Headlight bulb replacement - how to get access to the bulb

[jeffdbrown]

Archival Note added by Michael October 2012:

In addition to the information presented in this discussion, there is is an illustrated guide explaining how to get access to the headlight bulbs in a W12 Phaeton at this post: Headlight bulb replacement - improved instructions. The pictures on the first page of that post (from 357Sig) are missing at present, but there is an excellent set of pictures by Auzivision on the second page of that thread.

You may need to re-align the headlights after replacing the bulb. If you need to do that, there is an excellent set of illustrated how-to instructions by Willem Bal at this post: Headlight Range Adjustment Instructions.

Michael

[W126C]

Quote, originally posted by jeffdbrown »

AUDI service...they said it might be the controller...spent 5 hrs removing the front bumper cover...

Hey Chris,
And you thought we were slow? That was our first time too. Just think how much faster we might be now. Give or take a few screws.

Regards,
Brent

[car_guy]

Low or high beam?

[jeffdbrown]

low beam

[chrisj428]

Quote, originally posted by W126C »

Give or take a few screws.

And one butt connector.

[W126C]

Jeffery,
Sorry about the joke between Chris and I.
I/we have pulled the head light buckets out of the Phaeton. Changing the bulb, I'd think might have been somewhat easier. My question is, did the bulb flicker at all prior to completely going out? I have this going on now with my wife's T-reg. Been flickering for about two months now. $280.00 was the quote to replace it. I thought I'd wait until it is gone for good. I'm not sure how involved changing out the bulb in the T-reg will be. It is bi-xenon single bulb. Can't be worse than the Phaeton.
Just thinking, if there was no flickering before the burn out, then it could be something else. Unlikely though.
Regards,
Brent

[onthego]

At 29K my bulb went out, replaced under warranty. It did work intermittently and flicker before it's death.

[jeffdbrown]

Yes, the light did flicker before going out completely.

Finally got the headlight repaired/replaced today...had to take it to the Audi dealer who correctly diagnosed the problem in the first place after I spent a day in Memphis with a dealer that didn't have the right parts.

In addition, I have had to pay for the service...got the 30k done as well.

They replaced the control module: 3D0-909-158 $450.57 & bulb N-105-661-03 $149.84 labor $185

30k service $203.47...oil/filter changed

[chrisj428]

They do.

However, single-line Audi dealers are unable to submit for warranty reimbursement on a VW claim. Stupid, I know, but a fact of life nevertheless...

[vipa]

The left side D1S Hid Xenon headlight has been changed on my car (V8 2004) because of intermittent flickering. The bulb has been replaced after air filter box has been removed (30 min. job). The job has been covered by manufacturer warranty.
I guess that the same can be carried out on the right side headlight.

[Jim_CT]

Jeff - I believe on the 2005 V8, or at least for some of them, and perhaps the 2006 V8 as well, it is necessary to remove the front bumper to get to the headlight bulbs. This probably requires several hours (disassembling and reassembling) of shop time.

One of my headlights has flickered a few times (starting at ~37k miles), and I have decided to wait until it goes completely before pursuing it further.

Jim

[strakit]

Guys.. Let's see if i got this one straight.... To change a high or low beam bulb, you got to disassemble the entire front of the car?!?!?!?!
My high beams are in need of replacement, and i thought about doing it myself... but after reading this...

[JulianBenjamin]

That's correct. When they replaced my headlamp bulbs (low beams), they had to remove the front bumper. And it's for all Phaetons (mine's a 2004).

Not sure why manufacturers make it so difficult. My last 2 Chrysler Concordes (1999 and 2002) had the same issue with pulling off the bumper before accessing the headlamps.

[strakit]

wow... im really surprised with that...
I had some experience with my Grand Voyager to have to unscrew the headlight to change a bulb... But the hole bumper... thats a first...
Does anyone know how much time does it take for dealerships to perfom a bulb change? (after reading this i wonder how many hours...)

[PanEuropean]

Quote, originally posted by strakit »

Let's see if i got this one straight.... To change a high or low beam bulb, you got to disassemble the entire front of the car?

NO, NO, NO - You don't have to take the bumper off to change a bulb. You only have to remove the bumper if you want to change the entire headlamp assembly (the whole big thing).

If you want to change the bulb on a W12, you lift the hood, remove the top cover for the air filter on the affected side, remove the air filter element, then you shove your hand inside, remove the plastic cap from the back of the light, and then you change the bulb.

