2010 Audi q5 hid high beam issue

[Dustinjm87]

Hey all, been lurking for a while. Finally decided to dive in. My wife has a q5 as noted in the title. Her driver's side high beam isn't working. First I replaced the bulb, didn't fix the issue. Then I swapped the HID ballast from side to side and still no high beam on drivers side. Does anyone have some knowledge they could lend me?

I want to avoid the local shops if possible. I live in a smaller city and the two shops here charge an absolute fortune for any service.

[Smac770]

HID doesn't have a separate bulb for low and high beams. It has a single bulb, and then a shutter that raises and lowers.

https://youtu.be/3ar9bGLYLmI

You're sure they are HID and not halogen? Halogen is the traditional headlamp type, with separate bulbs and such for low and high beams.

[Dustinjm87]

100% sure they're HID

[Dustinjm87]

HID doesn't have a separate bulb for low and high beams. It has a single bulb, and then a shutter that raises and lowers.

https://youtu.be/3ar9bGLYLmI

You're sure they are HID and not halogen? Halogen is the traditional headlamp type, with separate bulbs and such for low and high beams.

100% sure they're HID

[Smac770]

Ok, so should be like in the video. How is whatever you're observing not like the video? Does the light on the left side just stay like the low beam position? If you unplug the left headlamp, you hear the shutter sound of the right headlamp when you switch pattern? If you unplug the right headlamp, can you hear anything of the left headlamp when you switch? Do you get no shutter noise, or do you get noise but the light pattern fails to adjust?

[Dustinjm87]

Ok, so should be like in the video. How is whatever you're observing not like the video? Does the light on the left side just stay like the low beam position? If you unplug the left headlamp, you hear the shutter sound of the right headlamp when you switch pattern? If you unplug the right headlamp, can you hear anything of the left headlamp when you switch? Do you get no shutter noise, or do you get noise but the light pattern fails to adjust?

Sorry I thought the video was to help determine if I had hid or halogen. So yes her passenger side does switch to high beam and the drivers doesn't. Sounds like it's likely the shutter not moving on the drivers side. Is the shutter potentially repairable or will it need the whole new mechanism?

[Smac770]

Sorry, no the video went with the first sentence in that post, how the HID high vs low is actually implemented on these cars, ie with that shutter action. It was a video of my A4 HIDs switching low vs high.

You'd have to try and get a look inside to see what might be broken. You hear the switching noise on the right side? But you don't hear anything on the left side? Or you hear it, but nothing seems to happen?

There's also the normal starting point for electrical related issues, a scan using VCDS. It could well be the J519 knows it has some issue interacting with the left shutter motor. It would be good to know if it already has a handle on there being an electrical issue, vs a physical issue with the shutter itself. If the J519 thinks everything is peachy, then it's likely a physical breakage inside the headlamp.

Couldn't find a B8 video; here's one of a B7 HID unit showing the shutter mechanism. B8 is likely similar. https://youtu.be/nwOKX9GwDN4

[Dustinjm87]

Sorry, no the video went with the first sentence in that post, how the HID high vs low is actually implemented on these cars, ie with that shutter action. It was a video of my A4 HIDs switching low vs high.

You'd have to try and get a look inside to see what might be broken. You hear the switching noise on the right side? But you don't hear anything on the left side? Or you hear it, but nothing seems to happen?

There's also the normal starting point for electrical related issues, a scan using VCDS. It could well be the J519 knows it has some issue interacting with the left shutter motor. It would be good to know if it already has a handle on there being an electrical issue, vs a physical issue with the shutter itself. If the J519 thinks everything is peachy, then it's likely a physical breakage inside the headlamp.

Couldn't find a B8 video; here's one of a B7 HID unit showing the shutter mechanism. B8 is likely similar. https://youtu.be/nwOKX9GwDN4

Took a listen tonight and I can only hear the shutter activate on the passenger side. That video was helpful. I might pull the headlight assembly and check out that shutter. If that doesn't look promising then I guess I'll try to find someone with vcds.

[Smac770]

VCDS would be to scan for errors up front to see what is already known. Once you start digging into it physically, you're already figuring out what is what. VCDS won't be a magic alternative at that point.

If you look on the headlamps, there's a 14-pin plug. Pin 6 is the pin to the HID bulb. Pin 11 is the pin to the HID shutter. There are two ground pins. Pin 5 is the ground for the HID bulb. Pin 7 is the ground "for everything else".

The problem is I don't know what the actual shutter circuit is, so should you be able to measure resistance from 11 to 7? On the harness connector side, I don't know what kind of voltage pattern should be expected. Does the J519 keep the shutter energized in high beam, or is it just a pulse at switch to toggle the shutter mechanism, etc.

https://www.vwvortex.com/threads/bi-...ction.9248429/
This is about the VW CC from the same time era. The same pin positions is just coincidence. But in that vehicle, it would appear the shutter line is held 12v active in high beam, and you should be able to make a resistance measurement of the shutter coil. But it leaves you pretty much with two paths. Either 12v is not on the pin 11 in high beam mode, and there's an issue in the J519 or wiring. Or the 12v is there, same as the passenger side, and there's some issue, electrical or physical, in the headlamp. Which won't be fun since the headlamps aren't made to be opened.