Stuck !!! Prefacelify headlight swap gor facelift S3

S3_NDJ

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Hi all
My car is a S3 8L APY 2000 plate
As far as i read online in order to put facelift headlights in its plug and play and they should just fit in ....

The headlights i have bought are hella ones of a facelift S3 (unsure on engine code) in whith i thought are genuine ones
Here are the issues im haveing
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In the pic above the facelift headligts are closest to the wing and the preface lift HL are furthest
As the wing metal is shaped to slip in this will not clear due what im pointing at below
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This i frustrating has anyone else had these issues ?? And also the screws font seem to line up ???

Any help would be amazing
 
I recall seeing some threads on this, some metal chopping was required to get the face lift units to fit ??
 
Yes to fit the FL headlight you have to cut part of the wing. That is exactly the place that you pointed at, where the pre-FL indicator light would attach to. If you google a bit, then you see that every time somebody has fitted FL lights, there has been wing cutting involved. They also aren't plug&play per se, as the plugs differ between pre-FL and FL lights.

In order to fit the facelift lights you need to trim the front wings. Just trim a little, and try fitting the light and do it again to cut as little as necessary. Also you need to either modify the plugs/connectors somehow or buy the connector loom off ebay.
 
Ok sweet no worries ill save the hastle and just go back to the prefacelift lights ..... thats a shame i think the facelift ones are much nicer looks like im gunna be selling a set of hella lights that it took an age to find lol
 
It isn't too complicated to fit them though. If you really want to do it then it is very doable. If you don't want to mess around with wires then you can just buy the connector loom off eBay (costs way too much for how small it is, but hey it works) and you only have to cut the wing a little. And I totally agree that they look much better, I would fit them if I could get my hands on a pair cheap, but my budget is too tight. Anyways good luck!
 
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Right im committed just got to find someone to do the wing chopping (in whitch i have someone in mind) and then also according to the thread link tuffty sent on this page and futher it mentions u may not have to chop into wires
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As it says in the pic above about the motors for headlight level you can just swap them for the prefacelift motors and it should work fine.

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Prawn has recently fitted facelift lights to his pre-facelift car and sorted adaptors etc...

<tuffty/>
 
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I bought facelift plugs from a breaker, got my multi meter out to work out which wire went where, then soldered the new plugs in.

Took around an hour tops for the wiring. even a mong like me can do it.
 
I also did the prefaclift to facelift conversion 2 weeks ago.

It seems like a huge job but in reality it's easy. If you still need wiring diagram or the step by step instructions let me know. I still should have the pictures.
 
If you decide against it i would be interested in the headlights possibly one of them or both.
 
i cut mine very carefully with a 4inch angle grinder, be careful of it biteing, keep the blade spinning away from your wing and remove the bumper. wear goggles too. dont forget to paint the cut edge with hammerite or similar rust prevention paint. as said if its an s3 the wireing will be a straight swap except the motors, worth keeping in mind when swapping for an s3 there are two types of facelift lights. i didnt know this and bought a set that turned out to be non xenon a3 lights, the projector is bigger on the a3 lights which i think actually looks nicer but now i need a halogen upgrade!-)
 
i didnt know this and bought a set that turned out to be non xenon a3 lights, the projector is bigger on the a3 lights which i think actually looks nicer but now i need a halogen upgrade!-)

I did exactly the same but i managed to get the money back by selling them on ...
And ill take ur advise on the cutting ill hopefully have it done in next few weeks
 
All sorted to fit just noticed on the headlights the manuel adjusters on one headlight a adjuster screw has sheared off and on the other the adjuster isnt attached to the plastic ..... ****** devistated the only way to fix them now i thibk would be to seperate the front and back by unsealing it .... does anyone have any other advise ?? If not anyone know someone i can post them to to fit new adjusters ?? U can see the sheared one in pics below
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There are few threads on here where people have bodged something together that works as a repair, only needs to work after all as its out of sight.... have a search through!-)
 
I read online and most places said with a heat gun it great on after market ligts as they use a cheaper sealant than oem ones ... but i have ordered one to gve it a blast ... i also just relized in the post above it says im keen to put in oven lol supposed to say im not keen ....
 
Anyone recommend anything/way to do this better ???
I have pics below of a sheared manual adjuster and also one the plastic has snapped away ....
So atmo i was thinking of glueing them metal to metal on the sheared one and ppastic to plastic using specific glues for each .... does anyone have a better idea other than glue ???
 
I broke the plastic bit on both my headlamps. Best is to find someone with 3D printer or get a block of wood and make one yourself.

Or use some very nasty glue which i end up with.
 
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