi-xenons.
Replacing the insulation on the harness just takes patience.
Here is the method I used.
Remove the harness from the assembly. It is fiddly but all of the harness will come out of the assembly.
DO EACH WIRE IN TURN
Remove all of the insulation from an individual wire that had not already fallen off;
Cut that wire in two;
Re-insulated each half with heat-shrink and shrunk it down;
Fed a 25mm piece of heat-shrink on one half;
Crimp the both halves together using crimps used for crimping fishing wire traces using the smallest crimps you can find for the wire size;
Fed the 25mm piece of heat-shrink over the crimp;
Shrink the heatshrink over the crimp.
Replace the harness into the assembly as best as you can.
There are plenty of threads on this subject. Do a search and have a read.
1 - 5 of 15 Posts
Club Touareg Forum
Club Touareg Forum is a forum community dedicated to Volkswagen Touareg owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about VW Touareg Sport Utility Vehicles and more!
Full Forum Listing
Top Contributors this Month
View All
SaVAGeSoot
338 Replies
volkswagens-for-life
96 Replies
jeffnhiscars
71 Replies
Recommended Communities