If you want to change the bulb on a V8, you remove the air duct that directs outside air from the top of the radiator area to the the air filter plenum, then you just stick your hand inside and change the bulb. As you can see in the photo below, even an ape could get his/her hand in there once the air duct (held in place with three screws) is removed.

The other thread I made reference to illustrated how to change the entire headlight assembly, not simply the bulb.

The pictures below show the air duct in place (on the left side of the car), and below that, the air duct removed (on the right side of the car).

Michael

[PanEuropean]

Notice how easy it is to get access to the entire rear portion of the headlight once you remove that air duct (three screws). This photo shows the opposite side of the car.

[PanEuropean]

And, while you have that air duct removed, get your vacuum cleaner out and clean the snow screens that are upstream of the paper air filter. You will be rewarded by a remarkable (5 to 10%) increase in zippiness and a decrease in fuel consumption.

Here is a link to a post that describes how to clean snow screens on a Phaeton with a W12 engine. The concepts are similar for the V8 engine but the process is a bit easier on the V8 because things are not packed in there so tightly.

If you live in an area that absolutely, positively does not get any snow, ever, you can remove the snow screen. But, if you remove it, please keep it with the car and take the time to put it back in when you get rid of the car, in case the car goes to a cold climate area. If you live in (for example) Southern California and you make one trip a year to Tahoe to go skiing, leave the snow screen in there! It only takes about 10 minutes of driving in light powder snow to get enough moisture onto the paper filter element to cause it to disintegrate, then start moving down the tube to the mass airflow sensor. The cost to fix up that little snafu will be a four-figure number.

Here's the link: Cleaning the Snow Screens in the Phaeton Air Intake

Michael

[strakit]

Thanks for this Michael.
It restored my "happiness" level with the Phaeton....
I'm presuming the process for the V8 and the V6 to be similar (mine is a V6...) so i think ill be a bit adventurous this time (but not with the rear view mirror... )

Pedro

[PanEuropean]

Hi Pedro:

Glad to hear the information was useful. Do take the time to have a look at the snow screens - you will probably be amazed at the amount of dirt in there. It is very easy to get access to the snow screen and to remove it for washing (soak it in the sink with some dish cleaning detergent for an hour - this makes cleaning easiest). Considering that you live in Estonia, don't forget to put them back in!

Michael

[itsallbeendonebefore]

Michael, thanx for posting the pics...my lowbeams have been flickering for quite a bit now and would like to purchase the lamp and install it myself. Where can i buy the lamp itself from? any suggestions on this will be greatly appreciated.

[PanEuropean]

You can purchase a replacement lamp from a VW dealer. They are not inexpensive - around $100 each. Be very careful to not get skin oils or grease on the bulb when you are handling it. The best way to avoid this is to have a clean latex glove handy - use that to handle the bulb.

If it is a 'powdered' latex glove, just wash it with water after you have put it on your hand, then dry it with a tissue. Water on the bulb is not a problem, provided you let the bulb dry out before you turn it on.

Michael

[Motorista]

Thank you, Michael: this is incredibly timely information for me, as my left low beam went off late last night after a long drive to New York (my car is a V8 2005 with 35383 miles). Here's what happened:
- After going through the Eazy-Pass toll booth about 15 miles from destination, I accelerated briskly (I was in sport mode) and the left low beam went out with accompanying "please check your lights" message in the center display. After about ten seconds it went back on. At this point I had been driving for about seven hours without problems.
- Five miles later, at the next toll booth, same problem: brisk acceleration coinciding with momentary loss of left low beam and warning message, then everything normal.
- At this point I got curious and deliberately recreated the same pattern of slowing down then accelerating briskly: every time the light went off then on again. The fourth time around, however, it went off and stayed off. The center display settled to the bulb icon lit in the top left part of the panel.
- Once at destination, I left the engine on and got out to check the lights: sure enough the left low beam (xenon) was off. The high beam worked fine.
- I turned off the engine, got my luggage to my apartment, then got out again to drive the car into the garage about a half hour later. At this point the light worked fine again.

