Hi guys,

 

New member.

Had my Mk 2 Superb about 2 years. 125kw tdi sedan, 90,000km.

Just getting some wee niggles now.

 

So, left low beam headlight. I am not sure if bulb or ballast or ???

Symptoms are...

 

Turn lights on, both left and right good, white light.

15 seconds later the left light colour changes from white light to a purple, then ends in a sepia type brown after about a minute.

High beam normal. (except for the left low beam obviously)

No "bulb" dash warning light.

 

Is this a bulb thing? There is light, so is it something that affects the current perhaps, is that what the ballast does?

 

Any ideas appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

 

Tony

I've never had one go but suspect it's the bulb not ballast , I would swap them round then you would know which it is

Hi guys,

New member.

Had my Mk 2 Superb about 2 years. 125kw tdi sedan, 90,000km.

Just getting some wee niggles now.

So, left low beam headlight. I am not sure if bulb or ballast or ???

Symptoms are...

Turn lights on, both left and right good, white light.

15 seconds later the left light colour changes from white light to a purple, then ends in a sepia type brown after about a minute.

High beam normal. (except for the left low beam obviously)

No "bulb" dash warning light.

Is this a bulb thing? There is light, so is it something that affects the current perhaps, is that what the ballast does?

Any ideas appreciated.

Thanks

Tony

Exactly what mines done, was the end of the bulb life.

I bought 2 D1S bulbs from SuperSkoda, Philips bulbs, but didn't like the colour of light they produced, I wanted more blue so took them back out and went for OSRAM. They have less than an hours useage on them and selling them for 1/2 of what I paid

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/391829-philips-d1s-x2-as-new-%C2%A355-posted/#entry4609625

G

As above that sounds like typical symptoms of a dodgy / failing bulb. They advise replacing them in pairs.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi guys,

 

New member.

Had my Mk 2 Superb about 2 years. 125kw tdi sedan, 90,000km.

Just getting some wee niggles now.

 

So, left low beam headlight. I am not sure if bulb or ballast or ???

Symptoms are...

 

Turn lights on, both left and right good, white light.

15 seconds later the left light colour changes from white light to a purple, then ends in a sepia type brown after about a minute.

High beam normal. (except for the left low beam obviously)

No "bulb" dash warning light.

 

Is this a bulb thing? There is light, so is it something that affects the current perhaps, is that what the ballast does?

 

Any ideas appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

 

Tony

Do you have bi-xenons or regular halogens?  From your post it sounds like you might have xenons and this does sound like the bulb is coming to the end of its life.

Edited 17 May, 201610 yr by Superb170

Exactly what mines done, was the end of the bulb life.

I bought 2 D1S bulbs from SuperSkoda, Philips bulbs, but didn't like the colour of light they produced, I wanted more blue so took them back out and went for OSRAM. They have less than an hours useage on them and selling them for 1/2 of what I paid

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/391829-philips-d1s-x2-as-new-%C2%A355-posted/#entry4609625

G

Hes in new Zealand so postage will be massive

Hes in new Zealand so postage will be massive

Didn't notice as I'm mobile.

But if the guy wants them I'll certain send them to him.

Price according to Royal Mail is £15, so if you want them bud, £70 and they are both yours.

G

Hi Tony,

 

I'm in NZ too. Postage from the UK isn't too bad and there are more options and cheaper prices for Automotive bulbs. The trick is to avoid fake bulbs especially with the expensive Xenons. There is guidance online for what to look for with fake D1S bulbs.

 

If you are looking for local options Osram is distributed by Hella NZ in Pakuranga, Auckland.

 

Would be keen to see what you end up with and how much it costs you!

Matt

Hi guys,

Yeah, I will swap the bulbs over, to test, great idea.

Will do when I have a chance over the next couple of weeks. I'll then look at 3rd party bulbs, the VAG ones are $360 each from the Audi dealer.

Will let you know how I get on.

Thanks

T

Osram Night Breaker Unlimited is the way to go. Great bulbs and do produce a better light

Osram Night Breaker Unlimited is the way to go. Great bulbs and do produce a better light

They're halogen bulbs and the OP has xenons.

They're halogen bulbs and the OP has xenons.

 

Ok Xenarc versions then!

 

http://www.powerbulbs.com/product/osram-night-breaker-unlimited-d1s-single

 

I managed to get mine for £100 delivered

Ok Xenarc versions then!

http://www.powerbulbs.com/product/osram-night-breaker-unlimited-d1s-single

I managed to get mine for £100 delivered

I stand corrected.

I bought mine for approx £35 for a pair from HIDS DIRECT.

Had them in my car 18months and not a problem.

One of mine went pink like earlier post.

I stand corrected.

 

They're frequently on offer. They're a newish bulb (less than a year on the market) and 4350K rating so a good crisp colour. 

They're frequently on offer. They're a newish bulb (less than a year on the market) and 4350K rating so a good crisp colour.

That's quite a warm light for xenons though. Most manufacturers OEM xenons are around the 5500-6000k mark.

Think they'd be a little too yellow for me.

Edited 18 May, 201610 yr by WaveyDavey

That's quite a warm light for xenons though. Most manufacturers OEM xenons are around the 5500-6000k mark.

Think they'd be a little too yellow for me.

