# Poor dipped beam on an Audi A4 1999-2001 facelift h/lamp model. Any advice?



## impster (May 2, 2007)

Does anyone here have an Audi A4 (B5 model) circa 1999-2001 with the facelift headlights (i.e. projector style dipped beam)?

I've got one, and is it just me or are the dipped beams awful?

I've upgraded to Osram Nightbreaker H7 bulbs which output a whiter light, but the dipped beam is still terrible.

With engine running, the bulbs are getting just over 13V, so no 'issues' there.

I know people are going to recommend HIDs, but I don't really want to go down that route.

Main beam is very good - nice and bright, with a light throw that's good and long.

When going to dip however, it's like driving with powerful sidelights and not much more else.

Motorway driving at night seems quite hairy with them.

Any thoughts on this people?

Impster

Edit: Now gone 35w HID and the problem is no more. Beam pattern looks good as well, dazzle effect on oncoming traffic or car in front is no worse than with normal halogen bulbs.


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## The Cueball (Feb 8, 2007)

These could help:










:speechles:speechles

:thumb:


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## Gruffs (Dec 10, 2007)

Have you had them adjusted lately? Or knocked the adjuster knob by mistake so they are low?

I upgraded mine on my old A4 to Philips ICE white bulbs and that made a difference. My Leon suffers from having really good light pattern so there are definate edges to your field of view at night. Your Audi could be the same. No amount of brighter light will get around this.

I think this is why the lights that 'steer' are coming back into vogue. The lighting on right-hand bends in particular is woeful. However, Main beam isn't patterned so the problem goes away.


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## impster (May 2, 2007)

Everything seems as it should be. Just really poor dipped lights.

I thought i was getting voltage drop in the loom somewhere, and although it's not the same voltage as the battery gets with engine on, it's still at 13V - plenty really.


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## pdv40 (Sep 11, 2008)

My A3 has very poor dipped beam and as Gruffs says the light pattern makes things worse :wall:


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## Ross (Apr 25, 2007)

The Cueball said:


> These could help:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Now that could be very handy for some "Things":lol:


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## impster (May 2, 2007)

pdv40 said:


> My A3 has very poor dipped beam and as Gruffs says the light pattern makes things worse :wall:


So I guess there's 2 (illegal) improvement options: 100w bulbs or a HID kit.


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## theshrew (May 21, 2008)

They are normally fine on Audi's. 

Have you just changed the bulbs ? 

I have seen this the other week when i got in my mates Golf i said his lights were rubbish the same as you describe. He brought the car round the next day for me to have a look the problem was he had fitted the bulbs the wrong way round. ( the top was at the bottom ) 

I no it sounds silly but certainly worth a check especially if you have just changed the bulbs. Have a look through the headlight glass. On his you could see that the bulb wasnt sitting correctly.

As you say 13V to them is fine. 

If this doesnt solve the problem 

1. Is this a new car to you ? 
2. Have you just changed the bulbs ? 
3. If so were they ok before you changed them ? 
4. Are both sides the same ?


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## impster (May 2, 2007)

1: owned the car since April.
2: yes - tried 2 sets to improve light output.
3: no - had marginal improvement with Osram Nightbreakers over standard H7 bulbs
4: yup.

I'll check again in the morning if the bulbs are in right.

Thanks


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## theshrew (May 21, 2008)

Did you sort this mate ? 

With what you have said the only thing i can think of is to get them adjusted but i presume you have already and suspect this probably wouldnt make that much difference anyway.


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## impster (May 2, 2007)

No, not 'sorted'. Checked all the voltages at battery and at bulbs. All seems fine really. Having sought advice and opinion on some Audi forums it seems that it's a common thing with the facelift lights on audi a4 (B5 model 1999-2001). Apparently the lights were originally designed with HID's in mind, but for some reason they stuck with standard lighting system.

I'll just have to get used to it, or convert the fogs to driving lights maybe?

Impster


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## theshrew (May 21, 2008)

Well at least you no you havent got a fault mate.


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## jamie_s (Jul 10, 2009)

why do u not want to go down the hid route? I have them and never want to go back to normal 1s. They look briliant in projectors aswell. Get the factory look 4300k 1s u will love them.


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## impster (May 2, 2007)

I am considering the HID route, but the legality issue bugs me a bit on it. If the law was a bit clearer on it and it allowed me to do it I'd be there straight away. However, my car doesn't have h/lamp washers or self levelling so technically illegal.

I know lots of people have fitted HID's without levelling and washers but I'm not 100% comfortable with the idea for the time being.


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## theshrew (May 21, 2008)

Who's gonna no ? Even if it fails MOT then unplug and use the std bulbs for the test then change back again. Id say you would have to be very very very unlucky to get done by the dibble and its only a small fine anyway or was when i had incorrect lights fitted this was a long time ago tho .


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## Andy M (Apr 7, 2006)

If you went for 4300K with projectors then I can say confidently you will not get pulled if they are aimed at the right height. You have your levelling switch for the times when the car is loaded and just ensure the lights remain relatively clean.


