Hello,

 

We have 2009-12 Superb II CR170, milage is 225.000 km. We have noticed that headlighs are very weak. During rainy weather in the night road is barely lit. What can cause it? Just replace bulbs, or Skoda Superb II has weak headlamps construction which over time can fog up projector lens? I am asking, because replacement of bulbs is quite costly, and if the reason may be whole headlamp. Maybe someone also had same problem? In comparison VW Polo 2009 with simple halogen H7 bulbs shines on the road 5 times better ...

 

Thank you in advance.

Has this been progressive or were they always very dim?  Is there equal light coming from both headlamps?  They will get a bit dimmer over time and with the mileage I am guessing the car is a few years old.  Also is the levelling system working ok (assuming you have auto selected which will make a difference to how the light reacts)  

The bulbs do age over time, the colour temperature changes and they take longer to get to that temperature. First thing I'd try is replace the bulbs, they can be purchased cheaply from eBay.

As above, the xenons will get progressively more purple in their output towards the end of their life (which is about 2500 hours).

 

If you do need to replace the bulbs, replace in pairs.  In UK you can buy a pair of original osram bulbs for £70 delivered.

 

Someone better informed about xenons than me should hopefully be able to advise on whether the ballasts would need replacing.

 

Also check that it isn't just the effect from the clever swivel lighting of the xenons as they have a different configuration for driving in the rain (sensed from whether the the wipers are in operation).  The rain mode tends to tilt the beam angle further down than when it is not raining, so that oncoming drivers are not dazzled from surface water on the road.  To check the difference, turn the headlight switch from "auto" to "on".  You should see the beam angle change after a few seconds.

Superb170:

Yes lights were dim when we bought it used with 210kkm. Both lamps shines equaly. Regardind light leveling I think it is auto, during goverment inspectio (MOT) everything was OK.

 

Mannyo and JakeBlade:

I have quite a lot experience with Xenon light bulbs, I know that before death they stars to produce rose light, but in this case light is normal.

 

Regarding eBay, maybe you can say what type of bulbs goes to Superb II? D2S?

 

JakeBlade: Hmm, you gave my tip, we also have light switch set on "Auto", maybe this can have effect? Lighs are working on not full power or smth. like that?

They are either D2S or D1S. You would have to remove one to be sure which one you have.

If I remember correctly, the early Superb II used the xenon lights on reduced power as daytime running lights. Perhaps your light sensor is faulty, and you are driving all the time with the xenons on reduced power? If that is the case then you should see a difference in light power when you turn on the headlights manually, instead of leaving them in auto.

Edited 19 February, 201412 yr by JakeBlade

Girlfriend said, that there is no difference between Auto ant manual mode. One idea, maybe I need to try to replace bulbs from high beams, to low beams and than see a difference ...

Take them out and have a look at the bulbs.  You'll need to do this to determine if they are D1S or D2S anyway.  It could be that the previous owner used some cheap bulbs which have a more rapid decline at the end of their life.

 

The only thing that could really impact the brightness would be bulb alignment within the bulb housing, if there is condensation in the housing (which should burn off over time anyway), or if the brackets holding the headlight housing have broken and is affecting alignment.

 

If all of the above is ok, then you could also check that your battery is charging ok.

 

Can't really think of anything else!

You wont be able to swap the bulbs high beam to low beam as the high beam uses H7 bulbs and the low beam the xenon part uses D1S  or D2S

Girlfriend said, that there is no difference between Auto ant manual mode. One idea, maybe I need to try to replace bulbs from high beams, to low beams and than see a difference ...

If you have Bi-Xenon the same bulb is used for both high beam and low beam. All that happens is a shutter moves and alters the beam pattern.

My passenger side Xenon lamp started failing in the winter, Its turned pink! got some funny looks! I bought a OSRAM XENARC D1S 35W HID lamp as its a direct OEM replacement, found it on the Net for about £40, a bit cheaper than Halfords wanted fo a own make at £80!

Today took out one bulb. It was Philips XenStart D1S bulb. Discovered that bulb is covered with gray/black smoke (1). I think I will change to new ones and will see difference.

 

But I have question. I need to remove plastic holder (2 in picture) and put it on new bulb?