[imquattro]

First: the driving lights (low beams) are seriously insufficient.

After reading through many threads and complaints regarding the dismal lighting these rigs have, I need some help.
My V10 has the HID D1S bulbs (Genuine NEW Phillips/Osram). They're new because after reading how over time they lose their brightness over time I bought new ones in hopes of a fix -not sure if the former owners of this rig had replaced them.
Nada. No different.
My headlights are clear (not yellowed or hazy).
They're adjusted correctly too.
The turn signals seem brighter at night than these excuses for headlights.
I'm shadowed by nearly everyone elses lights on the road.

Average lumen output by D1S units are 3200 lumens (Everything you ever wanted to know about HID bulbs.
I'm sure it's much lower than that on these rigs.

Has anyone really come across a real fix for this issue? And I mean brighter low beams that actually work.
I'm leaning towards an LED D1S replacement. most are 2x the lumens of a D1S HID bulb. For instance:90W 9000LM D1S D3S 4 Philips Luxeon MZ Headlight Low Beam Detachable White LED | eBay
I've already VAG'd it for the 6 light salute (better then when I first got it) but I'm leaning towards a set of night vision goggles short of using the highbeams all the time.

 

[aircooled]

Pull the light, check the pigtail connector between the back of the bucket and the vehicle. Look for corroded or flaking wires. Check for corroded or flaking wires in side each headlight housing.

Sounds to me like you have low voltage. Also, are the projectors foggy looking? I have noticed residue inside one of my older lights

 

[Spiegelglatt]

Not the bulbs. I have D1S Sylvania Osram new bulbs in my 2008 and it is bright as day at night. In fact it is so bright the light reflecting back sometimes hurts my eyes!
Before they were replaced they were dim too. Finally one turned pink dark purple and died. I replaced both.
Since it isn't your bulbs, it has to be either your wiring (ballasts have different symptoms I believe). The headlight bucket design of the T1 makes me wonder if the connection isn't very good. There is something out there called dielectric grease. You might take a good look at all connections and clean and apply a very small amount of this grease to the connections.


The dielectric grease:
Amazon.com: Permatex 22058 Dielectric Tune-Up Grease, 3 oz. Tube: Automotive

 

[imquattro]

All connections are clean, dielectric'd, and tight. The wires inside the headlights are like new. Fisheye lenses are slightly foggy and I've just looked through and found the "Joey's mod" which describes one way to remove the front lens portion in order to access and clean the focal lenses. I may try a heat gun first before cutting the lenses free.
Very similar to working on C4 Audi headlights back in the day.
Honestly Spiegelglatt, you're the first Touareg owner I've encountered that find their lights are sufficient but since your's is post facelift, maybe those headlight assemblies are better than the T1 setups?

 

[ArgonSr]

First: the driving lights (low beams) are seriously insufficient.

After reading through many threads and complaints regarding the dismal lighting these rigs have, I need some help.
My V10 has the HID D1S bulbs (Genuine NEW Phillips/Osram). They're new because after reading how over time they lose their brightness over time I bought new ones in hopes of a fix -not sure if the former owners of this rig had replaced them.
Nada. No different.
My headlights are clear (not yellowed or hazy).
They're adjusted correctly too.
The turn signals seem brighter at night than these excuses for headlights.
I'm shadowed by nearly everyone elses lights on the road.

Average lumen output by D1S units are 3200 lumens (Everything you ever wanted to know about HID bulbs.
I'm sure it's much lower than that on these rigs.

Has anyone really come across a real fix for this issue? And I mean brighter low beams that actually work.
I'm leaning towards an LED D1S replacement. most are 2x the lumens of a D1S HID bulb. For instance:90W 9000LM D1S D3S 4 Philips Luxeon MZ Headlight Low Beam Detachable White LED | eBay
I've already VAG'd it for the 6 light salute (better then when I first got it) but I'm leaning towards a set of night vision goggles short of using the highbeams all the time.

I am having the exact same issue. I replaced both bulbs after one kept turning off/turning on. I have done the headlight restoration kit twice to both lenses and they are still dark as all get out. I would say that I can't see anything further out then maybe 20 yards right now. My halogen fog lights provide more light that the HID bulbs, and those are factory bulbs. nothing special about them. I absolutely love these rigs, But it just seems like the headlights were an after thought on them.

I have check the wiring on the back of the housing, but I will double check again just to make sure. The only other option I can think of right now is see if my ballasts are bad and maybe look into getting new ones just to make sure everything is working as it should be. The problem there is that ballasts are roughly $500.00 per side and if there is an easier fix that will get them looking and performing better I am all in.

I also am thinking of getting new housing some day due to the fact that I can't seem to get them completely clear with the restoration kits.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Spiegelglatt]

I wish I could tell, my 2007 is halogen so I can't compare.

