A3 8P Sportback: Xenon install

[phatAvant]

Hi Guys,

Hopefully the following experience will help you when you set out to do the same as I have today, meaning installing a pair of Xenon headlights into your sportback.

My car came without Xenons, and believe me once your used to them you can simply not go without them for long, and if you've never had Xenons before this mod is worth every penny I paid.

I hope the picture quality isnt too bad, and that this will benefit our growing A3 community.

Disclaimer: phatA3 or audzine.com do not take any responsibility for any damage caused to any vehicle by following these instructions. Work at your own risk and be careful as you are working with expensive parts here!

I dont have an exact time frame for this job, as I did it in bits, and I also had to repair one xenon housing, but more on that later.

The starting product: The A3 with its halogens



Some close ups of the halogens





The new Xenon lights:



You will also need the following tools for this job:

- Torx 20
- Torx 25
- Number 10 Allen Key
- Flat head screwdriver (only if you need something to pry with - BE CAREFULL - )

Now that we have everything we can get started, have fun, I know I did

- Step 1

Open your hood up, there are three screws that hold the top of the bumper cover on, remove these (number 25 Torx Head)...



Better close up pic



- Step 2 - removing the wheel well liners. (all wheel well liner screws are 20 Torx Head)

Now we move over to the wheelwell, there are four screws visible in this picture, remove them too.



The next pic, shows the rest of the wheel-well, the screw with the green circle has to be removed, whilst the one with the blue square around it should have already been removed in the previous pic.



- Step 3 - removing the wheel well liners (cont.)

There are 4 screw on the bottom part of your bumper, you can see them for one side (thus 2 screws) in the following picture.



There are also 3 screws that are slightly hidden behind the ridge of the bumper on the bottom you can see a pic of it here, remove all 3.



The wheel-well liners will still be in there now believe it or not, there are 4 screws on each side left before they come off. (you can only see 3 in this pic)



- Step 4 - removing the wheel well liners (cont.)

You now can feel that the wheel well liners are loose, and the floor pan cover can also drop on the floor now (don't worry its normal.) By carefully prying the top wheel well liner part out a bit you can see how the bottom half is still attached, you just need to lift it up over the part of the car that it is clipped over, and then they come out.

Just lift it slowly over the metal part, red in my case, its circled in the pic.




- Step 5 - removing the bumper cover.

Now the bumper cover is held on by the 3 screws removed in step one, and 2 more torx screws and a number 10 allen screw for each side. In the pic you can see the screw (sorry for the bad pic) its just there in the circle, you can access it from the bottom.



There is a second screw just bit further in the bumper, about 5 or 6 cms, you can not see it, but it needs to be removed inorder to seperate the bumper from the arch.

The following picture shows the allen screw that needs to be removed, this also holds the bumper to the fender.



If you are doing this on your own, like I did, then put a soft cloth infront of the car for when the bumper cover comes off, like this you will not scratch the paint on the whole thing.

- Step 6 - Repeat steps 1 to 5 for the other side of the car.

- Step 7 - Remove the bumper cover from the car.

If you have followed all of the later steps you are now ready to pull softly on the side of the bumper where it meets the arch, it will come off by itself, (if it does not come off, you must have forgotten a screw)

you can take the fog lights wiring off so that you can take the bumper away, but its not really in your way so I did not bother.

[phatAvant]

- Step 8 - removing the old lights.

To remove the lights you will need the number 25 Torx Head, there are 3 per light, it is usefull to take a look at your new xenons to get a better feel as to where the two hidden screws are. I have cicrled the parts where there are small access holes.



Close up with bumper off, for hidden screw 1: (I know this pic is with the Xenon in, but I forgot to take a pic, so I took one for you guys afterwards.) through the small hole in that is marked by the blue square you will gain access to the screw (circled in green) you need to remove this screw completely or the headlight assembly will not come out.



Close up with bumper off, for hidden screw 2: through the blue square you will find a screw that you will need to untighten a bit inorder to give way for the headlight to come out. You do not have to remove this screw, however you can if you want to.




- Step 9 - replacing the old with the new.

You should now be able to get your halogens out, just unplug the wiring harness and your all set, plug your new xenons in, check if they work, and repeat steps 8 to 1 again to put the car back together.

Here are some pics of the finished product still in the garage.








Note: Its better to mount the bumper on after the lights have only been soflty tightened as you will have quite a bit of adjusting to do inorder to make the headlight line up with the bumper and hood

I hope you all enjoyed this DIY...

Steve

[Nuvolari]

Found this at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headlight

The arc light source in an HID headlamp is fundamentally different from the filament light source used in tungsten/halogen headlamps. For that reason, HID-specific optics are used to collect and distribute the light. Installing HID bulbs in headlamps designed to take filament bulbs results in improperly-focused beam patterns and excessive glare, and is therefore illegal in almost all countries.

HID headlamps are subject to the extra ECE regulations for any headlamp brighter than 2,000 lumens; a headlamp cleaning system must be fitted, and any beam level adjustment must be automatic rather than manual.

HID retrofit kits, like these, that simply place an HID capsule in a lamp designed for an incandescent light source are dangerous. With a U.S. style beam pattern, the result can be significantly increased glare for oncoming drivers. With either U.S. or European style lamps, the light from an HID capsule will not be distributed properly, ultimately resulting in less visibility for the driver. Further, a kit that simply places an HID capsule into a lamp with no further modifications will quite obviously lack any manner of leveling equipment.


Thank you for being considerate of other drivers (and yourself).