 

Stock is somewhere between 4100-4300K. Latest LED MB / BMW lights are in the 5500K range. They are actually a good blend of colour. Over about 5200k you get a drop off in light output. These are rated to 20m additional light up the road and can fully agree with that. 

 

Very pleased with them. Big thumbs up from me. 

hmmmm All the colour charts of light output (showing what the actual light cast by each different bulb looks like) I can find all seem to put my OEM xenons around 5000-5500k. 4000-4500k bulbs all seem too yellow compared to mine. Even the factory fit xenons in the mrs' 11 year old Fabia vRS (still the original bulbs) give a whiter light than the 4500k examples in the charts I have found.

 

5000k is also what is considered "pure white" and is what I would have always said the xenons I've had on all my cars since 2003 (All factory fit) looked like.

Edited 18 May, 201610 yr by WaveyDavey

hmmmm All the colour charts of light output (showing what the actual light cast by each different bulb looks like) I can find all seem to put my OEM xenons around 5000-5500k. 4000-4500k bulbs all seem too yellow compared to mine. Even the factory fit xenons in the mrs' 11 year old Fabia vRS (still the original bulbs) give a whiter light than the 4500k examples in the charts I have found.

 

5000k is also what is considered "pure white" and is what I would have always said the xenons I've had on all my cars since 2003 (All factory fit) looked like.

 

My OEM xenons are 4300K, made by Philips. 

 

That said - most of the colour charts I have seen would make me say they must be 5000K, just as you posted. The charts are like the colour charts you get for house paints. You pick what looks right from them, you put it up on the wall and promptly shout "WTF!" as very pale blue has magically dried with a green tinge. 

 

In real life, the light from my 4300K looks very,very white to me. That said, these are the first Xenons i have had so I'm still in the newbie "ohmigodtheyaresobrightlookhowfarthelightgoes!!" phase, even after 10 months...... 

This is a good chart and a little better to show the colours imo:

 

.

 

This is also quite a good chart:

 

I believe most halogen is between 2700-3000k. 

Yes - that chart you posted  is definitely one of the better ones (just looked at it on an IPS screen  laptop and on a good flatpanel and its pretty consistent).

 

Using that, I would say that its illustration of 4300K is what I have. Weirdly though, the 3000 and 5000 kelvin temperatures look more warm(yellow). If I was given this chart and asked what I wanted for driving, I'd pick the 4300K for preference and for a match to what I have (OEM). I'll bet that the 4300K example in that chart is using a bulb, perhaps a Philips, with high lumens.

 

 

I think the main boo boo people make with all this is confusing kelvin/colour with brightness. The latter is properly measured with "lumens". After a quick check online it appears that Philips HID/Xenons in the 4100 to 4500K colour range give about 3200 lumens of brightness.

 

Where lumens are given for other manufacturers, the higher temps seem to be giving 2800 lumens. I.e. bluer light (higher kelvin) but less brightness (lower lumens).

 

All vendors should all be telling us the lumens. I'll bet there would be a lot less hair pulling over HID/Xenon selection if they did. 

You are right about the halogen and the 2700K range. I switched my home and offices to LED and 2700 was the best replacement for the halogens at home (warmth and comfort) - 4000-5000 K was best for the work areas in the office where old, bright, fluorescent s were being replaced. Nobody liked to look at/work under lights over 5000K. 

I don't trust any of the colour guidelines given by the manufacturers, and prefer to go off reviews from trusted sources if possible. I tried a pair of 'Xenon blue' Hella H3 bulbs and this is what they looked like....

 

 

 

Nothing at all like the Bi-Xenon D1S bulbs and yellower than the stock H3 bulbs!

Edited 19 May, 201610 yr by williamshatnerspants

They don't seem to make HID's like they used to, my Audi A8 is still on the original Xenon bulbs and the car is 12 years old. The light output is good, but they do take slightly longer now to get to the correct colour temperature (4300K by the way). My previous Audi was 15 years old when I sold it, and again was still on its original bulbs.

 

My Volvo with Halogens has very yellow output by comparison.

I don't trust any of the colour guidelines given by the manufacturers, and prefer to go off reviews from trusted sources if possible. I tried a pair of 'Xenon blue' Hella H3 bulbs and this is what they looked like....

 

 

 

Nothing at all like the Bi-Xenon D1S bulbs and yellower than the stock H3 bulbs!

 

That's because halogen just can't match the colour temperatures of Xenon. It's down to the gas. They can do a whiter yellow but not the crisp white. Don't be surprised by this!

 

They don't seem to make HID's like they used to, my Audi A8 is still on the original Xenon bulbs and the car is 12 years old. The light output is good, but they do take slightly longer now to get to the correct colour temperature (4300K by the way). My previous Audi was 15 years old when I sold it, and again was still on its original bulbs.

 

My Volvo with Halogens has very yellow output by comparison.

 

I think it depends on how they are used. Lots of cycling does them no good. I use mine as DRLs on the twindoor but I want to be seen. Happy to pay £100 every 3-4 years to ensure best performance. I did notice a difference between the original Philips and the Osram when I replaced them. Startup time was better and the light output definitely went further up the road. It's one of those things that fades gradually so is more difficult to notice until you replace them!

Hi guys, I changed the bulbs over, the right became brown after 20 or 30 seconds. Bit the bullet and bought a pair of Osram 4300k bulbs. Removed the old bulbs, removed the collars, put collars on new bulbs and reinstalled. Perfect. Light is great, job done.