Zephyr007

I posted this over on another forum, but I thought I should also share the info here for those interested.

Ok, so I thought I would put together a little post with some info about all facets of the puddle light situation OEM, Aftermarket, Standard, Projector etc.

As many of you already know 2017 RS3's and the earlier deliveries of 2018 models were equipped with the standard puddle light for both the front and rear doors. Audi Part #4E0 947 415 for anyone who cares.

As a running change sometime during 2018 model production RS3's starting arriving with a different front door puddle light in a projection style with the new Audi Sport logo (Rear door lights remained the same). The part number on the Audi Sport puddle light is # 4S0 947 409 (although when I googled this part number it doesn't say anything specific about the "Audi Sport" aspect) Terrible Pic below of the part.

As far as aftermarket options, I purchased some from Ali Express many months ago with the RS3 logo (As well as some S-Line versions for my 2010 A4 S-Line). The ones for my A4 replaced traditional incandescent models and the connector was an exact match. For the RS3 (and I assume all other models) Audi has changed to a LED based puddle light and the connector is smaller now. Having said this, it turns out that the spacing on the pins is still exactly the same so the new smaller connector still slides over the pins in the older style puddle light. The aftermarket light projects a much larger font and it's noticeably less sharp now that I have the OEM Audi Sport light to compare it to. I ended up changing out my rear door standard lights to the Aftermarket RS3 logo and will obviously be sticking with the Audi Sport units up front. One word of caution, The front doors have plenty of slack in the wire to remove the light. The rear doors however were very tight with no slack on the wire at all.

I'll put some pictures below for comparison.


Audi Sport Puddle Light Part Number



Aftermarket brand I used



OEM vs Aftermarket comparison



Old vs New Connector size



OEM "Audi Sport" image



Aftermarket "RS3" Image

Chi_Nardo_RS3

If you don't mind me asking, how much was the OEM puddle light? And how easy and/or difficult was the install?

Zephyr007

No idea how much the OEM (factory) installed puddle lights are. I think I remember seeing the price for the Audi Rings logo version for around $150 a pair. The aftermarket ones are much cheaper in the range of $25 or less in many cases.

The quality of the actuall Audi factory versions is much higher but you pay for it. Installation is the same either way. It’s simply a matter of prying out the original plain light from the bottom of the door panel. The plugging in the new version checking the orientation of the projected image and if everything looks good it snaps back up into the bottom of the door panel.

On my RS3 the front doors had more slack in the wire than the rear doors. I’d assume the same holds true for the S3 & A3 If those models both have the lights.

Billy Ryan

I was wondering if the puddle light connector was standard on ALL rs3s? It isn't on the factory window sticker and I haven't taken receipt of the car yet. Should I expect the connector to be there, despite it not having a light as an option on the sticker?

SCarGuy

AudiSport lights are standard equipment on all AudiSport models MY2018 and up in the US (not sure of other markets)

Billy Ryan

You are just so damn helpful! Thanks 😊

SCarGuy

no worries!