Rules for the operation and maintenance of headlights VW Passat B5
Tips for motorists

Rules for the operation and maintenance of headlights VW Passat B5

Lighting devices Volkswagen Passat B5, as a rule, do not cause any particular complaints from car owners. Long-term and trouble-free operation of the Volkswagen Passat B5 headlights is possible with proper care for them, timely maintenance and troubleshooting that occur during operation. Restoration or replacement of headlights can be entrusted to service station specialists, however, practice shows that most of the work related to the repair of lighting devices can be performed by the car owner on their own, while saving their own money. What features of the VW Passat B5 headlights should be taken into account by a car enthusiast who is engaged in their maintenance without assistance?

Headlight types for VW Passat B5

The fifth generation Volkswagen Passat has not been produced since 2005, so most cars of this family require replacement or restoration of lighting devices. "Native" VW Passat B5 headlights can be replaced with optics from manufacturers such as:

  • Hella;
  • Storage;
  • TYC;
  • Van Wezel;
  • Polcar etc.
Rules for the operation and maintenance of headlights VW Passat B5
The most high-quality and expensive optics for the VW Passat B5 are German Hella headlights

The most expensive are the German Hella headlights. The products of this company today can cost (rubles):

  • headlight without fog (H7/H1) 3BO 941 018 K - 6100;
  • headlight xenon (D2S/H7) 3BO 941 017 H — 12 700;
  • headlight with fog (H7 / H4) 3BO 941 017 M - 11;
  • headlight 1AF 007 850–051 - up to 32;
  • taillight 9EL 963 561-801 - 10 400;
  • fog lamp 1N0 010 345-021 - 5 500;
  • set of flashing lights 9EL 147 073–801 — 2 200.
Rules for the operation and maintenance of headlights VW Passat B5
Taiwanese Depo headlights have proven themselves in the European and Russian markets

A more budget option may be Taiwanese-made Depo headlights, which have proven themselves well in Russia and Europe, and cost today (rubles):

  • headlight without PTF FP 9539 R3-E - 1;
  • headlight with PTF FP 9539 R1-E - 2 350;
  • headlight xenon 441–1156L-ND-EM — 4;
  • headlight transparent FP 9539 R15-E - 4 200;
  • rear lamp FP 9539 F12-E - 3;
  • rear lamp FP 9539 F1-P - 1 300.

In general, the Volkswagen Passat B5 lighting system includes:

  • Headlights;
  • rear lights;
  • direction indicators;
  • reversing lights;
  • brake lights;
  • fog lights (front and rear);
  • license plate lighting;
  • interior lighting.

Table: lamp parameters used in VW Passat B5 lighting fixtures

lighting fixtureLamp TypePower, W
Low / high beamH455/60
Parking and parking front lightHL4
PTF, front and rear turn signalsP25–121
Tail lights, brake lights, reversing lights21/5
License plate lightGlass plinth5

The service life of the lamps, according to the technical documentation, ranges from 450 to 3000 hours, but practice shows that if extreme conditions of their operation are avoided, the lamps will last at least twice as long.

Headlight repair and lamp replacement VW Passat B5

The headlights used on the Volkswagen Passat b5 are non-separable and, according to the instruction manual, cannot be repaired.

If a rear light bulb needs to be replaced, the trim in the trunk must be folded down and the rear plastic headlight panel on which the bulbs are mounted must be removed. Lamps are removed from their seats by a simple counterclockwise rotation. If it is necessary to remove the entire taillight, then unscrew the three fixing nuts mounted on the bolts mounted in the headlight housing. To return the headlight to its place, it is necessary to repeat the same manipulations in reverse order.

I bought the whole set at the VAG warehouse, Hella ignition units, OSRAM lamps. I left the main beam as it is — the dipped xenon is enough. Of the hemorrhoids, I can name the following: I had to undermine the plastic landing base of the lamp and the plug coming from the ignition unit with a needle file. How this is done, the sellers explained to me when buying. I also had to unfold the tendril holding the lamp in the base, on the contrary. I have not used the hydrocorrector yet - there was no need, I can not say. NO changes are made to the headlight itself! You can always put back the "native" lamps in 10 minutes.

Steklovatkin

https://forum.auto.ru/vw/751490/

Headlight polishing

As a result of long-term operation, the headlights lose their original characteristics, the throughput decreases, the outer surface of the lighting devices becomes cloudy, turns yellow and cracks. Cloudy headlights scatter light incorrectly, and as a result, the driver of the VW Passat B5 sees the road worse, and drivers of oncoming vehicles can be blinded, that is, the safety of road users depends on the state of the lighting devices. Decreased visibility at night is an indication that the headlights require maintenance.

Rules for the operation and maintenance of headlights VW Passat B5
Headlight polishing can be done with a grinder or grinder

Cloudy, yellowed, as well as cracked headlights can be given to the specialists of the service station for restoration, or you can try to restore them yourself. If the owner of the VW Passat B5 has decided to save money and carry out repairs without outside help, he must first prepare:

  • a set of polishing wheels (made of foam rubber or other material);
  • a small amount (100-200 grams) of abrasive and non-abrasive paste;
  • water-resistant sandpaper with grain sizes from 400 to 2000;
  • plastic film or construction tape;
  • grinder or grinder with adjustable speed;
  • White Spirit solvent, bucket of water, rags.

The sequence of steps for polishing headlights can be as follows:

  1. Headlights are thoroughly washed and degreased.

    Rules for the operation and maintenance of headlights VW Passat B5
    Before polishing, the headlights must be washed and degreased.
  2. The surface of the body adjacent to the headlights must be covered with plastic wrap or construction tape. It would be even better to just dismantle the headlights while polishing.

