VW Volkswagen created to be the “people’s car” – one that is cheap enough for everyone to afford, features precision engineering and efficient manufacturing to become the safest car. Volkswagen vehicles are well assembled, safe, well-equipped, and cheap with good performance levels which make them the preferred vehicle of choice in many countries around the world. Using xenon high-density discharge bulbs instead of old generation halogen bulbs is just one part of that precision and care that VW puts in its vehicles.
No doubt halogen lights are long trusted for their brightness and function in almost all older cars but the newer vehicle models include VW Golf MK7 VI, Golf Cabriolet, Golf Estate, Golf plus, Golf-SV, e-Golf, are equipped with standard xenon HID lights in the headlight assembly.
Why xenon lights are good?
Xenon bulbs actually work differently than halogen ones and produce two to three times brighter light to significantly illuminate the area ahead of the car. Xenon lights are also appreciated for their long life but this is not the only reason. The most obvious benefit of xenon lights is the safety they provide with their brighter white light.
Almost all models of Volkswagen are equipped with xenon headlights as main and dipped beams and swapping these lights with halogen is technically not possible because of the difference in their connectivity to the vehicle’s system. The idea behind using xenon headlights is to provide an added safety feature and ensure you’re always driving safely with long-lasting lights.
Do xenon lights fail?
Long-life Xenon light doesn’t mean it will last forever. Like every electronic component, it may also complete its life and fail at some point in time. This failure doesn’t necessarily have to be only due to life completion but any other technical issue can cause it to fail. Damage to these lights can also be happened due to moisture, water, and jerk due to an accident.
What Happens When Xenon Dipped Light Fails?
Well, whatever the reason, when they fail, your vehicle will indicate this error through a warning message on your instrument cluster. The message will read as: “Check left right dipped headlight beam”. So whenever you receive this message, check your dipped beam light bulbs. This error message is common to all models of VW Volkswagen.
Due to their close proximity, sometimes, people are mistaken with the main beam headlights as dipped beam headlights. Dipped beam lights as the name implies are the low beam lights that are located at the front of the vehicle next to the main beam lights. These lights can be halogen, LED or xenon but again, xenon is always a better choice over other types. It helps to prevent the glare on the road and ensure you’re never in the dark.
When you receive an error on your dashboard, it is pointed towards a problem with your dipped headlight lighting component, xenon HID bulb, or HID control unit. HID control unit is also known as ballast in automotive terms and works to power and the control the function of the bulb.
Diagnosing the right reason and faulty component
Usually, this message appears for only one side of the light so checking and identifying the exact problem and the reason for failure will help to save the time, extra bucks and other non-faulty parts. Sometimes, this warning may appear after an accident happened and the bulb or its control unit became out of place. Or simply you’ve driven to the foggy or rainy area and the moisture or water sets in.
Diagnosing the actual reason and faulty part is possible with some easy tricks:
- When you remove the bulb and find dark black in the middle of it, means that the bulb has failed for sure.
- If it is not dark and just change in color from cool whiter to pink or purple is all that you can see inside, it shows that the bulb is about to complete its life any time sooner.
- If the bulb looks fine, the problem might be with xenon ballast.
The best way to confirm between bulbs and ballast is to just check the bulb from the working side to the not-working side. If the bulb does not turn ON, this is now confirmed the ballast has failed.
How to fix this error?
Whether it is the bulb or ballast, the ultimate solution is its replacement. However, the choice of replacement bulb depends on the headlight type but the right specification replacement bulb is the key to a successful fix. Halogen, xenon and LED are the common terms used for headlight bulbs. If the car has halogen or LED headlamps then you need to get a replacement for h7 bulb, or if the car has xenon factory fitted headlights then you need to replace d3s bulb.
However, it depends on the car's specification but all these bulbs are used for dipped beams and trigger the same warning message. Therefore, calls for the same solution, which is a replacement.
How much does it cost to replace a bulb?
Whether your car’s headlights have halogen, HID, or LED bulbs determines the cost of replacing headlight bulbs.
H7 bulbs are available in both halogen and LED styles. H7 halogen bulbs are the standard bulb found in most cars as headlights. They are least expensive- cost as little as £10 and easier to replace. While halogen bulbs are also brighter some prefer pricier D3S xenon bulbs.
D3s HID bulbs are available in four color variations, so if you wish to upgrade or replace the dipped beam lights, then select from 4300K, 6000K, 8000K and 10000K; whichever suits most with other lights of your car. D3S bulbs are not only efficient but a cost-effective option with long life. It can cost anywhere from £30 to £100, depending on the exact bulb fitting and brand you choose. They add not only light but a style to the car’s look.
H7 LED bulbs are the most expensive headlight bulb and come with a much longer life span then their cheaper counterparts. LED bulbs typically cost between £65 and £155 to replace. LED bulbs are usually chosen only for style so you’re not left with much choice. If you want to avoid changing your bulbs again soon then xenon HID bulbs and LED bulbs are a reasonable choice.
You can save money by doing this fix at your home. You need not to visit the dealer to fix this error and make a replacement. Replacing the bulb is easy. Once the replacement is done, the problem will be resolved. For replacement parts you can browse xenons4u website for s7 halogen or LED bulbs, D3S xenon HID bulbs, HID ballast and many other components.
