rogmac1175

So my 2004 A6, 66K miles, has a weird issue. I have the HID headlights, and I actually have 2 questions.

1. The headlights are not even. When I am in the dark, it looks like the passenger side is shooting farther than the drivers side. So there is kind of a curve there. Is this just bulbs, or can it be fixed? I did try and have them re-leveled, and it didn't help.

2. Sometimes, when I turn on the headlights, they will "level". They move WAAAAAAAY down, then back to straight. Sometimes it doesn't happen.


I will tell you that the lights IN my headlight switch flicker. The ones at the top. I have ordered a new headlight switch because this was annoying me. Could this have something to do with these issues, or is one or both of them normal??

acarney

The lights should always auto level when the car has been started, only take maybe 6 seconds or so, could be that you just notice it only sometimes when you turn the lights on RIGHT after turning the car on?

I believe passenger side light is aimed slightly higher on purpose to get a little more range and maybe a little more off to the side of the road visibility since there's a little less chance the light will be aiming right at oncoming traffic's eyes...

Mine is a zig-zag pattern. Far left (driver side) is dipped the lowest, then a slight diagonal line up to center right in front and then another slight diagonal line up to the highest point in front of the passenger. I actually adjusted my passenger headlight EVER SO SLIGHTLY higher to gain a tiny bit more range since these HIDs do such a great job throwing light down on the pavement and have NEVER been flashed once by on coming traffic.


I actually have my interior lights flickering every now and then on the headlight switch and it kinda bugs me too. Where did you get yours? Price? Part number? Happen to know how tricky it is to install? :P (it's also horribly scratched up with white marks just from normal use)

Gsrob

Mine is the exact same way. My passenger low beam is slightly stepped up and has a longer 'throw' in front of the car. When I first got the car, the beams were incredibly low to the ground and I had very little distance. However, I did the best I could to even them out on a wall at a reasonable distance. At some point I will re-adjust them using one of the various walk throughs out there that go into more depth about specific measurements.

Also, I'm pretty sure anyone that has a C5 has white chip away marks all over any switch that's been touched more than once in the car. Unfortunately the previous owner of my car was less gentle with the switches than I am.

rogmac1175

Got the switch on Amazon. It's aftermarket, but gets good reviews. Here is the link:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B008MV4Q2M

As to replacement, turn off your headlights. Push the **** in and turn to the right a bit. This loosens the whole switch from the dash, panel and all. Pull it out, unplug, plug in the new one, and snap back into place. Should take 5 minutes at most.

I will let you know how it works.

acarney

Holy heck! That sounds super simple and like it actually makes sense! I thought you would have to remove two or three dash/body panels to get to the switch that might be "layered" under the other ones or something. I thought that's how the Germans worked, stack everything on top of each other with the weakest part at the bottom... Maybe that thinking was just in the engine design department. (I'm looking at you aux water pump, main water pump, thermostat housing, vent breather hose, etc)

SloopJohnB@mac.com

When you get your new headlight switch BEFORE you remove your old switch, take a few minutes to practice the removal technique on the new switch, i.e., work the mechanism and see how the three little tabs retract when you work them. BTW, I got a Euro headlight switch and it works just as well as the North American switch..the euro has an additional rheostat next to the instrument panel illumination level that is supposed to raise/lower the headlight aim manually…since there is no harness or connector behind there to enable this function, it's just a dead rheostat.

FWIW, you can probably just pop the new switch into the dash after you get the old one out (using your newly honed removal skills!) and the wiring harness transferred.

acarney

Oh man!!! That would be so cool to be able to level the headlights like that!! I was ways jealous of my friends WRX STi ( like 2004 or something) that could raise/lower the HIDS via the dash

Worldwidebeagle

My wife's GTI in the UK had the rheostat and markings for city or rural. It did not have level sensors. The rheostat is mandatory in the EU, I believe. But prohibited in the US. Great for setting the lights to just clip those damn hedges that line every country lane