# TT rear light harness/loom same as A4 or A5??



## me_one (Mar 24, 2013)

Hi guys,

yeah.. so I thought i'd dodged this common fault on the TT's with the rear light wiring harnesses burning out (the earth connector and bulb holder), but I wasn't that lucky. Took the car to Audi on Wednesday evening and they have called today to tell me they have found the root cause and it's confirmed to be burnt out wiring harness. They want £250 to fit a new harness, I think not!!

Does anybody know if any of the other Audi harnesses/looms are compatible with the TT??

Thanks in advance

Kevin


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## brittan (May 18, 2007)

I don't know about compatibility of wiring harnesses from other models but there are other ways.

You can buy just the bulb holder part of the rear lamp unit from Audi or maybe a whole lamp unit from a breaker.

You can buy the harness end plug from Audi along with 'repair wires'. The latter come in a decent length with a pin on each end.
Hence you (or an auto electrician) can easily replace the burnt connector for a lot less than £250.

Also see the How-To in the Knowledge Base about fitting an extra earth connection for the rear lamps.


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## stumardy (Oct 25, 2009)

No it's not! Different can-bus system totally!


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## dino3 (Jan 30, 2012)

Buy the plug repair kit from audi, some solder & heatshink & job done
The stealers do try it on don't they


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## me_one (Mar 24, 2013)

Thanks for the replies guys, yeah i'm going to have to replace the plug and bulb holder. Priced the parts up at Audi yesterday. £4.50 plus vat for the connector plug, and £27.50 plus vat for the holder. Hell of a lot cheaper than £250, to$$ers lol.

I'll also install another earth while i'm on to stop it from burning out again.

One of the service guys got a little bit ar$ey when I mentioned it being a common Audi fault, haha got very abrupt "well it's not a common fault", seems common to me you tool! All you have to do is Google it and see just how many TT owners have had the same fault.

Here are my connectors:


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## AudiTT2008 (Nov 7, 2013)

I have the same problem. I posted this in another forum, but I'm just trying to be helpful to other Audi TT owners, because it took a fair amount of searching and headache to come up with a band-aid solution.

I called Audi, and they do not acknowledge that this is a widespread problem. It's ridiculous that they won't stand by their product. This is clearly a poorly engineered design.

My 2008 Audi TT would constantly beep with "Right Rear Light" or "Left Rear Light" with an X through a light bulb symbol popping up on the screen in between the tachometer and the speedometer. If I applied the brakes, the X through a light bulb symbol would go away. It turns out that the light that is farthest outboard in the tail light housing (on both left and right sides) was the problem.

I used this video to remove the tail lights: http://www.carcarekiosk.com/video/20...hts/tail_light
They can be a little difficult to pop out because you have to push/pull to the side, not directly out.

I found that the problem was with corrosion within the connectors that go directly to the tail light housing. It appears that one wire is much larger than the other wires, but the size of the connector is the same. The wire has too much current for the connector to handle. It melts the plastic around it and becomes corroded as a result. I scraped the corrosion off with a tiny screwdriver (as recommended above), and that fixed the problem for about a month. So I did it a second time, and then used the ends of plastic zip ties to apply pressure to the connector so it wouldn't become loose. It has been about a month and I haven't had a problem. I'm still convinced that this is only a temporary band-aid solution.

I attached pictures below so you can see the problem.

I am so beyond angry that Audi won't stand by their product. These are expensive cars, and we pay more money because they are supposed to be well-engineered and fun to drive. It is very difficult to enjoy the drive when my car beeps loudly every time I release the brake.

I hope this post helps someone. I apologize that I probably don't use the proper car "lingo." I'm just a regular person trying to not pay $90 for the "diagnosis fee" and $450 per light that the dealer wants to charge. This is such an annoying problem.

And kudos to my uncle that pretty much helped me through the entire problem. He's the real genius here.



That brown wire is much larger than the other wires with the same size connector.


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## lpearson86 (Feb 19, 2014)

I have the exact same issue. On a temp fix by scraping, cleaning and squeezing the pins back together.

What are the permanent methods to fix this issue? Is a whole new bulb holder , harness plug and wire loom installation required. Or can the wireloom harness be cut at the end and the wires inserted through a new harness plug? Can a hole be drilled through and bypass the burnt out pins?


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## kevin34 (Jul 11, 2011)

I had the same problem too.
I had cleaned the pin and folded it a little, for a better connection.
It works so far.
If you have the black connector very burned, I suggest you to change it, for security...
It's possible to change only the connector.
This pictures aren't mine.
Good luck!


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## the minty1 (Mar 27, 2011)

Thats a terrible situation to be in, poor show Audi. I would be be persistant and contact Audi CS about this one. No harm in asking.


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## TT-driver (Sep 14, 2010)

lpearson86 said:


> Can a hole be drilled through and bypass the burnt out pins?


Been there done exactly that:

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=264435


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## WallaceTech (Nov 3, 2013)

Thanks mate. I best whip the lights out and take a look.


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## WallaceTech (Nov 3, 2013)

Thanks.

Well i defo have this issue. Drivers side is dimmer then the passenger side. If i wiggle the cable then the light gets brighter and the noise goes away. Looking at the plug and pins i can see they have been getting burnt. The cables going in to the light cluster were a little warm as well.

Best get this sorted tomorrow.


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## CAD38T (Jun 11, 2016)

me_one said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> yeah.. so I thought i'd dodged this common fault on the TT's with the rear light wiring harnesses burning out (the earth connector and bulb holder), but I wasn't that lucky. Took the car to Audi on Wednesday evening and they have called today to tell me they have found the root cause and it's confirmed to be burnt out wiring harness. They want £250 to fit a new harness, I think not!!
> 
> ...


Please see this video:


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