vignessh

I used to run a Philips Xtreme Vision ( not the Xtreme Vision+ ) for a couple of years on my Skoda Octavia Mk2. The light output was considerably better than the OEM halogen bulbs, both in normal and rainy conditions. The low beam uses an H7 bulb and the high-beam uses an H1 bulb. The only downside as told by others is the short lifespan - my passenger side low beam gave away after exactly 1 year of use. I'm assuming the Philips Xtreme Vision+ or the Osram Nightbreaker unlimited would have a shorter lifespan.

You are right in the sense of being applicable to older cars with no Canbus. The problem I was trying to highlight is that the ballast can ask for a much greater current at startup (like the ones I got) and therefore can put a strain on the stock electricals leading to various kind of failures (including the BCM failures I presume). I guess the ideal combo is a ballast that does not draw more than 5A at startup and VCDS coding to go with it.

Closing the loop on this one. After some research, I figured out the ballast I'd got was one of those fast start ballasts - which means they can ask for up to 10A per side upon startup in order to bring the bulb to working state sooner. The normal slim ballasts be it 35w or 55w can ask for up to 6A and some of the better ones manage to keep it under 5A which I presume is very forgiving on the stock electricals of the car. Going to try sourcing a regular 35w slim ballast and see how that goes.

Some more updates. After reading through various other forums, realize that the stock halogen wiring harness isn't necessarily capable of supplying the required current at startup. Which is why it is probably a hit and miss. I'm going to get a relay harness and see if the problem goes away completely. Found this very useful Youtube video describing the problem and the solution better.

Thank you for the recommendation, will keep that in mind during the lookout.

Thank you all for the clarification. The aspect of blowing up the BCM is scary though. I was running Philips Xtreme Vision H7 bulbs prior to this upgrade and was hoping the HID would be a long term solution to lighting problems. I was inspired reading some of the threads here, especially xpower's thread on the bi-xenon conversion. I'll try re-mounting the right side ballast once more to see if there is any change. (The right bulb is the one that fails to light up the first time around most of the times). Else, will try sourcing the regular slim 35w ballasts.

Thanks xpower for the confirmation. I tried the checking the output measurement in VCDS to see how the low beams are. With both the sides lighted up, VCDS was showing 99.8% consumption. When I moved the headlight switch to the parking mode, the Low beam with shutters was showing up 99.8% consumption. Does that indicate anything at all? Do you think the problem of one light not coming up the first time around is because of the 50W ballast? Would you recommend trying with a perhaps a regular 35W ballast & matching bulbs?

Apologies for bumping this thread. I thought it is better to collate it under one thread instead of starting a new one. I own a 2013 Skoda Octavia Mk2 F/L Ambition (Ambiente) variant - that came with halogen projectors as standard for the low beam. I recently installed a HID kit myself, normal 50W Hyluxtek ballast with 45W 4300K H7 bulbs. I did the coding as suggested in this thread Under Central electricals Enable byte 14 bit 4 I seem to get a bulb out error on the right dipped beam as described in the below output from VCDS. However, the error is not permanent. If I switch off the headlamps and switch it on again, both the dipped beams seem to light up just fine. The pattern seems to be happening only while the lamps are switched on for the first time. From then on, both seem to light up alright. Just for testing, I did try disabling byte 14 bit 4 - as it was from factory and I did not get any bulb out errors reported on the maxi dot console. Shouldn't the error be reported as soon I switch on the ignition? Have I done something wrong with the installation? Any help is gratefully appreciated. Elect. (J519) Labels: 1K0-937-08x-09.clb Part No SW: 1K0 937 087 AD HW: 1K0 937 087 AD Component: BCM PQ35 H 111 0709 Revision: AC111709 Coding: 48000AB8A00508C04008008011009164410000AE520081605C8460000040 Shop #: WSC 73430 790 00075 VCID: 73E529F9D2474686991-8026 Subsystem 1 - Part No: 1Z2 955 119 D Labels: 1KX-955-119.CLB Component: Wischer 09011 26 0601 Coding: 00D7B7 4 Faults Found: 00979 - Lamp for Low Beam; Right (M31) 010 - Open or Short to Plus - Intermittent Freeze Frame: Fault Status: 00101010 Fault Priority: 1 Fault Frequency: 8 Reset counter: 135 Mileage: 30444 km Time Indication: 0 Date: 2025.14.31 Time: 09:03:25 Freeze Frame: Term 15 On Voltage: 14.30 V ON ON Term 50 Off OFF OFF