So, I wonder:
1) Is this the same pattern of "flickering" that other forum memebrs have been experiencing? And, if so, does it mean the bulb is almost gone or is the controller at fault (or both?)
2) Has anyone else experienced the "quick acceleration-light off // settle into regular pace-light on" pattern? could this be related to the beam self-leveling feature? Does it shed any light ( pun intended) on the bulb vs. controller quandary?
3) Assuming it's the bulb, should I replace both or just the faulty one? I seem to remember someone recommending both at the same time, but can't find the posting.
3) Finally, 2 1/2 years and 35k miles seems quite short for a bulb life, but I suspect it might have been abbreviated by the DRL feature. So, I wonder if Michael (or someone else) can remind me how to turn DRL off with vag-com, or point me to the right thread if one exists (I can't seem to find it). Once the bulb is replaced, I'd like to turn DRL off to extend the life of the bulb.
By the way, Michael, you are also right about the great difference that cleaning the snow screens makes. However, a word of caution about the "no snow no filter" suggestion: when I cleaned mine last year, I found a lot of salt dust and grains (to be expected given where I live) but also several dead leaves. So, perhaps it's best to leave them in after all.
Stefano

[mattsimis]

Actually this is rather timely for me too, my car (V10) has just started doing this too, on acceleration at first and now under regular driving the front left (from inside the car) low beam has started to "pulse" on and off, occasionally generating an error code. Its just came back from a VW service and they didnt note this issue (didnt really start acting up till afterwards however)!

Ill run the Vag-Com on it later.
Any aftermarket bulbs fit? VW want EUR120 plus tax (21%) per bulb and takes about 2 days to order. I really hope the problem is the bulb and not the controller, headlamp assembly!


Modified by mattsimis at 5:57 PM 5-6-2008

[PanEuropean]

For those of you outside of North America, ask your VW dealer to look up Technical Solution 2010938 if you are encountering flickering of headlight bulbs.

I have attached a copy, but it is in German. When your local VW dealer looks this Technical Solution up by the reference number shown above, it will appear in your local language.

Michael

[mattsimis]

Rang the VW Garage that just serviced it, described the problem and asked them the look up the VW Technical Solution and I have the number. The response was... "What is it you want us to do, just read it..?"

They called back and said all it says is to replace the bulbs (both) at my expense and they would charge me for diagnosing the problem too before they would fit them. Obviously Id do it myself in this case.

EDIT2: I called them back as I wasnt happy the first guy really read more than 2 lines of the TSB. I asked specifically to speak to the VW Service Manager that I booked the car in under originally. He listened to me then dismissed the TSB as he said "TSBs are tied to your VIN, not your car type, therefore we need to book it in and determine that ourselves". I told him the TSB explicitly stated it was all Phaetons upto 2006. He then said then likely its just for LHD Phaetons, again they didnt care for the enduser looking up TSBs as they determine if the problem is covered by the TSB and only their TSBs on their system in front of them.

I then asked about the price. My German is poor, but PanEs German TSB seemed to state an advised cost including labour and parts at EUR250. The Service Manager said that clearly my German language TSB and its costs have no relevance here ("its for Germanyonly ")and "their" TSBs never have prices on them. He said the bulb alone would be EUR250.. and my only option is to book it with them , pay for them to determine whats wrong then pay for labour and bulbs, end of discussion.

After hanging up I noticed the German TSB has "Markt: Weltweit ohne Nordamerika" written on the top (Market: Worldwide except North America). Sigh..


Modified by mattsimis at 3:33 PM 5-7-2008

[PanEuropean]

Hi Matt:

The dealer is correct, TS's are tied to VIN. The reason I gave you the TS was to allow you to alert the dealer to it - which would then allow them to check on their service computer and see if it applied to your VIN.

The response you received from the dealer doesn't sound too encouraging, even if the TS does not apply to your VIN. I would have thought that the response, if negative, would have been something along the lines of "That TS describes a similar problem, but your VIN falls out of the range it covers, thus it does not apply to you."

There is no way a bulb is €250, not even in the most overheated economy in the world. Bulbs should cost perhaps USD 150 to 200. Perhaps check with Rich at OEM Plus to get a bulb price, and if you have to change the bulb, you can do it yourself. It is not a difficult task, although it requires a little bit of disassembly. I'd be happy to post the instructions for you.

Those of you who have followed the forum for a while know that it is pretty rare for me to say anything uncomplimentary about a dealer... but in this case, I really don't have any good things to say at all after reading about your experience. Might be worthwhile to look around for another VW dealer to service your car.

Michael

[mattsimis]

Thanks Michael. I should note currently in Ireland VW have no offical representation, this garage chain are the primary/largest distributors who represent VW, "acting" as VW Ireland. Unfortunately therefore they answer only to themselves. Its also standard practice to NOT check TSBs here. Thankfully recent EU ruling state all car companies have to have official bodies in countries they sell in and this will be changing shortly.

