Strange noise and flickering lights

[Turkster]

Started up the car tonight, turned the lights on, pulled off and about 40 secondes later i heard this very odd noise from the front of the car and one or maybe both of my super bright lights flickered off and on rapidly, it also did it once on the way home, but the lights stayed and are still ok now,

iv got them super bright white lights with the expensive bulbs,

anyways, am i due a new bulb soon?

 

[NHN]

Care to expand on super bright lights, do you mean xenons & are they audi or after market hid kit?

I'd try swapping things from side to side & see if issues follow or stay.

 

[Turkster]

they are audi lights not an after market kit, i got washers that pop out my front bumper for them, iv not taken a bulb out before as they are not the standard bulb that you can buy from halfords,

 

[NHN]

Xenon then.

Well going to need to swap bulbs over in the 1st instance with all power of, dont do this with lights on or ignition on, the startup voltage is extremely dangerous mate.

See if the fault switches to other side then you know its a bulb issue.

Then you can look at new bulb, dont buy from audi as it will cost you the earth, you can buy new ones online from many places alot cheaper.

Test 1st then report back.

 

[Turkster]

many thanks for the help, i cant say the bulbs have ever been changed in its 9 years of use, there is no recite for a new bulb in any of the paperwork that i have, trust me the guy the owned it from new before me kept everything as it was serviced and looked after by Audi and claimed for as a company expenses thing,

how much do Audi charge for a bulb and where would you advise going for one otherwise?

Should i disconnect the battery 1st?

 

[NHN]

HIDs4u.co.uk are 1 of many, ebay is another for sure & audi will charge a shed load for the bulb & if you dont do it, then a shed load for the removal & fitting.

Nah shouldnt need to disconnect battery, just dont stick your tongue on end of the wire, lol, just keep fingers of wire ends & you'll be fine, its only the xenon bulb you need be careful with & asssociated cables, rest are nothing to write home about.

 

[Turkster]

wont put it anywhere near to it mate, after reading a far bit, there are a far few bulbs out there, some come in silver box based units some come in round rubber/plastic units, some need some kind of silver power box, gone are the days of just popping into your local petrol station and grabbing a H4 off the shelf,

Can you advise on which bulb type my car should have ? a link to one would be helpful please?

 

[Turkster]

now its just got worse! how may K's do i need or have already, 4100k or 6000k ?

 

[NHN]

Mate forget the bulb replacement atm, 1st prove its the bulb as it could be the igniter/ballast part, no point running before you can walk as such mate, narrow the issue down 1st then look at what needs buying to fix.

BTW OEM's are usually 4300k.

You can buy a pair for £50 or less these days on ebay & online stores.

 

[Turkster]

ok, nice one, should i take the light units out to get at the bulbs with ease?

 

[Turkster]

igniter/ballast part, that sounds expensive too!

 

[nanafagis]

Doesn't a bulb just "go" when it's done? I wouldn't have thought it would flicker then go back to normal.

Another possibility is a bad wiring connection. Not long ago I had to fix this on my car as a bare wire was shorting out on the engine bay. Turn the lights on and give a few wires a wiggle carefully and see if it's movement related. Worth a try, free to fix!

 

[NHN]

I've had bulbs do this myself aswell as ballasts playing up, so as my suggestion find the cause 1st then fix that part, instead of wasting good money on the wrong items as so many on here do daily when repairing problems.

The wiring is a possible, but without testing & using a process of elimination then he wont know.

 

[Turkster]

well all seems to be well at the mo, touch wood, i would think the wires should be ok, iv never opened the headlight units, my guess is something is most probably tired after 9 years of service, i will leave it well alone until i get a blind in one eye look from the car,

Audi did not leave much room behind the light units to change anything, do i presume its a light unit out job to change any part in there ?

but iv learnt a far bit in the last 24hrs about the light set up on my car, gone are the days of just opening and popping a £5 bulb in there on a petrol forecourt on your way home at night, lol done that a few times,