B6 (R36) Projector Issues

[Jakeys]

Hey all,

So tonight I replaced my parkers with LED, and in doing so noticed two issues. One is relatively easy in that the factory bixenon HID globes are not as white as the LED parkers, a quick Google tells me they are probably 4300K, in which case I'd probably be looking at 5000K or 6000K replacements. Has anyone done this/can confirm what worked best for them?

The harder issue is that the projector lens itself seems to be foggy or discoloured. Enough to not only bother me but also probably to mess with the output as well. Is there a known fix for this? I assume replacing the lens is out of the question. Picture below showing the bad lens and the mismatched colours, although it's a lot closer in real life than the picture makes out, certainly 50x better than the rubbish incandescent parkers.

[levendi001]

Hi jakey, replaced my cornering light and Parkers with the Philips crystal vision which is 4300k not exact colour but pretty close and best bang for buck

[kamold]

If you are after some very white cheap D1S bulbs (not sure what yours are) then check these ones out:

http://www.vwwatercooled.com/forums/f149/skoda-modifications-32496-post1082302.html#post1082302

I'm really happy with them and they won't break the bank.

[Passat R36]

make sure you are happy to remove the front bumper bar in order to change the Xenon globes

[snerlo]

Are you serious Passat R36? You really have to remove the front bar to replace the xenon bulb!! Well that is just stupid! I actually have the same issue as Jakey with regards to the foggy lens but the thing that i am most dissappointed about is the light output. I dont think it is as bright as other xenon equipped cars like hondas, audi's, mercs, etc etc. i was wondering if you can put higher wattage globes as opposed to the 35W versions in the car now

[Eaglehawk]

You really have to remove the front bar to replace the xenon bulb!! Well that is just stupid!

I guess you'd be even more upset if you owned a Smart car. Same thing to change the normal headlight globe.

[Timlin]

Snerio

I went down this path awhile back and the bad news is that to upgrade the HID globes from 35w to a 50w output will require completely changing both ballasts to a 50w version and then upgrading the cabling to the actual lamp head...and then you'll have to try to convince the CANBUS system that all is well.

And yes, that will require most of the front of the car to be removed.

Not worth the hassle or the expense.

Regarding the foggy lenses, that will definitely have an effect on total light output and size/shape of the light beam. If it were me, and it was really annoying me, I'd just replace both lamp assemblies with new ones. Try JKU in QLD, they sell OEM parts quite a bit cheaper than dealing with VW.

The other option is to install some driving lights...

Good luck!


AT

[kamold]

make sure you are happy to remove the front bumper bar in order to change the Xenon globes

That's a terrible design!

In the Octy the whole headlamp assembly just slides out after undoing a single thumb screw and unclipping the wiring harness.
Ballasts and all globes are contained within and easily swapped.

[Passat R36]

Are you serious Passat R36? You really have to remove the front bar to replace the xenon bulb!! Well that is just stupid! I actually have the same issue as Jakey with regards to the foggy lens but the thing that i am most dissappointed about is the light output. I dont think it is as bright as other xenon equipped cars like hondas, audi's, mercs, etc etc. i was wondering if you can put higher wattage globes as opposed to the 35W versions in the car now

thats VW official repair manual says

[Guest001]

An interesting couple of articles on light output for HID lights

HID color chart | Xenon colour chart

and this one

HID-Lightsdownunder - HID & LED. A better understanding

[Passat R36]

5000k will be perfect, 4300k isn't too bad.

[snerlo]

Snerio

I went down this path awhile back and the bad news is that to upgrade the HID globes from 35w to a 50w output will require completely changing both ballasts to a 50w version and then upgrading the cabling to the actual lamp head...and then you'll have to try to convince the CANBUS system that all is well.

And yes, that will require most of the front of the car to be removed.

Not worth the hassle or the expense.

Regarding the foggy lenses, that will definitely have an effect on total light output and size/shape of the light beam. If it were me, and it was really annoying me, I'd just replace both lamp assemblies with new ones. Try JKU in QLD, they sell OEM parts quite a bit cheaper than dealing with VW.

The other option is to install some driving lights...

Good luck!


AT

Yeah, sweet Timlin. Thanks for the headsup. Not worth the effort i agree. I'll just stick with what ive got. Not keen on spending lots of money on them if that's what is involved

[pologti18t]

YOu should be able to replace the lenses

The Retrofit Source | Innovative Headlight Upgrades

[Jakeys]

YOu should be able to replace the lenses

The Retrofit Source | Innovative Headlight Upgrades

The problem is opening up the headlight assembly to do it!

[Felixrising]

Jesus! You really have to take off the whole front?! Thats nuts.. thanks VW for the not to klever thinking!

So, I'm having new front and rear bumpers put on my new (second hand) R36 (both bumbers had a small amount of damage - a small tear front and back).. should I be getting some maintenance done on the headlights whilst the front bumper is off??? I didn't notice whether the lights were murkey or discoloured - only test drove it the once at night and it seemed okay to me at the time...

Cheers