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HID Aftermaket kit - Help for definitive how to


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Having read endless threads I think I have determined what I need for my 2012 Octy. I am fully aware of the legal implictions and don't wish to generate a thread full of bickering. So....

I believe I need a non-canbus system which I then code in. (To avoid introducing a large resistance into the system and screwing up the wiper motor etc and fitting a direct ground wire as a get around the problems it causes)

Coding involves activating Bi xenons with shutters?

Finally Connecting it. Does the connector block that normally sits on the rear of the bulb have a corresponding female connector on the hid kit so I don't need to change any wiring? Also there is some talk of trimming a tab off the bulb to get it to fit?

Finally Londoncolour kits seem to get the most mentions - are these still recommended?

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To the best of my knowledge you have only 2 options:

1) Buy a HID kit with the capacitors built in (falsely advertised as Canbus but that's a whole other topic)

2) Buy a normal HID kit and use decoders (capacitors) which plug in to the ballasts - ends up being same as above.

You can tick all the boxes you like in VCDS (bi-xenon without shutter, bi-xenon without additional high beam etc.) but it won't make a difference, no one to my knowledge had found it possible to code aftermarket HID using VCDS on a 2012 car. I have on and I've tried :-(

The ballast just plugs into the H7 plug which normally goes on to the bulb, if you buy the slim line ballasts you can fit it all into the headlight with no external wires showing.

Also there's little point attaching the ballast to a separate ground as the cars earth wire from the headlight goes straight into the harness and directly to the body anyway (I can show you the wiring diagram)

Now that's not to say it isn't possible to code the HID using the dealers VAS too which can modify byte 18 without the same problems we face (whole other thread again)

If anyone knows different and actually has done it on a 2012 I'd like to know so I can do it to mine.

Edited by xpower
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To the best of my knowledge you have only 2 options:

1) Buy a HID kit with the capacitors built in (falsely advertised as Canbus but that's a whole other topic)

2) Buy a normal HID kit and use decoders (capacitors) which plug in to the ballasts - ends up being same as above.

You can tick all the boxes you like in VCDS (bi-xenon without shutter, bi-xenon without additional high beam etc.) but it won't make a difference, no one to my knowledge had found it possible to code aftermarket HID using VCDS on a 2012 car. I have on and I've tried :-(

The ballast just plugs into the H7 plug which normally goes on to the bulb, if you buy the slim line ballasts you can fit it all into the headlight with no external wires showing.

Also there's little point attaching the ballast to a separate ground as the cars earth wire from the headlight goes straight into the harness and directly to the body anyway (I can show you the wiring diagram)

Now that's not to say it isn't possible to code the HID using the dealers VAS too which can modify byte 18 without the same problems we face (whole other thread again)

If anyone knows different and actually has done it on a 2012 I'd like to know so I can do it to mine.

Thanks for your comprehensive answer XP. I'll sit tight for now. Please can you explain the use of capacitors I've never heard of this before.

Cheers

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Wrong info given above.

Non canbus can and will work in a 2012 vrs.

I have them fitted to my one.

Do it properly and you should have no issues.

OH

Londoncolor is the place to get the H7 kit.

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Just bought these:

http://www.ebay.co.u...984.m1497.l2649

These are what a lot of people on here are using (the Londoncolour ones as above).

I did have a problem with mine (one of the ballasts didn't work). They sent a new ballast arrived the next day after reporting it. Very good service and all working great now.

Oh and go for 4300K... it's very OEM looking!

Phil

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Wrong info given above.

Non canbus can and will work in a 2012 vrs.

I have them fitted to my one.

Do it properly and you should have no issues.

OH

Londoncolor is the place to get the H7 kit.

There are NO canbus ones, the power to the lights has nothing to do with the Canbus network in which the ECU's communicate.

The ECU (the one that controls the lighting is called 09 CCM on octavia) carries out a resistance check of the dipped beam circuit by firing a small voltage down the lines and looking for a current draw, this is how it determines if there is a bulb gone (no bulb, no current flow)

Some ballasts (mine are like this) are not labeled 'Canbus' or 'error free' but the capacitors and resistors on the circuit board are enough to simulate enough current draw for the CCM to be satisfied and not throw a bulb failure light.