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## jamie_s (Jul 10, 2009)

yeah police have no idea that they are illegal, I have been pulled at night with my 8000k hids and they havent even been questioned, and 8k are much bluer than the standard ones, if u get 4300k there is no way u would get done for them.


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## Modmedia (Jul 25, 2008)

I ran 10,000k HIDS on my old Grande Punto for close to a year and they looked VERY much illegal and I never had any trouble. Must just have been lucky.


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## Shinyvec (Feb 12, 2010)

I have a Facelift Vectra C which has dire dipped beam and I tried all makes of bulbs to try and make it better and the Osram Nightbreakers did help but it was still poor so I orderd a set of Hids from Hids Direct and fitted them at the weekend and WOW dipped beam is now like full beam without all the flashing from oncoming traffic. The light colour is a nice white light with a blue tint and they look almost identical to my Fathers Omega's standard Hids.
For £60 it is one of the best upgrades I have done to my car.


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## packard (Jun 8, 2009)

My Astra 07' & Focus '02 had horrid dip beam until I changed them for RINGs latest versions which are superb "Xenon Max +100%"


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## rob3rto (May 23, 2007)

The best lamps for your headlights are the Osram Hyper H7 ones (64217).

Std H7 = 1400-1500 lumens
Philips Xtreme = 1500-1600 lumens
Osram Hyper H7 = 2100

They are basically an H9 capsule on an H7 base. As H7 is getting on a bit now, they brought out this hybrid.

It is rated at 65watts but is WELL within the spec of the cars wiring. MOT station will never check, only colour and beam pattern.

You could also look into a Catz Zeta "booster". Basically boosts the voltage at the lamp end to around 15volts but has the effect of shortening lamp life.

I went the Osram way, after buying ALL the other "High Performance" lamps. Philips Xtreme were the best, rated #1 in the tests, but now the Osrams are.

BTW, HID gives around 3000 lumens so the Osrams are not far off.
Should work very well in your projectors.


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## impster (May 2, 2007)

Where can I buy these then? Can't find them online anywhere?

Thanks

Impster


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## rob3rto (May 23, 2007)

impster said:


> Where can I buy these then? Can't find them online anywhere?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Impster


eBay # 110476571383


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## packard (Jun 8, 2009)

rob3rto said:


> The best lamps for your headlights are the Osram Hyper H7 ones (64217).
> 
> Std H7 = 1400-1500 lumens
> Philips Xtreme = 1500-1600 lumens
> ...


Do you know where the new Ring ones are that i mentioned earlier?


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## gt5500 (Aug 6, 2008)

Best lighting upgrade I did on my E39 was to rip out the crummy hella projectors and retro fit a pair of FX-R projectors in with Osram 4300k HID bulbs and matsush1ta ballasts. I did have a plug and play HID kit in the original projectors but its night and day with the FX-R's. Took a bit of work to get them fitted and almost £200 but the E39 halogen lights are so dire I was starting to hate the car.


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## rob3rto (May 23, 2007)

Dagnabit!

There IS a better lamp than the Osram Hyper H7.

It is the H7 HIR. 

Not an "instant" light like halogen gives as it uses internally reflected Infra Red to burn hotter. Takes a minute or two to get to its brightest. In tests, a set of these has outshon HID kits. Bit expensive though at around £20 per lamp. Will also need a fused and relayed wiring harness to power them direct from the battery as they need a full 14volts to work at their best OR a Catz Zeta ballast to really push them above a boosted 55watt HID kit.

Oh well, i'll have to wait until these burn out before buying yet another set of lamps.


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## Techgeek (Jun 7, 2007)

I have an a4 with the facelift projectors and was in exactly the same boat as you, I thought I was starting to go blind, I got a 50w 4300k hid kit and it's night and day. After fitting I taken it to an mot station to get the beams aligned, well worth a fiver IMO. Never been flashed, never been pulled and passed the MOT no problems whatsoever and no bulb fail warnings. if you look inside the housings you can see they spec both H7 and D2S on the same projector so the headlights are already designed for hid.

I had the same concerns about legality and my mot tester told me the washer rule applies to new cars but not to aftermarket modifications, if you want to be absolutely above board you can ask an mot tester for an engineers report regarding the conversion to give to your insurance company.

Dont go higher than 4300k as when you go up in colour temperature your actually going down in brightness.


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## impster (May 2, 2007)

Bump to this old thread - i need suggestions for a good simple to fit and reliable and 'legal-looking' HID kit for my Audi A4 1.9TDI year2000. It's the one with facelift h/lamps.

Dipped beam is really shockingly bad.

Thanks.

Impster


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## impster (May 2, 2007)

Having spoken to a few on some other forums, the recommendation is the 35w kits. I can get either of these kits to within a few quid of each other (discount codes are available for 'hids4u'.

Can any of the experts here tell me if there's any diference between the 2? Many thanks once again - i hope to pull the trigger on one of these later this evening.

Thanks!

http://www.hids-direct.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=254{5}115{1}131

http://www.hids4u.co.uk/h7-35w-proplus-xenon-hid-conversion-kit.html


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