Xenon lights

[Coops]

I watched my Xenons this morning in the mist. They swivel left and right but don't change pattern. The right hand beam is fixed firmly to the left and the beam pattern remains close to the car.

 

That's the same as mine, distance from the beam is very poor - I'd say 10-20m max.

 

 

@ devonshiredave,

 

did you have your rear fog lamp on or were you using economy mode?

 

Both settings disable the cone adaptation systems.

 

Not sure about devonshiredave but I don't have the ability to change modes? The lights are on AUTO and there is no settings within the menus to change.

 

 

My lights swivel at low speed and do the dance at startup but aside from that I really can't see the benefits. My halogens on the S2 were a darn sight better. Better spread and longer reach.

[Q102]

@Coops, your car has the same symptoms as mine.

 

Lights not adapting to speed / cornering and range very short. I thought mine were swivelling at low speed but now they are working correctly I think it was the fog lights switching on when turning.

I assume the SE-L doesn't have the drive mode selection then.

[Sagalout]

That's the same as mine, distance from the beam is very poor - I'd say 10-20m max.

 

 

 

Not sure about devonshiredave but I don't have the ability to change modes? The lights are on AUTO and there is no settings within the menus to change.

 

 

My lights swivel at low speed and do the dance at startup but aside from that I really can't see the benefits. My halogens on the S2 were a darn sight better. Better spread and longer reach

 

Hopefully the notes from the manual help to understand what I was saying and hence my questions?

 

Fog mode

The cone of light in front of the vehicle is adjusted so that the driver is not dazzled by the reflection of the cone of light by fog in front of the vehicle. The mode is active at speeds of 15 – 70 km/h and if the rear fog light is switched on for a period of time longer than about 10 seconds. The deactivation of the mode is carried out a few minutes after switching off the rear fog lights.

 

Economy mode

When the Eco driving mode » page 172 is activated the system is in Economy mode and there is no direction dependent light cone adaptation in front of the vehicle

[Coops]

@Coops, your car has the same symptoms as mine.

 

Lights not adapting to speed / cornering and range very short. I thought mine were swivelling at low speed but now they are working correctly I think it was the fog lights switching on when turning.

I assume the SE-L doesn't have the drive mode selection then.

 

Similar but they do swivel, it's not the fog lights. I can get the beam to move/swivel when at about 10-15 mph as it does it when I drive out my cul-de-sac at slow speed.

[Coops]

Hopefully the notes from the manual help to understand what I was saying and hence my questions?

 

Fog mode

The cone of light in front of the vehicle is adjusted so that the driver is not dazzled by the reflection of the cone of light by fog in front of the vehicle. The mode is active at speeds of 15 – 70 km/h and if the rear fog light is switched on for a period of time longer than about 10 seconds. The deactivation of the mode is carried out a few minutes after switching off the rear fog lights.

 

Economy mode

When the Eco driving mode » page 172 is activated the system is in Economy mode and there is no direction dependent light cone adaptation in front of the vehicle

 

Nothing to do with fog lights, i haven't even switched my fog lights on!

 

And likewise don't use Eco Mode in the drive select.

[Devonshiredave]

@ devonshiredave,

 

did you have your rear fog lamp on or were you using economy mode?

 

Both settings disable the cone adaptation systems.

Neither. The headlights do track when turning but absolutely no change in beam pattern at any speed. Either it is very subtle, or they don't work as they should.

[Devonshiredave]

Get it booked into a dealer, I assume Progress in Northampton are your closest garage as well ( I live near Northampton).

I'd love to know if they say "we've never heard of that before"

 

Headlight range is way better now, easy to see lights moving about.

Marshalls at Kidlington are my nearest dealer. I'll book it in to have it looked at. As Coops says, beam range is dismal at 10-15m. I may invest in new bulbs if they get it sorted. I need more light.

[blahde2]

Marshalls at Kidlington are my nearest dealer. I'll book it in to have it looked at. As Coops says, beam range is dismal at 10-15m. I may invest in new bulbs if they get it sorted. I need more light.

I had mine checked as I thought their range was pants. I could see them changing their pattern at the slower speed settings, but never for motorway mode.