I did adjust the lights up...up...up almost to max height. Then I adjusted them down...down...down so that when driving in my neighborhood (obviously at night) the light wouldn't go past the trunk of most sedans, not higher than their side mirror, and only at a distance of three car lengths. I went all the way up just for a point of reference before lowering.

In summary, my lights are significantly higher than factory on both my trucks, but they still sit lower than light from a lifted F-250... when I pull up behind most people my lights are not in there side mirrors or windows. The exception being lowered Hondas...it sucks to be those guys.

I have not had one person flash me in the year plus that I have had the set up, the lights are angled such that oncoming is still shielded while the right shoulder is much brighter. This is factory and can't be changed, there is something that blocks the light in the lens unless hi-beam is used.

I have also had my wife drive towards me and follow and the Treg didn't really standout as being that much brighter.

I credit the light adjustment to most of my improvement...but having a bad HID didn't help either.

 

[ArgonSr]

I wish I could tell, my 2007 is halogen so I can't compare.

I did adjust the lights up...up...up almost to max height. Then I adjusted them down...down...down so that when driving in my neighborhood (obviously at night) the light wouldn't go past the trunk of most sedans, not higher than their side mirror, and only at a distance of three car lengths. I went all the way up just for a point of reference before lowering.

In summary, my lights are significantly higher than factory on both my trucks, but they still sit lower than light from a lifted F-250... when I pull up behind most people my lights are not in there side mirrors or windows. The exception being lowered Hondas...it sucks to be those guys.

I have not had one person flash me in the year plus that I have had the set up, the lights are angled such that oncoming is still shielded while the right shoulder is much brighter. This is factory and can't be changed, there is something that blocks the light in the lens unless hi-beam is used.

I have also had my wife drive towards me and follow and the Treg didn't really standout as being that much brighter.

I credit the light adjustment to most of my improvement...but having a bad HID didn't help either.

MY wife has told me that we she has seen me driving towards her at night my lights are nice and bright. Just like everyone else who have HID's. But then she we driving it last week in somewhat crappy weather (some heavier snow flurries and at night) and she called to tell me that my headlights were crap. That she couldn't see hardly anything and she had to pretty much ride the "wake-up" rumble strip on the shoulder of the road so that she would know where in the lane of traffic she was.

Now yes the snow flurries/storm obviously made driving more difficult, but she said the same thing the next time she drove the Treg on a clear night.

I told her to turn the fog lights on because I knew they would help some. Maybe not the best, but they do help.

It's pretty sad and scary when you can hardly see something/someone crossing the road in front of you and they are less then 20 yards away from you. And that is in town driving with street lights on................

 

[ArgonSr]

I'm leaning towards an LED D1S replacement. most are 2x the lumens of a D1S HID bulb. For instance:90W 9000LM D1S D3S 4 Philips Luxeon MZ Headlight Low Beam Detachable White LED | eBay

I was looking at these LED lights and a possibility.
Oracle Lighting® - Volkswagen Touareg 2006 LED Headlight Conversion Kit

But I have also read somewhere on this form, that we are not able to change over to LED headlights due to something with the electrical and the LED's throwing error codes. (it was something along those lines).

Either way, if anyone has done this or knows for a fact that it can be done safely and with no error codes, I wouldn't mind switching both the headlights and fog lights over to LED's.

 

[Spiegelglatt]

I am having the exact same issue. My halogen fog lights provide more light that the HID bulbs, and those are factory bulbs. nothing special about them. I absolutely love these rigs, But it just seems like the headlights were an after thought on them.

My 2007 with halogens was so bad I felt dangerous driving it. I had to have the fogs on just to get light. As I wrote above, I adjusted them up late at night when I could pull up / drive by and so on multiple parked cars to zero in on the map height I could get without ticking people off.

It worked, my lights (even halogen) are much better, they hit no one oncoming in the face, no one I am following in the rear window, and no one has flashed me once.

I can go the speed limit or more in the back country and have 100% better viability. I was considering auxiliary lights up until I got the adjustment right.

I know how crazy this sounds, but it is worth a shot as it is the least expensive option too.

 

[ArgonSr]

My 2007 with halogens was so bad I felt dangerous driving it. I had to have the fogs on just to get light. As I wrote above, I adjusted them up late at night when I could pull up / drive by and so on multiple parked cars to zero in on the map height I could get without ticking people off.

It worked, my lights (even halogen) are much better, they hit no one oncoming in the face, no one I am following in the rear window, and no one has flashed me once.

I can go the speed limit or more in the back country and have 100% better viability. I was considering auxiliary lights up until I got the adjustment right.

I know how crazy this sounds, but it is worth a shot as it is the least expensive option too.

I think us HID guys may not be able to do that type of adjustments due to the fact that the factory HID's are self leveling.

I could be wrong and we may be able to adjust, but I know my lights will start low and raise up to factory spec setting when you first turn the vehicle on.

