# Xenon Headlights point down, help!



## clemmerb (Oct 14, 2006)

I am living in Germany and I drive a European 2000 Audi A6 S-line wagon with Xenon headlights. Last weekend when I turned the headlights on they failed to rotate up and shine down the road. Does anyone have a solution for me?
Brian


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## GLS-S4 (Jun 6, 2005)

*Re: Xenon Headlights point down, help! (clemmerb)*

Use VAG-COM or equivalent tool to scan your car for Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTC's), else go to a dealer / your local performance shop and get your codes read.
Xenon Headlights are Address 55 (in the North American market). If DTC's are recorded, they will give you a much better idea what's wrong with the lights.
Is it possible a headlight levelling sensor was taken out of commision when your front Control Arms / Ball Joint failed ?


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## clemmerb (Oct 14, 2006)

*Re: Xenon Headlights point down, help! (GLS-S4)*

I wasn't aware that a diagnositic unit would check the headlights out. The lights are working but they fail to rotate up. The sensor might be at fault, but it had nothing to do with control arm.
The light failed prior to the control arm break.
Do you know where the sensor is located? Maybe a connection is loose?


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## Uberhare (Jul 30, 2003)

My driver's side headlight sometimes will not come up. I asked the dealer about this. He told me they've had a rash of A6 cars that have faulty headlight control modules. Some have the module in the front and some have them in the rear. $250 or so to fix according to them. They pulled the codes on my car but did not come up with anything related to the headlights.


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## GLS-S4 (Jun 6, 2005)

*Re: Xenon Headlights point down, help! (clemmerb)*

VAG-COM can read Xenon controllers, can also make headlights move up and down electronically - a nice way to verify if controllers and leveling motors are working.
Myself, I would not change the soft code value to adjust the headlights as in step 4 of this example (that's what adjusters are for), but this is a good walk thru to see your headlights moving if you want...
1. Park on level surface, 10 to 20 feet from a wall if possible.
Connect the VAG-COM as usual, with both ignition and xenons on.
2. Select control module 55 - H. Light Range.
3. Record Soft Coding cell value. 
This is the headlight level as set by the dealer when they performed PDI. If you manage to muck things up you can go back to A6 default value 00050.
4. Click on "Recode - 07" and you will be able to modify soft coding value. A smaller value aims the lights higher, and higher value aims the lights lower. Click on "Do it!" to see the lights move up or down.
5. If your going to recode, choose a value that still has a gentle downwards slope to avoid blinding other people.
6. To complete the recode, recalibrate the self-leveling reference point or car will throw a code next time car starts. Select "Basic Settings - 04" and scroll up to "Group 001". In a few seconds the first cell will change from "wait" to "set". Now scroll to "Group 002" and wait until the controller says "Learned"
7. Done.

Instead of changing C5 A6 soft coding from factory 00050, I've used this procedure for aligning headlights with success...
http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-c....html



_Modified by GLS-S4 at 9:52 AM 11/7/2006_


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## clemmerb (Oct 14, 2006)

*Re: Xenon Headlights point down, help! (GLS-S4)*

The fix ended up being the sensor on the aft left wheel. It was shot and the resistence output to the computer never changed while I jacked the aft end while the sensor in the front would changed when jacked. The computer thought I had the rear end heavily loaded and therefore pointed the lights directly down.
While I could not use the VAG-Com system on my euro spec Audi, my research into the website makes me think it is a good purchase. I had a mechanic use a similar european system and he found other faults that needed attention.
Thanks again.


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