head light bulbs

[Aronis]

Well, after 110,075 miles my drivers side head light is going....

Funny it was OUT, waited a moment, came on, warning light went out, but the color is now yellowish!

Anyway, what's the opinion on what bulbs to use for replacment?

I have seen prices from $10.00 to $250 for a bulb!

I plan on doing both at the same time to have similar color and brightness.
Any idea on the proper part to use??


Thank you,

Mike

[hahnmgh63]

Try to Vagcom it? Maybe it is the Ballast and not the bulb? I'm not that familiar with HID failures. Try Ebay, there are OEM color Phillips bulbs on there all the time. I think are bulbs are somewhere around 4500~4700K color.

[Aronis]

Oh? I'll check.

[Aronis]

I'll swap bulbs left to right and see.

[4everRS]

Just make sure you are looking at true HID bulbs and not HID "look" bulbs. You can get halogen HID "look" bulbs that are also in that 4500k color range. In my old A6 I use to have I replaced the stock halogens with Phillips "bluevision" halogens and they looked almost identical to audi's stock HID bulbs on the better headlights like ours.

[Aronis]

So. I looked.

I guess one must remove the engine to change a light bulb?

What's the proper process?

I'm going to check Bentley!

Mike

[bmlee007]

I'm not sure about getting into these, but even in my 2.7T it's a tight fit. I hope you have long skinny fingers. For that car I bought 10k blues from ECS Tuning for about $170, and I love them. Just make sure they're aimed correctly so no one goes blind when you hit the road.

[JSRS6]

I have been able to get in there without touching the lock support. It's not easy, but it is doable.

And without touching the intake tubes.

[marklar182]

N10445701 is the replacement bulb. OEM or Phillips Osram should be OK.

Elsa says to disconnect battery, remove air intake tubes, remove rear headlight cover, disconnect HID electrical connector (turn clockwise), remove bulb retainer (turn counter-clockwise), remove bulb.

[Aronis]

Just looked at Bentley.

PITA.

Disconnect battery? Either the light is off or it is not! There should be no power at the headlight with the ignition off.

Does that back cover just snap off? The manual is not clear.

I was planning on touching all the surfaces of the bulb with my bare fingers, good thing I read that part LOL...

Mike

[Elevens]

Check these out. For Genuine Phillips Bulbs, the price is not bad. Stock color is 4300k. I run 6000k for that brilliant white look, with not too much light output loss. Installation is a bitch though, very tight. Be prepared to get your knuckles scratched.


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Genuine-PHILIPS-D2S-XENON-BULBS-85122-MBZ-AUDI-BMW-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem20b794db27QQitemZ14051 8939431QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccesso ries

[JSRS6]

Just looked at Bentley.

PITA.

Disconnect battery? Either the light is off or it is not! There should be no power at the headlight with the ignition off.

Does that back cover just snap off? The manual is not clear.

I was planning on touching all the surfaces of the bulb with my bare fingers, good thing I read that part LOL...

Mike

Yes, the back cover has two clips that hold it on.

[Aronis]

Ok. Two new light bulbs ordered.

$355 for the pair.

Hi beams are $10 each.

Ouch!

I'm doing the valve cover gaskets this weekend.

So I'll have the air cleaner/MAF assembly out. Access to light bulb should be easier!

Lol.

Mike

$355 yikes. Hope they arrive by Friday

[JSRS6]

Yikes indeed!

[marklar182]

That is pricey! Where did you order them from? Stealership?

[JSRS6]

No kidding! Next time you feel like paying that much, let me know Mike :hihi: I can get both of us a set for that!

[Aronis]

Yes the dealership. I looked around but was concerned about finding the correct part.

Mike

(at least I walked away from a lease on an A8L, LOL $1500 per month for 39 months)

[Elevens]

Ok. Two new light bulbs ordered.

$355 for the pair.

Hi beams are $10 each.

Ouch!

I'm doing the valve cover gaskets this weekend.

