That does sound like the Wassel is feked, you don't need a battery or capacitor to make the lights work. Check and double check all you connectors though, that includes any fuses in the circuit as it is quite possible that a badly crimped connector or slightly corroded fuse connection is causing your problem. Last night I was tracing a fault on my recently installed HID headlamp which I thought was a duff ignition switch but which turned out to be a tiny bit of corrosion on the blade of the fuse to the battery. That also explains an intermittent charging fault I've had for the last year