I have yet to see anyone fit a set of HID's to a 2012 and then the car throw a bulb error on both dipped beam lights, then have it coded out with VCDS (not VAS). I am however willing to be corrected if the correct byte and bit can be shared as this would benefit everyone.

Vectra1

Could you tell us which byte / bit was changed and your CCM part number?

Fatbloke

A capacitor is like a mini mini battery that charges in a fraction of a second (depending on the capacity of the capacitor), for it to charge up then current must flow (tiny amount).

A resistor is a component which adds electrical resistance in a circuit. It's uses are (not limited to) used in series to either slow current down and divide the voltage (reduce voltage,) or in parallel to load a circuit.

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Ok, i have a set of old type ballasts i can put on my car and they throw a warning error. I though I tried that byte and bit (easy to see) and there was no change, but I will try it again tomorrow and get back to you all.

Fingers crossed!

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The ECU (the one that controls the lighting is called 09 CCM on octavia) carries out a resistance check of the dipped beam circuit by firing a small voltage down the lines and looking for a current draw, this is how it determines if there is a bulb gone (no bulb, no current flow)

That's not strictly true of all the lights that the ECU checks........if you put the wrong stop/tail light in, everything works, but will give you an error. Seems that the ECU will look for a specific resistance, not just an open/closed circuit. Takes a while to figure that one out, without MaxiDot or VCDS.

As a slight aside, the CANBus diagnostic can be seen on the right-side of this video:

http://s670.photobucket.com/albums/vv66/thebrymar/LED%20lights/?action=view&current=SAM_1080.mp4

(Video credit: Brimma)

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Ok, i have a set of old type ballasts i can put on my car and they throw a warning error. I though I tried that byte and bit (easy to see) and there was no change, but I will try it again tomorrow and get back to you all.

Fingers crossed!

Follow the instructions to the "T"

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Ok, I have 2 different ballasts to test with other than my own. One is an old genuine Hella ballast, and the other looks similar to Vectra1's but different colour.

I tried both ballasts and both give the same error message in maxidot of bulb failure.

I cleared all fault codes, coded the car first, then fitted both ballasts and tried them.................... before i even started the car (ignition on, lights off) maxidot reported bulb errors immediately. I believe (my opinion only) that like mine, the ones that Vectra1 has whilst not being labeled 'canbus' the car is happy with should that box be ticked or not as it appears to have no affect. I ticked bi-xenon without additional high beam. (none of which is true, were looking for xenon with additional high beam)

ScreenShot2013-02-05at173634_zps1fb950fd.png

HOWEVER............ WHILST PLAYING I MAY HAVE FOUND A SOLUTION :-)

In byte 14 there is an option for bi-xenon (with shutter) installed - bit 3.

When ticked the car reports no bulb failure of any kind :sun: with the old ballasts installed.

Unfortunately, whilst this works, gives no errors and the headlights work perfectly it renders the LED DRL / SIDE LIGHT unit on the vRS inoperative for DRL or side light function :bandit:

ScreenShot2013-02-05at173615_zps814e495f.png

BUT.... if you manually change bit 4 from off to on (from a 0 to 1) instead, then the LED DRL / SIDE returns to normal operation and the car does not show a bulb error at all!!!!!!!

With this coding i have tested operation of all lights and all is good, old ballasts that showed up an error instantly without the need to be switched on work perfectly with no bulb failure.

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Excellent! So to summarise, the bits and bobs of info I gleaned from searching were actually correct and thanks to Xp for trying/proving it all. Off to order basic 4300k kit from London colour B)

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sorry to jump in but am I right in thinking that the new fl octavia vrs does not have sidelight bulbs like the older one??

But the pre FL doesn't have DRLs ;)

I think when xpower refers to 'DRL/SIDE' he means the tacky DRLs which double up as sidelights on the FL, as opposed to talking about two different sets of lights......

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This does need testing on a few cars before it is confirmed as concrete.

What we need on VCDS is this (note new bit 4 and modified bit 3) best thing to do is list your model year, ECU number, and whether it has been successful. i

If we get a few different people who fit ballasts and get errors, then perform the coding change and are error free we can send the info to ross tech who can look and research into adding the label to VCDS.

