Switching Xenons for driving on the right

[Vertigo1]

Does anyone have any instructions or, better still, experience of switching Xenons for driving on the right. I understand this can be done on the A3 by means of small "levers" behind the lights.

This is on an 8P3 but I'd imagine an 8P2 would be the same.

 

[PH1L]

8p3, is donee via vagcom as is 8p2, not sure on a lever as ive cornering lights

 

[h5djr]

Does anyone have any instructions or, better still, experience of switching Xenons for driving on the right. I understand this can be done on the A3 by means of small "levers" behind the lights.

This is on an 8P3 but I'd imagine an 8P2 would be the same.

On the 8P3 with or without Adaptive Xenons it has to be done using VAG.COM or by a dealer using their diagnostic kit.

Here is a link to some notes I prepared some time ago for doing mine...

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/h5djr/elsawin/Change Bi-Xenons for European Driving.pdf

 

[Vertigo1]

Ah right, so I have to resort to paying the dealer some exhorbitant fee to do it, then hope I don't have to drive at night between home and Dover for fear of blinding everyone in this country!

***, why couldn't they put a useful feature like this in the DIS rather than bloomin' footwell lighting levels!

 

[royjk]

I go to France twice a year so have the same problem. My local Audi garage charge £50 for this service & takes them about 5 mins, understand the new A3's you can do yourself.

 

[Rhyso]

I go to France twice a year so have the same problem. My local Audi garage charge £50 for this service & takes them about 5 mins, understand the new A3's you can do yourself.

At that rate you just as well buy yourself a genuine VCDS cable. A couple of trips will soon make your money back!

 

[Vertigo1]

Personally, I'd buy a VCDS/Vagcom cable but the price is just too high. Last time I looked they were something like £250 which, I have to say, is a bit of a rip-off.

 

[Rhyso]

Personally, I'd buy a VCDS/Vagcom cable but the price is just too high. Last time I looked they were something like £250 which, I have to say, is a bit of a rip-off.

The way to look at it is if an Audi dealer charges you an hours labour (say approx £80) just to plug in, then after 3 trips to the dealer its paid for itself. Also another way to recoup your outlay is to help out other forum members who are local to you :icon_thumright:

 

[h5djr]

Yes let's hope the new A3 will have more facilities via the DIS. I usually take my laptop on holiday and I change mine in the parking area whilst I'm wait to load onto the Shuttle train.

Before I purchased my VAG.COM cable my dealer used to do it for me for free. But then I have purchased my last seven cars from them.

I had a look at a Skoda Octavia Estate a couple of weeks ago and you can change the headlights using their DIS. It's funny but there are all sorts of things available on the Skoda that are not available on the A3 including electric memory seats and mirrors, door mirrors that automatically dip when you reverse, the option and space for a full size spar, a much better MFSW with far more controls for the radio. All these on a car costing much less than the A3 and at the moment Skoda are paying the VAT which gives an automatic 17.5% discount. I must admit I'm tempted by my A3 is only 19 months old.

 

[PH1L]

i noticed the option for downtilt on reverse when i was in my ce unit unsure if it works if i code it though

 

[Vertigo1]

I'd hope that the new A3, due in 2012, will replace the current system with the full MMI system akin to the A4/A5/Q5 etc etc. To my knowledge even the A1 now has a derivative of MMI and it's only the A3, TT and R8 that still use the RNS-E and older electronics systems.

I'd expect the new model to have much more in the way of options in the DIS and on the RNS-E, like the larger models do.

 

[LWNY]

Can't you put a few sets of mirrors in front of the light so as to reverse the L/R view of the image?

 

[sub39h]

Yes let's hope the new A3 will have more facilities via the DIS. I usually take my laptop on holiday and I change mine in the parking area whilst I'm wait to load onto the Shuttle train.

Before I purchased my VAG.COM cable my dealer used to do it for me for free. But then I have purchased my last seven cars from them.

I had a look at a Skoda Octavia Estate a couple of weeks ago and you can change the headlights using their DIS. It's funny but there are all sorts of things available on the Skoda that are not available on the A3 including electric memory seats and mirrors, door mirrors that automatically dip when you reverse, the option and space for a full size spar, a much better MFSW with far more controls for the radio. All these on a car costing much less than the A3 and at the moment Skoda are paying the VAT which gives an automatic 17.5% discount. I must admit I'm tempted by my A3 is only 19 months old.

for some reason the A3 seems to have it's own control systems and things, and lacks simple touches like the aforementioned dipping passenger mirror when reversing. the Golf and Seat have the same stuff as the Skoda - yet the "prestige" model of the PQ35 derivative cars does with half ***** alternatives. as much as i like the A3 for other reasons, i find it hard to call it the reasonable choice against the Golf VI

 

[alfiejts]

The 8P1s (if that's what you call the 2003-2005 models) - with the "ordinary" Xenons that worked just on dipped beam with a separate ordinary Halogen main beam reflector - have a lever inside them that flattens the beam to remove the "kick-up" section of the beam that lights up the nearside kerb, so you end up with a totally flat beam that doesn't kick up on either side.
It does the job when you go abroad and you just have too push the lever back when you get home to restore the bit of the beam that shines up to the left that you only want when in the UK.

 

[Vertigo1]

Sorry to revive this thread but I have another quick question.

When you use VCDS (or pay the dealer) to make the above switch for driving on the right, does is actually switch the lights completely so they illuminate the right hand verge like they do the left in the UK, or does it just block out the light which shines to the left, making it safe for either side of the road?

 

[NHN]

Purely lowers the beam, known as tourist mode, cant switch to lhd patterns at all with this method, only true way is to swap headlights for lhd.

 

[Vertigo1]

Ah right, so with this mode enabled you'd lose some light and/or range but they'd be fine both in the UK and on the continent?

 

[NHN]

I have no issues so far.

 

[zedzo]

would it be safe if you bought lhd lites and enabled tourist mode to use them in the uk?

 

[NHN]

Better to just get the small beam adjusters & stick these on the lense, but yes guess you would be ok, might still get the occassional flash from people as I do in Italy, but we're talking minor & think its usually from people that think xenons are normal headlights on high beam.