    Rules for the operation and maintenance of headlights VW Passat B5
    The surface of the body adjacent to the headlight must be covered with a film
  3. Start polishing with the coarsest sandpaper, periodically wetting it in water. It is necessary to finish with the most fine-grained sandpaper, the surface to be treated should turn out to be evenly matte.

    Rules for the operation and maintenance of headlights VW Passat B5
    At the first stage of polishing, the headlight is processed with sandpaper
  4. Wash and dry headlights again.
  5. A small amount of abrasive paste is applied to the surface of the headlight, and at low speeds of the grinder, processing with a polishing wheel begins. As necessary, the paste should be added, while avoiding overheating of the treated surface.

    Rules for the operation and maintenance of headlights VW Passat B5
    For polishing headlights, an abrasive and non-abrasive paste is used.
  6. Processing should be carried out until the headlight becomes completely transparent.

    Rules for the operation and maintenance of headlights VW Passat B5
    Polishing should be continued until the headlight is completely transparent.
  7. Repeat the same with non-abrasive paste.

Replacing and adjusting headlights

To replace the Volkswagen Passat B5 headlights, you will need a 25 Torx key, with which the three fixing bolts holding the headlight are unscrewed. To get to the mounting bolts, you need to open the hood and remove the turn signal, which is attached with a plastic retainer. Before removing the headlight from the niche, disconnect the power cable connector.

I have a problem with fogging headlights. The reason is that factory headlights are sealed, and most alternative, tuned ones are not, but have air ducts. I don’t bother with this, the headlights fog up after each wash, but everything is fine in the rain. After washing, I try to ride on the low beam for a while, the headlight inside warms up and dries out in some 30-40 minutes.

Bassoon

http://ru.megasos.com/repair/10563

Video: self-replacement headlight VW Passat B5

#vE6 for the rogue. Removing the headlight.

After the headlight is in place, it may need to be adjusted. You can correct the direction of the light beam in the horizontal and vertical planes using special adjusting screws located at the top of the headlight. Before starting the adjustment, make sure that:

Starting the adjustment, you should rock the car body so that all suspension parts take their original position. The light corrector must be set to position "0". Only low beam is adjustable. First, the light turns on and one of the headlights is covered with an opaque material. With a Phillips screwdriver, the luminous flux is adjusted in the vertical and horizontal planes. Then the second headlight is covered and the procedure is repeated. Fog lights are adjusted in the same way.

The meaning of regulation is to bring the angle of inclination of the light beam in accordance with the set value. The standard value of the angle of incidence of the light beam is indicated, as a rule, next to the headlight. If this indicator is equal, for example, to 1%, this means that the headlight of a car located at a distance of 10 meters from a vertical surface should form a beam, the upper limit of which will be located at a distance of 10 cm from the horizontal indicated on this surface. You can draw a horizontal line using a laser level or in any other way. If the required distance is more than 10 cm, the area of ​​the illuminated surface will be insufficient for comfortable and safe movement in the dark. If less, the beam of light will dazzle oncoming drivers.

Video: headlight adjustment recommendations

VW Passat B5 headlight tuning methods

Even if the owner of the Volkswagen Passat B5 has no particular complaints about the operation of lighting devices, something can always be improved both technically and aesthetically. Tuning VW Passat B5 headlights, as a rule, does not affect the aerodynamic properties of the car, but it can emphasize the status, style and other nuances that are essential for the car owner. There are many ways to change the light characteristics and appearance of the headlights by installing alternative optics and additional accessories.

You can replace the standard taillights with one of the sets of optics of the VW Passat B5 series 11.96–08.00:

I started with the headlights. He took off the headlights, disassembled them, took two LED strips for the headlight, glued them on double-sided adhesive tape, one tape from the bottom, the other from the bottom. I adjusted each LED so that they shined inside the headlight, connected the wires from the tapes to the dimensions right inside the headlight, so that the wires could not be seen anywhere. I drilled the front turn signals and inserted one LED at a time and connected them to the dimensions. At the moment, each turn signal has 4 LEDs, 2 white (each with 5 LEDs) and two orange connected to the turn signals. I set the orange ones for a red tint when turning on the turn, and I put the (standard) bulbs from the turn signals with transparent steles, I just don’t like it when orange bulbs are visible in the turn signals. It took 110 cm of LED strip for the rear lights. I glued the tapes without disassembling the headlights, connected them to the free connectors on the headlight unit. So that the standard size bulb does not shine, but at the same time the brake light works, I put a heat shrink on the contact in the block where the light bulb is inserted. bought light bulbs (each with 10 LEDs), cut two tapes into the rear bumper and connected it to the reverse gear. I cut the tape not on the flat plane of the bumper, but into the bottom seam so that you can hardly see them until you turn on the reverse.

The list of suitable headlights can be continued with the following models:

In addition, headlight tuning can be performed using accessories such as:

Despite the fact that the Volkswagen Passat B5 has not left the assembly line for 13 years, the car remains in demand and is one of the most popular models among domestic car enthusiasts. Such confidence in the Passat is explained by its reliability and affordability: today you can buy a car at a very reasonable price, being confident that the car will last for many more years. Of course, most components and mechanisms can exhaust their service life over the course of many years of vehicle operation, and for the full operation of all systems and assemblies, maintenance, repair or replacement of individual components is required. VW Passat B5 headlights, despite their reliability and durability, after a certain time also lose their original characteristics and may require replacement or repair. You can carry out preventive measures or replace the Volkswagen Passat B5 headlights yourself, or contact a service station for this.

Add a comment