Headlamp adjustment for euro' driving

[miko01]

Hi everyone

I have previously had a VW Passat,on which I could change the headlamp beam direction myself for Euro driving (remove several plastic parts under the bonnet,put your hand in the gap near the headlamp and pull up / push down the lever).

I am getting a Superb next week (2nd hand) - can the same be done with the Superb's headlamps,without reverting to the dealer charging ££££ for the job?They are Bi-Xenon's.

Any thoughts gratefully received.

Thanks

Miko

[ParishBeadle]

The problem with adjusting the Xenon lamps for continental driving is that the lamp transformer units have to be disconnected before the lever is seen. Dealers charge 30 mins labour for this. Unless you are technically confident to do this then regretably it is best left to a dealer.I have had this problem on both my LK Octavia and the Superb. A real pain if you make short frequent trips to the continent.

[WRCSixtyThree]

Originally Posted by ParishBeadle

The problem with adjusting the Xenon lamps for continental driving is that the lamp transformer units have to be disconnected before the lever is seen. Dealers charge 30 mins labour for this. Unless you are technically confident to do this then regretably it is best left to a dealer.I have had this problem on both my LK Octavia and the Superb. A real pain if you make short frequent trips to the continent.

There is a Xenon lamp removal tutorial for the Octy which I've written, ColinD's got his hands on it. This will show you how to get into the innards of the lamps to find the lever to switch the beam deflectors.

Maybe if we all him nicely he'll put it up for us all to see

[TaviaRS]

Lamp protectors, with the correct masking

[miko01]

Thanks for your replies - this website is better than seeing the yellow glow of the AA van on a wet November night on the M25 hard shoulder - very reassuring there are so many of you ready to offer advice and help.Thanks.

Having also done a search on the site,I have read the very long threads in the archive re; this issue - I will probably just get out on to the Euro' roads and see how we go - claim ignorance (not hard for me.....).

It is the summer and so will probably not be driving much in the dark.

Regards

Miko

[miko01]

Hi all
Went to Halfords and bought their Headlight converters (really wanted the magnetic GB plate which was bundled with the converter lens).Idly looking thru the paperwork for the converters,they seemed to say you could use them for Xenons.

I have just phoned the company - Travel Spot Ltd in Beds - and they were absolutely sure you can use them with Xenon's.The diagram they provide shows that No.100 illustration (and there are over 129 mini-diagrams on their "poster" included with the converters....) is specifically for the Superb.

So I shall try them and keep fingers crossed.

Does anyone have any violent reason why these would not work with Xenons???

Regards

Miko

[jonathan.tong]

FWIW I've just checked with my dealer and they can supply some "stick on" patches for the Superb and is suitable for bi-xenons. The price was around £12 for the kit.

[WW_VRS]

I'd check if you can buy the non-stick-on version instead, personally.

If the price is similar to the Fabia ones, they should be around 30 quid, and they will align properly & mask off as per appropriate.

They are not supposed to be used for Xenons officially but they work very well.

No reason to believe the Superb would be any different, bi-xenon makes no difference in that undipped main beam will blind people no matter what whereas the dipped main beam will be fine with the converters on.

[MichaelD]

Originally Posted by miko01

I have just phoned the company - Travel Spot Ltd in Beds - and they were absolutely sure you can use them with Xenon's.The diagram they provide shows that No.100 illustration (and there are over 129 mini-diagrams on their "poster" included with the converters....) is specifically for the Superb.

Does anyone have any violent reason why these would not work with Xenons???

Regards

Miko

I've just got back from 4,000 miles with these stick-on masks fitted, plenty of it at night, and no problems at all with the Xenons. Took them off today, but some of the glue is left on the plastic lens, but I think I'll just leave that for a British winter to shift!

Must say though, I carefully followed the diagram no. 100, specifically for the Superb, but it didn't seem to stop the beam pattern from dipping up to the left, exactly the thing the mask was supposed to stop. If I do a similar trip again, I'll fit the masks whilst shining the light at a wall or something, to make sure that they are in exactly the right place.

And, although they look like they will do something clever with the beam, actually they are just semi-transparent stickers, so duck tape should do the same job.

[jonathan.tong]

I'd take care over just using duck tape (unless the backing is silvered). These new fangled lights put out alot of heat too, and you don't want lovely black tape heating up nicely and melting onto your headlamps!

Regarding the non-stick on ones, scuse the dumb question, but how do they stay on then?

