DIY Euro Headlights

[A20V200]

So I refuse to pay in upwards of $1400+ for EURO lights....that is money that could be spent on the engine or suspension etc.
I bought this used headlight off of EBAY with the intension of doing surgery on it to see how it was put together. It's glued and double sided taped (DSST)like you wouldn't believe.

This isn't for the faint of heart or people that don't normally do this type of mod...I've been inside several headlight and corner lights over the years doing this same exact thing.

I first tried to just cut and separate the two housing sections that were bonded together, but there is so much epoxy and DSST it wasn't worth it. The next option is to try open up the side and just remove the amber without too much collateral damage...again..it worked, but too much debris was now inside the headlight housing. I blew most of it out with a compressor, but some remained so I proceeded to cut off the entire headlight lens. It is the ONLY real way to get all of the debris out of the lens, remember..this is a used lens so I didn't really care if I messed it up...the mission here is to see if it's possible to get inside and make this mod happen. The last step: what to do with the amber lens and the 3 LEDs behind it? You could unplug it and let it be or use some metallic spray paint to cover the amber section and reinstall. Finally, use some windshield epoxy to bond the 2 pieces back together and you're done. I would suggest finding some used headlights on eBay for cheap and try one to see if you can do it before "possibly ruining" your vehicles headlights.

[CbutterK]

Yup. Def not for the faint of heart, or pregnant women, or kids with asthma, etc...
But for a pro like you, end result is def worth it!!!! Now you have extra $1500 towards stage 3 turbo kit!!!!

[coolwater]

Good job man. So what is the deal with the vagcom coding. Do you need to code out the ambers to avoid a bulb out error?

-cW

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[A20V200]

Good job man. So what is the deal with the vagcom coding. Do you need to code out the ambers to avoid a bulb out error?

-cW

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I'm not sure..maybe some else can chime in and see if that can be done...otherwise you will have the light underneath shining through the amber lens and the silver paint...would look odd. Plus....I don't think the Euro's have lights in the side where the ambers are either.

[phillyquattro]

cut off the entire headlight lens

Can you provide more details as to how you cut off the lens? Any extra info or larger photos could be super helpful.

I'm not sure..maybe some else can chime in and see if that can be done...otherwise you will have the light underneath shining through the amber lens and the silver paint...would look odd. Plus....I don't think the Euro's have lights in the side where the ambers are either.

If you paint both sides of the amber reflector piece and then line the inside with something like foil no light should get through. That could work while we wait for someone to figure out to disable those lights in VCDS.

[JohnnyUtah787]

nice work

[A20V200]

Thx. I will get some more pics up. On top of the headlight you want to cut as far back as possible where the lens and housing come together. On the bottom you want to cut just in front of the clips that hold the headlight in....as far as the side cuts, just make sure you join up your top and bottom cuts for one nice uniform cut....make sure the cut on the side with the reflector is as far back of a cut as possible..the reflector is epoxied to the lens and housing.

[phillyquattro]

What tool did you use to do the cutting?

[A20V200]

What tool did you use to do the cutting?

A cut off wheel in my Ryobi drill..normally used for air tools, but worked great in the drill and I could modulate the speed better. You can see it in the background in some of the photos

Drill w/ cut off wheel
Pliers
Flathead screwdriver
Windshield Epoxy
Silver Metallic Spray Paint
Air compressor or canned air will work too

[gaogi]

Back in the B6 and B7 days, I was able to heat up the adhesive by putting the headlight in the oven at 200F or use a heat gun, enough to soften the glue and separate the housing. Is this not possible with our platform?

[A20V200]

Back in the B6 and B7 days, I was able to heat up the adhesive by putting the headlight in the oven at 200F or use a heat gun, enough to soften the glue and separate the housing. Is this not possible with our platform?

Yep..BTDT on many housings....this is "unlike" any other one that I've done. Tried the Oven at 275 for 8 then 10 then 12 minutes and only ended up with a very soft back housing that was just getting torn up and the butal glue was till very much in place and was not going to budge. The back half of the housing is a C channel and the lens fits into the C channel very tightly with glue/butal with "Hulk-like strength." That is why a went the other route.

[DarkSideGTI]

I would recommend using something else to cut the lens off the housing. Something that will make a much slimmer cut like a razor saw used for plastic models.

[DennisMitchell]

Dremel tools (cutting wheels) are pretty thin.

[R3_TDI]

Wow that is crazy..... Just for a amber delete?? This would scare me way too much to even try this on my car

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[markn1689]

If anyone wants a pair of LED housings in excellent codition i have some on ebay for 600 with a couple bids so far and a buy it now of 800

Im only selling because i upgraded to the e codes

http://m.ebay.com/itm/2015-Audi-A3-S...979?nav=SEARCH

[tekkie]

I would love to have the EU lights but i agree on the pricing, but I dont think I have the balls to try this mod lol

[GramCracker]

If you peruse ebay.de you can find ecodes for around $200-250 per headlight.

[949]

If anyone wants a pair of LED housings in excellent codition i have some on ebay for 600 with a couple bids so far and a buy it now of 800

Im only selling because i upgraded to the e codes

http://m.ebay.com/itm/2015-Audi-A3-S...979?nav=SEARCH

do you want to remove the oranges before you sell them?
caveat: only if your in orange county. if your in San diego, ill have to rescind my offer.
hit me up and ill come over to help you remove them at your place.

[UnderDogA3]

So I am thinking of doing this and painting all the silver inside black

[S3NICK]

For the lights that are under the now removed amber reflector plastic, just get chrome coated bulbs. They're chrome when now in use and match the headlight housing, and they light up orange when in use.

This is an example of one. I'm not sure what size the headlights take, but don't remove the bulbs or put aluminum foil in there, lol.

http://www.matrixracing.com/p-13541-...me-coated.aspx

[19birel]

I did this a while back on my B8.5 A4, I just heated up and reused the old adhesive that was on the lights and it sealed back up perfectly. As for the LEDs, I simply coded them out with carista, if you don't they will still illuminate which is a little unsightly.

Not as scary to do as it looks, just use a heat gun instead of the oven bake method, and take your time, and if you have trim removal tools those help with prying the lens off