H7 Headlamp - Changing W27W DRL Bulb

[Littleblackflash]

I checked mot gov site and you're correct @Bluey. Only cars registered from 1st March 2018 need working DRL lights.

I won a spare H7 light on ebay yesterday for £19 and collection is 3 miles away. Hopefully this will solve my problem.

 

[993porky]

Hi everyone just new here,bought a t6 swb shuttle,when I got the other day the drivers side drl bulb was out with dash warning light, so I bought new bulb and took cover off and found the bulb holder and long bit for fitting we’re just sat behind cover and not actually in,realised pig of a job to fit so presumed previous owner had given up trying to fit the bulb.
however I fitted bulb today all good and working but when I started van dash light come on so looked outside at lights and the bulb wasn’t working, so what could be the cause of this issue?
any advice would be appreciated
thank you
paul

 

[993porky]

Hi everyone just new here,bought a t6 swb shuttle,when I got the other day the drivers side drl bulb was out with dash warning light, so I bought new bulb and took cover off and found the bulb holder and long bit for fitting we’re just sat behind cover and not actually in,realised pig of a job to fit so presumed previous owner had given up trying to fit the bulb.
however I fitted bulb today all good and working but when I started van dash light come on so looked outside at lights and the bulb wasn’t working, so what could be the cause of this issue?
any advice would be appreciated
thank you
paul

 

[dubber36]

If it's a pre 2019, the bulb holder has probably melted.

 

[CJW]

Check the bulb holder - they have a habit of melting.

 

[993porky]

Hi thanks for replying but the holder looks all ok so does the hole it goes into looks spot on

 

[Deaky]

Hi thanks for replying but the holder looks all ok so does the hole it goes into looks spot on

Have you fitted LED? Could be in the wrong way round

 

[DXX]

Put a multi-meter across the bulb to check continuity and across the bulb socket to check for voltage.

 

[993porky]

Thanks, the bulbs are just standard bulbs, the van is 2016 so has no wires coming out of bulb holder so not sure how to check with multi meter

 

[993porky]

Just to say when I first fitted bulb all was good no warning light and drl working it was only an hour later when I actually started engine the warning light came on and bulb knackered

 

[CJW]

Not many obvious things left to try. As DXX said, worth doing a continuity test across the bulb contacts - sometimes a blown bulb isn’t visible to the eye.

If you can establish that the bulb’s OK, I’d be next thinking about the socket and contacts in the headlight - is something going on in there that is stopping the bulb holder making a solid contact etc. maybe this could explain the fact it was out when you got it?

The repair kit is a rip-off at £30+ quid but maybe be a necessary evil.

 

[993porky]

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions it’s really appreciated and hopefully I can get it sorted what is the repair kit?

 

[CJW]

One of these.



The thread below is how I found out about this, then it happened to me.

I'd been having an intermittent fault with the off side DRL for a while. As soon as I put my fingers on the bulb holder, it would turn back on for a short time. However, eventually it packed up altogether. So I removed it and discovered this....

View attachment 36034

The contacts were blackened and the plastic around them had melted. So off I went to the dealer with bulb and holder in hand.

After having to justify to the service receptionist why I'd dared to interfere with it, by removing it myself, (as per the owners manual), she took it through to the workshop for a technician to look at.

Back she came. 'This is normal. There's nothing wrong with it apart from a mark on the bulb'. She said.

There was a response from my eyebrows. They elevated to a height that would have given Hilo a run for their money. I held the bulb aloft in the direction of the vast showroom windows and gazed at it. Lets just say, De Beers would have been proud of the clarity this thing had.

Request to speak directly to Mechanic.

Denied.

Assess alternative options.....

1) Start speaking loudly so the potential customers can hear and make grossly exaggerated claims about the number of followers I have on InstaGoogleTweetFace.

2) Burst into tears, start sucking my thumb and cradle my sock monkey like it's a baby.

(It really shouldn't be this hard).

I decided on the third option. Yet to master Jedi mind control, so I set about trying hypnotise receptionist. Quoting ohms laws and describing the relationship between electrical resistance and heat seemed to do the trick. (Well I certainly saw her eyes glaze over).

So she agreed that they would take the van in for a look. Sadly, her trance like state appeared to be not that deep. She was still compos mentis enough to state that an 86 quid diagnostic fee may apply. I followed this up with a sarcastic laugh and words along the lines of NOT ON YOUR NELLY, will that be happening.

Anyway, next day they took the van in. A couple of hours after I dropped it off, I got a call to say that a Technician had looked at it and he agreed with me. It was faulty. Hooray! (Presumably, this Technician wasn't the apprentice from the day before). Indeed he also discovered that VW are aware of this issue and had published an advisory notice to their dealers about fixing it.

Result. So I tried to find out what the fix was when I got the van back. Didn't get the chance to speak to the technician, but the receptionist explained that the bulb holder and some wiring on both sides had been replaced. I'm hoping this includes the contacts on the headlight unit itself.

So if anyone else gets this issue with their H7s, don't let your dealer fob you off.

 

[993porky]

Thank you CJW and everyone for who has commented on this my first post hopefully i get it sorted going to read this now CJW

 

[CJW]

Something else to have a look at.

Finally got to the bottom of my problem. Logged in with vcds and it showed that my drl had fused on l/hand side, reset fault code and everything is fine.

 

[993porky]

Thanks CJW van is going to garage this week so will ask them to check it for any faults

 

[Chr550]

Where do you access these drl globes?