Strange Pattern on LED Headlights

[AdrianWh]

Has anyone seen this strange pattern on their LED headlights?
At first I assumed it was dirt on the headlights but seems its marked on the inside.

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[Terminator x]

I have the same on mine. Assumed it was just the individual led's hitting the glass?

TX.

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[SwordfishCoupe]

I always thought it was really mild condensation as seems to be when colder and wet.

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[Terminator x]

I always thought it was really mild condensation as seems to be when colder and wet.

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It's too regular a pattern though for that imho, bit like fingerprints which is what I thought it was originally.

TX.

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[Spearo]

On mine too !
I wondered if it was some kind of off gassing haze - might ask the dealer about this when the car goes in

 

[Hambee1234]

Same on mine . But I think it’s due to the change in weather / seasons etc due to the cold

 

[Spearo]

I’ve had it since the summer , it’s not worse or better now

 

[cosmicblue]

Mine's the same too...

 

[tickedon]

And on mine. Looks a bit like dust on the inside of the glass.

 

[Spearo]

That’s what I think it is - dust or some kind of haze/ film in the inside of the lens. I wondered about fine micro scratches on the outside of the headlight but I’m convinced having had a close look, that it’s definitely inside

 

[cuke2u]

Never noticed it really but I can't see it is an actual issue at all. I have the matrix headlamps, so I don't know if these are different...

 

[Terminator x]

Never noticed it really but I can't see it is an actual issue at all. I have the matrix headlamps, so I don't know if these are different...

Same here and I have it. I'll take a pic later.

TX.

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[Spearo]

Anyone brave enough to pop open their headlight and give it a quick clean with a microfibre cloth ?

 

[cuke2u]

I really doubt it is possible and even wise. The LED lamps have cooling fans as well so possibly dust is a potential. Although mine has none..

 

[pjeffe9172]

I have the matrix LEDs and have this both on the RS4 (just under 4k miles) and on my previous A4 2.0 TDI (B9) which didn't have the matrix lights. My M3 had marks too and they were bi-xenon. I would imagine it is the light slowly leaving a mark on the inside of the glass which is probably coated on both sides with an anti glare coating etc and this wears off. Nothing to worry about.

 

[Spearo]

Light leaving marks on the glass - they’re LED not frickin laser beams !

 

[pjeffe9172]

Haha have you not seen the matrix LEDs it’s like a laser light show!

 

[psychopomp1]

I'm also seeing this on my headlights - I have the Matrix LEDs on my B9. I don't think its anything to worry about. If anything, I think the pattern looks quite cool and gives the impression that your LED headlights are the dogs-you-know-what

 

[Terminator x]

Same here and I have it. I'll take a pic later.

TX.

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This is mine.

TX.

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[cuke2u]

In looking at all those pictures to me it looks like some unique lighting conditions cause this as I have never once seen it on my car. But then it doesn't effect the performance of the lights and a bit like looking for reflections in a window..

 

[CHEZ]

There heat spots
The fact that they have fans built into the headlights is a clue as to they get a little toasty in there.
The fact all of you have it means it's perfectly ok

 

[cuke2u]

As I understood it LED's get less hot than halogens or xenon's, which is why we see more condensation inside the headlamps as there is little heat to burn off the water vapour. It maybe the case that the fans are for the ballasts..

 

[Spearo]

I think my actual concern is that this kind of contamination ( yes I still think is something on the lenses) will cause internal backscatter and reduce the effectiveness of the lights! I’d be very interested to see a showroom fresh matrix light to see if that has it - I’d hazard a guess that it won’t !

 

[pjeffe9172]

As I understood it LED's get less hot than halogens or xenon's, which is why we see more condensation inside the headlamps as there is little heat to burn off the water vapour. It maybe the case that the fans are for the ballasts..

LEDs do actually produce a lot of heat but the bulbs have a heat sink built into them to reduce this.