I wad actually scared of driving at 60 mph on an unlit A road as I couldn't see far enough ahead to be comfortable. I asked the dealer to check the beam height and all was well they said.

As they wouldn't adjust the lights up, I did it using an allen key and works MOT light tester. I am much happier now and still legal (just).

As a reference I marked a line on a wall at work of where my lights struck it. I then marked the road so I could place the car exactly where it was the next time I check. That was prior to taking the car to the dealer, I marked it again after they did their thing and after my own adjustment.

The beam of light is now a good 50cm higher at 40m, where previously that was where they started at the base of the wall.

Have a look before and after the dealer has had a look so you have a reference for later. It's good to see further and will keep me a bit happier over the xmas hols :-)

Edited 13 December, 2016 by blahde2

[Coops]

Mine has been into the dealer today to have them checked. Surprise is that they say nothing is wrong and they are aligned correctly blah blah blah.

 

Told them the lights are poor and I'm not happy with them, and that they are not doing as intended. If they've plugged their diagnostic tool in perhaps it's activated something but we'll have to wait until I drive home to see.

 

It has been re-booked for a longer period (as they only had it booked in for the day)

[scrak]

Hi all, long time reader very rare contributor !! .............. I have similar issues described above. My Xenon lights do their dance on start up, cornering function works well but on unlit roads the range is very poor, I feel uncomfortable driving at or below the speed limit on bendy roads as some bends tend to catch me out. The definition and cut off from the light throw is very sharp with no spill, which is nice but the range is far too short. I don't notice whether or not any change in light pattern happens at speed. I think the Xenon lights should preform so much better and was really looking forward to having real performance lights. Now the high beams are fantastic, best lights I've ever had, however they also seem to be aiming a little high and I'm wondering if this energy was put into distance rather than planet finding that they would be even better.!? My previous cars being the Octavia II and Superb Combi II I ran Philips Xtreme and was very happy with them compared to OEM bulbs, but now I'm starting to think they may be even better to the way my current Combi III is set up with Xenons.

 

From reading the above posts and other info, the dealers are reluctant to change the height of the beam (haven't had a chance to go yet but pre empting similar response). Can you easily adjust the height manually, and if you adjust this will the self levelling function still work OK. Also if you adjust them manually what distance back from flat wall should you set them up at and what drop (angle) off centre should you work to. If I adjust them higher with the local manual adjustment screw and then if the car is fully loaded will the sensors bring them back down again. I know how annoying and dangerous misaligned lights can be. Feedback on others experience would be great. Many Thanks

[Blindek]

There are 2 screws on the Headlight. The inner one is for up and down, the outer one left right. Just set them a bit higher and try it out. It doesn't mess with the Auto adjustment since the Headlight has to be somehow set to the basic setting (been like this for ages)

[Gizmo]

22 hours ago, Blindek said:

There are 2 screws on the Headlight. The inner one is for up and down, the outer one left right. Just set them a bit higher and try it out. It doesn't mess with the Auto adjustment since the Headlight has to be somehow set to the basic setting (been like this for ages)

 

If you intend to adjust the yourself then make sure the car is hooked up to VCDS at the same time.

[Blindek]

Just if you Have Smart Light Asssist, if not you can't change anything with VCDS, since you mena the Basic Setting 

[Gizmo]

http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/cars/xenonalignment.html

 

[psycholist]

When I bought my car the light range was hopeless compared to the non-xenon Octavia I was replacing. The original owner must have had a terrible time driving at night as it only lit to about 30 m down the road. The garage adjusted the lights up and now they're excellent (While still passing the Irish MOT). You don't really see the lights moving into the bends as it's pretty subtle unless there's fog. I found in really thick fog on tiny country roads that the adaptive dipped beams worked slightly better than the fog lights (Turning on fog lights disables the cornering function).

 

I initially found myself dipping the headlights going into bends because the bend was lit further around than I was used to, so I assumed something was coming. Now when I drive cars without AFS on roads I know I'm left wondering why I can't see properly into the bends.

Edited 28 February, 2017 by psycholist

[Superb170]

13 hours ago, psycholist said:

I found in really thick fog on tiny country roads that the adaptive dipped beams worked slightly better than the fog lights (Turning on fog lights disables the cornering function).

