Green algae behind edge of front fog lights

[Tom_G]

Noticed this morning that I appear to have green algae growing along the top of my front fog light housings, anyone know if this is expected (i.e. is it worth raising with a dealer before my warranty runs out), and if it is, is there an easier way to clean it out than removing the light cluster? Thanks!

[SkudMissile21]

Mine has exactly the same, not sure if the dealer would consider it a warranty claim (but like the condensation inside the headlights that’s also common) but it can’t hurt to ask?

[Tom_G]

At least with the condensation there’s no lasting harm provided the unit dries out promptly. If nobody on here has any better suggestions I’ll email my local dealer and report back :-)

[cheezemonkhai]

Pressure wash usually removes the green, or a reasonable amount of strong sunlight will likely kill it off.

If you've not got strong sunlight, you could try drying it out with a warm (not hot) hairdryer, then carefully using a UV sterilising lamp to kill the living matter.

 

Worth a punt.

[Tom_G]

2 minutes ago, cheezemonkhai said:

Pressure wash usually removes the green, or a reasonable amount of strong sunlight will likely kill it off.

If you've not got strong sunlight, you could try drying it out with a warm (not hot) hairdryer, then carefully using a UV sterilising lamp to kill the living matter.

 

Worth a punt.

Will give that a go, hopefully will sort it out :-) thanks!

[cheezemonkhai]

12 minutes ago, Tom_G said:

Will give that a go, hopefully will sort it out :-) thanks!

 

If the dealer will fix it/clean it FOC, then obviously that's the prefered route.

How hard is it to get the fog lights or the surrounding trims out on the S3 anyway?

[Tom_G]

1 minute ago, cheezemonkhai said:

 

If the dealer will fix it/clean it FOC, then obviously that's the prefered route.

How hard is it to get the fog lights or the surrounding trims out on the S3 anyway?

Not sure, I have a copy of the workshop manual but haven’t got as far as looking at it yet. If I need to get them out to clean it’s not a huge pain as I will likely combine it with swapping out the stock bulbs for some LED units. I think quite a few people on the forums have done the bulb swap so it’s probably not too hard.

[cheezemonkhai]

Just consider when doing it that LED bulbs are probably not type approved/road legal.
I've seen a few claim they are approved headlight bulbs, but only for LHD cars.

[UndertheRadar]

Mines the same. It looks like it’s on the outside rear lip at the top front of the lamp. It’s on my list of jobs to pull them out and clean during the warmer weather. 

Edited 9 March, 2021 by UndertheRadar
Spelling

[Tom_G]

1 hour ago, cheezemonkhai said:

Just consider when doing it that LED bulbs are probably not type approved/road legal.
I've seen a few claim they are approved headlight bulbs, but only for LHD cars.

Tbh not bothered whether they are LED or something else just looking for something closer in temperature to the xenons. Will make sure I do my homework properly before swapping :-D

[Tom_G]

7 minutes ago, UndertheRadar said:

Mines the same. It looks like it’s on the outside rear lip at the top front of the lamp. It’s on my list of jobs to pull them out and clean during the warmer weather. 

Have you taken them out previously? If so is it an easy job? I suppose this is the advantage of the redesigned cluster on the updated Superb 3, although I generally think the more integrated look of the older lights is better IMO.

[UndertheRadar]

3 minutes ago, Tom_G said:

Have you taken them out previously? If so is it an easy job? I suppose this is the advantage of the redesigned cluster on the updated Superb 3, although I generally think the more integrated look of the older lights is better IMO.

No not yet. It’s a 19 car and it’s only done it over the last few months from Christmas. Can’t be that bad. I’m sore in the cold and damp though, so need it to be warmer to tackle it properly. 

[AlVal]

The drivers side is easy on my 280. Just remove enough of the wheel liner to get access behind the bumper. Officially wheel off to remove the wheel liner, but having removed the bumper, I'm pretty confident I could do it by just turning the wheel enough, don't think I'd even need to jack up and remove wheel. Passenger side.. Well in my car that's a bumper off job due to the intercooler being jammed ip against the back of the bulb

[Tom_G]

1 minute ago, AlVal said:

The drivers side is easy on my 280. Just remove enough of the wheel liner to get access behind the bumper. Officially wheel off to remove the wheel liner, but having removed the bumper, I'm pretty confident I could do it by just turning the wheel enough, don't think I'd even need to jack up and remove wheel. Passenger side.. Well in my car that's a bumper off job due to the intercooler being jammed ip against the back of the bulb

Mine’s a 220, will have to have a look and see if it’s got the same problem passenger side! :-(

[GrahamVRS]

I had the same on one of mine, I thought it was a cracked unit but it’s just muck. Really easy job to remove - unclip the side piece (piece circled in red on the picture) of the centre grill by pulling firmly (2 hand grip to spread load, reducing chance of breaking anything.) Then it’s a torx screw that secures the fog light unit, release the fog light which just pulls out. Then clean up, refit in reverse. 