The idea of a customer with knowledge of TSBs was not something they were favourable of, likely for control and financial reasons (as they are more free to dictate prices themselves etc).

Ive ordered 2x original OSRAM Xenarc bulbs from (new) from an eBay seller for $78 each, at current exchange rates thats sickenly cheap by comparison. I had a go at removing the airbox etc to get at the back of the headlamp assembly in the last hour of light today, just to have a look, got the top half of the airbox out, but couldnt get the bottom half (which blocks the headlamp connectors) out past one of the V10s Turbo airpipe. The V10 is more cramped than the W12 in the photos above.

However, Ill be retrofitting S6 LED DRLs tomorrow which will require the front bumper to be removed anyway, so Ill get in that way.



Modified by mattsimis at 10:57 PM 5-8-2008

[PanEuropean]

Hi Matt:

Detailed instructions for removal and re-installation of the front bumper cover can be found here: Retrofitting Dual Xenon Headlamps.

A couple of suggestions, based on my experience:

1) You really do want to have the car on some form of platform or lift that raises it about a meter off the ground. It is a SOB to do this job with the car sitting on the ground.

2) Set aside quite a bit of time, and have a helper around when you are lifting the bumper cover. It's a two person operation to fit it.

Michael

[W126C]

Quote, originally posted by PanEuropean »

1) You really do want to have the car on some form of platform or lift that raises it about a meter off the ground. It is a SOB to do this job with the car sitting on the ground. Michael

So that explains why it took so long and my back was sore.

Regards,
Brent

[mattsimis]

I took the front bumper off a couple of weeks ago to paint the plastic tray thing on the bottom black (colour matched to the car now). Oddly it didnt take me more than 50min first time on my own.

Did need help getting it back on tho, couldnt balance both sides onto the rails at once!

I have lots of experience taking the front bumper off other VAG cars, whats nice about the Phaeton is that they ran all the wires on the front into one large connector block, the Audi S4 on the other hand always risked yanking the fog light wire straight out the back of the lights as each component on the front is connected individually with fragile little wires.

[mattsimis]

From looking at the headlamp out of the car, the reason the bulb is rapidly dieing is the headlamp casing was only mounted on two screws, the other 2 mounts are broken and the headlamp was bouncing around (bearing in mind I live in the country and drive on rural roads).

When I get the replacement bulb Ill use some epoxy to try get it all together again.

[Prince Ludwig]

Quote »

bearing in mind I live in the country and drive on rural roads

I know what you mean! Driving around Wexford I thought the car didn't feel as comfortable as it normally did (even with the suspension in comfort more) and was wondering why until I went in a friend's Subaru Forester down the same roads and felt like I was sitting in a paint mixer

[Kcmover]

Well my left headlight went out today. Got the message on the dash when I started the car. I had noticed the flickering for a couple of months but thought nothing about it.

But I now need to establish a plan to replace the bulb. Should I go ahead and buy both of them at the same time. Left and right. I assume that the High Beams are both ok. What about the controller they should be ok right?

My Phaeton now has 64,500 miles so it sounds like I have done as well or better then others posting about bulb failure. If its the controller then I would assume it would be covered by REAL DRIVER. If not and its the bulb. Then its my deal.

Anybody know what VW dealer charges for the part and what the book rate is on the labor vs buying Lamps on Ebay and installing myself.

Larry


Modified by Kcmover at 5:55 PM 5-30-2008

[PanEuropean]

Hi Larry:

Bulb replacement is an easy DIY task, a perfect Saturday morning activity.

My suggestion is that you purchase the two lamps at your local VW dealer (eBay is good for a lot of stuff, but I have reservations about buying bulbs from eBay), then replace both bulbs - in other words, each xenon lamp on each side. If one has failed, the other won't be too far away from end of life, and by replacing both, you will avoid any problems with colour differences when the lamps are illuminated.

You might want to check the fine print of your extended warranty - often, xenon bulbs are covered by warranties even though incandescent bulbs are not.

Michael

[Kcmover]

Michael,

Good to hear from you and hope all is well. I was not sure about ebay but the Local auto parts houses car it for about 129.00 each. I will check my VW dealer as perhaps they will be the same. I know if I can't do the work then one of the mechanics in my truck shop can if they do it first thing in the AM as they get dirty as the day goes long.

I will check the REAL DRIVER but my guess is its considered a consumable item like brakes or wiper blades. Now the controller would be a REAL DRIVER part.

Maybe you will make a road trip to Garmin and to eat some Jack's Stack BBQ and to change bulbs.

Larry