Xenon advise please

[Ash B]

Hi hope you all had a good weekend

Bought a pair of second hand Xenon head lights
Can i just take out my old lights and but these in?
Or is there other parts i need? Andifso what are they?

Thanks
Ashley

 

[NHN]

need to get a loom from kufatec to switch from halogen to bixenon & if they are the adaptive type you need an extra loom for this to enable the left/right motors, email info@kufatec.de & explain what you have & wanna do.

Also xenons incorporate auto levelling aswell which its unlikely you have on halogens, so this is also a consideration which they do a kit for & the headlight washer system which your new front bumper should have the washer holes in when you buy it

 

[Khufu]

if you dont mind me asking how much did you pay for the lights?

 

[Ash B]

Got a good deal as they came with few other items
S3 back bumper with lip S3 front bumper and these
But the tw*at sent me audi a3 s-line front bumper. So the s-line bumper going back. Bought the headlights of the same guy for £200 plus £20 for postage
How come you ask?

 

[jonnyc]

I think if you get yourself an OEM loom to have the Xenons power up and operate properly then you should have no problems..

Personally I wouldn't bother with the headlight washers or auto leveling, so long as you set them up (manually on the headlight adjusters) to a sensible non dazzling level then I cant see you getting in any trouble for it

Good deal on the price by the way, lets hope they work!

 

[NHN]

problem is the levellers affect the manual adjustment aswell so its not that simple, ask Matt about his, I advised him that the motors on 8L had 2 jobs, 1st to levelling auto & 2nd held the whole lense in place cause without them functioning properly you couldnt get the beams to MOT specs & they moved about rattled when not connected to the end of the motors which can happen if you do the manual adjusters to much which makes the lenses come of the ends of the fixings & makes the motors ball joint ends also come out of place, I advised its probably the same for 8P's, thats Matts issue at moment, Ash will have same issues from my experience & fact is legal requirement anyway, its not as simple as you put it Jonny

 

[jonnyc]

Ah ok.. Only going off my experience with changing my Cooper S Halogens to Xenons.. Lots of people said I needed to go the whole hog, looms, leveling etc etc etc.. In the end I just gave it a go and plugged them in.. They worked perfectly without any modifications for a year or so until I sold the car

All will be different as you say though mate, good luck with it benskin!

 

[Khufu]

Got a good deal as they came with few other items
S3 back bumper with lip S3 front bumper and these
But the tw*at sent me audi a3 s-line front bumper. So the s-line bumper going back. Bought the headlights of the same guy for £200 plus £20 for postage
How come you ask?

That is a good price, they seem to be about 600 Euros on ebay.de

Hope you manage to get the right bumper.

 

[Khufu]

On my old 8L A3 the motors were the same as the ones I already had so i just plugged them in to my manual adjuster loom. Havent looked at the back of my current A3s lights!

As regards to the legal issue, I never got questioned or pulled and I ran them for 4 years. That said, they ARE going to introduce a check into the MOT test I just dont know when.

 

[NHN]

Yeah but german ones come with all the bulbs, igniters & control modules, there's a reason why his are cheaper trust me

 

[Khufu]

Ah, thats not so handy. I saw a set on ebay but they were just the lights & none of the 'guts'.

 

[NHN]

On my old 8L A3 the motors were the same as the ones I already had so i just plugged them in to my manual adjuster loom. Havent looked at the back of my current A3s lights!

As regards to the legal issue, I never got questioned or pulled and I ran them for 4 years. That said, they ARE going to introduce a check into the MOT test I just dont know when.

But my point is you cant even get the lights to MOT beam directions properly without motors being powered, so basically MOT failure & car illegally on road, now if you had on your old 8L the dial by headlight switch which was semi auto in other words you moved dial to 1, 2, 3 whatever for headlight level adjustment then yes this could have worked but you would still have to vagcom them to the middle setting then manually adjust to MOT specs then use the dial to lower etc if that makes sense, where as the auto ones dont have a dial at all as based on the sensors on front/rear axle.

Matt had the semi auto ones with dial but dont work so some wiring needed or just replace with the kufa oem kit for auto.

 

[NHN]

Ah, thats not so handy. I saw a set on ebay but they were just the lights & none of the 'guts'.

Yeah what he has & broken fixing lug unfortunately from his reports & photos.

 

[Khufu]

But my point is you cant even get the lights to MOT beam directions properly without motors being powered, so basically MOT failure & car illegally on road, now if you had on your old 8L the dial by headlight switch which was semi auto in other words you moved dial to 1, 2, 3 whatever for headlight level adjustment then yes this could have worked but you would still have to vagcom them to the middle setting then manually adjust to MOT specs then use the dial to lower etc if that makes sense, where as the auto ones dont have a dial at all as based on the sensors on front/rear axle.

Matt had the semi auto ones with dial but dont work so some wiring needed or just replace with the kufa oem kit for auto.

I know what you mean. Yes I was lucky, I had the switch for adjusting the level. I fitted them and took car to our MOT bay and adjusted them left/right and set the switch to zero and then lined them for the up/down to the right place on the beam tester using the adjustment allens. This of course is impossible if you have (funnily enough) the correct auto headlight switch!

