Flashing Bulb Warning light after ignition

[jww]

Hi guys,

 

Picked up my Superb from the dealers on Sunday, loving it so far!

 

When I turn on the ignition the bulb warning light flashes 3 or 4 times and then goes off. I've tried to find the explanation in the manual but can't seem to find anything.

 

Any ideas?

 

Thanks in advance.

[TheRobinK]

Congrats on the new car!

 

Can you tell which bulb it is indicating? The system measures resistance and current on the light circuits and reports a bulb problem when it see a difference to the norm. It often gives intermittent warnings when a bulb is about to go and things are fluctuating.

[jww]

Congrats on the new car!

 

Can you tell which bulb it is indicating? The system measures resistance and current on the light circuits and reports a bulb problem when it see a difference to the norm. It often gives intermittent warnings when a bulb is about to go and things are fluctuating.

Hi!

 

Thank you very much, it's a massive step up from the 15 year old honda civic I've been driving  :-D

 

There's no information on the Maxi-Dot, literally just  the flashing light for a second or 2 on ignition. After further investigation it appears that it may be something to do with the automated light function, any thoughts?

 

Thanks again!

[TheRobinK]

Could be the adaptive headlight system - you may have that if your car has automatic headlights.

 

According to my manual - the bulb warning light will flash for 10 seconds if your car is in tourist mode (i.e. for travelling in France when on holiday). See tha manual for how to turn that on/off.

 

It will also flash for 1 minute if the adaptive headlights have a fault (the beam will also be shortened to the area immediately in front of the car to stop you dazzling oncoming traffic).

 

This all assumes you have Auto lights and adaptive control...?

 

Better tell us the year and setup of your car - some of the pros here may chime in pretty quickly! 

[silver1011]

As soon as the orange warning light comes on it should be accompanied by a message on the central screen telling you which bulb its affected.

 

The same message can also be read by using the menus to get to vehicle status section, however the orange light has to be on. If it goes out the message disappears too.

 

If you aren't getting the written message then it is unlikely to be bulb related, as you and Robin mention it might be related to some other lighting function such as the self levelling system, or the cornering system etc. however as with blown bulbs these are almost always accompanied with a written message.

 

Is the flashing sequence set, i.e. deliberate, or is it more random i.e. a failing rather than failed bulb?

 

A scan with VCDS will allow you to view the error code. Find a fellow Briskoda member close to you here...

 

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/262215-list-of-vcds-owners-previously-known-as-vag-com/

Edited 22 August, 2016 by silver1011

[langers2k]

I'm with TheRobinK. It sounds like tourist mode is on, do you have xenon lights which do a dance (up/down/left/right) when the car starts?

[jww]

Hey all,

Thank you for all the helpful comments!

The car is a 2011 estate in elegance trim with the 1.6 cr engine.

It does have xenons but I must confess I haven't driven it in the dark yet so am not sure about the other light functionality.

I assume that the tourist mode is accessible through the car settings on the maxi-dot so will check that out tomorrow.

Sorry for the ignorance but what does a vcds do?

[chimaera]

Hey all,

Thank you for all the helpful comments!

The car is a 2011 estate in elegance trim with the 1.6 cr engine.

It does have xenons but I must confess I haven't driven it in the dark yet so am not sure about the other light functionality.

I assume that the tourist mode is accessible through the car settings on the maxi-dot so will check that out tomorrow.

Sorry for the ignorance but what does a vcds do?

 

VCDS is a third party diagnostic platform for VAG brand cars. www.ross-tech.com is the developer/supplier. If you're into doing your own maintenance on the car, it's an essential piece of kit.

[langers2k]

I assume that the tourist mode is accessible through the car settings on the maxi-dot so will check that out tomorrow.

 

I think it should be under, settings -> lights and vision -> travel mode, on the maxidot.