Why would a 2002 VW Beetle TDI keep blowing the left headlight fuse?

Answer 1

I will give one caveat: I have never worked on a new VW Beetle. That said, I believe that you have either degraded wiring from chafing, or you blew a bulb and it shorted out and damaged your wiring or bulb mount. I would examine the connector for metallic debris, or melting that has allowed the contacts to short out intermittently. If that is the case, then you can either replace the harness (around $40 from the dealer, probably), attempt to locate one used ($25?), or try using some insulator (epoxy, tape, JB Weld, etc...) -to repair the mount. If the wires are chafed and have bare spots, they may be taped or new wires spliced in. You will have to remove the harness to examine it, and I would suggest you use a loom or stay to secure the wire from further damage. This could be less than fun, but I am pretty confident that you can do it, if you will be patient. I could do it in about an hour or two, so I would allow myself about 8-9 hours because it never seems to work out the way you plan. Remember: Fuses blow because of an overcurrent condition and that can be dangerous to you and your car. Also, make sure that there isn't a recall on the problem, before you try and fix it yourself. It is so much nicer to let somebody else do it... Good Luck!