Osram Nightbreakers

[Sir Brixalot]

I've been going through light switches and/or ignition switches at the rate of three or so per year. Must mean there's an underlying problem. It crossed my mind that these problems seem to surface when I've been doing a lot of night driving.

It crossed my mind that it might be the Osram Night Breakers. Do they need a dedicated relay?

[clift_d]

I wouldn't have thought so. We've been running them for about four years without issue on the original wiring without relays.

[CovKid]

Even a T25 on stock bulbs benefits from a relay. Without one, the lighting stalk and associated wiring is under pressure and you'll be lucky if you see much more than 10 volts at the headlights, reducing their outpuit by around 50%.

Have a read: https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/VW ... ry_to_dash" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As I discovered, better bulbs help (a little) but you're still compensting for a barely adequate feed at the fusebox and even with nightbreakers, they don't realise their full potential until you sort the feed and add relays.

[Sir Brixalot]

Cheers for the answers. Looks like its relay time. Reluctantly going to get an auto electrician to look as I can't track down the issue myself.