So I'll have the air cleaner/MAF assembly out. Access to light bulb should be easier!

Lol.

Mike

$355 yikes. Hope they arrive by Friday

Are You Out Of Your Mind !!! Did you check the link I posted above. $50.00 to your door, for the exact same bulbs. Assuming the Dealer is getting you original Phillips bulbs...............................

[Aronis]

original bulbs
12 month warrantee

[Aronis]

Both Front bulbs changed.


The driver's side one died yesterday. LOL. The car did pass NY state inspection on Monday.

So, fun to do!

The Rear cover of the head light cannot be removed to access things easily (unless you put the car in 'service position' or remove the engine).

The bulb is keyed so it only goes in one way. There are two taps on the top to line up.

The retaining ring is marked "Top" on the top. There is a detent on the bottom of it which lines up with another tab to help line things up.

My hands are big, so it was tight. On the drivers side I put a couple fingers of my left hand on the ring and pushed on the ring with a clamp to move it, then it came off. The key is not to put any torque on the light bulb base since it moves for the auto leveling system.

On the passenger side I could fingers on the ring and remove it more easily.

The rear covers are held on by two spring clips which swing to the sides. There is not much clearance on the passenger side so I removed the two spring clips (actually the inner one removed itself and showed me the way). With the spring clips off there was enough room to move the cover enough to get the connector off the bulb base.

There is no reason to disconnect the battery on the car. If the lights are OFF, there is not voltage present, otherwise they would be on!

I guess when the Audi mechanics who wrote the Bentley manual were changing a bulb some 5 year old turned the switch on and they got zapped. I don't know.

Anyway, two nice new EOM bright HID lights. Now I can go back to the early RS6 days when everyone would flash me because they thought my high beams were on! LOL.

Mike

[marklar182]

There is no reason to disconnect the battery on the car. If the lights are OFF, there is not voltage present, otherwise they would be on!

I guess when the Audi mechanics who wrote the Bentley manual were changing a bulb some 5 year old turned the switch on and they got zapped. I don't know.

Its called CYA. There is always an idiot out there.........

[Brav]

My bulbs seem dimmer than most modern Halogens.. I assume since we are technically burning a gas, that Xenon gas wears off over time like a dying star? Should I replace them expecting them to be brighter? Or do we just have really crappy projectors in this car.

[JSRS6]

Both Front bulbs changed.


The driver's side one died yesterday. LOL. The car did pass NY state inspection on Monday.

So, fun to do!

The Rear cover of the head light cannot be removed to access things easily (unless you put the car in 'service position' or remove the engine).

The bulb is keyed so it only goes in one way. There are two taps on the top to line up.

The retaining ring is marked "Top" on the top. There is a detent on the bottom of it which lines up with another tab to help line things up.

My hands are big, so it was tight. On the drivers side I put a couple fingers of my left hand on the ring and pushed on the ring with a clamp to move it, then it came off. The key is not to put any torque on the light bulb base since it moves for the auto leveling system.

On the passenger side I could fingers on the ring and remove it more easily.

The rear covers are held on by two spring clips which swing to the sides. There is not much clearance on the passenger side so I removed the two spring clips (actually the inner one removed itself and showed me the way). With the spring clips off there was enough room to move the cover enough to get the connector off the bulb base.

There is no reason to disconnect the battery on the car. If the lights are OFF, there is not voltage present, otherwise they would be on!

I guess when the Audi mechanics who wrote the Bentley manual were changing a bulb some 5 year old turned the switch on and they got zapped. I don't know.

Anyway, two nice new EOM bright HID lights. Now I can go back to the early RS6 days when everyone would flash me because they thought my high beams were on! LOL.

Mike

Those clips are fun, eh Mike?

[ben916]

My bulbs seem dimmer than most modern Halogens.. I assume since we are technically burning a gas, that Xenon gas wears off over time like a dying star? Should I replace them expecting them to be brighter? Or do we just have really crappy projectors in this car.

I noticed the same thing, they should be considerably brighter....