I have the exact same problem. For me, it was the right fog light although I got a weird error on the dash saying "dipped left headlight" or something like that. Then I took everything out and made sure everything was tight and the problem was gone for a while. However, about a month ago, my right fog light doesn't turn on 1/3 of the time. It does exactly what yours is doing, it either doesn't come on at all or it flickers briefly and dies. I told Jacky of the problem and he suggested the same things but I haven't had a chance to try it out.

I took my car in to the dealer for a problem with the DRL the other day and put back in the original fog lights. I'm going to be putting back in the HIDs shortly although I suspect I'll get the same problem.

 

Let us know what happens. I am using the same HID kit I'd hate for this to start happening.

 

Those with an aftermarket HID kit. You'll need to add a capacitor to solve your problem.

Here, read this...
DIY: HID Capacitor Mod - E46Fanatics

I have tried this on a friends Audi S6 Avant and it works. We used a 4700uF @ 35v cap.

 

Hello everyone,

I have an update with my situation. Jacky has been really nice to allow me to try a couple of solutions to my flicker/error problem for my HID fogs. Apparently, the newer Q5 probably S-Line are affected and have this problem so far. Not sure if the newer versions of the non-Sline have this problem with an HID kit. The quick fix to this is to use the Canbus ballasts instead of the standard ballast. Jacky was nice enough to exchange mine for the Canbus ballasts and now everything is working smoothly!!

The reason behind this is CanBus Ballast gets rid of the flickering issues or headlamp error light issue. This issue is known on most European cars (BMW/BENZ/AUDI/VW). The reason behind this is due to halogen bulb being 55W and HID being 35W. Therefore, when an HID kit is installed into the vehicle, the car ECU detects the lights are running at 35W instead of the normal 55W. Two things will happen, when it detect this.
1. When running at 35W, the ECU thinks the light bulb on one side is broken and cut down on the power it sends to the headlight, causing the HID to flicker because there is not enough power.
2. It will cause a headlight error light on the dash because it think 1 side of the headlight is broken. One or both of these issues will occur.

This CanBus will trick the ECU into thinking the HID is running at 55W, when it is really running at 35W. This will trick the ECU into thinking that both side of the headlights are working fine and will allow the ECU to give the headlights full power to run properly, which will get rid of the flickering issue and error light issue.

Obviously this is an explanation for headlights, fog lights usually don't cause this but for the Q5 it did.

Hope this helps and good luck!!

 

Great to hear that this problem is resolved.

I am in the market for a 2011 q5 sline, and i have been thinking of which aftermarket upgrades i might attempt. The HID fogs were at the top of my list.

I'll let everyone know if i take the plunge!!!

 

Q-E (a forum member) has a brand new HID kit for sale (same one we all got from Jacky) so hit him up when you're ready to buy. He's in Toronto. We can even help you install.

 

Jacky is great I am glad he helped you. I kindda feel responsible for these HIDs and LED lights since I introduced Jacky into this forum so if you guys are having issues let him and I know we'll try and figure out a fix.

 

Jacky has been great, he responds quickly and is available to meet up really quickly when I had problems. I might have to talk to him about my HID too since I have the exact same problem. Mine isn't an S-Line though =/

 

You've changed you head light bulb too? I don't think Sline has anything to do with it, that's just a trim package.

 

The fogs have been giving me random problems before but haven't really had the time to try a lot of things to fix it. The HID kit has been sitting in my garage for a month now.