I seem to remember that conversion for continental driving its a dealer job for a hour or so's labour for Superbs fitted with Xeons, this is out of the question really for me as aI am doing a couple of trips this month and another in November. Can stick on converters be used?

Any one have the true facts? our resident experts Bigk, Lady Loki? or other top middle or lower briskodites, I travel this Sat.

John

(V6 2.8 Elegance Nov 2002 Auto)

No. stick ons are a no no.

Stick on's are an absolute no, because they melt all over your Xenons and they are about

Certainly as far as Audi are concerned(and any other make) it's a big,big,big NO NO to customer's doing the conti change --- due to the very high voltages involved.

We don't charge our customer's....but I know some dealers do.

Stick-on converter's will not do - simply becuase of the heat generated - it's unlikely they will stick,plus the intense brightness of the xenon's would probably shine through anyway.

If you did attempt to do it yourself -- which I don't advise -- make sure you disconnect the battery before you start,the light's look similar to Audi A6 light's -- A6 lights have to be removed to do the swap,which then involes the beam pattern being reset via the 5051 diagnostic tool.

Yeah... what Dave said. Almost dropped myself right in it there...

LadyLoki,

Can you let me in on the secret as well - I have an L&K with xenons and I fairly frequently go across the channel on business.

So far, I just leave my lights for rhd and accept the wrath of the foreigners, though surprisingly few get upset!

Thanks

John.

I have never understood why it's so bloody difficult to be able to swap headlights for conti driving,esp with xenon light's you would think there would be an easy way to get the electronics do fix it without having to mess around going to the dealers everytime.

Even if it only flatlined the beam - it would do for temp driving.

On the older A4 pre xenon - it was a peice of cake to do - nice little lever to one side to flick one way or the other - easy -- but I spose that's progress for you.

Originally posted by skodaw in this post

Certainly as far as Audi are concerned(and any other make) it's a big,big,big NO NO to customer's doing the conti change --- due to the very high voltages involved.

I have seen first hand the damage that can be done when xenon's are played around with.

We had an Audi TT come to us that had been to a bodyshop for a minor repair to the front bumper ass -- they "technician" at the bodyshop (had not realised / wasnt bothered / was very stupid) and started to remove the light's with the battery still connected -- and BANG -- the light unit blew -- he was lucky to not get burned or scarred -- but the car was a mess - apart from a new headlight

They allegedly blind everyone - UK or johnny foreigner. The number of times I have been flashed by peeps who assume that I have full beam on.

I would hate to see baked on adhesive on the lens, so don't go with the stickies!

Once the conversion has been done, can you leave it there or do you have to switch it back on your return?

Originally posted by skodaw in this post

I have never understood why it's so bloody difficult to be able to swap headlights for conti driving,esp with xenon light's you would think there would be an easy way to get the electronics do fix it without having to mess around going to the dealers everytime.

Yes, it surprises me, too. It's not like it's rocket science...

My Renault 5 (1973) had a simple adjustment - for each side: just unclip the bulb, flick a lever, and replace it. Job done, 1 minute max. It worked, too - I used to check the beams by shining them on the wall at a local pub car park (any excuse for a visit to a pub )

Originally posted by fen_l&k in this post

Once the conversion has been done, can you leave it there or do you have to switch it back on your return?

Fraid so Howard -- so if your dealer does charge the full hour - you'll be looking at over

Originally posted by KLB in this post

Yes, it surprises me, too. It's not like it's rocket science...

I used to check the beams by shining them on the wall at a local pub car park (any excuse for a visit to a pub )

It's as good an excuse as any other

Originally posted by skodaw in this post

Fraid so Howard -- so if your dealer does charge the full hour - you'll be looking at over

Originally posted by fen_l&k in this post

Money, Rope and Old spring to mind....

Yes I quite agree -- but I recon the dealers would be very happy to not have to do them -- much better if it was an automatic thing!

