Replacing driver's side xenon bulb without dropping bumper?

[doughboy17]

Hello, it's be awhile since I posted in this B7 A4 forum but we still have our B7 A4 3.2L and am reminded how much I love that car every time I drive it, especially now that my son is back at school and no longer using it.

We have a flickering driver's side xenon bulb, am receiving the "dipped headlight" warning, and have a few questions about replacing it with the understanding that it could be the ballast or wiring, too.

* Has anyone successfully replaced the driver's side xenon bulb without dropping the front bumper?

* If so, how did you accomplish it and did you perform it on a 3.2L?

* After removing the two screws holding it to the side of the engine bay, will the power steering reservoir move freely, inhibited only by the two lines going into it or are there other screws/connectors that need to be removed?

* Allegedly, there are three screws that can be loosened on the headlight housing that allow it to move forward (less than an inch) permitting a bit more room to do the job. Are those screws the ones that align the headlight?

* Are there any "tricks" to disconnecting the xenon bulb from the connector or removing the bulb from the housing?

Thanks in advance for any assistance you can provide.

[tractoman]

I did both Xenon bulbs on my sons B7 with the bumper on.
You have to remove the washer fluid bottle and the power steering reservoir. The washer bottle will dump half its solution since it has a big rubber gasket that pulls apart in the middle, It's a two piece bottle for lack of a better description.
You can jockey the PS reservoir enough to get the bulb in and out. Seems like a long and short torx worked best for me. Should only be about 15 minute job.
Other than removing the two reservoirs, the only screws I removed was the 2 torx on the back of headlight housing. Pretty simple I thought and beats removing the bumper.

[rhfosu]

The driver side is way too tight. My guess is there's no way you could get that bulb in without damaging it. Honestly, it takes about 20 minutes to pull the bumper. I promise you this will be quicker and save you a lot of headache.

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[Theiceman]

.. do you have to pull the bumper to pull the headlight ???

i didnt think so but maybe..

[doughboy17]

.. do you have to pull the bumper to pull the headlight ???

i didnt think so but maybe..

I think so. On a video I watched, it appeared screws could be loosened to move the headlight forward a bit but it would not come out. I believe the B6s are much more reasonable allowing headlight removal without dropping bumper.

[SykoraA4]

as long as you're able to get down to the T30 next to the fender, you should be able to remove the headlight without removing the bumper. You don't have to completely remove that one either - its like the one next tot the grill - loosen it just enough to release the headlight.

[Theiceman]

as long as you're able to get down to the T30 next to the fender, you should be able to remove the headlight without removing the bumper. You don't have to completely remove that one either - its like the one next tot the grill - loosen it just enough to release the headlight.

thats what i thought too..

[Low and Behold]

Nah. Bumper needs to come off.


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[rhfosu]

Nah. Bumper needs to come off.


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This is correct. You cannot pull it out without, at LEAST, loosening that side of the bumper. If you try, you may get the light out, but you will likely scratch, break, or otherwise damage *something*. It is a shitty fact of life that B7's need to have the bumper pulled for basically every single service, but it is a fact of life nonetheless.

[Jeevan]

there are few variations on a4. Some came with gap between pwersteering reservoir and headlight plastic cap. In those cars removing windshield water tank and unbolting the powersheering pump reservoir from its place gives you room to slide in a a tiny low profile ratchet and T15 to remove the bulb.

In other models, Bumper has to come off because of zero room between Powersteering reservoir and headlight. You can still technically do it without removing bumper but it requires removing the powersteering reservoir and diconnect it from powersteering hoses, winshield water reservoir should be removed along with the metal hanger that hold the harness connector at the back of the headlight. After doing all this, you may think that removing bumper would have been easier.


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[rhfosu]

there are few variations on a4. Some came with gap between pwersteering reservoir and headlight plastic cap. In those cars removing windshield water tank and unbolting the powersheering pump reservoir from its place gives you room to slide in a a tiny low profile ratchet and T15 to remove the bulb.

In other models, Bumper has to come off because of zero room between Powersteering reservoir and headlight. You can still technically do it without removing bumper but it requires removing the powersteering reservoir and diconnect it from powersteering hoses, winshield water reservoir should be removed along with the metal hanger that hold the harness connector at the back of the headlight. After doing all this, you may think that removing bumper would have been easier.


