Low dipped and full beam

[Sagalout]

@MASH13. 

I have had 2 x S3, one an estate, the current one a hatch. On the first it was the standard afs 2 system with the auto switch between high and low beam, the current one is dynamic lighting ( the version that shades rather than switch to low beam).

On both the lighting system is of the best I have ever driven with. The control systems for it on the Skoda have some quirks which I only found after careful study of the manual. The eco mode mentioned above but as another example the bending of the headlights is only operative in sport mode (or set as one option in individual mode which you have on the L&K)

If your system is not working as described in the video below then you may have alignment issues that the dealer needs to sort.  Simply switching them on at a standstill in daylight is not an adeqaute test that they are working correctly. I am not sure whether Skoda use Hella but the principle is exactly the same.

 

 

Hope this helps

Edited 25 November, 2017 by Sagalout

[MASH13]

13 minutes ago, Sagalout said:

@MASH13. 

I have had 2 x S3, one an estate, the current one a hatch. On the first it was the standard afs 2 system with the auto switch between high and low beam, the current one is dynamic lighting ( the version that shades rather than switch to low beam).

On both the lighting system is of the best I have ever driven with. The control systems for it on the Skoda have some quirks which I only found after careful study of the manual. The eco mode mentioned above but as another example the bending of the headlights is only operative in sport mode (or set as one option in individual mode which you have on the L&K)

If your system is not working as described in the video below then you may have alignment issues that the dealer needs to sort.  Simply switching them on at a standstill in daylight is not an adeqaute test that they are working correctly. I am not sure whether Skoda use Hella but the principle is exactly the same.

 

 

Hope this helps

 

[MASH13]

Thank you very much for the useful details.  I usually drive in Eco mode so I will try it in sports mode.

[rtj70]

Your video is from an advertisement for the Hella lighting system. Here's the longer version:

 

 

It's used by many car manufacturers and probably in use by the VW group too. But my Passat CC at AFS but was not as sophisticated... I think my A3 and now Superb do. I thought lighting was poor on the A3 on local roads because light beam did not extend as far as I expected but it adapts to speed etc.

 

If you drive the Superb in eco mode... AFS is disabled I think.

 

 

Edited 27 November, 2017 by rtj70

[Sagalout]

Just an addendum to this.

Tonight I had the first glitch in over 2 years of driving S3. On start up the right hand headlamp didn't fully finish the start up sequence and locked on a very low beam position. I noticed it as I could clearly see the beam pattern a few metres in front of the car.

So taking the engineers approach I reckoned that hitting it with a hammer wouldn't do it any good I followed the modern idiom of turn it off, turn it on again. It reset perfectly but I did hear a bit of a metallic click from outside the car as it did. Mind you it was raining lumps at the time so the noise might not have been related. All seems to be OK now and full shadow afs is working fine.

I just thought maybe a more significant and non-resettable version of this failure might be some of the problem reported by others in this and earlier threads. 

If it happens it really is quite noticeable. You get a bright elliptical shape just a few metres from the front of the car rather than the wide and or long beam pattern when working properly  

[Insect_repellent:)]

After reading this thread I still don't know: Can I adjust the height of low beam without VCDS or not?:)

(Superb 3 with bi-xenon headlights)

[boydeee]

1 hour ago, Insect_repellent:) said:

After reading this thread I still don't know: Can I adjust the height of low beam without VCDS or not?:)

(Superb 3 with bi-xenon headlights)

 

100% yes you can. There are adjuster screws on the headlight assembly. Park on a flat spot and have the lights aimed at a wall or garage door. Make small adjustments (like half a turn) and road test 👍

[Insect_repellent:)]

On 15/09/2020 at 14:10, boydeee said:

 

100% yes you can. There are adjuster screws on the headlight assembly. Park on a flat spot and have the lights aimed at a wall or garage door. Make small adjustments (like half a turn) and road test 👍

 

Thanks!

[Shugmo]

Hi,

I've been reading the forums and still not 100% sure of the operation I am expecting with the bi-xenons.

 

When I start the car the light to through a horizontal and vertical test.

 

When cornering the lights visibly track the steering.

 

But, on dip, the lights seem very low and do not appear to change with vehicle speed.

 

Is it very obvious that they change with speed, or am I looking for a feature that my car doesn't even have?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

J

Edit typo:

When I start the car the lights go through a horizontal and vertical test.

[JR RS]

1 hour ago, Shugmo said:

 

But, on dip, the lights seem very low and do not appear to change with vehicle speed.

 

Is it very obvious that they change with speed, or am I looking for a feature that my car doesn't even have?

 

 

At low speeds is when it is most obvious, the swivelling of the low beam left and/or right.

At high speeds, it's far less obvious as the movement is subtle.

Just like ur steering input - at low speed, the steering is pronounced more by turning the wheels more, but at higher speeds, ur wheels don't turn as much.

 

[Shugmo]

Thanks for the reply.

My dip beam is only illuminating about 3m in front of the car, so I think I'll try raising the beam.

Maybe because it's so low I cannot see the speed change?

 

Here goes nothing 😊

[Baverhanne]

17 hours ago, Shugmo said:

Thanks for the reply.

My dip beam is only illuminating about 3m in front of the car, so I think I'll try raising the beam.

Maybe because it's so low I cannot see the speed change?

 

Here goes nothing 😊

 

Are your sure it's working properly? If you start the car and weights it down in the back (two persons maybe). The headlights level will raise a little bit making them throw a little bit further. After a few seconds the auto leveling should return them to the original position. If not, they might be malfunctioning?

[JR RS]

18 hours ago, Shugmo said:

Thanks for the reply.

My dip beam is only illuminating about 3m in front of the car, so I think I'll try raising the beam.

Maybe because it's so low I cannot see the speed change?

 

Here goes nothing 😊

 

When u startup, does the headlight dance go down, out, back to centre then back up again?

Sounds like urs off either due to bad alignment of faulty AFS controllers and/or sensors.

 

My startup looks like this.

https://youtu.be/cqCnOi2dDnc

[Shugmo]

The startup routine appears to be correct.

 

I have adjusted the lights using the 6mm hex nut and they are now much, much better.

 

It took 3.5 full turns to get them to a sensible level.

 

It is inconceivable how the previous owner drove the vehicle like it was.

 

Any speed over 40 became dangerous as there was zero visibility in oncoming traffic.

 

And it was MOT'd 2 weeks ago before I bought it!!

 

Thanks for all the help, think it's resolved now (fingers crossed)

[Shugmo]

After watching JR RS video, I feel inadequate.

 

Anyone know if this looks ok?

 

 

[JR RS]

12 minutes ago, Shugmo said:

After watching JR RS video, I feel inadequate.

 

Anyone know if this looks ok?

 

 

 

That is perfect, and normal.

 

I have SLA headlights, hence why it does some extra bits and pieces on the startup test.

 

I used to have normal bi-xenons before, and it did the exact same as urs now.

Edited 24 September, 2020 by JR RS

[Shugmo]

Thanks JR RS,

 

Puts my mind at rest. 

 

Cheers.