AlanH70 wrote:
>
> Last night while driving my 1998 VW Jetta TDI everything was fine. But this
> morning something funny happened. Ok let me explain a bit. The way the
> headlamps work is when you turn the key the parking lights go on and if the
> emergency brake is on (which it was as my car is a standard) when you release
> the e-brake the headlights go on automatically so you dont have to worry about
> turning them on ever. Well this morning I start my, car release the brake and
> no lights. I am miffed. The parking lights are on but both low beam headlamps
> are out. Well plan B comes to mind just use the high beams for the time being.
> Well I drove to work with no problem but when I drove home from work I arrived
> to my parking area and I noted the drivers side high beam has also gone out. So
> now I only have one light, the passenger side high beam that is working. Any
> ideas, thoughts, or fixes for my situation?????
> If you want to respond to question feel free to write to my email at
> or just reply back to the group. thanks for your time!

Did you check if the bulbs were burned out? Excess voltage will reduce
bulb life dramatically. If your voltage regulator is bad and your
voltage is too high, it could explain 3 bulbs burning out in short
order.

Measure the voltage at the battery as you gradually raise the engine RPM
from idle to 3000 RPM. On my '87 the spec. is 14.0 V +/- 0.5V, I think
this is what VW uses (although some other cars use 14.5V +/- 0.5V). See
if your voltage is too high. If it gets over 18V, abort the experiment
immediately.