Replace oem xenon ballast with universal

[TrondOstli]

Hi.

Anyone tried to replace the oem ballast with an universal one? One of the ballasts on my Octy was fried by a dodgy bulb, and need to be replaced. Problem is the cost of the oem one is rather high, so I am looking at some universal alternatives. Hope someone can weigh in with some good advice.

[nige8021]

The previous owner of my 03 L&K has done exactly this, there is an aftermarket ballast unit attached to the rear cover of the light unit and the supply & high tension wires have been run into the inside of the cover

[ExAudiSi]

It may depend on which side has failed as I think that the passenger side also controls the self leveling.

[nige8021]

15 minutes ago, ExAudiSi said:

It may depend on which side has failed as I think that the passenger side also controls the self leveling.

On mine it is the passenger side, the control box that controls the self-levelling still works with the aftermarket ballast, just when you do a VCDS scan it reports " 01345 - Ignition Module for HID Headlamp (N195) 37-00 - Faulty "  

[TrondOstli]

21 hours ago, nige8021 said:

On mine it is the passenger side, the control box that controls the self-levelling still works with the aftermarket ballast, just when you do a VCDS scan it reports " 01345 - Ignition Module for HID Headlamp (N195) 37-00 - Faulty "  

Did you leave the faulty one in place, or did you remove it completely? I am thinking about running the cables from the aftermarket ballast through the connector from the original one, if it is possible to remove the connector from the headlamp.

[nige8021]

I didn't do the modification, it was done by the cars previous owner. The original control box for the levelling is still fitted with the aftermarket ballast unit screwed to the cover by the control box, I haven't had a look inside to see what they have done with the wiring, however this morning I noticed the sidelight bulb has failed so I will be removing the light unit to replace it, so I will take some pics

[TrondOstli]

Cool. I will be doing this job tomorrow, I think. Pictures will be taken just to document the process. I was hoping I could remove the old ballast, and mount the new one in its place. Is the controls for leveling inside the ballast unit on the original one?

[nige8021]

The ballast unit (#8) & control box (#9) are separate units see this diagram http://skoda.7zap.com/en/cz/octavia/oct/2003-252/9/941-941020/

[ExAudiSi]

Number 9 is not just the leveling control unit, it is also the ballast for the xenon lamp.

Number 8 is the igniter.

 

 

 

[nige8021]

I had a quick look at mine and the supply going to the original high voltage unit (ballast/ignitor) has been spliced to power the aftermarket ballast unit, and it's high voltage lead has been run into the cover and to the discharge bulb unit

[TrondOstli]

I planned to supply the new ballast from the dipped beam lead that comes with the wire harness into the headlamp. Thus leaving everything as it is, except for the high voltage part. Is this an acceptable approach? This way I will keep the leveling controls intact, as I see it.

[TrondOstli]

Job is done. Completely forgot to take pictures, but it is fairly straightforward. The biggest challenge was actually placing the ballast unit. Not exactly plenty of room around the headlights on this car. Supply voltage was taken from pin 6 and 8 on the 12 pin connector (yellow and brown wire), spliced leaving everything as is. The igniters was removed, as they were no longer needed. Drilled a rather large hole in the side of the headlamp for the wires, and used melt-glue to seal it off. 

Everything worked out just as planned, but one thing puzzled me. The color temperature changed a bit. It is now a tad bluer than before... not a problem, it just puzzles me.