Audi B2, (ur quatt), high beam wont stay on
 

Hi, just looking for any pointers.

With the lights switched on, If I pull the stalk forward the high beam will come on but not stay on when I let go of the stalk.

I have tried dismantling the switch, cleaning contacts and putting it back together but no better.

As far as I know there is no relay for high beam, anywhere else I can look please.

Thanks.

Isn't it pull for flash headlamps and push forward a click for headlamps on?

It may be his wording, he’s talking about pulling it forward which is a bit of a contradiction!
The stalk should click into place as it goes forward and that locks your high beam on, it sounds like a faulty stalk

Yes, sorry for my poor wording, I when I say pulling forward I meant pulling towards me, (which is car rearwards).

I can't push the stalk away from me, it is already against a hard stop, so I'm guessing thats the problem. I haven't had the car on the road for about three years and forgot that is how the switch is supposed to operate, thanks guys.

I'll try a new stalk.

Try this:
With the headlights on,
Pull the stalk towards you and release, and the main lights will flash on.

Pull it until it clicks, then release, and the lights should stay on.
Repeat to switch them off.

Thanks for reminding me of the process. it seems my high beam was staying on after all but the driver side one is so dim that I thought it wasn't working at all.

I measured at the fuse and its only seeing 7 volts. Again, super bright when flashing but really dim when toggled on.

Dry joint somewhere or a poor earth

A previous lights stalk failed in that it would not latch in the high beam position. When pulling the stalk towards you to switch to high, it would only spring back, but it was possible to feel the mechanism ‘try’ to click into position.

All headlight dim
 

I need to change the title to all headlights dim as they are staying on.

After much fiddling I found that with one bulb plugged in it is bright but each time I plug in one of the other 3 headlight bulb they all get a little dimmer, starting the car to up voltage makes no difference.

Changed the stalk switch and rebuilt the dash headlight switch, plus replaced some wiring I found with worn insulation. Still no good.

Does anyone know where the control unit is please that notifies the voice synthasizer of a headlight problem. Possibly the only thing in the circuit I haven't looked at.

Model year is going to help when it comes to electrical issues. There are many variations, along with some features that were added along the way.

The inputs to the voice synthesizer/warning module are fairly basic and rudimentary.

What you are now describing is a load issue. The greater the load on the supply, the worse it gets. Old wiring, tarnished connections, and internal problems affecting the relay contacts. All sources of increased circuit resistance.
quattro headlights (poor output) have been the source of many complaint over the years.

Anything less than 12v at the bulb is going to have a rapidly decreasing output. (Edit to add- frequently, it’s really low, in single digits, 8~9volts)
Each bulb is drawing several amps, which will also manifest as heat in other areas, like the headlight stalk, and the fuse/relay box.

There were several ‘high power’ wiring looms offered over the years, which used the original circuitry to simply switch an additional relay to each headlight, and provide a different route for the headlamp supply.
I’ve seen a few, and they were a fire hazard due to really crappy quality. But the concept is sound.

Usual source of problem is bad switch (the rotating one). they take so much current that the contacts burn.

>>There were several ‘high power’ wiring looms offered over the years, which used the original circuitry to simply switch an additional relay to each headlight, and provide a different route for the headlamp supply.
>>I’ve seen a few, and they were a fire hazard due to really crappy quality. But the concept is sound.

Yup-I bought Phil Payne's old ur and surprisingly it had a shitty loom with no fuse and heavy duity wires from the alternator across the engine bay to up by the radiator.
binned that!

Somewhere over the years i picked up a much better one. Fused right next to the supply from alternator.
Haven't fitted it as my lights are fine. good earths, clean switches, clean bulb contacts.

Easiest thing to do is try a better earth jumpered in from the back of the headlight bulb. If that fixes it, you know you need to follow the earthing back and fix it.
If it doesn't, then its on the power side and a wiring diagram woudl REALLY help.

It only takes one rotten connection and the whole thing would be poor.

>>Each bulb is drawing several amps, which will also manifest as heat in other areas, like the headlight stalk, and the fuse/relay box.

Good call-For a similar issue in a house wiring, i used an IR camera to see what was producing heat, and tracked the issue that way.

Same could be done here, with JUST the headlights on use an IR camera to see what is getting hot!