HB4 Blind from Factory: Causes & Fixes

Hi.

Yesterday, I managed to replace the left fog light on my G6+ because the glass had cracked after only 6 weeks.
I noticed that the HB4 had developed a strange brown discoloration.

Since the right HB4 is also that brown, I have to assume that they were like that from the factory.

Is this the new quality standard for VW?

Philips offers a type of lamp that has a reddish-bronze coating.
Could this be it?
I haven't seen it myself yet.

I wrote about this months ago, referring to a Touran! It's probably the same type of lamp. One could speculate that the "coating" is still light-permeable and that the resulting color filtering is optimized for use in the fog lights, while minimizing glare. The whole thing is done so subtly that it doesn't bother the customers. You could even install truly yellow lamps in the fog lights – but that might not be to everyone's taste. That's why the fog lights for the Renault Clio I, Hyundai Accent I, and Lantra initially had yellow lenses. However, for some countries, they were only available with white lenses. It was also said that buyers in Germany and Austria would accept yellow fog lights on the Clio.

No, that's NOT what was intended, because...

- It looks like it was "flash-flamed," meaning it's far too uneven for an intentional coating.
- The replacement bulb (including the bulb itself), which is only 7 weeks newer (original 32/10, replacement 39/10, otherwise identical), has a perfectly clear glass.

All the light bulbs are from Sylvania.

m;

"Dran geflammt" can also be created electrostatically.

Then, you either need a new, clear headlight for the remaining headlight, or you can install your "tinted" ones in pairs.

He's just going to drive like that for now...

Disassembling the Nebler at G6 is worse than some forms of slave labor.
The grilles are only clipped on, but the clips are so tightly attached that you could practically tow the entire Golf with them.

To change a light bulb, I'm trying to access it by going through the wheel arch liner, which is nicely screwed on .

m;

Is the HB4 socket/connector designed in such a way that the plug only fits in one position?

Personally, when I look at this, I can only imagine that this discoloration occurred during operation, because it's located above the heating element. What could possibly cause it to appear there, if it were to be masked by the reflector? After all, the scattered light that would cause glare would more likely be leaving the bulb downwards, and therefore reflecting off the reflector upwards.

"Can you easily get close to it? I'll check ours... or rather, I'm sure I'll be able to see if it's the same just by looking in from the front, right?"

You saw it from the front with the Touran. Maybe try using a flashlight as a light source?

...that reminds me, they were hardly ever turned on... the annoying turning lights are off, and thanks to really good Bi-Xenon headlights, there's no reason to turn on those lights down there .

Turning lights could be an option... They rarely reach operating temperature, which causes halogen lamps to age very quickly. However, a positive aspect is that the gradual dimming and brightening of the turning lights is actually gentle on the lamps.

Apart from that, the filament in the image above actually looks brand new. There is no visible sign of burning or degradation.

An argument AGAINST the turning theory:

Why aren't the HB4 bulbs in our Golf 5 as brown as they should be?
He hasn't been using turn signals for just 7 weeks; he's been doing it for a year.

m;

I have already qualified my statement. One could assume that it depends on the manufacturer. I once had brownish H7 bulbs from Motorcraft (Ford factory equipment) and General Electric (GE) in my hands. Their glass bulbs were completely brownish, except for the area directly above the filament. The lamps came from a Mondeo and were used there for about 3 years during nighttime driving. Their light output was quite alarming in the tested condition.

Hi,
If the voltage at the lamps is too low, typically around 10 volts for standard halogen lamps, the lamp will never reach the necessary temperature for the halogen cycle to function. Perhaps the manufacturer also cut costs by using a cheaper gas filling.
For this reason, the lamp could potentially have a significantly longer lifespan.
(1% undervoltage = 5% more lifespan)

Best regards from Berlin.
olli

B. t. w.: What was the article number for the resistor cable (H7) at , and what was the price per piece? I have a request from an Astra driver about this, and the at Opel no longer has these items in the ordering system. What is the voltage drop for these cables?

The only thing I can accept is:
The BCM of the G6 powers the steering circuits differently than the 30-byte high-BNSTG of the G5.

But why have they been in G5 for a year, and in G6, they become blind after only 7 weeks?

The H7 bulbs in my G5 have been lasting for 3 years and 128,000 km!

m;

New finding:

They certainly weren't blind from the factory.

Because the HB4 bulbs in our G5 headlights, which have integrated turn signals, are also "smoky," and the replacement bulbs we installed two years ago were definitely clear.

My H7 turn signal bulbs are still clear.

So:
HB4 is not really suitable for short-term on and off switching, as turn signals do. VW is certainly not aware of this .

m;