So I just don't know if we can adjust.

 

[Spiegelglatt]

Yes I believe you can. My 2008 with self leveling HIDS took my adjustments well. They have remained higher since too and have not reverted back.

The light show at start up has nothing to do with the level of the lights, although they will go down to max and only go up to their position.

On the T2 you can also adjust via coding. But I don't own anything so fancy so for me I fiddled around under the hood for a good hour to turn the two (left and right) screws (nearly hidden at an impossible angle on the T2) with an Alan wrench.

 

[noobytoogy]

VW branded ballasts are expensive but they are identical to some other brands.

Someone on here discovered you can buy them for much more sensible money [a third maybe?] from somewhere like a Chrysler dealer or somesuch.

As I never had xenons I didn't bookmark the thread with the detail: perhaps someone else can oblige?

EDIT: Have a look at this thread:

http://www.clubtouareg.com/forums/f43/help-a-south-african-find-a-ballast-110258.html

 

[lml999]

Very similar to working on C4 Audi headlights back in the day.

Ecodes baby, no need to heat and cut!

You already know this...but I need to say it anyway...be careful with the reflector surfaces...they may be fragile!

Hope someone else chimes in with a better solution!

 

[Built4Sin]

I think us HID guys may not be able to do that type of adjustments due to the fact that the factory HID's are self leveling. I could be wrong and we may be able to adjust, but I know my lights will start low and raise up to factory spec setting when you first turn the vehicle on. So I just don't know if we can adjust.

I did the same adjustment on mine a few years ago. It solves a lot of the problems of outrunning your lights. Just don't crank them up too high or you'll hear your headlight motors clicking when they self adjust on startup. And for whatever reason the drivers side can adjust higher then the passenger side...

Try this out and I bet you'll be satisfied, well as much as you can with these headlights! The next step would be changing out the frosted hid lenses for clear ones like another member did (I just don't feel comfortable taking apart the headlight and baking it in the oven).

 

[ArgonSr]

VW branded ballasts are expensive but they are identical to some other brands.

Someone on here discovered you can buy them for much more sensible money [a third maybe?] from somewhere like a Chrysler dealer or somesuch.

As I never had xenons I didn't bookmark the thread with the detail: perhaps someone else can oblige?

EDIT: Have a look at this thread:

http://www.clubtouareg.com/forums/f43/help-a-south-african-find-a-ballast-110258.html

Thank you NoobyToogy, I will have to take a look into those and see what I can find out. I will also try adjusting my lights and see what that does.

 

[imquattro]

Took the assemblies apart. Not for the faint of heart. Had to cut the clear cover free from the housing as the sealant VW used is some seriously hard stuff.
Both fisheye lenses were severely hazy. High beam assembly is easily removed, it comes out of the front of the light and can be disassembled for cleaning.

The low beam assembly does not come apart at the front of the light, and due to the work involved to remove it and disassemble it, it was cleaned in place.
The chrome surrounds inside the headlight assemblies were cleaned as they were also slightly fog, and yes, as mentioned earlier, they are delicate and should be treated carefully.
Reassembly takes place today and I am quite certain that there will be a difference, whether or not it will be what I'm looking for yet remains to be seen.

 

[ArgonSr]

Took the assemblies apart. Not for the faint of heart. Had to cut the clear cover free from the housing as the sealant VW used is some seriously hard stuff.
Both fisheye lenses were severely hazy. High beam assembly is easily removed, it comes out of the front of the light and can be disassembled for cleaning.

The low beam assembly does not come apart at the front of the light, and due to the work involved to remove it and disassemble it, it was cleaned in place.
The chrome surrounds inside the headlight assemblies were cleaned as they were also slightly fog, and yes, as mentioned earlier, they are delicate and should be treated carefully.
Reassembly takes place today and I am quite certain that there will be a difference, whether or not it will be what I'm looking for yet remains to be seen.

DO you by chance have some pictures of this process. I'm sure it's pretty straight forward, even if its not for the faint of heart, but pictures seem to also help explain just a bit more. You will have to let us all know what the outcome is.

 

[Whirly]

Mine are bright as. So.Like others have said check your wiring. It sounds as if your loosing current

 

[imquattro]

Here's a link to the process I did. Repeat at your own risk. The assemblies reassembled without issue and only a discerning eye would be able to note they were ever taken apart -and that would only be noted if they were removed from the vehicle.
https://picasaweb.google.com/104138090013789212848/TouaregHeadlightFocalLensCleaning?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCLXnwO710avpHA&feat=directlink

Haven't driven it at night to see any difference but they were quite filmed over and cleaning them should provide some results.

 

[imquattro]

Night time results are in.
Still sucking.
My generic 200 lumen headlamp (light that mounts to your head) is brighter at the same distance.
Still need a brighter bulb solution.