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It is worth noting to OP that, even if you remove all that stuff, you might be able to replace the bulb from behind, but you will still not be able to remove the light assembly without at least loosening the bumper.

If OP thinks it might be the ballast, he will need to remove the assembly to test or replace. I recommend not messing around trying to avoid removing the bumper and just resign yourself. It is 3 x T30s up top and 2 x 10mm nuts on the sides. All you need are some extensions and a deep well 10mm socket. You only need to do the driver side to pop it out the inch or 2 needed. This will take 5-10 mins. You don't even need to take off the wheel, just remove 2-3 T25 screws for the fender liner.

Note: you don't need to remove the T30 down at the bottom rear of the light. Just loosen it. Light will slide out.

[doughboy17]

I appreciate everyone's input and advice. I have no plan to remove the headlight assembly but am just trying to investigate additional ways to obtain more room for the work.

I will need to decide how I am going to approach the job. My concern is that it ends up being the ballast and all of this work is for nothing. [;)]

[rhfosu]

I appreciate everyone's input and advice. I have no plan to remove the headlight assembly but am just trying to investigate additional ways to obtain more room for the work.

I will need to decide how I am going to approach the job. My concern is that it ends up being the ballast and all of this work is for nothing. [;)]

I mean, if it is the ballast, you'll want to verify by testing with the other ballast. So you might as well take the bumper off. :)

[Charles.waite]

Replacing the bulbs without removing the bumper is very doable. Removing the headlight without removing the bumper is not possible. If you have to mess around with testing ballasts, just remove the bumper and save yourself a bit of headache.

[doughboy17]

All of you that told me to just drop the bumper or I would regret not doing so ... ... may be right. [:)] Rather than drop the bumper, I decided to loosen the power steering fluid tank, remove the top windshield washer fluid tank, loosen the headlight housing, ended up needing to bend the metal wiring harness bracket, and after 4 hours and partial assistance from my 15 year old daughter and her slim fingers and hands ...
...
still am not finished and question whether I will be able to get the back of the headlight housing back on without dropping the bumper. I believe the 3.2L in the Quattro B7 in the U.S. is a completely different job than the 2.0L.

If I can get the back of the headlight housing back on (I only need another .25 inch) and successfully tightened, the rest of the job should go quickly ... assuming I did not damage wiring or hoses throughout this entire process.

[rhfosu]

All of you that told me to just drop the bumper or I would regret not doing so ... ... may be right. [:)] Rather than drop the bumper, I decided to loosen the power steering fluid tank, remove the top windshield washer fluid tank, loosen the headlight housing, ended up needing to bend the metal wiring harness bracket, and after 4 hours and partial assistance from my 15 year old daughter and her slim fingers and hands ...
...
still am not finished and question whether I will be able to get the back of the headlight housing back on without dropping the bumper. I believe the 3.2L in the Quattro B7 in the U.S. is a completely different job than the 2.0L.

If I can get the back of the headlight housing back on (I only need another .25 inch) and successfully tightened, the rest of the job should go quickly ... assuming I did not damage wiring or hoses throughout this entire process.

4 plus hours? Still not done? Sigh. Dude. I tried telling you. It is 10-15 mins to pull the bumper. I don't know why people are so hesitant to just pull it. I guess it is the principle of the thing.

[doughboy17]

4 plus hours? Still not done? Sigh. Dude. I tried telling you. It is 10-15 mins to pull the bumper. I don't know why people are so hesitant to just pull it. I guess it is the principle of the thing.

Absolutely, you told me ... but in all fairness, you overestimate my abilities to pull the bumper. The job may have been four hours for me ... but it probably would have been done.

[rhfosu]

Absolutely, you told me ... but in all fairness, you overestimate my abilities to pull the bumper. The job may have been four hours for me ... but it probably would have been done.

No way. lol. Hardest part are the two 10mm bolts under the fender liner, and getting them off isn't hard. Getting them back on can be slightly tricky. However, with the tank out, you can reach them by hand.

