HID Bulb Upgrade
03-01-2019, 01:32 AM
#11
AudiWorld Super User
I believe original are 4300K.
03-01-2019, 02:55 AM
#12
I've been a prime customer for at least a decade, I understand how Amazon works and their return process. Why go through the hassle? Amazon and Ebay are loaded with fake products and theres a reason why you can buy what looks like an oem style bulb for less than half the price of what they actually cost. Then how do you even know if its real or fake? The counterfeit ones are typically pretty well done so most consumers couldn't pick out the difference. The big difference is the performance and longevity. You are better off buying a high quality 3rd party bulb like morimoto than a fake "OEM" bulb.
03-01-2019, 03:05 AM
#13
I've been a prime customer for at least a decade, I understand how Amazon works and their return process. Why go through the hassle? Amazon and Ebay are loaded with fake products and theres a reason why you can buy what looks like an oem style bulb for less than half the price of what they actually cost. Then how do you even know if its real or fake? The counterfeit ones are typically pretty well done so most consumers couldn't pick out the difference. The big difference is the performance and longevity. You are better off buying a high quality 3rd party bulb like morimoto than a fake "OEM" bulb.
03-04-2019, 03:33 AM
#14
The Phillips bulbs I bought are original, I got to Amazon following a link on the Philips website and once I got the bulbs I checked the 3D hologram on Philips website, why would I bother to buy another brand when I’m looking for an exact OEM replacement? Maybe eBay is a different story, I don’t use it that much other than for used parts, but Amazon has proved me to have an excellent customer service approach, they are quite responsive and always lean to the customer side, especially when dealing with fake products.
03-04-2019, 12:32 PM
#15
AudiWorld Super User
Amazon has implemented some new programs to address counterfeiting, supposedly, back to the manufacturer level on some products. They are very much aware that a lot of counterfeit has been sold, and because of their "binning" inventory from multiple merchants in the same storage bin, they made it impossible to trace counterfeits. Oopsie. Yeah, they're working on that. There's still a tremendous amount of OBVIOUS counterfeit on Amazon, and customer service will "look into it" if you give them the product ASIN. Linda like playing whack-a-mole though.
But the OP said he bought from ECS tuning, who can be tricked like anyone but are generally said to be very reputable.
HID "capsules" are not bulbs. There are no filaments, so they cannot flicker from internal problems. If they weren't seated properly and were making intermittent contact, or one strand of wire (one "hair") touched ground, that could make a flicker. Sometimes when you're working with older wiring harnesses, simply touching them insults them, and that can cause problems like this.
No easy way to find out. You'd have to take it all apart, and reseat and check every connection (preferably adding silicone grease after using contact cleaner) to make sure the wiring is solid. If it all is, then you've got to start looking at the ballast and all the other wiring.
But the OP said he bought from ECS tuning, who can be tricked like anyone but are generally said to be very reputable.
HID "capsules" are not bulbs. There are no filaments, so they cannot flicker from internal problems. If they weren't seated properly and were making intermittent contact, or one strand of wire (one "hair") touched ground, that could make a flicker. Sometimes when you're working with older wiring harnesses, simply touching them insults them, and that can cause problems like this.
No easy way to find out. You'd have to take it all apart, and reseat and check every connection (preferably adding silicone grease after using contact cleaner) to make sure the wiring is solid. If it all is, then you've got to start looking at the ballast and all the other wiring.
05-28-2019, 12:14 AM
#16
AudiWorld Super User
Purchased 2 x phillips D3S XenEcoStart XenStart HID 35W PK32d-5 4300K.
Hope they are as good as @uncleiggy
One bulb is dead. Waiting time from abroad. Less night driving until then.
Hope they are as good as @uncleiggy
One bulb is dead. Waiting time from abroad. Less night driving until then.
05-28-2019, 02:25 AM
#17
Purchased 2 x phillips D3S XenEcoStart XenStart HID 35W PK32d-5 4300K.
Hope they are as good as @uncleiggy
One bulb is dead. Waiting time from abroad. Less night driving until then.
Hope they are as good as @uncleiggy
One bulb is dead. Waiting time from abroad. Less night driving until then.
05-28-2019, 03:59 AM
#18
AudiWorld Super User
Thanks. Will replace both, and keep the good one as spares too as recommended.Yes mine are 9 years old too, lasted for 130,000km.
05-28-2019, 04:04 AM
#19
05-28-2019, 08:31 AM
#20
AudiWorld Junior Member
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Los Angeles, CA
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I decided to upgrade the OEM HID bulbs with a bit brighter one's (4300K to 6500K) in my 2016 SQ5. The install went smoothly and the bulbs work fine. However, while driving one evening last week at night, the headlights seemed to flicker (pulse) while driving and then return to normal. No error codes shown on the dash while driving. Has anyone else experienced this with upgraded HID bulbs. For the record, these are from Morimoto and purchased from ECS Tuning. They are direct replacement fit for the Q5/SQ5.