2012 Passat HID DIY Install

gforce1108

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Newburgh, NY
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04 Jetta GLS BEW, 14 Audi A7 V6 TDI, 13 Porsche Cayenne V6 TDI
I had a couple issues right off the bat with one HID flickering out when switching to high beams. I was fighting with the foglight retrofit/relay buzzing at the time (relay to prevent fogs/highs on at same time) and had not disabled the bulb saving feature with VCDS. I fixed both at the same time and never had a problem again so I can't say which was the cause. I would guess that it was the reduced voltage caused by the bulb saving 'feature'.
 

mrmoto35

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Aug 14, 2013
Location
Cypress, CA
TDI
'13 Passat TDI SE w/SR
I had a couple issues right off the bat with one HID flickering out when switching to high beams. I was fighting with the foglight retrofit/relay buzzing at the time (relay to prevent fogs/highs on at same time) and had not disabled the bulb saving feature with VCDS. I fixed both at the same time and never had a problem again so I can't say which was the cause. I would guess that it was the reduced voltage caused by the bulb saving 'feature'.
So far I have not seen any issues when I activate the high beams nor the high beams and the fogs.

I did replace the high beam bulbs with Osram Rallye 65w Ultra High Output H7's but not sure if I see much of a difference yet. Hard to say as I never really used my OEM hb's. They take 30 seconds to install so I maybe I will switch them back and forth and get a closer look at them.
 

tadawson

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Jun 14, 2013
Location
Lewisville, TX
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2013 Passat TDI SEL, 2015 Passat TDI SEL
I am fairly LED ignorant but my gut was telling me it was to be expected. Thank you for educating me :cool:
This is HID - not LED. About the only thing they have in common is that both make light.

HID is High Intensity Discharge, and is an electrical arc in a metal halide evironment, and is started with a high voltage pulse. The warmup time is while the contents of the bulb vaporize.

LED is Light Emitting Diode which is a semiconductoe junction, which runs typically on 1.7 to 2.0 volts per diode (which is why you see multiple LEDs in 12 volt apps, well, that and needing more for intensity.

-Tim
 

tadawson

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Location
Lewisville, TX
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SEL, 2015 Passat TDI SEL
I am fairly LED ignorant but my gut was telling me it was to be expected. Thank you for educating me :cool:
This is HID - not LED. About the only thing they have in common is that both make light.

HID is High Intensity Discharge, and is an electrical arc in a metal halide evironment, and is started with a high voltage pulse. The warmup time is while the contents of the bulb vaporize.

LED is Light Emitting Diode which is a semiconductoe junction, which runs typically on 1.7 to 2.0 volts per diode (which is why you see multiple LEDs in 12 volt apps, well, that and needing more for intensity).

-Tim
 
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mrmoto35

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2013
Location
Cypress, CA
TDI
'13 Passat TDI SE w/SR
This is HID - not LED. About the only thing they have in common is that both make light.

HID is High Intensity Discharge, and is an electrical arc in a metal halide evironment, and is started with a high voltage pulse. The warmup time is while the contents of the bulb vaporize.

LED is Light Emitting Diode which is a semiconductoe junction, which runs typically on 1.7 to 2.0 volts per diode (which is why you see multiple LEDs in 12 volt apps, well, that and needing more for intensity.

-Tim
Actually I meant to say HID. I also installed my full interior LED kit yesterday and got them mixed up. Now that doesn't change the fact that it was about the extent of what I knew until now. Thanks again!!
 

cd2573

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Aug 22, 2009
Location
dutchess county N.Y
TDI
2014 bmw 328D
buyers beware mediocre business practices at usp motorsports ordered a set os HID from them and they where missing parts and they wouldn't ship the missing parts overnight to make it right like every other business would
 

Roishe Cheng

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Joined
May 25, 2013
Location
South Bronx, NYC
TDI
2013 Passat
This is what you want: http://www.distantxtremes.com/35w-premium-hid-dsp-kits.html

I prefer 4300K - color is very natural, even as the lamps age.
VeeDub:

I purchased the USP kit, so I'll give that a go. Have a lot of experience wiring up HIDS on the import side so I'll give this a shot next weekend. I saw your link previously about the DE kits, do those come with bulb holders as well for the H7 bulbs or are you using some other method?
 

VeeDubTDI

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I'm not really sure what these bulb holders are that you're speaking of. :eek:
 

VeeDubTDI

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Springfield, VA
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Drunk Jason says he modified the bulb holders that were on the car and "basically destroyed them." I guess that means we can't go back to halogens... boo hoo. ;)

Sounds like the contact ring (power) on the stock lamps was modified to fit our HIDs and will no longer work with stock halogens.
 

