I HAVE a 2004 model Golf 1 (CitiGolf). When I switch my headlights to high beam (bright), the engine cuts out, the dashboard lights go dim and the high beams don't come on. Julian
I HAVE a 2004 model Golf 1 (CitiGolf). When I switch my headlights to high beam (bright), the engine cuts out, the dashboard lights go dim and the high beams don't come on. Julian
Julian, it seems clear that the wires feeding the current to the high beams are short-circuiting, either to earth or to something like the immobiliser, if the car has an immobiliser.
On the CitiGolf these wires run from the light switch on the steering column to the fuse box under the dash on the passenger side, where they go through separate fuses for the left- and right-hand high beams.
The fuse box also serves as a junction box, and there is a mass of wiring bunched together behind it. My guess is that the short is in or around the fuse box, and the fact that the dash lights go dim makes me wonder if it isn't perhaps a serious short to earth, which draws down the battery voltage so much that the ignition can no longer function.
If so, it will have to happen before the current passes through the fuses, otherwise they would surely have blown. But it's only a guess - there are other possibilities.
I suggest you take the car to a reputable auto-electrician as soon as possible, because a major short always carries the risk of the wires overheating and catching fire.
I know good auto-electricians are scarce, but try to avoid half-baked, self-styled "auto-electricians".
Let us know the outcome of this interesting problem.
Let an expert look at the car
I HAVE a 2004 model Golf 1 (CitiGolf). When I switch my headlights to high beam (bright), the engine cuts out, the dashboard lights go dim and the high beams don't come on. Julian
I HAVE a 2004 model Golf 1 (CitiGolf). When I switch my headlights to high beam (bright), the engine cuts out, the dashboard lights go dim and the high beams don't come on. Julian
Julian, it seems clear that the wires feeding the current to the high beams are short-circuiting, either to earth or to something like the immobiliser, if the car has an immobiliser.
On the CitiGolf these wires run from the light switch on the steering column to the fuse box under the dash on the passenger side, where they go through separate fuses for the left- and right-hand high beams.
The fuse box also serves as a junction box, and there is a mass of wiring bunched together behind it. My guess is that the short is in or around the fuse box, and the fact that the dash lights go dim makes me wonder if it isn't perhaps a serious short to earth, which draws down the battery voltage so much that the ignition can no longer function.
If so, it will have to happen before the current passes through the fuses, otherwise they would surely have blown. But it's only a guess - there are other possibilities.
I suggest you take the car to a reputable auto-electrician as soon as possible, because a major short always carries the risk of the wires overheating and catching fire.
I know good auto-electricians are scarce, but try to avoid half-baked, self-styled "auto-electricians".
Let us know the outcome of this interesting problem.
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