BI XENON Headlight Issue - 2012 - Leon FR SuperCopa

CJRamze

Proud Seat Owner
Jun 29, 2008
2,014
2
Caldicot, South Wales
Hi Everyone,
Its been a long time since I've posted on these forums and I'm hoping that someone can help or offer some insight.

A few years ago I bought a Leon FR Supercopa and I noticed that the headlights seemed dirty. It was summertime so I didn't do much night-time driving but as the winter set in I really needed those headlights. I'd just come from a Nissan 350Z with Bi-Xenons and I thought to myself "These seem a little shitty" but I didn't expect them to be as good as the Zed but I was a little disappointed.

So I started by checking the headlights to see if I could do anything to improve the beam, most of the cars that overtake me light up far more of the road than I do so maybe they are filthy or they need restoring.

After cleaning the headlights I realised they were dirty on the inside of the lenses and since that time they've got worse and worse. As far as I can tell there are no airgaps, all of the headlight caps are on securely and clamped down and yet they've definitely got worse over the years.

Now....
How good are the standard Bi-Xenon headlights? Should they really be carving through the darkness similar to the previous 350z I had?
Are there any upgrades I could be looking at to improve overall output? Is there anyway to clean the inside of the headlights?
Has anyone purchased third party headlight units? How do they compare to the standard lights?
Are the standard ones generally accepted as shitty in overall output?

I purchased a 2017 Seat Ibiza for my partner and it has standard halogen headlights and the output is clearly better than mine, especially on high beams.
Mine on high light up higher as expected but the output seems still... crap

Any input or advice/experience is appreciated
 

SRGTD

Active Member
May 26, 2014
2,388
1,278
If the mk2 Leon’s headlamp lenses are plastic / polycarbonate, then what looks like dirt may well be crazing of the plastic lens that has degraded over time. Unfortunately, it seems the only real fix is to replace the headlamps.

Check out this recent discussion thread over on vwroc.com forum.


As for light output - try an internet search on ‘do xenon headlights become dimmer over time?’ and you’ll see that they do lose brightness as they age.
 
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andylong

Active Member
Jan 21, 2021
488
1
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I have bi xenon hids. 2012 1.6tdi. The lenses are starting to degrade due to UV exposure. They can be polished and recoated with a UV lacquer.
My lights are still bright and crisp however.
If it's not the lenses but dirt, it could get in via the daytime running lights or sides
 
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CJRamze

Proud Seat Owner
Jun 29, 2008
2,014
2
Caldicot, South Wales
If the mk2 Leon’s headlamp lenses are plastic / polycarbonate, then what looks like dirt may well be crazing of the plastic lens that has degraded over time. Unfortunately, it seems the only real fix is to replace the headlamps.

Check out this recent discussion thread over on vwroc.com forum.


As for light output - try an internet search on ‘do xenon headlights become dimmer over time?’ and you’ll see that they do lose brightness as they age.

Hi SRGTD
That thread is perfect, Looking at the pictures it would appear that atleast 50% of the problem is 'crazing' (New word on me!)
When I first got the car it would look like that as soon as I turned the lights on, slightly thicker looking but I assume thats just because my car is older and the exposure / damage is greater.

What makes my situation worse is that I have that crazy, The lenses in the headlights also look a little misty (As opposed to very bold and bright like some pictures I've seen) AND clearly dirt has got into there with some moisture and the inside of the lenses are actually dirty.

I assume my headlights should give better visibility / projection than my partners halogen headlights but Its honestly like driving with two old oil lamps.


That explains the issue and it appears replacing them is pretty much the only option for me (as I use the car every single day)
Have you / anyone here ever used a set of aftermarket headlights? Anything that can be recommended or avoided? I'm assuming the Lenses/Glass within the headlights are the most important part.
 

andylong

Active Member
Jan 21, 2021
488
1
125
Headlights are expensive. If you remove them and disassemble them you should be able to clean them up inside and polish the outside
 
Apr 17, 2023
17
0
Hi, does anyone know the pins so I can test the hid inside the housing with a bench power supply. Thanks
 

andylong

Active Member
Jan 21, 2021
488
1
125
Hid bulbs are open circuit until the arc strikes, like neon bulbs.
The drivers (ballast they call them) initially are high voltage to strike the arc then reduce the current to maintain it in the plasma created by the initial high voltage because the plasma is highly conductive.

By high voltage I mean thousands of volts.
The operating voltage depends on the bulb but it's something like 50v
 
Apr 17, 2023
17
0
Some one has to do a detailed video of headlight cleaning or if possible disassembly and cleaning including the projector lens and housing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

andylong

Active Member
Jan 21, 2021
488
1
125
The insides should be clean unless there's been some mishap.
There's lens cleaning vids on YouTube
 
Apr 17, 2023
17
0
Mines has mud bottom the passenger side housing, must have splashed in there but both of the headlight covers are on tight. Also I made a video of my headlight with the scattered light pattern, not sure what’s going on here

 

andylong

Active Member
Jan 21, 2021
488
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125
I guess you can remove the lamp unit and put some water and a little detergent in and slosh it around.
 
Apr 17, 2023
17
0
will defo clean it, do u know why my cut off line looks distorted
 

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andylong

Active Member
Jan 21, 2021
488
1
125
Projector headlights have the obvious lens at the front and the polycarbonate cover, which gets milky and 'cracked' over time.
They also have a reflector inside the projector unit which produces the beam shape. If that gets damaged or dirty you'll get a faulty beam pattern.
When you pull the light unit out clean the projector unit off the lamp unit.
Did your car go through a ford or flood?
 
Apr 17, 2023
17
0
it rained heavy a couple of times this month in Birmingham, I was thinking it’s the puddles i drove through that caused muddy brown splash marks in the headlight, but how did it get in there when it’s got both covers on secured? Thanks
 

andylong

Active Member
Jan 21, 2021
488
1
125
Well the headlamp unit is sealed, with holes for the fitting of the projector unit and other bulbs so through them holes I'd reckon. They should have seals but time or poor fitting can make them less effective
 
Apr 17, 2023
17
0
Only way is to take both of them off, clean, inspect and go from there. Will have to search youtube on on projector cleaning, thanks