Xenon headlights fading

[wizbongre]

My 08 plate A8 appears to be suffering from fading headlights - they are absolutely useless at night!

What is the fix for this? Can xenons be replaced somehow?

[snapdragon]

I replaced one side on my 2006 with Philips 85122+ (which had the highest Lumen rating I could find) and have the other to do when my hands have healed.

It is instantly-noticably brighter than the other side, but not earth shattering.
The light is also yellower than the old ones. The old one looks more attractive though.

[guv.c]

quick hint, take off the respective wheel arch lining, it makes the job significantly easier, but you still need tiny hands! New xenons are a little yellow when new, they turn more blue with time, thats why most people replace both. osram 66040 is the original one that was in my car. One of my bulbs blew, and I replaced it with the identical one.. 3 months later, the lights are exactly the same again. I managed to get the bulb from gfs.

[snapdragon]

http://www.hids4u.co.uk/Philips-D2S-...plus-bulb.html
The ones I bought are "no colour change", but that's not why I bought them, I was after the lumens.
If I had my time again, I would not choose them as they are too yellow, almost like a premium halogen.
My original Audi ones were Osram Xenarc, probably the same.

[HIDorigin]

Max Lumin output is found at 4300k. Lots of great brands out there.. Osram and philips are usually OEM. Colour is slightly different. I feel Philips do it best and the Philips 85122+ was designed not to fade but for some reason they are not produced anymore by Philips. The majority of 85122+ online now are very well made Chinese fakes that do not offer the anti fade or the longevity of genuine philips products. The OEM of choice these days is Philips 85122 (no plus). If replaced in pairs they will share uniform colour but also since they have similar life span if one goes the other is bound to go soon too.. plus its nice to have a spare. There are a number of reputable vendors that sell these online, like the link above but for some reason lots are is out of stock recently!! I know they are in stock here: http://www.hidorigin.com/philips-4300k-d2s.html

[flobble]

Another replacement hint.

To get the old bulb out, pull out the cable that goes into the ballast, then twist off the ballast. Then undo the spring clip and the bulb comes out. Easy.

But to get it back on you need to do it in a slightly different order. First fit the bulb and do up the spring clip. Then put the cable part way into its socket, line up the ballast and twist it into place. Then push the cable home fully. There's an interlock between the cable and a locking ring that holds the ballast in place. If you fully insert the cable first, you can't get the ballast onto the back of the reflector.

Took me an hour to figure this out!

[headlightregen]

If your light become weak you might consider changing the reflecting unit behind the lense they are exposed to high temperatures and they simply burn out,
We do supply those.
If you exchange it light outcome is significant.

[wizbongre]

Thought I'd update this thread with current situation...

The car has been into Audi twice since my first post for service and warranty work and whilst in, I asked them about replacing the main xenon headlight bulbs. Liverpool Audi wanted something ridiculous like £140 + vat + fitting PER BULB. Yesterday, it went in for another service and investigation into the error "Adaptive Light Defective" which had stopped the cornering lights working. Turned out this was just one of the bulbs but I asked the dealer to quote for the main xenons again (this time Taunton Audi) and they wanted £110 + vat + fitting per bulb.


Given the bulbs themselves seem to be much less than this to buy, it looks like I'm going to have to give in and fit them myself! Just need to make sure I buy the right bulbs (and Mrs wizbongre is around to help out with her small hands!)

[wizbongre]

Another update...

I did the driver side bulb yesterday afternoon - what a 'mare of a job! I removed the air intake box to gain access, which combined with loosening the headlight unit itself gave me enough room to get the old bulb out and the new bulb in. However, I completely forgot about flobble's advice and lost 2 hours trying to figure out why I couldn't get the ballast back on with the cable connected. D'oh!

Not looking forward to doing the passenger side...

If anyone is interested, I bought these bulbs - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (OSRAM 66240SVS Silverstar Hid D2S)