Mysticality's Light Thread!!

[99Reza]

The one on the Superb does look like it has an spare halogen for flashing duties. The Octavia one looks different, perhaps non-RS system? as the Bi-Xenon on my RS didn't have an extra Halogen bulb.

The pre-facelifted Tiguan does have an extra Halogen but not for flashing, it's for casting light into the corner, perhaps they have changed the system around with the new facelift (doesn't seems to have corner light now).

[Mysticality]

I seem to remember reading somewhere that cars with bi-xenon lights (ie HID in hi and lo beam) had an extra halogen bulb fitted for the flash function. I have no idea if that's true or not, but seems plausible as it eliminates the time needed for the HID bulb to start.

A mate of mine had a 2012 SP25 with bi-xenon, the bulb ignited and the shutter moved when he flashed. Looked funny, two tiny winking white lights.

^^^^ What GTR27 says.

My query was in relation to those that have replaced the halogen high beam with a HID - how do they flash with effect.

You'd want to flash and hold for a second to give the bulb some time to run before cutting the power.

There are HID kit out there specifically for Halogen H3 bulb (low and high beam in one bulb). This particular HID kit will have a motor operated shield (similar to Bi-xenon) in front of the bulb. When hi-beam is needed, it works very similar to OEM Bi-Xenon.

My friend has one on his Camry, works ok and comes with an extra wiring for the motor.

H3? I think you mean H4.
H4 bi-xenon kits are terrible. Worst thing in the world. Should be banned.

The pre-facelifted Tiguan does have an extra Halogen but not for flashing, it's for casting light into the corner, perhaps they have changed the system around with the new facelift (doesn't seems to have corner light now).

The newer BMers I've seen (you know what bmers look like - twin angel eyes) have the outside lens for Bi-Xenon, the inside lens for cornering halogen. May also use as flasher? I don't know.

[Andres]

After reading about the issues with the BCM, I've decided to keep it simple. Ordered some of the Osram Nightbreaker Unlimited globes, to see how much of an improvement they will make first off. Pretty cheap experiment and will fit my motorbike anyway.

Then will likely add some supplementary lights behind the grille. Just tossing up whether a LED light bar is a good choice - as I've read they're a rather spread beam, and if mounted low behind the grille, may just end up lighting up the road directly in front of the car? Can't bring myself to shelling out $1000 for a name-brand kit, so will look around for other options. Ironically, may just end up with small circular halogens in the end.

[wfdTamar]

Seeing where Mysticality had his smaller led light bar mounted I thought I'd put mine in there rather than over the number plate as I originally was going to. Using one of these:

Cosmoblaze 100W Single Row Series CREE LED Light Bar for Safer Night Driving

BTW - the wiring kit that comes with it is wired up for use off road and independently switched (that is - nothing to do with the headlights). It's not for use with the high beam. I had to rejig it to have the light bar turn off when high beam is dimmed.

Blimey that front cross member is tough stuff. Pretty much demolished a good drill bit set getting through it.

It's a 20" wide 10 x 5 watts Cree's.


Light's off


Low beam (I have Philips Xtreme's)


High beam. Note that the low beam projector light is shuttered, so on High beam it opens up and those lights are high beam as well as the actual High beam lights.


High beam with lightbar


I put the switch down to the left of the seat (the thing next to it is a controller for my stereo).

[NOO63N]

I thought about doing the exact same thing, was worried about blocking the intercooler..might go ahead and do it anyways lol

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[wfdTamar]

Tried it a bit last night. Well, I'm a little underwhelmed with the results. I've had euro beam halogen driving lights (shown earlier in this thread) before on other cars and this is nothing like those. It's a bit wimpy. Maybe because it's behind the grill, or low down, or just not very bright, or able to throw the beam very far. Or possibly there wasn't anything close enough for the light to reflect off. Maybe I should set up some cardboard wallabies on the side of the road.

The light bar I got has a combo beam - flood on each side and spot in the middle. I've only tried it a bit and it's possible the middle bar in the grille is blocking some light. but it doesn't seem to do a real lot. I'll know more this weekend as I'll be driving in the dark tonight.

Not really worried about blocking any airflow at the moment - we had -2 last night (it's still 0) and the other day it only got to a max of 7! (That is a bit unusual). My thinking is any air blocked by the bar is going to go around it and still hit the radiator anyway (there is a limit to that theory though). Never had my car temperature waver from dead on 90 degrees.

If I can't get an improvement I might try it over the number plate and/or some normal driving lights.

[brad]

See the gaps around the condensor? Get some foam & block them off so all the air is forced through the triple-pack.

This guy seems happy with his Rigid Industries Light bar - do you think there's any difference in quality / output. Rigid Industry units appear to be twice the price but we all know price !=quality.

