golfather

The S6 has two airboxes either side so when these are removed, there is lots of room to get behind the headlamp.
Proper way would be to remove and dismantle headlamps.
However if you can squeeze a small screwdriver wrapped in microfibre in, you will save yourself a lot of work

golfather

Ok bumping this thread to update you on this.
Light output had been improved after attempting to clean lens in situ but still wasnt 100%.
So to do the job properly, removed bumper and then removed both headlights.

The complete lens unit can be removed easily from inside the headlamp by undoing 4 torx screws
Then carefully unclipping the front silver facia that clips onto the glass lens.
The lens unit will then come out.

Once out, noticed there was a thick foggy film on the outside of the glass lens too.
So cleaned glass lens thoroughly from both sides including the rear silver reflector.
So much easier once all dismantled.
Whilst out, removed the lower cut off shield, to improve the lower patern of the beam.

Refitted everything and retried.

Now i can deffo say it is good if not better than new!
The light is so bright, that you will not even need high beams, and they now have a very sharp, cut off.

So just to recap, if your xenon glass lens is not absolutely crystal clear, then this will have a massive effect on your light output. Ballasts, bulbs, ignitors and electrics have nothing to do with it.

lane22

Thanks for the instructions. Will let you know how it works out.

SkyBuMp

Do you have a how-to movie for this?

Such manual should be captured and put online @ youtube or something to help the forum users!

Thanks for the written how-to, but the cut off thingy is not clear to me. What did you remove to get a better low beam output?

golfather

Sorry guys didnt have time to do a step by step.
But happy to walk through with anyone on whats involved.

Tips:
1. There is already a how to on here to remove the bumper https://www.audiworld.com/forums/sho....php?t=2749778
2. When removing the headlamps from the car, make sure you remove the bolts WHILST holding the rear nuts in place as these are adjusters for leveling the whole headlamp with the car body so if these move, then the whole lot will need to be readjusted which can be a bit of a PITA.
3. The 4 torx screws holding the lens are obvious, but dont force it out as you need to unclip the front lens facia on the glass. This is held in by about 6 spring clips all the way round. Make a note of orientation.
4. Careful when handling the solenoid and lens cutoff as this is soft metal and any distortion will affect focus and cutoff pattern, including changing the colour at cut off point.
5. The lower cut off of the lens is a straight piece of fixed of metal which is pressed onto the reflector unit. The reason for this is to avoid light scatter immediately in front of the car.. This can be prized off, if required to give an increased ouput on low beam. Halogen lenses do not have this.
6. Make sure you clean glass projector lens with lint free cloth otherwise all specs of dust will shiw up when bulb is lit

SchwarzS6

Also, if you plan to clean the reflector be very gentle! If it is like the older cars it is plastic with a soft aluminum coating. It will come right off if you rub it too hard. Use lens tissue or a soft microfiber and just drag it across the surface after spraying on some cleaner. The best solution would be to submerge it in water with a gentle dish detergent, wipe lightly with a very soft cloth and then rinse.

John Doughnut

If they get weirdly dim and yellow your ballasts are bad and soon u will have no lights. Obviously if your plastic is clouded then u need to clean those. I would replace both ballasts if thats the problem. Bulbs usually go out instantly.

John Doughnut

I made the mistake of getting after market lights cuz I thought they would be just as good after I had an accident. They arent as bright as the stock lights. They arent. The stock lights were really good. I realize they are so over priced its almost criminal but then again everything Audi is over priced. Never again. Even my Benz has cheaper parts and accessories. Audi/VW also has a horrible repair rate. I bet there isnt one person here with over 30k miles that hasn't seen a check engine light yet.

SchwarzS6

HID bulbs tend not to go out instantly. In my experience they get pink first and then fade out slowly.

The latest Consumers Reports has Audi at the top of the reliability ratings. My latest A6 has been quite trouble free. I had two check engine lights, both due to the gas cap, both I simply reset with my VAG-COM myself. I had to have the front sway bar links done at about 70k mi covered under my CPO warranty and I had the left valve cover gasket replaced. I think that is pretty good for a car with 120k miles.

I guess if I did not do most maintenance myself I might have the a similar opinion.

John Doughnut

Well maybe the newer Audis do have a better repair rate but every Auto magazines have different numbers which tells me you cant trust any of them. The service mgr at a major Audi dealer told me Audis are way over engineered . Some of the things make me actually laugh. When you replace your battery you have to have your car reprogrammed ??? So now I have to spend 125 bucks for this. Really. If you can tell me this makes sense with a straight face, I wont reply to this thread anymore. I understand a 11 year old car with 160k miles is going to need maintenance. Ive owned the car since 120k miles and the previous owner followed the maint. Schedule to a tee. Ive stuck in 11,560 dollars on repairs in 4 years. Never again.
We are NOW OFF TOPIC so im done with this thread
Good luck with your headlights buddy.