# VW Dealer Sounds fishy **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** electrical-wiring\ **Created:** [June 27, 2008, 8:24pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/vw-dealer-sounds-fishy/15924 "2008-06-27T20:24:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![johnny5](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f1d935/32.png) [@johnny5](https://community.cartalk.com/u/johnny5)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 8:24pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/vw-dealer-sounds-fishy/15924/1 "2008-06-27T20:24:08Z")
My brother has a 2005 VW GTI, a few months ago he installed a pair of aftermarket H.I.D. headlight bulbs that draw 55w, same as the stock bulbs. About a month 2 months ago he heard a noise while steering and took it into the dealership. The problem found was the rack and pinion boot was tore and it had failed, this was fixed under warranty which took 1 whole week. The day of getting the car back we were driving in it for about 4 hours when the radio suddenly began emitting a stratchy static noise, then all the guage needles dropped. We immediately drove it back to the dealership where it sat for a month before he received a call. They stated that the after-market headlights burned up the entire main wiring harness in the vehicle. After about a month and a half of sitting in their shop they gave an estimate of around $8,000. I told the man “wouldn’t the headlight fuse of blown before the harness burned up?” He told me that the new lights had the same wattage but drew more amperage, and thats why the fuse didn’t blow. My understanding is that fuses are rated in amperage so wouldn’t that blow it immediately? Also this was in such close proximity to them repairing the car that the whole thing sounds fishy. It has now almost been 2-1/2 months without receiving the car back. They said they are still waiting for the new harness to arrive. Please Help!!! ---
**Author:** ![nfs480](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@nfs480](https://community.cartalk.com/u/nfs480)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 8:47pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/vw-dealer-sounds-fishy/15924/2 "2008-06-27T20:47:34Z")
Sounds more like the notorious unreliability of VW cars to me. ---
**Author:** ![Caddyman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/caddyman/32/23_2.png) [@Caddyman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Caddyman)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 8:54pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/vw-dealer-sounds-fishy/15924/3 "2008-06-27T20:54:37Z")
If the bulbs are indeed just 55 watts (Chinese manufactures lie about things like that) the pair of them should pull 8 amps through the headlight circuit, which is protected by a breaker, not a fuse…Many of these “HID” bulbs are simply 100 watt off-road halogen bulbs dyed blue then repackaged and marked “55 watt output” That means the blue dye absorbs almost half the light. You can remove the bulbs and connect them to a 13.5 volt source and measure how much they draw. 4 amps is 55 watts. 100 watt bulbs will pull 8 amps each… $8000 to repair the car? You are being ripped off on a grand scale…I would check the alternator before I did anything. I would also ask the service manager to SHOW YOU some damaged wiring… ---
**Author:** ![Countrydriver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce7236/32.png) [@Countrydriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Countrydriver)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 9:02pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/vw-dealer-sounds-fishy/15924/4 "2008-06-27T21:02:30Z")
Get away from that dealer; you’re getting screwed. ---
**Author:** ![the\_same\_mountainbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@the\_same\_mountainbike](https://community.cartalk.com/u/the_same_mountainbike)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 9:20pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/vw-dealer-sounds-fishy/15924/5 "2008-06-27T21:20:16Z")
Wattage is the rating of how much power is being outputted. Amperage is a measurement of the amount of current flow, current being the actual flow of free electrons through the circuit. Voltage is “potential”, the difference between the amount of free electrons on one side of a power source and the amount on the other. As electrons flow through the circuit, that difference becomes less and less, leading to a dead battery…unless there’s an alternator or some other source to keep replenishing them. Wattage is the current times the voltage, P=IxE. HID (High Intensity Discharge) lights do draw much more current than incandescent (filament) bulbs…quartz-halogen bulbs are just old fashioned tungsten filaments in a halide gas enveloped in a fused-quartz bulb. The gas allows them to burn hotter (brighter) and the fused quartz withstands the heat better than normal glass with all its impurities. HID bulbs work by maintaining an arc between two spaced metal posts. That takes a lot more current flow to support than just heating up a filament. Real HID lamps have been known to fry standard electrical wiring, even though it should have been protected by a fuse. It is possible. But for $8,000 you can bet your burley white buns that I’d (1) get a second opinion, and (2) get a competing quote. It sounds like the dealer wants to rip out the entire harness and replace the whole thing rather han do a repair. ---
**Author:** ![hellokit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6a8cbe/32.png) [@hellokit](https://community.cartalk.com/u/hellokit)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 10:15pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/vw-dealer-sounds-fishy/15924/6 "2008-06-27T22:15:31Z")
Take it to an independent shop. Let them splice in repair wiring. Save thousand$.