Edited 9 March, 2021 by GrahamVRS

[boydeee]

Edit: @GrahamVRS beat me to it 😂

 

Just the clarify, the fog lamps are easily removed. 

 

Small bumper trim piece on the inboard of each fog lamp pulls off. Then there is two torx screws on the inboard side of each fog lamp. Unscrew them and then pull the unit outwards from the end closest to the centre of the car. I think it's maybe mentioned in the manual 👍

Edited 10 March, 2021 by boydeee
Slow typing!

[KeteCantek]

I use an old toothbrush to get into the edges and together with car detergent, scrub it out. 

 

I have same around my sportline spoiler and around window trims. 

 

My last car (2008 civic) was terrible around the rear light cluster. Same method. 

[Tom_G]

12 hours ago, GrahamVRS said:

I had the same on one of mine, I thought it was a cracked unit but it’s just muck. Really easy job to remove - unclip the side piece (piece circled in red on the picture) of the centre grill by pulling firmly (2 hand grip to spread load, reducing chance of breaking anything.) Then it’s a torx screw that secures the fog light unit, release the fog light which just pulls out. Then clean up, refit in reverse. 

Oh that’s great to see it’s actually quite straightforward, thanks for the detailed instructions! I’ll be sorting that out next time the sun is out again I think 😊

[nbramwel]

I had green algae around the edges of the fog lights of my 2015 Fabia a couple of years ago.  I sent pictures to my dealer who ordered replacement lights from Skoda.  They were replaced under warranty at my next service.  The lights looked like they were sealed units so the algae couldn't be cleaned off.

[Bap33]

On 09/03/2021 at 17:42, Tom_G said:

Tbh not bothered whether they are LED or something else just looking for something closer in temperature to the xenons. Will make sure I do my homework properly before swapping :-D

Then I suggest MTEC SuperWhite H8. I've changed my original FOG lights for these and I'm really satisfied. Still Halogen ones, but really brighter and more homogeneous regarding the color of the main head lights....  

I've bought mines here:

https://www.ledperf.com/pack-de-2-ampoules-h8-mtec-super-white-blanc-pur-p-1042.html

[Tom_G]

4 hours ago, nbramwel said:

I had green algae around the edges of the fog lights of my 2015 Fabia a couple of years ago.  I sent pictures to my dealer who ordered replacement lights from Skoda.  They were replaced under warranty at my next service.  The lights looked like they were sealed units so the algae couldn't be cleaned off.

Hmm, interesting, I guess if I can’t get it off I may be able to get somewhere with the dealer then. Thanks :-)

[Tom_G]

1 hour ago, Bap33 said:

Then I suggest MTEC SuperWhite H8. I've changed my original FOG lights for these and I'm really satisfied. Still Halogen ones, but really brighter and more homogeneous regarding the color of the main head lights....  

I've bought mines here:

https://www.ledperf.com/pack-de-2-ampoules-h8-mtec-super-white-blanc-pur-p-1042.html

Thanks for the link, they definitely look like a good road legal upgrade with a better colour temperature!

[nutters_uclan]

On 10/03/2021 at 09:16, KeteCantek said:

I use an old toothbrush to get into the edges and together with car detergent, scrub it out. 

 

I have same around my sportline spoiler and around window trims. 

 

My last car (2008 civic) was terrible around the rear light cluster. Same method. 

 I was going to suggest this, or a small detailer's brush (hog hair). 

 

If you use a toothbrush, just make sure it's as soft as possible to avoid small scratches around the light.

 

Good luck!

[GrahamVRS]

If I find time I’ll do a video How-to tomorrow if it helps 

 

20 hours ago, Tom_G said:

Hmm, interesting, I guess if I can’t get it off I may be able to get somewhere with the dealer then. Thanks :-)

 

[Tom_G]

2 minutes ago, GrahamVRS said:

If I find time I’ll do a video How-to tomorrow if it helps 

 

 

If you were able to that would be awesome! Thanks!

Edited 11 March, 2021 by Tom_G
Typo