C5 Allroad Headlight short circuit

[ginkgo]

Hi All,

I recently bought a C5 Allroad which had a RHS parking light short circuit.
When opening the RHS headlight housing I was confronted with this sight:



I am hoping this is a rarity in these cars.
ginkgo

 

[IchBautAuto]

Don't know whether to laugh or what. Never seen anything like it. Some one has had a red hot go at a bodge job there. Can only speak for mine but it surpasses the reputation expressed by some and has just done a return Brisbane trip with the temps in the high to very high 30's and as always, didn't miss a beat. About the only thing that caught me out for a few seconds was the ride height had dropped to level 1, before I remembered that it does that automatically over a certain speed.

 

[ginkgo]

Further on the C5 headlight internal wiring harness insulation.
After temporarily insulating the RHS side internal harness I checked the LHS and found that it appeared to be much more intact but was not. The insulation on ALL headlight internal wiring had gone very "dry" and brittle, and when moved slightly cracks formed and sections of insulation fell away. Small sections of insulation near the zip-tie collar around several wires (as manufactured?) had fallen away to leave bare wires close together. I saw no signs of melted insulation due to individual overheated wires. I have not seen any similar insulation problems elsewhere on the car, so I don't think it is signs of a bodge job but rather an isulation durability problem within the closed environment of the sealed headlight module. The dipped bulb appears to be a standard Osram H1.



I found some other postings on this topic with later model vehicles, so all this is probably not news.
http://www.clubtouareg.com/forums/f67/headlight-wiring-disintegration-257874.html
http://www.clubtouareg.com/forums/f43/cracked-and-exposed-headlight-wiring-cloudy-lights-257130.html
https://www.devonbuy.com/alfa-romeo-147-headlamp-wiring-insulation/

A posting of this problem with Xenon bulbs:
http://www.carproblemzoo.com/bmw/3series/headlights-problems.php

Now I need to find two new headlight internal wiring harnesses.
This website is a good start for a wiring loom:
http://www.headlight-headlamp.com/A...-Plastic-Glass-Covers-Replacement-Repair.html

Also, my yellowed headlight lenses responded brilliantly to Meguiare's Ultimate Compound and five minutes of elbow grease.

PS
IchBautAuto, as Homer would say wistfully, "Ahhh, Level 1 in an allroad"

 

[AllroadSR]

Brittle headlight assembly wiring insulation - c5 & c6 allroad

Further on the C5 headlight internal wiring harness insulation.

Yep ginkgo,
I found exactly the same issue on my 2001 C5 allroad 2.7L petrol, inside both headlight assemblies the wiring was cracked, brittle and falling off due to poor quality wiring insulation and the heat involved inside the headlight assembly.
Due to the time frame and difficulty in a complete rewire, I got some thermofit tubing (heat shrink) split it down the middle & zip tied it along each individual wire, looks fine does a great job and will see the life of the car out.

BTW I also had a look at my 2007 C6 allroad 3.0L diesel & it is suffering exactly the same symptoms (cracked/ brittle wiring insulation within both headlight assemblies) you just had to touch the insulation and it falls off. I have since given it the same successful rework.

 

[ginkgo]

Hi AllroadSR, thanks for the update.

It seems like something a lot of ppl will find if they open their headlight assembly cover.
I used electrical tape sections folded length-wise, now it is definitely a bodge-job ,
doing spiral cuts in heatshrink tubes was hurting my brain.

I emailed the folk at headlight-headlamp.com and they wanted $128US for the item at
http://www.headlight-headlamp.com/Au...nt-Repair.html
but, when asked, failed to confirm that is was for both LHS & RHS
or deliver an image of the exact product.

So, I am looking the rebuild the looms myself.

 

[wgr]

Bio degradable soy based insulation

Hi just discovered same problem with my 05 allroad did a bit of googling and apparently its called soy based insulation and its used by all the european car manufacturers its bio degradable and the rodents love it, it degrades due to heat and isupose age great idea in an engine bay and in australia i suppose, but using wiring on cars thats potentialy dangerous and life threatening to owners, a fire hazard and very much NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE Is this allowed can the car manufacturers do this to their customers :beat: im pretty sure theres a consumer law out there somewhere that adresses this, any law savvy people members here care to comment

anyway igot quoted 2k for 2 new genuine headlights audi do not list the loom as a part so im getting a couple of 12 pin deutsch connector kits replacing the 10 pin plug in the headlamp and Replacing the wires i can get plugs for and using heatsrink on the ones i cant

cheers james (new member)
2005 Allroad A6 C5 Quatro

 

[IchBautAuto]

Hi All,

I recently bought a C5 Allroad which had a RHS parking light short circuit.
When opening the RHS headlight housing I was confronted with this sight:

I am hoping this is a rarity in these cars.
ginkgo

I replied to this thread after the initial post, but since then I have found exactly the same issues with my B5 RS4. The headlight design doesn't lend itself to the owner having a look on spec unless there is a bulb defect. Well I had one of those and I found exactly the same problem. My allroad didn't have a problem when I looked a few weeks ago. I did a complete rewire job on the RS4 with silicone wire and some heat sleeve. PIA but over $2000 cheaper than the alternative. It seems that the B5 / C5 range will all suffer from this at some time. It is fixable if you have some soldering skills and a box of leckky parts.