 

[NHN]

I know what you mean. Yes I was lucky, I had the switch for adjusting the level. I fitted them and took car to our MOT bay and adjusted them left/right and set the switch to zero and then lined them for the up/down to the right place on the beam tester using the adjustment allens. This of course is impossible if you have (funnily enough) the correct auto headlight switch!

lol, yeah tried that ages ago, everytime you adjusted the ****** motors would move them, lol, then I woke upto vagcom & realised you could set to service positions then set beams, dohhhhh, was a while ago though so not completely dumb, ok well some days can be lol

 

[mattandrew]

First work out if you have adaptive xenons, what part numbers are the lights

I fitted a pair of OEM Bi-Xenons
I used this loom

http://www.kufatec.de/shop/product_....html/XTCsid/3ff8579fab64b324299d2c848a4e7522

After the install I ended up with the following operation, think its because I had halogens before and how the wiring loom works but my lights work as follows:
Side lights - small side light on
Dip beam - xenon lower shutter
Main beam - xenon lower & higher shutter and DRL
Main beam flash (no other lights on), only the DRL light.
http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/showthread.php?t=59877&highlight=xenons


As NHM NNH NHN even as said the next issue is washers and leveling. Your new bumper will have the holes for the washers but you will need to buy the pump and piping etc, I dont want to start a debate about the washers but I havent fitted any and not sure if I plan to even though I have the washer jet plates in my bumper. If i get any issues with washers at MOT time I will have to reconsider.
Regarding the autoleveling - I have not fitted the auto leveling kit. i have adjusted the beam left and right to MOT spec with the adjusters on the lights BUT I cant get the height adjustement up any more, it did move an inch or so but not enough. I put the A3 on the beam setter at work and still think there about 3 inches to low.

I need to work out if I can put power (if so what power to which pins etc, I think theres three wires to the adjuster) to adjusters to move them up then I will have more adjustment with the manual adjusters. The kufatec loom doesent link the old adjuster wires in the old plug to the adjuster pins in the xenon plug. As I still have the adjuster in the car I may be able to link the two.

Question for benskin07
Can you confirm if you have adaptive lights or not, if you don't can you tell me how many wires go to each adjuster in the light and take some pictures and I can then compare to my old halogens (I cant easily get to mine without removing the bumper again)

If all else fails I may have to take the lights out again and try and wind the motors up

 

[NHN]

Ashleys are not adaptive & not fitted, came without modules & bulbs & one has broken fixing bracket, also from my images I have of them the motors seem to be missing & possibly the module fitting locations look slightly damaged, tbc

 

[Khufu]

Matt, do you have access to ElsaWin for the wiring diagrams?

 

[Ash B]

Guy who sold me them is a DUMB TW*T (thats putting it nice)
Never once did he say any thing about what nigel pointed out was missing or damaged. I didnt pay too much for them and already have some one interested in buying them explained what missings and whats broken and offered me £350 for them which i think i will take.

And matt as you can see NHN answered your question ha sent him quie a few photos by email regarding the headlights. I think i'll just forget about them and but the money towards the new car next year. The deal was too good to be try lol

 

[drew138]

Single beam xenons are plug and play with halogens.

Bi-Xenon require the harness from kufatec as noted above. There are also some wires from the harness that you need to run into the ECM to get high beams to work; and VAG programing to avoid flickering. At least on the US Spec cars.

Anyone have detailed pics on installing the wires into the ECU? I'm installing a set this weekend and this is the only step I'm a bit confused on....

 

[mattandrew]

Single beam xenons are plug and play with halogens.

Bi-Xenon require the harness from kufatec as noted above. There are also some wires from the harness that you need to run into the ECM to get high beams to work; and VAG programing to avoid flickering. At least on the US Spec cars.

Anyone have detailed pics on installing the wires into the ECU? I'm installing a set this weekend and this is the only step I'm a bit confused on....

First welcome to the forum mate

Be interested to see how you get on with the install, take it ur using the kufatec loom

Running the wires is simple enough, one set of wires (to run to the central electronics) runs from one headlight to the other, I ran it under the rubber seal around the front and its not fell out yet. I then ran the loom of wires up the side of the wing. I removed the plastic trim under the windscreen and this gave access to the plenum chamber as its called. I then removed the wiper motor and this allows the cover to be removed that allows access to the inside of the car. I then routed the wire though the rubber grommet and into the foot well.
Inside the car you need to remove the cover under the steering wheel allowing access to the central electronics. The wires then need to routed through the rest of the loom to the correct plugs.

There are 4 wires in total, the slots where two of the wires go already had wires in them, I to removed these (they are something to do with the original wires to the headlights.) I then coding with vagcom to say I have installed xenons with shutters etc.

After the install I ended up with the following operation, think its because I had halogens before and how the wiring loom works but my lights work as follows:
Side lights - small side light on
Dip beam - xenon lower shutter
Main beam - xenon lower & higher shutter and DRL
Main beam flash (no other lights on), only the DRL light.


It will be interesting to see if you get the same combinations.

I am currently waiting for a reply from kufatec but they are very very slow at replying.

My central electronics is
Part No SW: 8P0 907 279 D HW: 8P0 907 279 D*
Component: Bordnetz-SG 1.0 H27 0601
Revision: 00027000 Serial number: 00000000327746
Coding: A788DF00A2141000000000000000000000
Shop #: WSC 00000 000 00000
This indicates mine is a 17 byte version
I notice that there is a 21 byte version central electronic units, may be I need to change this in order to use the main beam xenon flash and drls correctly??
May be I need 21/23 bytes to have the drl's working properly, also can I get the more bytes with a software upgrade or do I have to change the board for a xenon one which is C now a K version??
Above are some of my questions to Kufatec

Questions for Drew
Are you installing the autoleveling
Have you got the guide showing where the pins go in English, if not PM your email and ill let you have it