[DGW]

I usede black duck tape to mask headlights a couple of years ago when the weather was extremely hot. The tape shrank and it was a b****r to remove all the glue afterwards. I am not going to bother when I go to Holland next week.

[RobClubley]

Originally Posted by miko01

Hi all
Went to Halfords and bought their Headlight converters (really wanted the magnetic GB plate which was bundled with the converter lens).Idly looking thru the paperwork for the converters,they seemed to say you could use them for Xenons.

I bought that same kit for the same reason

Stuck them over my Xenons for a week in France and had no problems whatsoever. No-one flashed me or anything so I presume they were alright and I had no adverse effects at all.

You use the circular cover over about half of the projector thingy.

[Kentish]

Some WD40 applied to a soft cloth and then rubbed over the glue residue should remove the remains of the glue.

[MichaelD]

Thanks Andy, I'll try that.

Hadn't thought about the problem of duck tape going soft, maybe thats a bad idea then. The Hella-badged converters coped well with the temperature, in Rome it reached well into the 40s, which did melt some glue I'd used elsewhere. It actually read 56 degrees at one point, but I assumed that the outside sensor was picking up engine heat or something

The temperature of Xenons has been discussed elsewhere, but it seems likely that they run cooler than halogens, the logic being that they use less electricity but give out more light, so there must be less electricity being wasted on heat (thats why LEDs stay cool). I've felt the front of the headlight after its been on and the car stationery for a while, and they only get slightly warm. Sunshine seems to get them much hotter.

[alltorque]

Why bother using beam deflectors, (the legal requirement is questionable, and how many Euro cars do you see in U.K. wearing them), ? I've spent the last ten years making at-least monthly road trips to France, Benelux and Germany and never used deflectors or been stopped for not doing so. Simple answer, surely, is to just use the dash mounted adjuster to lower the beams to a more sensible non-blinding height and drive within the range of your lights............same as with deflectors. However, DO use a proper GB sticker and don't use/display any speed radar detector. Detectors are illegal in France and the boys in blue look at UK cars fairly closely. They have the power to confiscate the detectors and fine you. I thought the "Euro" number plates with GB on them had removed the need for separate GB plates but apparently not so, (technically).

[miko01]

But the Superb 2.5 tdi does not have an internal level adjuster with the Xenon's - it automatically adjusts the beam level.

Regards

Miko

[johnjohnhealy]

Dont know about superbs with factory fit Xenons as mine are an after market kit, but here are pics of the inside of a superb headlight showing the levers you need to move to blank off the raised portion of the beam on RHD vehicles (note this does NOT change the beam to LHD, just blanks off the raised section of the beam to stop you blinding motorists when travelling abroad). I would assume LHD vehicles are basically the same to switch beam.
The 2 levers are joined and you just tilt them (one up, one down). You cant tilt too far as they have stops on them.

The pics are of the main Halogen H7 bulb holder/reflector with the access cover removed, and the internal ones are taken through the hole where the bulb would normally be sitting.

If you are capable of changing a bulb on a Skoda Superb you should manage this fine. (no easy task unless you have triple jointed very slim arms, unlike me who has to strip half the engine bay due to my big sausage fingers!)

[miko01]

Thanks for the pics- shall try to change for when I am next on Continent.Wouldn't it be great if there was a switch in the cabin which you push/pull to change over the headlights - surely a possibility for mankind??

Regards

Miko

[chrishakes]

The tutorial sounds great, how do I get a copy

[Baker21]

Originally Posted by miko01

But the Superb 2.5 tdi does not have an internal level adjuster with the Xenon's - it automatically adjusts the beam level.

Regards

Miko

Sorry mate but you are incorrect there, both the lamps (halogen and Xenon) come fitted with tourist levers as this was specified by Skoda during the project.

The automatic headlamp adjustment is to change the beam pattern's height when the car's body changes in height i.e driving along a bumpy road the beam pattern is adjusted to prevetndazzling oncoming drivers.

We would love to come up with a design that allows you to switch this lever up or down from an electrical switch in the car, and this is being done on new projects, but has it become apparent that the company wants you to go into the dealer an spend some money? The lamps are service only lamps meaning that unless you have small hands you have to remove the headlamps and therefore the bumper so in the design stages access is allowed to be restricted to the lamps.

I don't understand why people want to put 'Beam Deflector's' onto their headlamp lenses if the lamps are fitted with tourist levers.....doesn't make sense to me?!?!?!?