My project for today was to change the headlight lamps from whatever was in there to Osram Night breaker Unlimited H7 and H1s on my 57 Octavia Scout. I have completed it but obviously the test will be during darkness so I will have to wait for this evening.

The existing beam pattern was horrendous with an L shaped beam on the drivers side dipped beam and the opposite shape on the nearside. They faintly lit up 2 columns in front of the car but there was no "flood" as usual. I suspected either the wrong bulbs or out of adjustment alignment. Despite readjustment they remained pants so the upgrade was called for.

On removing the headlight units I noticed that both dipped beam bulbs had been put in upside down. This was a Eureka moment because it meant that the cause of the poor beams was found. I reckon that whoever did the bulb changes did not take the light units out as recommended in guides on here. By faffing around in the engine bay I reckon it's as easy to put the lamps in wrong as it is to do it correctly. You can't see if the tabs on the lamps are seated right and if the retaining clips click home then job done.

I think this is important to get right for safety reasons alone and I can't believe that the previous owner drove it around like this - we've only had the car for a couple of weeks.

In terms of the headlight units coming out, it's tool free but the length of cable on the nearside unit means that unclipping the connector block is much more difficult than the driver's side. If this prevents you from disconnecting the wiring then fear not you can get good access to the covers and lamps with it hanging down over the front bumper - just be careful not to scratch the paintwork. I used a folded towel between the headlight and the bodywork.

So there we go. Hopefully I've not only solved the dire beam patterns but also improved the headlights with the new lamps.

I have the same issue as the OP and I don't want to go down the HID route.

Halfords have a buy one get one free on their own brand extra output bulbs. I've just got a pair of h7s cheaper than they would have been with a trade discount card and will be fitting them later. I'll let you know if they work better later (ie in the dark)

These extra bright headlights don't last long due to the extra strain on the filiment

Sent from my Galaxy S5

Ahh, Oh well, at least they were BOGOF!