puloo

Anyone experienced condensation on the INSIDE of their headlight? Apparently this caused my Xenon to go out. Looks like I am going to have to replace the entire headlight. Any idea the cost? I'm hoping its covered under my extended warranty.

UberVier

how long has it been since the water disappeared? In a friend's car it took a few days for the water on the lens to disappear, and a couple more days for his bulb to fire again, but it did. I would say take that bulb out, or at least take the back off the housing, and let it get good and hot for a couple days and try and fire it up again. I would bet you $ it solves the problem.

puloo

Any chance of just getting the whole headlight replaced? Would rather not go through this everytime it rains really hard.

Does anyone know how to remove the bulb? I removed the back piece, but not sure how to pull the bulb out.

UberVier

I would first make sure that the back cover is sealing well and is attached correctly. If that's the case, then make sure all your little vent hoses are connected and pointed in the downward position (so they don't funnel water in). I'm going from a friend's 2 piece housings, so maybe stock S4 housing don't have the rubber hoses, but the general idea is to make sure there's no easy way for water to get in, as best you can see.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/14421/housingback.jpg">
If you look closely you'll see the clip that holds the bulb in place. In that pic it's folded up and out of the housing, and is attached to the aluminum piece that actually holds the bulb.

To get the bulb out, first take the ignitor off the bulb by twisting it about 45 degrees or so, it's not hard so don't force it- you may have to push it in slightly, but again, be gentle. Then, you can see the hooks where the clip folds back down onto the bulb housing. You'll have to press towards the front of the car, then to the right or left depending on which housing it is (I think you can see which way, or at least feel it). Once that's off and you start moving it up, the bulb will come out a bit with it. Careful you don't hit it against anything. It's no nuclear device from a james bond movie, so you can brush the housing without it exploding, just be as careful as possible.

Taking the bulb out and letting it sit will def get things dry much faster. If it's easy to do so, I'd poke my head around and see if I could locate the leak, maybe even try a few spots of silicone in places that look sketchy. Better than having to fork out whatever it costs for a new housing IMO. Good luck.

US RS4 ;-)

I took the back cover off, wiped off some dust/dirt from the rubber seal, and used a blow dryer to dry the condensation from the front of the lens. Just set it on high and point it at the lens. Might take 10-15 minutes to dry. That was three years ago for me and never had a problem since.

puloo

Unfortunately i don't have access to a repair manual. Pardon my stupidity, but how do i remove the entire housing?

It didn't seem that difficult, however after removing the top screws, i was stuck.

Thanks guys.

US RS4 ;-)

I think after removing the 2 screws, it wiggles out to the side then forward...???

avantissimo nogaro

good luck and dont buy new headlights just yet, they are a few hundred dollars+. get these ones to work.

US RS4 ;-)

narrow socket extension to fit in a hole in either the fender sheet metal or frame around the light housing.