Converting Headlights For Europeon Use - Many thanks to Carl for the Guide
I have seen recently that people are buying headlight converters for driving on mainland Europe. This is not necessary as all Octavia II headlights, whether Xenon or not, are able to be what is termed as flat beamed.
Legislation due to come into effect in March 2008 states that if people are going to be resident for longer than 3 months on the EU mainland they MUST purchase lights with a beam pattern reflecting up to the right however holidays and shorter trips will still be allowed to use flat beam.
Step 1 -
Working under the bonnet, remove the white retaining nut at the back of the headlight unit by unscrewing completely off. Exactly the same on both sides.
Step 2 -
Pull on black hook in direction of opposite headlight. It may be stiff so pull firmly but evenly again do the same on both sides of car.
Step 3 -
The headlight unit will now move forwards slightly. Pull headlight unit forwards and carefully tilt over and remove electric connector.
Step 4 -
Remove Plastic backing to gain access to headlight unit by pulling metal clips outwards. Then remove headlight bulb connector by pulling upwards and headlight bulb by pushing metal connector to side then lifting up and removing bulb. Do not touch the bulb glass.
Step 5 -
Now as indicated in the picture there is a small metal bar that slides up to convert the light beam pattern.
Step 6 -
The bar in the picture above is already at continental setting, for UK setting it looks like the one below. Note the groove in the metal indicated by arrow, this is what the bar covers to convert beam. The blue arrow indicates the metal bar when on UK setting.
Step 7 -
To move the metal bar I will describe the drivers side first as this is the hardest to do and you require a small screwdiver that is quite long.
Step 8 -
There is a small black plastic lever on a spring indicated by the arrow in the picture. Push down with the screwdriver on this lever and then turn the screwdriver clockwise, there is only a small amount of movement required so watch the bar as you turn. Once the bar is level as shown in picture above then replace the bulb and connector etc and refit the headlamp.
You now need to do the same on the passenger side
Picture showing the black lever on passenger side. On drivers side it is behind the electric connector block that is inside headlight unit.
Another picture of metal bar in correct position. Ensure the bar is level with rest of metal reflector or the light pattern will be distorted.
Step 10 -
Once this has been done it's simply a case of re-fitting the headlight unit. Your headlight beam pattern will now look like the pictures below and as you can see it is virtually flat compared to the normal pattern
Disclaimer
This information is provided by other owners based on their experiences and knowledge. I can offer no guarantees or warranty nor endorse any changes or repairs you make to your car based on the information given here. Everything you do is entirely at your own risk. You should not undertake anything contained within these pages if your are neither confident or competent and do not have the right tools to do so.
Copywrite
This information is provided by me to assist owners in modifying and repairing their car, all content belongs to me unless otherwise indicated and the owner of that content has given permission for it to be used. You are permitted to read this content but are not allowed to copy any part of it without first contacting me directly.
|
