[V8] Headlisht Switch

[Kneale Brownson]

The problem is that Audi routed the power through the switch, but used
wiring that created a resistance and heated up.  Repeated heating/aging
added to the resistance and eventually the connector at the switch got so
hot it melted its plastic surround.

The fix, other than completely rewiring and reswitching everything, is to
put the power to the lights through a set of relays (I use one for highs
and one for lows) that only get triggered by the switch.  I took power from
the positive connector post under the hood.  I used a Competition Limited
harness.  I think they charge $50 for the harness.  I got a bit better
price because I bought one for the V8 and one for my 200q20v at the same time.

At 10:25 AM 2/19/2004 -0800, S_Matus wrote:
>I have heard so much about the headlight issue in the past few years.  Is 
>the real problem the wire harness that was "poorly engineered" (are the wire 
>gauges too small to handle the current)?  Was it the connector design for 
>the headlight switch (or another part of the harness)? Or is it the switch 
>design itself, which cannot handle the current load for the headlamps (is it 
>the switch connector pins)? Is it a combination of all three?
> 
>Answers to these questions will direct us to the ultimate repair fix?  I 
>want to do the job right the first time.