Re: Review: Driving home our Sunset Red VW Polo Highline+ TSI Automatic Quote:
Originally Posted by vaibhavyagnik Hello Fluidicjoy. I want to do a similar mod with the headlights but with a 2016 skoda octavia. The car comes with halogen lamps and I want to upgrade these to OEM projector lamps. I sourced a pair of headlights from a scrap dealer for 20K, only to realise that each headlight has 3 ballasts and an adapter harness will be required. I feel I may have bite off more than I can chew, but your post gives me hope. I have a couple of questions for you.
1. From where did you purchase the ballasts?
2. How do I find out if my BCM has autoleveling functionality?
3. If my BCM indeed does not have the autoleveling functionality, I will have to live without autoleveling functionality. Is it the only compromise?
4. Are there any persistant errors if you upgrade the headlights without BCM upgrade?
5. Does the retrofit require tweaking like disabling the halogen lights and enabling Bi-Xenon lights?
6. Can you please share component costs? |
Hi, I'll try and answer most of your queries. I purchased the ballasts from eBay. There are plenty of reliable sellers who will ship to India, although this will always be expensive due to shipping and customs, which is highly unpredictable. Here is a list of ballasts you'll need. The main beam one looks similar to the Polo Bi-Xenons. - 8K0 941 597 E - Main Beam Control Unit
- 4G0 907 697 D - DRLs Control Unit
- 1T0 941 329 B - Control Unit for Cornering Lights
Car electronics on the Polo PQ platform are quite different compared to your Octavia, which is an MQB platform vehicle. On the MQB platform, it is not your BCM, but your Gateway which will dictate if it will supports Auto-Levelling. On MQB car, your Headlight Control Modules + BCM + Gateway + AFS Module will dictate a lot of things like DRL control, low beam, main beam, cornering lights, swivelling lights etc. When I share my next post, things could become a little more clear for you.
Unfortunately, there are no mainstream emulators available for the MQB platform. You will not be able to enjoy the confidence inspiring visibility and features if you do not do the entire wiring, headlight upgrade work. There might always be errors and functionality will be poor.
If you complete your Headlight retrofit in the OEM way, you will have to upgrade quite a few modules. This will involve both changes to coding (to account for the newer headlights), upgrades to firmwares and even swapping/upgrading or installing a few missing modules. From what I checked, there is no automatic headlight regulation on your present halogen headlights. Here is a list of parts that you will need as a minimal set:- - Front Axle AFS Level Sensor - 5Q0 412 521 C
- Rear Axle AFS Level Sensor - 5Q0 512 521 E
- AFS Module suitable for Bi-Xenon Headlights - 7P6 907 357 D
- Headlight Wiring Adapter
- Ballasts, Headlights etc.
On procuring these parts and completing necessary wiring, the control units will need to be flashed to work correctly with your headlights. The Bi-Xenons on the Octavia are much better than the Polo Bi-Xenons. These also swivel with steering input, making them true cornering lights. I'd suggest you plan for upgrading them to Bi-Xenons in the original way. It won't be cheap, but I'm sure it'll be worth it. 
Last edited by fluidicjoy : 6th February 2023 at 14:10.
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