Knowledge Base

Flash headlights with side lights and stop them staying up

The Headlight Mod
by Paul Walker

This modification will allow Mk2 owners to flash their headlights with their sidelights on without having to worry about the headlights staying popped up.

Tools and parts required

* Small electrical on/off switch from your local hardware store
* Screwdriver
* Wire cutters
* Soldering iron (to stop the ends of the wires from fraying)

Step 1

Open the front bonnet and locate headlight control box, which is just below the fuse box on the right of the car. It should be just above the right headlight.

Step 2

Coming out of the bottom of the blue box will be a plastic wire connector. Unclip this from the blue box

Step 3

Locate pin 6 on the connector. If you look carefully at the bottom of the connector, there are numbers that designate the pins. There should be a red wire (red and silver on some cars) coming out of it. Cut this wire and put a bit of solder the each of the ends to stop them from fraying. N.B There may be more than one red wire. Make sure you only cut the one on pin 6. Cutting one of the other wires will make just one of your lights to pop up!

Step 4

Fit the switch between the two cut ends of the red wire from pin 6 on the connector

Step 5

Plug the plastic connector back into the blue headlight control box (this is important. If you don't plug it back in the headlights will not pop up as I found out!)

With the switch in one position, you should be able to flash your lights with the sidelights on, and the headlights will pop up and then go back down again. If the switch is in the other position, the lights will stay up after a flash. This is useful if you want to either change a bulb or leave the lights up on a Winters night so that they don't get frozen in the down position.

The picture on the right shows the blue headlight control box and the white switch in place.