Are UK (RHD) and EUR/US (LHD) headlights interchangeable (after realignment) ?

[kerbdog]

Hey all,
Are UK (RHD) and EUR/US (LHD) headlights interchangeable after realignment?

Thinking of buying a set of EUR/US lights as a bit of an upgrade project I have but wondering if they are interchangeable with a realignment of the light beam OR is it just not possible?

Cheers,
Kerb

[Peter D]

Depending on the ear then they are not re-alignable as it is the reflector that forms the shape of the beam. What are you trying to acheive. Regards Peter

[kerbdog]

Was hoping to use LED DRL lights from the US on a UK car

[Peter D]

If you have smooth plain polycarbonate outer lenses then you can not use EU/USA headlights in the UK. Regards Peter

[Crasher]

Halogen 4F headlights are right and left hand drive specific and USA spec headlights are different again. European 4F’s with factory fitted HID lights can be adjusted for left or right hand traffic either by a lever or on certain versions in group 55 Dynamic headlight range control.

[kerbdog]

Thanks for the replies folks - seems its just not possible.

[SiliconS]

Crasher, could you explain what you mean about 4Fs being adjustable for left- and right-hand drive? What is a 4F?
I have a 2010 A6 with xenon lights and LED DRLs. When I go to France later this year, will my dealer be able to change the beam pattern, or will they only be able to adjust the range so the lights point at the floor?

kerbdog, my experience of cars imported from the US is that they have a flat beam pattern without the kick-up to either side. You could perhaps therefore install them legally on a car and get it through an MOT. I believe some importers don't need to change the headlights as part of the importation process.

[Guest 2]

A C6 is a 4F. Just another codename for them.

Afaik the beam pattern for Xenons can be changed to suit the continent trough vcds. However I found on the A4 loan I had that you could change the pattern from the MMI.

Also i think that you can also do this from the headlamp itself. (please correct if wrong)

[Crasher]

Crasher, could you explain what you mean about 4Fs being adjustable for left- and right-hand drive? What is a 4F?
I have a 2010 A6 with xenon lights and LED DRLs. When I go to France later this year, will my dealer be able to change the beam pattern, or will they only be able to adjust the range so the lights point at the floor?

kerbdog, my experience of cars imported from the US is that they have a flat beam pattern without the kick-up to either side. You could perhaps therefore install them legally on a car and get it through an MOT. I believe some importers don't need to change the headlights as part of the importation process.

A 4F is what you drive, look at the 8th and 9th digits of your chassis number.

The 4F's with HID's can be reset with diagnostic equipment.

[SiliconS]

The 4F's with HID's can be reset with diagnostic equipment.
Sure, but do you know what actually happens to the lights when they're set for continental driving? Is the 'kick-up' in the beams' patterns removed (like it is with the stick-on beam deflectors), or is the whole light beam pointed downwards? Someone with a modern A4 said that on his car it was the latter, which made driving at night rather difficult!

[Crasher]

According to the instructions the kick up flicks over although gas discharge left and right hand traffic headlights are different part numbers which makes me suspect it is a masking function. If you have gas discharge lights, there is one way to find out…

[SiliconS]

Cheers Crasher. I'll see what my dealer says nearer the time, although I'm not looking forward to what I predict will be a rape of my wallet. :(
Perhaps this will be the time to buy a VCDS cable for myself.

[joshA6]

My understanding is that the shades in front of the bulb move slightly to the beam is dispersed as if you were driving on the right/left.

Manual adjustment (of xenons only) at the headlight might be possible. You could certainly do this with MK4/5 golf Xenons, not sure about the 4f audis. Again, VCDS should be able to do this for you if you have Xenons.

If you have Halogens, just buy the lens stickers that change the beam dispersion and peel them off when you are done.

[Peter D]

Kerbdog.
There are Gas Discharge lighs around in the UK that have a lever inside the headlight to deal with this, and later versions with adaptive lighting requires vlds to talk to the car. Masks with gas discharge can not be used at if reflects too much heat back into the headlight and can discolour the reflector.
On the USA gas discharge head lights there is no mention of the potential change but they are a long way from a RHD country. The do have adaptive control so would suspect it can be changed.
Search for a USA forum and see if some with vlds can check it out for you. Regards Peter

[Crasher]

It would have to be a proper copy of VCDS, I don’t think you could do it with the Lite version.

[SiliconS]

My dealer wants £66 to switch the headlights from UK to continental driving and back. Crazy.


It would have to be a proper copy of VCDS, I don’t think you could do it with the Lite version.
Thanks Crasher. I'll bear that in mind.

[Crasher]

I don’t think that is bad, I would charge £30 each time, so £60.

[SiliconS]

I don’t think that is bad, I would charge £30 each time, so £60.
But you don't have any goodwill towards me. I gave my dealer £30k a year ago. Some goodwill would be nice. :)

In the Good Old Days, a dealer might have said "No problem, Mr S - pop your car in and we'll do that for you. Won't take a minute. No charge." This is what they did when they had to unblock the eject function on the sat-nav DVD, so I've seen how long it takes to tweak the settings when they're in the mood.
But these days, in the world of computerised efficiency and revenue targets, they want to schedule it into their workshop, produce an invoice, and add to their billable hours. This forces me into a fixed appointment, inconveniencing me either side of a holiday when I'll be busy enough as it is.

The ability to switch the headlights' beam pattern could have been enabled in the MMI by Audi's engineers (it's enabled on some other Audi models) but instead they think it's better for me to go through this rigmarole. :aargh4:

</rant> ;)

[Crasher]

The ability to switch the headlights' beam pattern could have been enabled in the MMI by Audi's engineers (it's enabled on some other Audi models) but instead they think it's better for me to go through this rigmarole.

I have not seen that yet.

[SiliconS]

I have not seen that yet.
I must admit, I haven't seen it in action either. It's been mentioned in a couple of forums though, e.g.:
http://www.myaudiq5.com/index.php?/topic/1335-travelling-abroad/ Q5
http://www.a5oc.com/forums/a5-s5-topics/2299-headlights-when-driving-abroad.html A5
http://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?71811-Headlamp-conversion-for-driving-abroad-what-about-LED-running-lights and on the A4

[EssexGonzo]

But you don't have any goodwill towards me. I gave my dealer £30k a year ago. Some goodwill would be nice. :)

In the Good Old Days, a dealer might have said "No problem, Mr S - pop your car in and we'll do that for you. Won't take a minute. No charge." This is what they did when they had to unblock the eject function on the sat-nav DVD, so I've seen how long it takes to tweak the settings when they're in the mood.
But these days, in the world of computerised efficiency and revenue targets, they want to schedule it into their workshop, produce an invoice, and add to their billable hours. This forces me into a fixed appointment, inconveniencing me either side of a holiday when I'll be busy enough as it is.

The ability to switch the headlights' beam pattern could have been enabled in the MMI by Audi's engineers (it's enabled on some other Audi models) but instead they think it's better for me to go through this rigmarole. :aargh4:

</rant> ;)

The stick-on Halfords beam benders http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_17 2996_langId_-1_categoryId_165458#coremetrics# have a pattern for C6 with xenons. I have used them many times. Contrary to what was said earlier, the masking of a HID light reflects back less heat than a halogen due to the lower wattage and therefore heat output - no harm to the reflectors. 35w vs 55w. They work fine and seem to avoid me getting flashed when driving on the continent.

Well recommeded for a tenner - easy to get off poly lenses with careful use of undiluted screenwash afterwards. Have probably done more than 15k miles on the continent during the 4 years I've had the car.