I have a 2004 Jetta. My driver's side head light won't work with day lights or headlights turn on but it works with the brights turned on. The parts guy at the VW dealership says it could be the entire headlight compartment that will have to be replaced....true? At $200 in this economy, I'm hoping to find a cheaper or easier fix. Pls help!

Switch.

Change the bulbs

Sounds like you have 'ground' issues. Apply the brakes using a broom stick or more apropriate tool so that the brake lights are activated. Then go to the brake light that is not bright enough. using a test-light with a sharp pointed probe, poke the ground wire close to the bulb (usually a black wire) make sure the test light is attached to a grounded bolt. if the brake light gets brighter with ground added, you need a new ground wire. Splice it in to the existing wire & attach it to a bolt. Lights should work better with proper ground. (each bulb has a positive post & neg. post, don't add ground to the side with power coming through it from Battery (+)(red light on test light) - probe wires FIRST with test light to find (+) POS. Hot wire, and leave that one alone.

check the wiring there is a problem

Ain't no "might be", I believe the person who told you it was a ground issue is probably shaking his head over the fact that you have not acted on this. Take apart the sockets that plug the wiring harness off that way and make sure they have no excessive corrosion, not forgetting to check the condition of the headlight plug-in. Any ground strap you see along that harness needs to be removed, cleaned and fastened securely with a shot of anticorrosion gunk (your choice, I don't think it matters one damn bit what kind you use since it all should work). Get to work! Enjoy yourself and figure about an hour (+-) for the job.

difficult one this ??do you mean the indicator front light drivers side is dim?? Now as for it not starting with headlights switch in the on position and the headlights not working then i can only assume that the wires in the multiplug connector behind the steering column are playing up ,either shorting across or the the wire insulation has fused together.Without motor in front of me its very difficult to say whats wrong,this is the sort of job for a dealer only type mechanic who only works on one make of vehicle.Because they will have come across this before no doubt unlike a bodgy old cowboy like myself who will take on anything with an engine.

I finally got mine fixed!! It was the crossover wires between headlights(the wires that run in front of the radiator). One wire was torn into. Spliced them and taped back together. Hope this works for you!! I also used something called wire caps that help hold the spliced wires together. I found this solution on yahoo.com search engine where someone else had suggested this. My only problem was no dim lights, but all the other lights worked fine.

Ignition switch will cause you to loose your head lights and turn signals. You will still be able to start the car and hold the switch for your brights but normal function is gone. Check it out it usually only runs about $20-$30 for replacement part but you need a special puller to get to it.

I had the same problem. The solution is simple; the ignition switch needs to be replaced. This is an easy do-it-yourself project. Here are instructions:
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2532481
Check for a switch on ebay, they are about $15. After 10 years they wear out.

soime running liht relay if equipped or headlight switch bad