BOTH headlights die at once- must be a fuse, right???

[manoverboard987]

on the way home from dinner last night, as i was about 3 streets away from the garage, both of my low beam headlights just shut off. luckily, i switched on my brights (to the anti-delight of passing motorists) and got back safely. I tried diagnosing the problem but i'm pretty puzzled at the moment.

- When i turn on the lights as i normally would, every single other light works except for the 2 low-beam headlight bulbs. parking lights, fog lights, high-beams, all interior lights, everything.
- I checked all the fuses i could find (in the panel on side of dash AND the 3 on top of the battery), and every single one was fine. Is there another fuse panel i'm missing that i could check?
- i looked on the wiring diagram for the headlights in my Haynes manual, and it said the 2 lights in question were controlled by only one fuse, so it makes sense that it would be a fuse to blow as opposed to both headlights at exactly the same time. plus, the bulbs arent near old enough to die already.
- i had had my DRLs disabled, as a friend so smartly reminded me, so i undid that taping and not even the DRLs run (same bulbs as low-beams). this brought up the point that it could even be one of the other prongs inside the light switch itself. i've never heard of one of those failing though, and it's unlikely since, again, every single other light works.

thats all i can think of. that or (god forbid) its a wire somewhere that i can't get to easily.

if anyone has any ideas, i'd gladly appreciate any help you might offer.

thanks a bunch

[manoverboard987]

correction -

after finding the fuse panel diagram in the owners manual which i couldnt find earlier, i know now that each headlight has its own fuse.

therefore its either the switch or a wire somewhere near it before the 2 headlight circuits split... i suppose.

still if anyone has any ideas, please share.

[macdave]

Did you check the bulbs? You can swap the high an low beams or even the fogs, they are all H1 55w bulbs. If the bulbs are OK, then it could be the headlight switch(if you don't have one, find someone with another NB, Jetta or Golf and you can try their switch).

[manoverboard987]

Originally Posted by macdave

Did you check the bulbs? You can swap the high an low beams or even the fogs, they are all H1 55w bulbs. If the bulbs are OK, then it could be the headlight switch(if you don't have one, find someone with another NB, Jetta or Golf and you can try their switch).

i havent tried the bulbs yet, because i'm saving them for a last resort. we all kow how much of a pain it is to get into the headlights, and its even more of a pain for me, since i'd be doin it in a college parking lot.

also, i seriously doubt its the bulbs. i got new silverstar bulbs about a year ago and theyve been fine ever since.

thanks for the borrowing-someone-else's-switch idea though. never crossed my mind to try a different one - i was gonna go in with a circuit tester and try every compination of prongs i could.

[mrsBos]

I had the same problem. It turned out that both of my headlights burnt out at the same time. With a bit of elbow grease you can get the headlight compartment out easily (make sure to lubricate when putting back in if it was very difficult to get out). After that my headlights work perfectly, but be watchful for your blinkers to act up afterwards. I'm still working on that issue myself, and will update when I figure it out.

All you need is two H1 bulbs (cost me 5.50), lift the hood, and pull the lever on the headlight compartment towards you and up(it's rather large, and hard to miss), then push the headlight compartment out. You might need someone to pull at the same time as you push if it sticks. Then you remove the low beam cover, gently disconnect the wiring from the bulb, flip the metal loop over and up to release the bulb, and replace. Be careful not to touch the bulb as that will cause it to overheat (from finger grease), then just repeat everything backwards. I hope this helps.