Hello Everyone!

I currently own a Audi A4 Quattro 2001 1.8L AT.

I am an amateur at DIY for vehicles so I'm doing my best to find the answers.

I am having an issue with one of my HID lights. When I switch them on, it stays on for roughly 3 seconds and then flickers off. The light seems to be at half brightness for the 3 seconds that it is on.

I've done some research and most posts and tutorials have mentioned that it's likely the ballast though it could be the bulb or wiring. It was suggested to switch the bulb and then the ballast to find out what the issue may be.


Anyways, I've been able to remove the headlight and get slight access to the port where the HID and ballast are. Unfortunately I can't seem to find out how to remove the harness from the high beam side of the light. It will be hard for me to access the bulb or ballast without completely removing the headlight. Am I missing something on how this should be disconnected? All the videos and photos I've been seeing show it as a simple disconnect but this ones doesn't seem to have a way to disconnect. Could anyone enlighten me?

 

The ballast is screwed into the bottom of the headlight housing. The first step is going to be removing the headlight housing from the car. There are three T30 torx screws that hold the housing on the car. Two are obvious on the top of the housing. The third is kind of a pain and is directly behind the turn signal bulb. There is a hole in the fender just behind the turn signal that you can use to access the third bolt.

Once you get the housing out of the car, it will be more obvious how to remove/switch the ballast to test it.

 

Thanks for the reply bshusted!

I didn't explain myself very well in my original post. I was able to get the whole headlight housing out and did have access to the bottom of the housing. My issue is that i can't remove the wiring from the headlight so it's very close to my vehicle and i'm physically holding it up.

I'm trying to service it while it's dangling from my car. I can't seem to figure out how to disconnect the wires to take the whole headlight housing out and make it easier for me to work with.

I've put everything back together since I had to drive the car this morning but I'd like to take another go at it later.

 

I understand now. The plug for the housing is the large black one that I've circled in your previous picture. There is a locking tab on the bottom that you pull toward the rear of the car and then you can remove the plug.

 

Thanks again bshusted!

It was a lot easier than it looked. I got the headlight out now. Now I'm trying to figure out how to get access to the bulb. I'm really just worried I'll force something out and I'll wind up damaging it.

Now I need to remove the bulb. On one side I can easily remove the clips holding the backing in. On the other side I can't seem to move the clip at all. Any special way of removing it? The first picture shows the clip.

There's also a electrical connection on the ballast that is shown on picture #2. Does it just pull off or is there a clip holding it on?





Again thank you for the patience. I know I'm asking questions that seem really basic but I just want to ensure I don't break any component or connection.

 

It appears that these are D2S bulbs, in which case you will push in on the silver plug on the bulb and turn it counter clockwise. From there, there should be two metal tabs that serve as the bulb retainer. Pinch them together and pull back.

On the ballast, there are two plastic tabs on the black plug you have pictured. Squeeze them together and pull out on the plug.

Remember that if you're trying to do a "controlled experiment" to isolate your problem, you should only change one variable at a time. Move the bulb or the ballast, but not both together.

Another thing to think about is the number of hours on the current bulbs. Xenon gas bulbs never really burn out in the manner of a halogen bulb, but the light output decreases significantly with long age. You may want to consider replacing the bulbs regardless.

 

I've swapped the bulbs and it looks as though it's the one bulb causing the issue. If you look at the picture you'll notice that the core is black unlike the other bulb.

I'm relieved to see that it's hopefully just the bulbs that need replacing. I'll be replacing them with the same style of bulbs.

There's a Canadian site that sells the bulbs fairly cheaply. So I should go with D2S 6000k correct?

A Pair 35W Germany Technology Replacement HID D2S D2R Bulbs

I am able to buy from a US site and pick up the package over the border if there are better bulbs I can get.

Thank you again for all of the help. I never would of been able to do this alone. You've saved me a fair amount of money from going to a mechanic so far.

One more question. Is it bad if I keep the burned out bulb out of the headlamp or should I place it back in? I don't like how it flickers repeatedly after I switch on the lights.

 

Glad to hear that you've gotten the issue figured out. The bulb certainly does look bad.

I will caution you against cheap, aftermarket bulbs. The placement of the capsule is critical to lighting performance. Many aftermarket bulbs will be crooked, too tall or too short. In Addison, they will not produceas much light and will run hotter. I've purchased much of my lighting equipment from the retrofitsource.com. For how long OEM bulbs last, I would go with them. Additionally, stay away from anything with a color temperature greater than 5000K.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll be purchasing a pair of Philips 85122+ from theretrofitsource.com

 

go either 4300k or 5000 these are the brightest that you can get, anything else will give you more color than it will light up the road, and search the forums theres a lot of little things our cars do that you wouldn't know without exploring it