First some back story, I bought this car used from a private seller a couple months ago and he had an led strip (think autozone)above each of the headlights so of course that had to go. I just grabbed a pair of scissors and cut the wires and threw them away.

Flash forward to now and I have a headlight out, not sure if it just recently went out or if I just never noticed it before but either way it needs replacing. When I went to check the bulb I saw a mess of wires I dont think belong there, but I'll let you guys be the judge:

Driver Side:


Driver Side:


The red wire at the bottom of the last shot goes into a connector where the original wire was cut, I tried to get a shot of it but this was the best I could do:


Driver Side:


Passenger Side: (the two black and red wires went to the led strip)


Headlights On: (I disabled the DRL by bending the tab on the switch)


Brights On:


I have no idea what is causing the condensation I read somewhere that the sunroof drain could be the problem but there is no blockage on top and the drains in the door jams look like they have been cut already.

Here's a few pics:







I appreciate any help or advice you have for me, thanks!

 

From the looks of the wiring, dude did a relay setup. From the looks of the pictures (and how dim the lights were) he did it wrong.

VWC Techtip Headlight Relays

That link has everything you need to know to get the relay'd headlights working correctly, provided the bulbs are still good. The condensation on the windshield I have no doubt is another matter. You'll need to give more information about that.

edit:
btw he did a horrid job at soldering.

 

I'd rather just go back to stock, any idea where that red wire in the 3rd pic is going to? I don't want to start replacing all the wiring and find out he ghetto rigged something I need working with it haha

 

In A2's the AC compressor is below the alternator, you may need G-Magoo or some of the other A4 guys to help with that. For the life of me I can't imagine why someone would tap into AC for a headlight relay setup, if that's the case, it's no wonder why it didn't work. A relay headlight setup is really quite easy, if you can follow the wiring diagram. If it's a hack job, it's probably easier to do it the right way than return it to stock... plus it's better anyway. Just grab some time, a soldering iron, liquid electrical tape (my preference), traditional if you like it, or even heat shrink tubes, and fix the problem. You'll have better night vision, and more appreciation/knowledge of the car.

 

I'm probably speaking out of my ass in regards to the condensation... but I know the computer is on the driver's side rain tray. Is it possible dude messed around with the rain tray/fire wall? IE, went to swap a chip, fucked shit up, and allowed engine bay air to hit the driver's side? I know there's a few grommets going from rain tray to cabin, and could possibly allow engine bay air up through the dash if the rain tray is wrecked and they're destroyed or removed. It's possible even it's the speedo cable grommet.

 

Thanks for the info man, there is a local part out and I'm thinking about just grabbing the headlights and wiring from there and swapping it in. I want to do the dual blinker mod anyway so the extra set of headlights will come in handy. Do you think there is any possible way he wired the a/c to work off the headlights instead of the other way around?

 

Alright after looking at the wiring again today while it was light out I found out that the relay isnt wired to the headlights at all, it goes straight into the a/c compressor o_O , so with that out of the way I went ahead and redid the wiring on the passenger side wiring harness and picked up some new bulbs and the headlights work fine now.

Here is my awesome soldering/heat shrinking skills at work lol:


I still need to find out why the hell there is a relay spliced into my a/c and where the condensation is coming from but at least for now my car is street legal again haha.

 

clean job, good work. It can be a PITA removing the dash and checking the a/c ducting. I'd check the rain tray/firewall first since it is easier.

I still have no idea why he'd relay the a/c.

 

I might have missed it somewhere but does the car have a sun roof?

 

from one of the pics I can tell it does have a sunroof