Xenoncodingnew_zps611e06da.png

Mine first

Build date = 06/2012, ECU = 1K0-937-087-AD, Byte 14 - bit 4 CONFIRMED WORKING

Edited by xpower
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But the pre FL doesn't have DRLs ;)

I think when xpower refers to 'DRL/SIDE' he means the tacky DRLs which double up as sidelights on the FL, as opposed to talking about two different sets of lights......

oi mr awol I happen to love my drl's lol. whole reason I sold my 08 n got a 59...well thst n dsg and the price lol

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oi mr awol I happen to love my drl's lol. whole reason I sold my 08 n got a 59...well thst n dsg and the price lol

Lol furry muff - each to their own I guess :)

Thinking about it he could also be talking general octys, as I think the non VRS models have different configurations

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BUT.... if you manually change bit 4 from off to on (from a 0 to 1) instead, then the LED DRL / SIDE returns to normal operation and the car does not show a bulb error at all!!!!!!! (Xpower)

By manually change, do you mean change the binary code directly? (Change 10000001 to 10010001 in that actual box? I'm also assuming each digit represents each bit) Also your 2nd screenshot, did you change that with VCDS?

Awaiting my kit, hopefully install at weekend and report back

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By manually change, do you mean change the binary code directly? (Change 10000001 to 10010001 in that actual box? I'm also assuming each digit represents each bit) Also your 2nd screenshot, did you change that with VCDS?

Correct when the Bit tick box is not present you change the Binary code itself (just remember Binary is written from right to left, so Bit 0 is the furthest digit on the right)

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Correct when the Bit tick box is not present you change the Binary code itself (just remember Binary is written from right to left, so Bit 0 is the furthest digit on the right)

Ah! that makes more sense, right to left :doh:

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BUT.... if you manually change bit 4 from off to on (from a 0 to 1) instead, then the LED DRL / SIDE returns to normal operation and the car does not show a bulb error at all!!!!!!! (Xpower)

By manually change, do you mean change the binary code directly? (Change 10000001 to 10010001 in that actual box? I'm also assuming each digit represents each bit) Also your 2nd screenshot, did you change that with VCDS?

Awaiting my kit, hopefully install at weekend and report back

Yeah, just to confirm this screenshot is a mockup and not real, just made with paintbrush :-)

As its been said, you can just manually change the binary code next to the byte number

Mine was changed from 10000001 to 10010001

Xenoncodingnew_zps611e06da.png

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Hi - just a confirmation - by ticking the Xenon Headlights (without Shutter) installed & then changing Bit 5 to be a 1, this has worked. Both Xenons & DRL's working as they should be, no bulb warnings either.

This is on a 2012 VRS using the London Colour NON canbus HID kit....

Massive thanks

post-71273-0-19369800-1360250056_thumb.jpg

Edited by dave11
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Hi - just a confirmation - by ticking the Xenon Headlights (without Shutter) installed & then changing Bit 5 to be a 1, this has worked. Both Xenons & DRL's working as they should be, no bulb warnings either.

This is on a 2012 VRS using the London Colour NON canbus HID kit....

Massive thanks

If you have VCDS could you do 3 things to test for us please. With the HID kit installed!

1) untick the 'bi-xenon with shutter' (byte 14, bit 3) and change byte 14, bit 4 manually back to a 0. Also check that byte 17, bit 2 is a 0. Does the car now generate a bulb failure light at all? your code should be 00000001

2) If your car DOES generate a fault can you JUST change byte 14, bit 4 manually to a 1. Does the car now generate a bulb failure light at all? your code should be 00010001

3) If your car still generates a fault can you change byte 14, bit 4 manually back to a 0. Now tick byte 17, bit 2. Does the car now generate a bulb failure light at all?

Let us know which one works unless your car doesnt show a bulb failure after step 1 :-)

Thanks

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I can double check these at the weekend.

But from memory - option 1 just front fogs did throw the bulb error, & I know that byte 17 bit 2 bi-xenon without additional beam is set to Zero

I think I see where your heading with option 2 - I'll have a test & feedback once done

Option 3 - I've tried that before - I seem to recall I had no full beam - but I'll double check.

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