[doughboy17]

Sooo, after a total of 5.5 hrs., we finally were able to replace the driver's side xenon bulb on the 3.2L Quattro. Although I have concerns about removing the bumper, it may have ended up being faster to do that. After a quick test drive, there were no CEL's or dipped headlight alerts. We'll see if that continues.

For those of you that will insist on going down the rabbit hole that I did and perform it without bumper removal, I strongly leveraged the video below.

https://youtu.be/1qDWWM-fjQQ

Understand a few things:
* I believe the dimensions between components in the 3.2L Quattro are different than the front-wheel drive or 2.0L models making the job more difficult. Even .25 inch of variance makes a difference.
* Per the video, you must bend the metal bracket out of the way to perform the job. I see no way to accomplish it without that.
* A key to accomplishing the job is to loosen the "hidden" torx screw as much as possible (to allow the most movement of the headlight unit) but not to completely unscrew it.
* A ratchet elbow is key to accessing the two torx screws holding on the back headlight cover. I did it without one but basically stripped my bits.
* Replacing the bulb (disconnecting and connecting the cable to the bulb) and getting the back headlight cover on is the most challenging part. To get the back cover on, I needed to move the PS reservoir back rather than to the side.
* Without my teenage daughter's slim fingers, I'm not sure we would have completed it. I'm taking her clothes shopping as a reward for her assistance and patience. [;)]

[rhfosu]

shakes head...

[doughboy17]

shakes head...

[;)]

[vvenom800tt]

I appreciate everyone's input and advice. I have no plan to remove the headlight assembly but am just trying to investigate additional ways to obtain more room for the work.

I will need to decide how I am going to approach the job. My concern is that it ends up being the ballast and all of this work is for nothing. [;)]Just remove the one bolt holding the ps reservoir to the fender area and bend it out of the way. You have to be a little aggressive with it.

I've replaced thay bulb 3 times and never touched my bumper.

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[Jayz691]

So ya spent 6 hrs doing this, when bumper takes 20-30mins to pull off? Thays crazy, lol. Well, ya know for next time I guess..

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[doughboy17]

Just remove the one bolt holding the ps reservoir to the fender area and bend it out of the way. You have to be a little aggressive with it.

I've replaced thay bulb 3 times and never touched my bumper.

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Mine has two bolts holding the PS reservoir to the fender, but I anticipate your 2.0L has more room than my 3.2L.



So ya spent 6 hrs doing this, when bumper takes 20-30mins to pull off? Thays crazy, lol. Well, ya know for next time I guess..

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I did and I do.

[vvenom800tt]

Mine has two bolts holding the PS reservoir to the fender, but I anticipate your 2.0L has more room than my 3.2L.




I did and I do.Ive never touched a 3.2

Im always a fan of having more space in the engine bay though.

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[Theiceman]

every bodies comfort level is different , who are we to judge ? one of the first cars i did like this i was putting the bumper on and i didnt quite get something right . and a chunk of paint flaked off the bumper where it matched the fender.. i had to look at that for a very long time and wonder if i should have just left it.

[rhfosu]

every bodies comfort level is different , who are we to judge ? one of the first cars i did like this i was putting the bumper on and i didnt quite get something right . and a chunk of paint flaked off the bumper where it matched the fender.. i had to look at that for a very long time and wonder if i should have just left it.

I mean, you're not wrong. But, if you own a B7, you better get comfortable with taking off that damn bumper. Also, if your paint was flaking off, sounds like a shitty respray without enough flex agent.

[Theiceman]

I mean, you're not wrong. But, if you own a B7, you better get comfortable with taking off that damn bumper. Also, if your paint was flaking off, sounds like a shitty respray without enough flex agent.

just a shitty guy working on it i think..

[Charles.waite]

just a shitty guy working on it i think..

I heard that guy is a real moron.

[rhfosu]

I heard that guy is a real moron.

Lulz.

[Tsinsta93]

On a different note, if the light is dipping intermittently, it may not be necessary to replace the bulb. When I first got my car the passenger side would dip, and I read the horror stories here of people replacing entire headlight assemblies to try and solve it. For mine it was just a matter of poor conductivity in the wiring that passes over the airbox. I could usually solve the problem by shutting the car off and turning it back on, but once I replaced the air filter the problem never came back. Do what is free or easy first I guess.