Poor headlight output

ca2n

ca2n

A2OC Donor
A few days ago I found myself driving on some dark roads with my A2. I found that the headlight (dipped beam) output was very poor. The glare from oncoming vehicles only made it worse. Needless to say, I didn’t enjoy driving my A2 at that time.

From what I can tell from the driver's seat, it appears that most of the beam is pointing downwards to just a few feet from the front of the car. Road signs, however, were perfectly illuminated.

My headlight lenses are far free from oxidation so I suppose there is some room for improvement there. As far as headlight aim is concerned, the seller sold the car to me a few months ago with a fresh MOT so I’m guessing the headlight aim is spot on. The rear of my A2 is sitting quite low probably due to wrong springs and/or worn spring bushes so it might affect the headlight aim as well to a certain extent. It might just be addressing these issues to get optimised illumination, but in the mean time:

1. Is the headlight output generally poor on the A2? I think I’ve read something about this on the forum which has led to owners retrofitting e.g. projector headlamps.

2. What other solutions are there to this problem? E.g. new bulbs? I don’t think I’m quite ready to go down the projector headlamp retrofit route just yet.

3. Is adjusting the headlight aim something to DIY or should I take it to a garage? What are the costs?

Seeking advice. Need some more confidence in night-time driving. Thanks in advance.
 
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Bargepower said:
I find Osram Nightbreaker bulbs and properly aligned headlamps produce a quite acceptable illumination.
I use Nightbreaker Laser for the dipped beam, and Nightbreaker Unlimited for the main beam.
I also use LED's for the sidelights - and Depronman was quite impressed with those when he saw them.
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I used Osram 501 W5W 4000k LEDs (5 year warranty) in my sidelights; very pleased with them
 
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Birchall said:
.............

I have had 100w bulbs in my A2s for many years and have checked for any signs of overheating inside the headlamp unit and along the wiring loom. No issues found and I am not surprised because the circuit is protected by fuses. These are designed to blow before the wiring overheats and certainly before it melts.

Steve B
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Hi Steve,

Thanks for the reply. Two posts to follow up.

In relation to the above quote I calculate/surmise you are okay.

Fuses

A bit of basic physics, Power = Current x Volts. (P=IV)

With P=55w and V=12v, Current=55/12=4.583333...amps. Roughly half of the headlight 10amp fuse which is what I would expect.

WIth P=100w and V=12v, Current=100/12=8.3333...amps. Still under the 10amp fuse but pushing it a little bit.

Wiring

Audi will have added a safety margin on the wire above 10amps, say 50%, I am guessing you are okay but without counting strands and measuring diameters and calculating cross-sectional and load it is only a guess but I am confident you are well within margin.

Andy
 
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Hi Andy,

Thanks for the very useful information you have posted about this.

It really helps to see some of the facts and calculations.

Ands thanks for confirming that it should be ok, I believed I was, but that was merely guesswork, but you have confirmed it for me.

Best wishes
Steve B
 
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Birchall said:
?....

The problem is that the law states that the bulbs must be E marked .....

Steve B
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Hi Steve Again,

Thanks for the information on E markings, new to me - sorry if this going over old ground, most interesting.

A bit of Googling E numbers and it is clear the certification syatem is to police bulb manufacturers into ensuring quality and reliability of performance claims, not the motorist, but I do accept it is illegal to use a non E marked bulbs. This is not checked at MOT but has the potential to be found out at an exhaustive road side check. Will they ever start stripping headlights to examine our A2 bulbs? and with many many cars nowadays removing bumper as well and one BMW six hours work to replace a bulb it will never happen. I am tempted to make a 'Freedom of Information' request to find out how many motorists have been prosecuted for non E marked bulbs, none I suspect will be the reply.

I agree there is no reason why bulb manufactures cannot make and have certified a 100w bulb - just a matter of finding one who has.

Andy
 
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Bargepower said:
I find Osram Nightbreaker bulbs and properly aligned headlamps produce a quite acceptable illumination.
I use Nightbreaker Laser for the dipped beam, and Nightbreaker Unlimited for the main beam.
I also use LED's for the sidelights - and Depronman was quite impressed with those when he saw them.
Click to expand...

Thank you Ian(Bargepower) you have just sorted out a Xmas present dilemma. It is always reassuring to have a personal recommendation. Can I ask why you picked the two variations of Nightbreaker that way round???? I am tempted to go for Unlimited for both even though they only have half the expected life of the Laser variant, simply, (following my little rant above and practising what I preach), on the grounds of Lumens. Unlimited = 1500 Lumens and Laser = 1200 Lumens but expect beam pattern matters as well.