This website tells us about the heat and the need for fans...https://mag.ebmpapst.com/en/products/fans/what-to-look-out-for-in-vehicle-led-headlights_8380/

 

[cuke2u]

But what owners have suggested is that it is the light out of the front of the bulb producing heat, which isn't true and even that article you've kindly linked to suggests that.
There are areas of an LED bulb that need cooling, as I suggested, such as the ballast, but not the light that's coming out of the LED's and hitting the inside of the acrylic lens..
This was the article I was alluding to when I posted states "LEDs are cool to the touch because they generally don't produce heat in the form of infrared (IR) radiation". However their components can https://www.ledsmagazine.com/articles/2005/05/fact-or-fiction-leds-don-t-produce-heat.html

 

[CHEZ]

It could be some sort of shadow or screen burn that mobiles, tvs, get maybe?
The jury is out on this one

 

[cuke2u]

Agreed the jury is out, however as an owner I am not concerned at all..

 

[Terminator x]

Agreed the jury is out, however as an owner I am not concerned at all..

Seems weird though as didn't exist on the RS3 headlights. No biggie though as you say.

TX.

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[A12RNX]

I have the same on my headlights and it doesn’t effect how they work or I haven’t noticed any drop in lighting performance.

 

[mjcairney]

I have it on mine as well but it doesn't worry me in the slightest as they are, by far, the best headlights I have ever had on any car and, believe me, I've had a few.

 

[weapons777]

I have it on my 2013 A7 and it is annoying. It looks like the headlight lens is dirty. The car exterior is in great shape and after every wash those headlights patterns ruin the overall appearance. Headlight efficiency seems to be not affected though.

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[ScottishA4B9]

I have this on mine as well.

 

[mjcairney]

I've just been having another read through the different posts in this thread and it's obvious that some people think LED bulbs create more heat than Xenon or Halogen ones. This is not correct. If you have any LED bulbs in use at home, touch one after it's been on for a while and see just how cool it is. A 60W incandescent bulb is replaced by something like a 4W LED one for approximately the same light output and offers a saving on your electricity bill. I have a friend who works for Utility Warehouse and he tells me that when a new customer signs up for supply of Gas and Electricity, they send in a team to replace all their bulbs with LEDs to help cut back on their bills.

 

[cuke2u]

Which is the whole point of led's, 5 watts produces the equivalent of around 50 used in a incandescent light bulb wattage. It stands to reason that a bulb using a semiconductor producing photons to emit light is not going to eject more heat as one that is using a filement heated up to produce the light.
https://www.carwow.co.uk/guides/glossary/how-do-led-headlights-work

 

[mjcairney]

Which is the whole point of led's, 5 watts produces the equivalent of around 50 used in a incandescent light bulb wattage. It stands to reason that a bulb using a semiconductor producing photons to emit light is not going to eject more heat as one that is using a filement heated up to produce the light.
https://www.carwow.co.uk/guides/glossary/how-do-led-headlights-work

That's an interesting read, thanks for posting.

 

[h1r4]

I work for a company who are the market leader for automotive lighting for high end cars... e.g. McLaren lambo etc. As an example the McLaren which have leds have a fan in there to keep the carrier heatsink cool as it can get quite hot (trust me on this), the main beam hyperlites use a thermal paste to help it not get too hot as these can also get hot with the amount of light they produce.

 

[Terminator x]

I work for a company who are the market leader for automotive lighting for high end cars... e.g. McLaren lambo etc. As an example the McLaren which have leds have a fan in there to keep the carrier heatsink cool as it can get quite hot (trust me on this), the main beam hyperlites use a thermal paste to help it not get too hot as these can also get hot with the amount of light they produce.

If you are in lighting what do you think those marks are then?

TX.

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[cosmicblue]

That 'fog' on the inside of the plastic lens will most probably be caused by the fumes that some plastics emit, worse when it's warmed - the same effect that we see on the inside of all car windscreens - get's worse in the summer doesn't it?

 

[Terminator x]

That 'fog' on the inside of the plastic lens will most probably be caused by the fumes that some plastics emit, worse when it's warmed - the same effect that we see on the inside of all car windscreens - get's worse in the summer doesn't it?

It looks like fingerprints though, take a look at the pic of mine above. 4 x 4 grid too.

TX.

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[MCarda]

It looks like fingerprints though, take a look at the pic of mine above. 4 x 4 grid too.

TX.

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Those blothches that look like fingerprints are the outlines of the individual beams of light let off by the individual LED diodes forming part of the cluster - in the headlamp unit there is not one LED bulb but a cluster of multiple each contributing to form the overall beam.