Hi,

 

For the last couple of days I have noticed my passengers side bulb is going out for about 2 secs then coming back on for about 2 minutes this basically carries on so it looks like its going to fail at some point. No errors on the dash yet. I currently using Philips XenStart which I can replace for £85 for the pair. I am happy with them but I have been wondering if anybody has got recommendations for better bulbs.

 

Also would you replace as a pair?

Yes I would replace as a pair as Xenons colour shift over time, so a fresh bulb won't quite be the same colour as an aged one.

 

I replaced my Xenstarts with Osram Cool Blue Intense which are great. Subjectively seem brighter and they are a crisp Xenon white (rather than blue as the branding suggests).

 

Might be worth swapping the existing bulbs over to verify its a bulb or ignitor issue and not ballast.

Edited 7 October, 20187 yr by ahenners

6 minutes ago, ahenners said:

Yes I would replace as a pair as Xenons colour shift over time, so a fresh bulb won't quite be the same colour as an aged one.

 

I replaced my Xenstarts with Osram Cool Blue Intense which are great. Subjectively seem brighter and they are a crisp Xenon white (rather than blue as the branding suggests).

 

Might be worth swapping the existing bulbs over to verify its a bulb or ignitor issue and not ballast.

 Hi 

Can you explain what you mean by ballast?

2 minutes ago, bhoywonder said:

 Hi 

Can you explain what you mean by ballast?

 

HID/Xenons have ballasts which essentially generate the high voltage needed to ignite the bulb and regulate it once it's lit. The ballast is separate to the bulb and igniter, and is essentially another component used in HID/Xenon lighting that can become faulty.

 

By swapping the other bulb that works fine over to the side where you are currently seeing issues, if it works fine it will verify the ballast on that side works fine and the issue is either the xenon bulb or ignitor (which is attached to the bulb on a D3S HID bulb). If it exhibits the same issue, then it can't be the bulb as you already know that bulb worked fine previously on the other side. That would indicate a possible problem with the ballast.

 

A replacement pair of quality HID bulbs isn't particularly cheap, so it's a relatively simple test to make sure you're fixing the right bit.

Edited 7 October, 20187 yr by ahenners

Update.  

 

Swapped bulbs over and the flickering moved with the bulb (Thankfully). Called Skoda dealership and was quoted £180 per bulb nearly dropped my mobile fortunately  I hit the deck first so the phone had a nice soft landing . I was expecting them to be expensive but personally I think that is taking the you know what. The young gentleman that I was talking to said as much and that I would get them cheaper else were. 

 

Called a VW parts specialist and got 2 bulbs for £80. Changed them over and all is well again.

Edited 17 October, 20187 yr by bhoywonder