fog light indicator on, headlight and tail light out
 

Can't figure this one out - right fog light indicator came on a couple of days ago, all lights in headlight assembly and fog light went out and left tail light is out as well. When I turn the knob the right leds's will flash on for a second then die.

I saw there were a couple of recalls:

Make / Models : Model/Build Years:
AUDI / A3 2006-2009
AUDI / A4 2005-2007
AUDI / A4 CABRIOLET 2007-2009
AUDI / TT 2008-2009
Service Bulletin Number : TSB-94-09-12
NHTSA Item Number : 10030630
Summary Description :
AUDI: HEADLIGHT, LOW BEAM MAY NOT WORK. THERE ARE TWO SEPARATE CONDITIONS THAT BOTH OCCUR IN VEHICLES WITH BI XENON, WITH OR WITHOUT ADAPTIVE LIGHTING(AFS). ONE XENON LIGHT ON EITHER SIDE SPORADICALLY FLICKERS OR FLASHES AND GOES OUT. ONE XENON LIGHT ON ONE SIDE FAILS PERMANENTLY. *PE

Make / Models : Model/Build Years:
AUDI / A3 2006-2009
AUDI / A4 2005-2007
AUDI / A4 CABRIOLET 2007-2009
AUDI / TT 2008-2009
Service Bulletin Number : TSB-94-09-14
NHTSA Item Number : 10030587
Summary Description :
AUDI: THERE ARE TWO SEPARATE CONDITIONS THAT BOTH OCCUR IN VEHICLES WITH BI-XENON, WITH OR WITHOUT ADAPTIVE LIGHTING (AFS): ONE XENON LIGHT ON EITHER SIDE SPORADICALLY FLICKERS OR FLASHES AND GOES OUT. WHEN HEADLAMPS ARE TURNED OFF AND ON AGAIN OR AT IGNITION CYCLE, THE HEADLAMPS MAY FUNCTION PROPERLY OR EXHIBIT THE SAME BEHAVIOR; ONE XENON LIGHT ON ONE SIDE FAILS PERMANENTLY. *PE

Help!

I am having the exact same issue with my 2010 A3. We're you ever able to find out what's going on with it? I don't know if yours does it but mine will start working again for a few days (when it is over 50c outside) and then I will get the warnings on my dash and the lights will be out once more.

So as stated I was having a very similar issue to Ewok's, and was hoping for an answer on this issue. I gave up and finally took my 2010 A3 to the local dealer 3/11/2013 as it was still under warranty. My A3 is still at the dealer as of 3/12/2013 and should be ready as of Thursday 3/14/2013. Apparently the issue in my car was caused by a bad fuse box and several of the fuses in the box were melted. Audi has promised to repair the issue once they find out what is causing the fuse box to go bad. They are removing and replacing the entire electrical system to find and fix the problem. I also have AudiCare so they are doing the 35,000 mile service while they fix the fuse box issue.

While this is going on they have set me up with a loaded A6 as a loaner, that I will be driving until they make my car right. They have been more than helpful, as has AudiUSA and I am very satisfied with the service so far.

If you are still having this issue and it has not been looked at I would take your car in as soon as possible, it is apparently a bit of a fire hazard on wheels.

Good luck and I hope this helps someone else,
Aidan

Hey Aiden,

Sorry just seeing this - yes I had the same problem. Stealership didn't want to touch the car saying it wasn't within warranty, worked with Audi USA to get them to cover it.

They first changed 18 bulbs in troubleshooting, i got the car back only to have the problem reappear within 40 miles of driving it. They then ordered the fuse box and all was well. I love my A3, but Still strongly considering selling it... Electrical problems give me the creeps.

I just got my car back yesterday and was told that they previous owner had put the wrong wattage bulb in one of the tail lights causing an over amperage event to occur in the fuse box each time the break light was activated. This then melted that fuse, and also the fuses around it. They replaced the bulb the fuse box and the electrical lines around it just to make sure nothing else was affected.

From what I understand, if your issue was caused by something similar all should be well. I'm not to keen on electrical issues either, but like you I love my A3 and I'm going to give it as many chances as I can.

I will update as needed if I have any further problems related to this issue.

Good luck to you also Ewok, I hate hearing that service varies so much from dealership to dealership.

I'm having this same issue with my 2012 A3 TDI
 

The problem is now severe as my passenger headlights are now out, and my signal lights are not coming back. This issue began when it got cold outside and it has not improved. I don't live near a dealer anymore so I'm taking it to the local VW dealer hoping they can help.
I checked all the fuses and they're fine. I replaced lights that are out, and that did not help.

