Hi,

What's with the little 'eyebrow' lamps on the FL Octy? A workmate noticed them on mine and asked how you switch them on, I of course had no idea.

If you don't know what I'm on about have a look at a picture of the front end / headlamp layout on the facelift Octavia. Taking a VRS for instance we have from the bottom up: Fog Lamp, LED running Lamps, Main Beam, Xenon dipped beam and right above that there is quite clearly another blue(ish) coloured lamp sat in there.

Any ideas what they are or how to turn em on?

Cheers

Phil

Hi,

What's with the little 'eyebrow' lamps on the FL Octy? A workmate noticed them on mine and asked how you switch them on, I of course had no idea.

If you don't know what I'm on about have a look at a picture of the front end / headlamp layout on the facelift Octavia. Taking a VRS for instance we have from the bottom up: Fog Lamp, LED running Lamps, Main Beam, Xenon dipped beam and right above that there is quite clearly another blue(ish) coloured lamp sat in there.

Any ideas what they are or how to turn em on?

Cheers

Phil

Hi Phil,

I had exactly the same question last week and took my car back to the dealer to find out. I assumed that they should be side lights as thats what they are on Octys with no DRL's. The dealer did not know and had to refer to Skoda UK technical team who advised that the bulbs are not used in the VRS. Its a standard headlight, hence the bulb being in there but not conected. The DRL apparently should be the side lights on the VRS, which begs the question, why do the DRL's become dimmer when you put them onto Side Light mode. In effect you get more light from the DRL during the day than at dusk. This does not make sense to me. I wondered if anyone else had found the same problem!

cheers

Fraser

I wondered what it is too.......

You should NEVER drive on sidelights/parking lights alone anyway.

Totally pointless and you cannot be seen as well in low light.

In some countries its illegal.

Why not here?

Hi,

What's with the little 'eyebrow' lamps on the FL Octy? A workmate noticed them on mine and asked how you switch them on, I of course had no idea.

If you don't know what I'm on about have a look at a picture of the front end / headlamp layout on the facelift Octavia. Taking a VRS for instance we have from the bottom up: Fog Lamp, LED running Lamps, Main Beam, Xenon dipped beam and right above that there is quite clearly another blue(ish) coloured lamp sat in there.

Any ideas what they are or how to turn em on?

Cheers

Phil

Evenin'...

Did you ever find out if it's possible to turn these on? Perhaps via VCDS?

Anyone any ideas? Sounds more likely to be software / setting related rather than physically disconnected. Unless it's a different connector into the unit for Xenon?

Or perhaps I shouldn't worry about it!

Cheers...

They aren't wired up so no you can't activate them.

The reason they are not active is because it is illegal to have sidelights and DRL's on at the same time.

OK, how about putting orange LED's in them and wiring them into the DRL circuit as "marker lights" al la BMW 5 Series?

The DRL apparently should be the side lights on the VRS, which begs the question, why do the DRL's become dimmer when you put them onto Side Light mode. In effect you get more light from the DRL during the day than at dusk. This does not make sense to me. I wondered if anyone else had found the same problem!

The reason they dim when you turn your lights on is so they do not dazzle at night.

The whole point of DRL's is to be seen during the day so need to bright and unlike dipped headlights they are aimed level with the car, dipped headlights are aimed down to illuminate the road and to prevent dazzling other road users.

If the LED DRL's didn't dim you would be sure to dazzle other drivers at night.

OK, how about putting orange LED's in them and wiring them into the DRL circuit as "marker lights" al la BMW 5 Series?

Nice idea...

I wondered what it is too.......

You should NEVER drive on sidelights/parking lights alone anyway.

Totally pointless and you cannot be seen as well in low light.

In some countries its illegal.

Why not here?

here here ..........yet people still do it all the time idiots!!!!

It is perfectly legal to drive (in certain conditions) with sidelights.

