Problem with smoked rear lights (a4 2.4se)

[hods]

Hi All,

I am hoping that some of you Audi brains on here may be able to help a new Audi owner out?

I have a 98 A4 2.4SE and have just purchased via ebay a set of blacked out rear lights for it (the car is black). I have fitted them today and size and fit wise they are perfect and IMO look pretty slick.

The problem is there seems to be an issue with the wiring as I now have an error on the dashboard indicating a rear-light problem. I have narrowed it down to the side/main bulb as the brake, fog, indciator, and reverse lights all function properly. Looking more closely at the new light harness if differs from the original in terms of location of each bulb, but also crucially the original fitting for the dual filiment main/dip light has a 2 prong connector, whereas the new fitting only has a single prong (I hope that makes sense?)

Does anyone know of any modification I can make to fool the car into thinking the dual filiment bulb is still fitted, or any suggestions as to how to rectify the problem?

Many thanks in advance, Hods.

PS The lights are obviously for a B5 chassis, but the seller did not specify which year - are there different wiring harnesses?

 

[PhilR]

pre and post facelift b5s have a different light layout, so you have to swap wires when you change them, i assume its something similar

 

[hods]

Thanks PhilR, after doing some further digging around I thought that might well be the problem.

Does anyone exactly which wires need to be swapped, and more importantly how do you pull the little b*****ds out of the harness thing, because I cant budge 'em!

Thanks for any further help

 

[Jimbo.King]

This might help http://www.audiworld.com/tech/ext38.shtml.

 

[hods]

Thats an excellent help, and may well solve the problem - Only thing is I cannot seem to get the wires out of the connector, and I dont want to go about cutting and re-joining them if at all possible. The guy who wrote the article makes it sound easy, and it probably is, but whatever I try it doesnt seem to work - PLEASE HELP as I cant drive in the dark as it is!!!

 

[Jimbo.King]

Heres a pic of the pin you need to get out, the arrows point to the lugs that release the pin from the holder:


When you open the side of the plug it release's one of the lugs for you, get a paperclip and release the otherside as so


:icon_thumright:

 

[hods]

Jimbo.King - You are an absolute star, thanks for taking the effort to do that, its very much appriciated.

 

[Jimbo.King]

No probs, always happy to help and its nice when appreciated .

Just one last thing, the write up is for a left hand drive car, i took pictures of the drivers side and that matches up with there passenger side.

 

[hods]

So, just so I get it absolutely right when I attack it tomorrow, are you saying to treat the passenger side wire swap, as the drivers side for a UK car and vice-versa?

Sorry, to sound thick, but I have a fear of messing up my new car

BTW - Your car looks quality, just how I picture mine looking once finished.

 

[Jimbo.King]

 

[hods]

Once again you have gone out of your way to help, and I am genuinely extremely grateful.

If this is the standard of responses given on this forum, then its going to become a very happy home for me.

Hods

 

[hods]

ARRRGGGGHHH - I did the wire swap, which was very simple using the instructions provided by Jimbo.King, but....

It still wont work

The problem is still with the main/dip rear bulb as the others function correctly. I am sure it must have something to do with the bulb holder in the new lights as it seems to be a pin-short compared to the old holder.

I have attached pictures of the old fitting (left) and the new fitting (right) - does anyone know if the new one is correct, or does it need two pins???

 

[Jimbo.King]

Strange, the left one ( your old one ) is the same fitting as my facelift 99, have you got a pic of the old rear lights you had fitted and a pic of the new rear lights

 

[hods]

here is the old and new lights.

 

[Jimbo.King]

You had the new style lights already fitted to your car and fitted old style smoked ones in,
make sure you have the correct bulbs fitted into the holders, i.e single / twin filerment to the single / twin contacts

 

[hods]

Ha ha, I didnt even realise I had the new style lights fitted. I have tried to fit single bulbs in the single holders (they are all single on the "new" lights) but whatever combination I try I still get no rear light, and the very annoying dashboard error.

Oh well, I guess I may have to give up on fitting the smoked ones, which is a shame as I think they look good.

 

[Jimbo.King]

http://www.dcp-shop.co.uk/buy-car-accessories/product_info.php?products_id=14129

 

[hods]

Those lights are very nice indeed, but sadly well above the price I can reasonably justify for purely cosmetic reasons.

I didnt pay alot for the smoked lights, but it's pretty annoying I cant get them to work, especially as we seem to have established that they are the style that my car should have anyway being a 98 model?!?!

I am open to any suggestions anyone might have, or if there is anyone out there with the pre-facelift lights who could tell me what bulb and fitting the main rear lights have, I would be eternally grateful.

Yours in desperation!!

 

[macattax]

Just spray your own lights its not that hard to diy smoked rears