Hi Silentcreator, did you ever figure out what was wrong with yours? I was driving the other day and my passenger headlight, fog light, and turn signal went out and the indicators came on. I will be checking out the fusebox in the morning to see if there is any thing melted there. I bought the car used a few months ago and haven't had any problems .

Hi folks,

I am having the same issues. The passenger headlights went out. The issue was random at the beginning. Currently, all passenger lights do not work.

I thought it was a ground issue because it was random. However, both ground wires are connected each other and they are connected to the battery ground connector. I have also checked power in the connector, it seems ok. 14.4 V, 3.75V and I do not remember the other values.

However, I have tried to check power in the bulbs and, there were not power. I believe something is wrong from the connector to the bulbs.

What did you do to solve this issue? I appreciate any light/help.

Regards,
Victor

Mine ended up being the infamous fuse box issue. One of the fuses had overheated and melted the lead in the box. I couldn't tell initially but when I tried to remove the fuse it broke because it was melted in. I had to change the whole box out and but the new "reinforced" version of the fuse that Audi/VW recommended for the Tiguan.

You can refer to my other post in a different forum with more details:

VWVortex.com - Passenger lights all out

THANK YOU for this. I have no idea how much you saved me, but I'm sure it was a lot! The VW Dealer gave the fuse to me at no cost. :)

Just for future searchers, my symptoms happened two weeks ago in my 2009 Audi A3. Bulb warning light came on and the front passenger (right) headlights - high and low - and corresponding fog light were out. Parking lights were fine. At the same time the rear left (drivers side) tail light was out (brake light was fine). I was pretty stressed about it because of how difficult electrical problems can be. I did some searching on my phone, but then it started working again so I gave up. It happened to me again on my way to work today so when I got to my desk I searched again and found this thread. I checked fuse F16 in the engine compartment and sure enough it was black and melted. I replaced it with the VW part number mentioned and the lights are working currently! Hopefully the fuse box is not melted enough and this will be along term solution. If it happens again I'll replace the box.

Thanks again!

I had the same issue today , all lights have erors in the dashboard in my A3 2012 !! What should i do ??

audi a3 electrical
 

2004 Audi A3 2.0 TDI BKD can anybody please assist all right hand side lights are dead all fuses and wiring aswell as globes has been checked and replaced nothing broken or lose any suggestions please. Thank you Manie

II have a 2012 A3 2.0. The passenger Headlights, blinker and fog lamps went off at the same time. I checked the fuses as instructed by so many in this thread but everything was good. As a last resort I pulled the terminals off the battery and cleaned them up and reinstalled them and BINGO, that seems to have done the trick. I still have a sinking feeling that something strange is going on electrically. But at least it's fixed for now.

Pretty sure that you "fixed" a bad ground connection on the circuit(s) you were working on. Just for giggles, trace the ground connection for that headlight "unit" back to where it is bolted onto the body, and make sure there's nothing wrong with the connection or cable.

Electrical problems with 2012 A3 8P
 

Thank you for your reply, that makes total sense I will check that out especially in light of the fact that this has been going on for about 6 months and has gotten progressively worse. It all started with my fuel gauge not working. I tried resetting fuses, replaced the relay and ultimately pulled the pump but even the new pump had the same problem. Then my brake pad warning light came on but my brakes pads were just replaced, so, I pulled the wheels off and inspected the front driver pad where the sensor is, everything looked good. Then, I started getting all of these light warnings, rear, front, blinker, headlights, fog lights but everything was still working. Then the headlight, blinker and fog light on the passenger side went out and that's what led me to pull the battery to reset it. However, the fuel gauge still doesn't work and brake pad warning lights are still on. I should also mention that from time to time the fuel gauge will come back on and operate for a while and then go off again. I can't afford to bring it to a dealer, god only knows how much they would charge to diagnose and fix this. So I've been trying to narrow it down on my own by process of elimination. My suspicion is that I have an intermittent ground problem probably somewhere more universal than just the passenger headlights, blinker and fog lamps. But I'll check that out too. Any insight you can provide would be appreciated.

I visually inspected the connections to the headlights on the passenger front and there's no obvious ground (local to the headlights) that I could see which tells me that the ground is probably central? I looked at the main ground to the battery and to the fuse panel and both look good and are not corroded.

I really can't say where the ground for the headlights (and associated other lights) is at, but if you can get the lights into the failed state, you might be able to diagnose the problem by just pulling / wiggling / tugging on wiring harnesses - if it's a typical flaky connection, it's likely to cause the lights to go on and off as you move the "guilty cable / connector / ground".