 

Turning on the fog lights will also disable the adaptive system itself as well as the cornering lights.  I know what you mean about driving a car without AFS - it does feel a bit odd and you find yourself looking for the extra light around the bends.

[blahde2]

On 27/02/2017 at 11:22, scrak said:

From reading the above posts and other info, the dealers are reluctant to change the height of the beam (haven't had a chance to go yet but pre empting similar response).

 

Also if you adjust them manually what distance back from flat wall should you set them up at and what drop (angle) off centre should you work to. If I adjust them higher with the local manual adjustment screw and then if the car is fully loaded will the sensors bring them back down again. I know how annoying and dangerous misaligned lights can be. Feedback on others experience would be great. Many Thanks

 

You are correct. Some dealers are unwilling to bring the base height of the light up via the manual adjustment screws. Read 'can't be arsed' IMHO!

 

If you are to adjust your lights yourself, find yourself a Mk 5 Golf, a flat road and as little street lighting as you can. Park directly behind it about 40-50m, or what you consider a safe distance behind a car at 60mph. Make sure your adaptive lighting is set to ECO as that would be your equivalent highway setting where light throw is supposed to be the furthest.

 

Then adjust your beam pattern so it cuts across the middle of the VW badge on the boot (top limit of adjustment), and / or the top edge of the bumper. Somewhere between those two points you'll find your sweet spot.

 

I chose the VW Badge as my top limit, as even with the car fully loaded the beam still cut cleanly across the back of the Golf below its rear window line. I don't like to dazzle anyone (head on or from behind) and actively take note on my lights every time I am out.

 

I was flashed twice after my second adjustment up from standard, so I realigned by dropping 1.5 inch below the VW badge. Zero flashes since and I'm much happier with the range of the lights. At that level, the beam cuts below where most windscreen starts (at about headlight level of most cars) so I know they won't dazzle on coming drivers.

 

Let me add that I checked my headlight levels after my own adjustment by using my workplaces MOT light beam checker the following morning. I was right on the limits but still legal. You set your oen limit, you are responsible if they dazzle, hence why I made use of the tools my works workshop had to offer just to be sure. An independent garage may check yours for you for a small fee. I would recommend it just to be on the safe side.

Edited 2 March, 2017 by blahde2

[TransportPlanner]

Same exact problem on my dad's 2015 Suberb SE L Exec. It drives me nuts every time I drive it at night! The beam falls way too short... my parents live out in the dark countryside, and when you have to dip the beam due to oncoming vehicles it's like "driving by faith"... you simply can't see as far as the car's stopping distance. I've had what I consider to be at least one dangerous close call, where the lights didn't illuminate pedestrians crossing the road outside a built-up area at around 40mph. 

My dad then took it into Skoda Swindon. Let me say, they are USELESS. For context, the rear brake rotor warped, and I knew it had warped. The first two times, despite us saying it's warped, they insisted the problem was probably something with the suspension or wheel hub etc. Finally on the 3rd time, someone who knew at least something basic about car maintenance agreed that yes, it was the brake rotor. Changed brake rotor, problem gone. 

Well, of course, when we took it in about the headlight, they "checked it" and everything was "fine". As expected, no difference.

I don't understand why so many Superbs are coming incorrectly set from the factory, or why the dealers won't change it either. It's not rocket science. When I was 17, I fitted the projector headlights to my US-spec BMW e30 (in place of terrible sealed beams), installed a full Philips 6000k xenon system, re-soldered the fuse relays, and then adjusted the height, all with just a bit of help from another forum member. The initial adjustment was a bit on the high side (probably a degree above horizontal) and of course I got a flash from someone about 500+m down the road (although they would obviously not have been blinded as they got closer). I then re-adjusted, and don't think I ever got flashed at again. The throw was phenomenal, I could see probably 100+m down the road on low beams. 

The best headlights I've seen was on my dad's previous car, a 2013 BMW 525d with the premium xenons. The adjustment was perfect with excellent throw, and the cornering functions worked great too, as did driving into Europe - the cutoffs changed noticibly, and automatically. For info, the IIHS in the USA now test headlight pattern and throw as part of their new car safety assessment. As expected, some cars like Volvos did poorly... they always seem to have way too short a throw.