hi, I have a 2012 superb. the other night I noticed that randomly, the headlights would cut out completely, then immediately all switch on again. the dashboard and cabin controls remain fully illuminated white / green through out. 

 

it happened randomly twice in one night and has not happened since (I mostly drive at night, so I would notice)

 

can anyone suggest anything that may be the cause of such an issue?

Edited 18 December, 20187 yr by newskodadriver

Are they HID?

59 minutes ago, xman said:

Are they HID?

I am not sure. The headlights look white rather than yellow. 

When you turn your  ignition on, do the headlights do a side to side and up and down "dance"?  If they do, you have HID/Xenon lights  (the "dance is done to check that the leveling/aiming system is functioning correctly). 

 

If the don't do the HID "dance", then you have Halogen lamps (and perhaps a brighter white aftermarket bulb e.g. Phillips Extreme or white vision Xenon effect bulbs) or your car may have had a HID aftermarket lamp kit installed (which I believe is illegal in the UK  if it doesn't have the leveling system).

 

If you have a car with an aftermarket kit, then it could have wiring, ballast or other issues. The kits don't seem to have a great reputation on VAG cars...

1 minute ago, TheRobinK said:

When you turn your  ignition on, do the headlights do a side to side and up and down "dance"?  If they do, you have HID/Xenon lights  (the "dance is done to check that the leveling/aiming system is functioning correctly). 

 

If the don't do the HID "dance", then you have Halogen lamps (and perhaps a brighter white aftermarket bulb e.g. Phillips Extreme or white vision Xenon effect bulbs) or your car may have had a HID aftermarket lamp kit installed (which I believe is illegal in the UK  if it doesn't have the leveling system).

 

If you have a car with an aftermarket kit, then it could have wiring, ballast or other issues. The kits don't seem to have a great reputation on VAG cars...

they do the side to side and shake it all about dance. so i guess i have hid/xenon lights, not sure which one though. 

You have HID lights then.

 

HID just means "High Intensity Discharge".  The high intensity discharge light comes from putting a high voltage from the ballast  into the bulb "gas" to cause it to emit large amounts of light. Your Superb HID lamps use the gas Xenon - hence the term HID and/or Xenons.

 

The usual failure modes are for the Xenon bulbs to go or for the ballast to fail. When the bulbs go, they don't tend to flicker on and off, they tend to go pinkish/purple but stay lit. 

 

The reason I think xman asked about HID on your car is that when the ballast fails, the bulbs don't ignite. A failing ballast could explain why your Xenons turned on and off.  

 

   

1 hour ago, TheRobinK said:

You have HID lights then.

 

HID just means "High Intensity Discharge".  The high intensity discharge light comes from putting a high voltage from the ballast  into the bulb "gas" to cause it to emit large amounts of light. Your Superb HID lamps use the gas Xenon - hence the term HID and/or Xenons.

 

The usual failure modes are for the Xenon bulbs to go or for the ballast to fail. When the bulbs go, they don't tend to flicker on and off, they tend to go pinkish/purple but stay lit. 

 

The reason I think xman asked about HID on your car is that when the ballast fails, the bulbs don't ignite. A failing ballast could explain why your Xenons turned on and off.  

 

   

do you think it's anything to worry about? does turning it off then on again two times in one night but not again so far indicate imminent failure? or just a glitch. I often drive at night and haven't noticed it happening since a week ago.

 

is the HID an expensive part to replace even if it fails?

G.

Edited 9 January, 20197 yr by FlyingSpanner