A request has been put in to Santa and they will arrive on the 25th. I will report back my opinion when fitted but not on the 25th!

Andy
 
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Andrew said:
Thank you Ian(Bargepower) you have just sorted out a Xmas present dilemma. It is always reassuring to have a personal recommendation. Can I ask why you picked the two variations of Nightbreaker that way round???? I am tempted to go for Unlimited for both even though they only have half the expected life of the Laser variant, simply, (following my little rant above and practising what I preach), on the grounds of Lumens. Unlimited = 1500 Lumens and Laser = 1200 Lumens but expect beam pattern matters as well.

A request has been put in to Santa and they will arrive on the 25th. I will report back my opinion when fitted but not on the 25th!

Andy
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The Lasers were on special offer and they don’t make them in H3’s so they had to be unlimiteds...
 
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ca2n said:
Any thoughts on Philips' bulbs guys? Apparently one of their offerings is on the top of the autoexpress list.
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Looked at the Philips Racing Vision this afternoon, and indeed more Lumens = 1700, but put off by the jump in price and shorter guarantee period.

Andy
 
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The problem with a lot of the higher output bulbs is that they tend to not last as long. I have also heard of potholes roads breaking the filaments in them a lot easier as well. This tied in with inflated prices .makes them seem less attractive in the long run.
 
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ca2n said:
Any thoughts on Philips' bulbs guys? Apparently one of their offerings is on the top of the autoexpress list.
Click to expand...

I use Philips xtreme vision and have found them to be a lot longer lasting than Osram Nightbreakers I've had in the past. Light output seems to be as good or possibly better and I wouldn't go back to using Nightbreakers now.
 
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jogon said:
I use Philips xtreme vision and have found them to be a lot longer lasting than Osram Nightbreakers I've had in the past. Light output seems to be as good or possibly better and I wouldn't go back to using Nightbreakers now.
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Horses for courses!
The Philips Xtremes I had in one of my previous cars were awful, lasted less than 4 months and weren’t as good a light. I’d never use them again. It’s all down to personal preference and how the product performs for you.
 
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Bargepower said:
Horses for courses!
The Philips Xtremes I had in one of my previous cars were awful, lasted less than 4 months and weren’t as good a light. I’d never use them again. It’s all down to personal preference and how the product performs for you.
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To be honest I bought a pack of 12 H7 headlight bulbs from China for £12 for the lot.

They are the 100w ones and so the light they emit is good and I find them the best output.
They are not "E" marked and so are technically illegal, but I have been using them for 12 years now.

I bought the box of 12 three years ago, I put a pair in my A2 and I still have 10 left, they have lasted well for £1 each.

It is not that I am a penny pincher, it is just that I wanted to see how such a cheap bulb performed.

So as has been said "Horses for courses" everyone has differing experiences and its is just a case of whatever works best for you.

Steve B
 
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The biggest worry in my mind about using 100W bulbs is that they'll be drawing more current through the wiring - wiring looms that are minimum 12 years old and will have contact corrosion to varying degrees.

Cheap/non-branded bulbs (from China or elsewhere) could even be drawing more than the stated wattage and could lead to failure of the fuse at best or cause a fire at worst (and fires through heat from repeated arcing through partially corroded contacts is a real possibility).

Just as Sarge - repairing a fire-damaged A2 isn't a fun experience and as someone who's had a minor issue of this sort, which required a full dash out repair to the melted wiring loom, I'd advise caution in the extreme.
 
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When I owned a Mk1 Golf Gti I installed a 100w high power wiring loom complete with relay fed direct from the battery, would something like that be a better bet?
 
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Absolutely - relays are a much safer bet as they only use the original circuit as a trigger to draw the main power from a more sturdy source with presumably newer wiring. The high current will not have to run through the old wiring at all. It’s the way old Hella light bars were wired in back in the heyday of the Audi Quattro rally days.
 
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Bought Osram Nightbreakers just over a year ago.

They have both failed. I wouldn't buy again. Not impressed by the output although they are better than bog standard bulbs.

I have bought Ring Xenon 130 to try. I'll update how I get on with these in due course. But first impressions they light the road better than the night breakers
 
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The higher output Osram Night Breakers have shorter lives. In our Seat Mii (H4) the Unlimited have lasted about 12 months. I have stepped down to Osram Night Breaker Silver to see if we get a longer life.

Andrew
 
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