Originally posted by LadyLoki in this post

Stick on's are an absolute no, because they melt all over your Xenons and they are about

Well with the latest headlamps with the clear lenses it may be possible, but up to a couple of years ago, the beam pattern was built into the lens structure (the bulbs just give an even beam), so not possible to just flick a switch. Hence the stick-on masks...

This thread seems to be the best reason i ever saw NOT to have Xenon's on a car....

Think i'll get some nice uprated halogen lamps for winter, sometimes OLD technology is best :p

Yes, but having said that, you really can't beat Xenons for light performance and also much better/wider illunination area.

As Howard says, you tend to get flashed from time to time in the UK anyway, so being entirely selfish, you might as well also get flashed when in Europe! As I say, so far I have not had too much bad reaction to my non-converted xenons.

Seriously though, it does seem ridiculous that it is a dealer job to do the conversion, esp. as it needs to be done again on return to UK - for me it's not just the cost (or not) but alsothe time involved in going to the dealer.

My last car was a Vectra CDX with xenons also, and that was just a case of moving a lever behind each headlamp to change it over.

I think the problem with Skoda xenon system is that all the high voltage control gear appears to be on the back of the headlamp unit - with the Vectra it was a remote module.

John.

Originally posted by JayTee in this post

you might as well also get flashed when in Europe! As I say, so far I have not had too much bad reaction to my non-converted xenons.

Seriously though, it does seem ridiculous that it is a dealer job to do the conversion, esp. as it needs to be done again on return to UK - for me it's not just the cost (or not) but alsothe time involved in going to the dealer.

John.

Agree with your points any dealer trips are really inconveinient for me, my concern is the fact that its a legal requirment to convert our lights, I tend to do lots of night driving and guess its dependant if a police sitting at the side of the road is dazzled by your lights.

On my RS I have headlight protectors that I have stuck the Skoda masks permanently fixed so its a matter of just clipping them on when required - added benifit of protecting the lights from the higher speed stone damage.

Another Octavia driver I know uses the manual load leveler inside the cabin to set the lights to the lowest point for European use, this is not possible on the Superb with Xenons as its got self levelling circuitry. Probably the L&K Oct has as well as I believe its the legal reqm't with Xenons.

John

My father has 2 sets of headlamp protectors, one of which has the stick ons on, he just swaps protectors before each trip. Much simpler than getting a dealer involved.

Would be great if it were possible to use protectors with Xenons, but apparently you can't cos of heat problems again (allegedly).

No easy solution, I'm afraid.

I think I would risk the dazzling rather than cough for

His is a Volvo and has Xenons. Appears that there is a slight gap around the edges which allows air to circulate through, stops them melting.

:confused: Am I missing something? Why is heat a problem with xenon headlights?

I thought the whole point of xenons was that they produced a lot more light than conventional tungsten filament bulbs (plain or halogen), with a lower power consumption. In other words, less power is being wasted as heat - so they should run cooler, shouldn't they?

I thought xenons required a lot of power.....hence the control unit required....therefore the cost.

With that amount of power (I seem to remember something about 35kw or something like that) I'm sure that there is a lot of heat generation.

shrugshoulderssmiley.

For what it's worth, I went through this carry on when I had my L&K. After a lot of to-and-froing between me and th dealer, I e-mailed the Skoda factory, and they said that the dealer adjustment moves the dip mask, such that the dip pattern is vertical, so the light dips down, rather than to the left. This avoids the dazzling problem, but doesn't give you a proper dip pattern for the continent. However, there's nothing wrong with having this adjustment done and leaving it like that. You won't get a proper UK dip pattern, but it will be legal. (I believe the law says that it musn't dazzle someone who's eyeline is 1 metre above the ground).

Personally, I just stuck some tape over then lens, with the car parked on the drive. It would have been nice if I could just move a lever under the bonnet, like I can in my (xenon-equipped) Omega.

Any amount of hassle is, IMHO, worth the brilliant light that you get from Xenon versus Halogen.

Oh, and the electronics isn't to do with power as such -it's because xenons need lots of volts to work. If they didn't have clever electronics they'd take an appreciable amount of time to get working, like a street light.

Phil