Xenon Woes

[craigtone]

I have an '03 C5 A6 4.2L. About a month ago, the headlights were very dim ... one was pink the other purple. I assumed bad bulbs, so ordered a full set (xenon, highs & fog) of 6K's from ECS. First time I tested them, the driver side flashed (ignited) but then went off, passenger side worked normal. I put the old bulb back in and it lit again but dim as before. A few days later, the driver was out again and the bulb out warning displayed. ECS sent me a new bulb and I installed it tonight. When I test it, it flashes but won't stay lit after the flash. I am assuming the igniter is working hence the flash but the ballast is not keeping it lit. Is this typical of a bad ballast?

Both lights are also WAY low and I do have self-leveling. I read conflicting info on this. On person says just adjust the adjusters to line it up. Another post says I need to use VAG-COM. Currently I don't have a cable, so want to get a definitive answer before I spend the extra money.

[rollerton]

From my experience I'd say bad ballast, bulbs go bad slowly which you can tell by the change in K/ color temp, or instantly as in they just die. But I haven't known a 'bulb' alone to be the cause of intermittent / flickering problem. So I'd go with ballast on that one. FWIW I think the igniter is built into the bulb, and the ballast powers it and keeps it lit? Either way, seems like ballast.
Beyond that you should determine if you have a broken mount inside the headlight housing, or if the auto-adjust is set wrong, or is the headlight is installed crooked or what. Hard to say, but you can pull the fuse (it's #22 or something?-- labeled on the fuse panel cover)and that will make the headlights stay at 'basic setting' or *-0-* adjustment via the module/ suspension readings. If they're still very low then keep looking for another issue and if nothing is obvious then attempt to adjust manually.
Careful with those adjusters though. The whole system is made of crappy plastic and if any of it starts to bind or is stuck the little adjust cogs and gears will strip super quick.

[Nemesis2747]

Had a similar issue when i bought some cheapo D2Ses off ebay. A legit pair of bulbs fixed that. When i wanted brighter light I went to theretrofitsource.com and picked up a pair of Morimoto XB55 ballasts with D2S igniters. $110 for a pair of ballasts that pretty easy to put on. They are thinner and you need to water proof where the Igniter goes into the headlight housing. They are hit or miss with quality but the warranty sends you a new one in 3 days FORVER and all you have to do is send a picture of the defective part disabled (broken or cut up). 55 watts vs the OEM 35 makes such a difference.

I also had a headlight start pointing at the ground and had a xenon leveling error code. Went on ebay and purchased the leveling motor for maybe $15 and replaced it in a few minutes. If they are just pointing too low the leveling screw is right ontop of the housing. I lay on a flat surface with a wall 25ft infront. I measure distance from the ground to beam cut off RIGHT infront of the headlight, then mark off the same height on the wall 25ft out and adjust the beam to same height. Empty mall parking structures work great for me. Keeps the cutoff just below sideveiw mirrors and give me nice distance. Never tried with VAGCOM.

I have a 2.7T with factory xenon but i can't imagine our headlights are very different.