Replacing xenon headlamp bulbs
01-15-2006, 01:51 PM
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Replacing xenon headlamp bulbs
I really like my Audi. It is an awesome dailly driver. After 5 1/2 years and 85,000 miles I like it as much as I did when I bought it, even though maintenance can be a bitch.
Some of you may remember the $.45 piece of plastic that took it off the road about a year ago. Well, this is pretty similar.
On to my story...
Its xenon headlights have faded badly since last summer. This is normal. xenon bulbs have a life of roughy 5 years before this happens. A friend offered me 2 D2S bulbs, free of cost, from his parts supply. He used to handle all the electronics for Lola prototype race cars and he had a supply that Hella had gave him.
Anyway, I openned the hood on the Audi and the driver's side was pretty easy to get to. I openned the cover and disconnected the bulb. There was a wire clip that held the bulb in place which I easily removed. I pulled the new bulb out and installed it as the other one had been. It took about 15 minutes to get everything put back together. I flipped on the lights and everything worked, but the new bulb was pointing at the street about 6 feet in front of the bumper. Not good. I pulled it apart and reinstalled the bulb, rotating it 180 degrees on the advice of another Audi owner. Same result. WTF?
I pulled the new bulb out again and noticed the base a little different than the original one. Hmm. The free bulb didn't fit. So, I went to the Audi dealership and purchased 2 new bulbs. I won't point out how much they cost, but they were not cheap. Anywho, I put in one of the OEM bulbs and the result was the same. Damn.
So, this afternoon, before I watched the Colts choke a bit, I pulled the whole headlight assembly out to see what was wrong. There is a very small notch in the bulb socket and on the base of the bulb, which must line up. I lined it up and reinstalled everything and, wow, it works. Guess I missed that.
So, moral of the story, how many Evils does it take to change a light bulb? None. Have anyone else do it, cause for me, it takes 2 weeks, costs hundreds of dollars when it should be free and I WILL TRY TO ROTATE THE DAMN CAR AROUND THE BULB.
Some of you may remember the $.45 piece of plastic that took it off the road about a year ago. Well, this is pretty similar.
On to my story...
Its xenon headlights have faded badly since last summer. This is normal. xenon bulbs have a life of roughy 5 years before this happens. A friend offered me 2 D2S bulbs, free of cost, from his parts supply. He used to handle all the electronics for Lola prototype race cars and he had a supply that Hella had gave him.
Anyway, I openned the hood on the Audi and the driver's side was pretty easy to get to. I openned the cover and disconnected the bulb. There was a wire clip that held the bulb in place which I easily removed. I pulled the new bulb out and installed it as the other one had been. It took about 15 minutes to get everything put back together. I flipped on the lights and everything worked, but the new bulb was pointing at the street about 6 feet in front of the bumper. Not good. I pulled it apart and reinstalled the bulb, rotating it 180 degrees on the advice of another Audi owner. Same result. WTF?
I pulled the new bulb out again and noticed the base a little different than the original one. Hmm. The free bulb didn't fit. So, I went to the Audi dealership and purchased 2 new bulbs. I won't point out how much they cost, but they were not cheap. Anywho, I put in one of the OEM bulbs and the result was the same. Damn.
So, this afternoon, before I watched the Colts choke a bit, I pulled the whole headlight assembly out to see what was wrong. There is a very small notch in the bulb socket and on the base of the bulb, which must line up. I lined it up and reinstalled everything and, wow, it works. Guess I missed that.
So, moral of the story, how many Evils does it take to change a light bulb? None. Have anyone else do it, cause for me, it takes 2 weeks, costs hundreds of dollars when it should be free and I WILL TRY TO ROTATE THE DAMN CAR AROUND THE BULB.
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01-17-2006, 07:55 AM
#9
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Originally Posted by Ubetit,Jan 16 2006, 10:54 AM
There's a common theme among all these stories. anyone else get it yet?
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