2006 A6 Avant: High Beams Don’t Work

[nava27]

I have a 3.2 A6 from 2006, and have recently been having a number of lighting issues. My drivers side low beam went out (no big deal - just a blown bulb, I believe), and shortly thereafter my high beams stopped functioning. One aging low beam and my fog lights as the only sources of light at night has made driving in the backwoods of Pennsylvania interesting, to say the least.
I have the adaptive bi-xenon lights that seem to come standard on the C6 A6s (my sister drives an 08 sedan and it has an identical setup). Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get my high beams back? It seems very odd to me that three bulbs would have blown all at once during normal driving. I’ve had checking the relays suggested but don’t even know where to start on that.

Any help is much appreciated.

[JohnnyB]

Hi, the bi-xenon lights have one bulb. The high beam is accomplished by raising the cut off shield out of the light path. Perhaps the car senses a change in voltage with the 1 bulb out and disables the movement of the shield.

I’d buy 2 new bulbs (one for each side) and see if the high beams don’t start working. The reason for 2 bulbs is if you just replace 1, you’ll be able to see a difference side to side. You replace both bulbs with new ones, trash the bulb that is out, and save the aged, but good one. Next time a bulb ages out, replace it with the one you saved and they will look the same.

Best of luck. Please let us know how you make out.


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[brad-d]

Hi nava,

It sounds like you've got two problems.
1. The bulb is out on your driver's side.
2. You have a non-functional high beam shutter on the passenger side.

You should be able to confirm this by scanning the car with VCDS. My Avant has the same thing on the right-hand side, with code 02747 - Solenoid for Bi_Xenon Shutter; Right 011 Open Circuit. I've heard that this can sometimes be from a loose connection or a broken wire, but my mechanic said that the whole headlamp assembly will need to be replaced, and of course you will need working high and low beams to pass your next inspection.

By the way, you could check JohnnyB's theory by swapping the right and left bulbs and see if the problem moves with the bulb.

[a1dan_87]

Question! I've noticed when flashing, a second bulb on the headlights come on plus the main beam. But when the brights are on, it seems as you described with JUST the main bulbs?

Hi, the bi-xenon lights have one bulb. The high beam is accomplished by raising the cut off shield out of the light path. Perhaps the car senses a change in voltage with the 1 bulb out and disables the movement of the shield.

I’d buy 2 new bulbs (one for each side) and see if the high beams don’t start working. The reason for 2 bulbs is if you just replace 1, you’ll be able to see a difference side to side. You replace both bulbs with new ones, trash the bulb that is out, and save the aged, but good one. Next time a bulb ages out, replace it with the one you saved and they will look the same.

Best of luck. Please let us know how you make out.


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[RussellM]

That may be because you have the facelift C6? The inner beam is the cornering light, but haven’t noticed if it comes in with the hi beam when flashing.


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[a1dan_87]

That may be because you have the facelift C6? The inner beam is the cornering light, but haven’t noticed if it comes in with the hi beam when flashing.


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Ive got the facelift, but I dont have the AFS option. But the inner bulb in a reflective housing comes on when I flash, but the main outer bulb with a lens seemingly 'aims higher' when I turn the brights on. Interesting decision I guess.

Id assume your issue is with the above mentioned 'shutter' on the headlight main beam, as thats where the high-beams truly seem to come from versus flashing other cars. If you pull your stalk towards yourself, are you still able to flash the headlights but not turn on the brights?