Hey folks,

I installed my E-code lights this morning and made a few notes. For these notes, forward = the directions the headlights are pointing, outward = the direction the doors open. Hope these are helpful:


- The "hidden" bolt can be tricky. I needed an extension, so I bought a DeWalt DW2055 Magnetic Drive Guide from Home Depot. This fit right into my exchangeable-bit screwdriver handle, and was a lifesaver. It will also work in a drill or ratchet with 1/4" socket.


- The headlight housings have a lateral plunger on the bottom front inside edge, almost against the grille. Therefore, after getting all three screws out, pull *outward* a bit first before pulling forward. Reverse this motion when installing. If the plunger is not inserted into the correct hole, the front edge of the housing will not line up with the bumper.


- Wiring: The easiest order of removal that I found:

1. Remove the corner bulb harness from the housing (takes about a third of a turn)

2. Flip the housing over and remove the main harness

3. Remove the corner bulb harness from the wiring (you'll need it later, see below) Be careful not to touch the bulb.


- Wiring (cont): Before removing the bulbs from the old housing, take note of how the harness plugs are oriented. On mine, the wiring from the high-beam harness had the purple wire on top, and form the low-beam the brown was on top. This may not matter, but I figure it might as well be the same as I found it


- Parking light/turn signal (applies to 2001; not sure about others): As someone else mentioned, it's possible to use the factory three-tab harness in the e-code housing without having to cut anything. Here's how I did it for the passenger side (should be mirror image for the driver side):

1. Detach the wiring from the bulb harness if you haven't already. Place the headlight housing face down (don't scratch it though )

2. Insert the inner-most tab of the harness (right next to the low beam). The harness will appear to be very close to the "closed" position.

3. Turn the harness toward the "open" position until the one at 12 o'clock clicks into place, then turn some more until the last one clicks into place. At this point, the harness should be in the "open" position, and should easily turn into the "closed" position with all three tabs inserted.


- More "hidden" bolt fun: With the housing removed, you will see a small metal sleeve through which the hidden bolt threads. Below the sleeve is an oblong opening running fore-aft. The sleeve is not very secure, and slides about a bit (at least mine did). I had the most success when positioning the sleeve about half-way along the oblong opening and taking care not to move it when installing the housing. It definitely pays to be careful here, because dropping the screw is frustrating.


Also, contrary to a few messages I have read, my corner bulbs are 3157 instead of 1157.


That's all I can remember for now. I have not done anything with the city lights yet. Apologies for the lack of pics. I'll work on getting a camera somewhere between mods .

 

...very thorough and clear - I actually understand the city lights thing now!<ul><li><a href="http://e-audi.tripod.com/mods00a4/eurohead.htm">euro light installation</a></li></ul>

 

I know various configurations have shown up in previous posts, but I bet that a few resourceful folks have come up with new ones. I'll go first:

HL switch position 1: parking lights on, city lights off, low beams off, high beams off

HL switch position 2: parking lights on, city lights off, low beams on, high beams off

HL switch position 3: parking lights on, city lights off, low beams on, high beams on

(Heh...nothing special, of course. I never claimed to be one of the resourceful folks)