[wfdTamar]

The bar I got isn't an el cheapo like the thousands on eBay. It's about as good as a chinese made one is going to get. I found a site that reviewed about half a dozen of the better brands and this was on it because it's one of the few that is IP69K - most are IP68, which I took to be an indication of the quality. All the specs are similar to the equivalent to the closest Rigid one. About to head off to Coles Bay so I'll see what it's like properly.

[brad]

If it's a good unit then it's probably height. I won't even question the wiring setup - you probably have more knowledge than most on that subject.

[wfdTamar]

Yes, the height or being behind the grill. It doesn't look like it obstructs it at all, but it might.

Friday night through windy wallaby country it doesn't have any spot effect at all to speak of, but really just amplifies the pattern of the standard lights on high beam. Not useless, but I'd like a bit more spot effect like that Rigid one with a narrower beam pattern probably would have.

Just got a set of these for $225 shipped (using code JULY4TH). Expensive but supposed to be Canbus friendly. It actually mentions Golf V so should be no problem.

50Watt H7 Canbus HID set

H7: Morimoto Elite HID System - HID Systems from The Retrofit Source Inc

[NOO63N]

Yes, the height or being behind the grill. It doesn't look like it obstructs it at all, but it might.

Friday night through windy wallaby country it doesn't have any spot effect at all to speak of, but really just amplifies the pattern of the standard lights on high beam. Not useless, but I'd like a bit more spot effect like that Rigid one with a narrower beam pattern probably would have.

Just got a set of these for $225 shipped (using code JULY4TH). Expensive but supposed to be Canbus friendly. It actually mentions Golf V so should be no problem.

50Watt H7 Canbus HID set

H7: Morimoto Elite HID System - HID Systems from The Retrofit Source Inc

You might still experience a flicker when high beams are on :-

Vagcom shutters off and look at turning up headlight voltage to 13v

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[wfdTamar]

You might still experience a flicker when high beams are on :-

Vagcom shutters off and look at turning up headlight voltage to 13v

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They come with an anti-flicker capacitor (in fact I think by mistake I ordered two kinds of them). Not sure if that's to deal with that issue but for that kind of money I'd be wanting them to work perfectly.

I think these do the same thing, just slightly differently:

Low Beam: 9006/HB4 - Relay Harnesses from The Retrofit Source Inc

Can-Bus: Morimoto Standalone - Wire Harnesses - Components

P.S. After talking to them turns out I ordered the anti flicker capacitor, but shouldn't have. It's handled by the Canbus harness they supply.

Pics when it gets here.

[NOO63N]

Had something similar, was more so caused by the drop in current when high beams where on...you never know though. Morimoto is very quality so I would expect the same!!

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[wfdTamar]

Ok, here's an install of the Morimoto HID set from theretrofitsource.com currently US$150 plus shipping (US Post US$27.69 with option for insurance). That's currently A$242 total. So it is quite a lot more expensive than your average eBay HID kit. So here's hoping it's good and lasts ok.


LEGAL NOTE: - of course, it is illegal to retrofit HID in a vehicle used on Australian roads if you don't also put in headlight washers (squirters) and levelling apparatus (prohibitively expensive options). Needless to say, this is an academic exercise, and not actually used on the road.


H7: Morimoto Elite HID System - HID Systems from The Retrofit Source Inc



You can choose 35 or 50 watt ballasts for the same price. The 50 watt gives 20% more light, but doesn't last as long ('rated' at 3 years vs. 5 years - whatever 'rated' means. I'm not sure if that's a warranty, or expected lifetime).



Interestingly these Morimoto kits have separate igniters (below), whereas any other kit I've seen it's part of the ballast. It doesn't make the ballasts particularly small either, so hopefully that means longevity and quality.



Good video going over the parts here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd8jJwahsZc

Pick from 4500K, 5500K or 6500K bulb options. Lower number is not so brilliant white coloured, but is brightest. Higher number is whiter, but not as much light (not a huge difference though). I got 4500K and found them to be like original equipment Xenon (HID) factory equipped cars.

For a Skoda (or any VW family car) you want the Canbus harness option (not HD Relay) and they reckon you don't need the US$15 anti-flicker capacitor link (in fact, shouldn't use it with the CanBus harness). The CanBUS harness has a length with connector (shown on the right) you won't use with our cars.



The parking globes look very yellow once this kit is in, so you might want to consider LED bulbs for them (which might need load resistors to work on our cars). Something like these (below) although I'd prefer some straight out aimed ones, rather than side shooters like those. The Octavia uses W5W parking bulbs.

T10 XB LED Headlight marker turn signal interior COB bulbs blinkers T10 194

Morimoto HD Load Resistors - Wire Harnesses - Components

[wfdTamar]

Here's all the components dry assembled.





To the car -

Before you start and take the headlights out of the car, make sure to adjust them with the dashboard knob so the light is shining fully down.

Take out the headlights - a doddle on the Skoda.


A gentle nudge from the rear of the light.


Swing the light out - it's still attached by the cable at the outer corner.