Had a look today and yep got em too so I'm going to investigate the orange running light idea. Don't see any reason why not - certainly not illegal!

I wondered what it is too.......You should NEVER drive on sidelights/parking lights alone anyway.Totally pointless and you cannot be seen as well in low light.In some countries its illegal. Why not here?

here here ..........yet people still do it all the time idiots!!!!

im presuming you mean driving at night?

as i drive virtually everywhere (during the day)with my sidelights on, as my car is an 06 and doesnt have the luxury of drl's.

It is perfectly legal to drive (in certain conditions) with sidelights.

Quite legal but in the majority of cases not the most sensible thing to do.

You should either be running with no lights on or headlights on.

Side-lights are a complete waste of time providing no real light of use.

Sidelights are separate from parking lights and do have a function, this is why manufacturers have a separate position on the light switch for them. At night, when it’s raining, in fog, all require dipped headlights.

I have found plenty of situations during my driving career that warrant the use of sidelights, mainly during the summer months as the light begins to fade where dipped headlights aren't necessary.

I have observed other cars the same as mine approaching me in different conditions with sidelights on and am able to determine how much additional visibility they provide. This allows me to determine the appropriate use of my lights. Granted some sidelights are better than others. The ones that are simply located next to the headlight bulb are often lost and are no use at all apart from their secondary function of parking lights. On my pre-FL Octavia they are much brighter due to their dedicated compartment within the headlight.

Agreed, if inexperienced or in doubt use dipped headlights, just getting some people to use any lights at all these days would be a bonus.

Back on topic, who's going to be the first to wire up the 5W's on their vRS and swap out the clears for ambers!?

Back on topic, who's going to be the first to wire up the 5W's on their vRS and swap out the clears for ambers!?

Already ordered a set of Amber LED W5W's........ :-)

Where from?

LED's, even better, never thought of that, very premium...

Where from?

hi Carl

Sorry mate - missed your post. I've got a set of these on the way and I'm hoping they'll fit!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/T10-W5W-501-Side-Light-Diodes-9-SMD-LED-Wedge-Amber-/320672424665?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item4aa990e2d9

Just had a thought - those unused sidelights - is it simply a matter of a missing fuse I wonder?

I've got the LED's but I reckon its going to be a right arse of a job to splice inot the DRL wiring - access is awful!

Just had a thought - those unused sidelights - is it simply a matter of a missing fuse I wonder?

I've got the LED's but I reckon its going to be a right arse of a job to splice inot the DRL wiring - access is awful!

Personally I have no idea... but keep us up to date!

On mine they are parking lights and they do work ,either singly or in pairs, depending where you leave the indicator stalk.

So does the VRs have parking lights in a different location? I know the DRL are different from mine.

Well after doing a little work with the Fluke, it transpires that those b**tards at Skoda have deliberately not connected the +ve terminal on the eyebrow lights (see enclosed picture of the plug - bottom green "plugged" hole). This means an additonal set of connections from the eyebrow lights to the DRL wiring. Not the elegant solution I wanted and not only that but in order to get to the DRL wiring, the bumper is going to have to come off. Bugger

The amber LED W5W bulbs that I purchased are also too bloody long - they press up against the inside of the lens so they're no good either Grrrrr

Gibe me a couple of weeks and I might have a crack at that bumper after I've stopped smarting about the LED's.......that cost me £12

im presuming you mean driving at night?

as i drive virtually everywhere (during the day)with my sidelights on, as my car is an 06 and doesnt have the luxury of drl's.

When would dipped headlights not be better than having sidelights on for oncoming vehicles to see you? Side lights are not designed for on the move. More and more countries are making it law to have dipped headlights on at all times now and its saving lives look it up! I drive for a living 150000+ miles per year all over Europe and can tell you even on a summers day dipped headlights make a massive difference........ Why you think DRL's are now LAW in EU and some manufacturers use dipped headlights in this function. On the VRS they are LED's of a high intensity and this dims for sidelight mode.