Coffeemade

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Oct 22, 2011
Location
Hoodbridge, Va
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2012 VW Passat TDI SEL Prem
buyers beware mediocre business practices at usp motorsports ordered a set os HID from them and they where missing parts and they wouldn't ship the missing parts overnight to make it right like every other business would
And that is why I will only buy from where I and that wasn't USP. They sent me 2 different bulbs intially and overnighted the replacement which was neat because I was able to test 2 colors and ship back the ones I didn't want.
 

Ray Khan

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Jul 10, 2013
Location
Melrose, MA
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SEL Premium
VeeDub:

I purchased the USP kit, so I'll give that a go. Have a lot of experience wiring up HIDS on the import side so I'll give this a shot next weekend. I saw your link previously about the DE kits, do those come with bulb holders as well for the H7 bulbs or are you using some other method?
What year is your car. I'm curious how you make out with the USP kit. My car is a 2013 SEL and so far I'm having issues.

For the record I believe the ballasts are the same ones used in the XE kit. The ballast housing looks identical minus the stickers to me.
 

r11

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Mar 6, 2012
Location
NJ
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2012 Passat TDI SE 6MT (BB'd), 2015 Passat TDI SE 6MT
OK, 1.5Y later, here's the reliability record on the kit I installed:

- one H7 bulb had to be replaced
- as of few days ago, looks like one of the ballasts is gone. Replaced the bulb and a day later it wouldn't ignite. Wiring is OK.

Now, here's the good news: the ballasts are now ... less than $10 on Amazon (prime, 5 stars) ! Will post more when I replace it.

Overall, 1.5 years of service out of $90 kit ... not too bad.
 
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VeeDubTDI

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Springfield, VA
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‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
Yikes. So far so good with the XE+ kit with close to 40,000 miles on it (with the lights on the entire time).
 

fastyz400

Member
Joined
Sep 19, 2013
Location
Phoenix, AZ
TDI
2013 Passat TDI
I just purchased a 2013 TDI Passat. Love the thing, however was interested in installing an HID kit. I wanted a 55W unit. So, took a look at the stores that people suggested. However, the prices are outrageous for the 55W unit. After researching more into what is a good and bad ballast. There was a great video on youtube of people comparing ballasts. Summary from info i have gathered.
1. AC Ballast, do not buy DC Ballasts
2. The slim ballasts do not putout as much watts as the larger ballasts. Low power ballasts will give a 4300k bulb more of a blue tint. Meaning it will look more like a 6000k or 7000k bulb.
3. The H7 bulb retainer for our passat is the same as the MK6 Golf (2010+), confirmed p/n at the VW dealer.
4. 4300k & 5000k bulbs give the brightest light.
5. cheap ballast or poor power to the ballast will cause flickering issue.

After looking at some kits on ebay. I concluded with a kit around $71 which is Can-Bus error free & the bulb holders (2) for a MK6 Golf $7. I will do a little writeup one i confirm everything works.
 

fastyz400

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Joined
Sep 19, 2013
Location
Phoenix, AZ
TDI
2013 Passat TDI

alekov

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Jan 26, 2013
Location
Fort Myers, FL
TDI
2006 VW Jetta TDI 5spd and 2013 VW Passat TDI SE DSG
Just finished an HID install on 2013 Passat TDI SE

Just did a cheap install on 2013 Passat TDI SE... The 35W (4300k) kit was $25 on eBay, and the MK6 type bulb holders (H7) were $3.50 shipped again on eBay. For under $30, the install took me an hour but I really wanted to do it right and clean. The rubber sealers on the back of the headlights don't need to be drilled, don't be silly, a half an inch poke/slice with a kitchen knife made openings that are good enough to get the wiring through. Double-sided tape to hold the ballast to the headlight plastic assembly (there is tons of space), and t-type splicing connectors (4 of them for less than a buck) to clip to the wires. The wire harness is visible and the brown wire is negative on both sides, and the yellow wire is positive (passenger side had a blue stripe on it, drivers side had a black stripe). Everything was pretty simple, and without any cutting, soldering or breaking it should be reverseable within minutes if desired. Turned them on, and looks great. Cutoff stayed the same, a lot more light output, and perfect white light, not blue crap or anything. It's hard to know it's an aftermarket mod looking at the car with them on, looks like the car should've come with these to begin with. Super happy, I hope they last awhile! :) They came with 2 year warranty by the way, so I know that I will have 2 years of HID for $30 in the worse case scenario. Replacement of both ballast or bulbs should take seconds so I'm not worried about quality at this point. ;) Very happy I must say... The USP kit looks good as well, but I just don't see why pay 3 times the price for the same thing.
 
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Roishe Cheng

Veteran Member
Joined
May 25, 2013
Location
South Bronx, NYC
TDI
2013 Passat
Just did a cheap install on 2013 Passat TDI SE... The 35W (4300k) kit was $25 on eBay, and the MK6 type bulb holders (H7) were $3.50 shipped again on eBay. For under $30, the install took me an hour but I really wanted to do it right and clean. The rubber sealers on the back of the headlights don't need to be drilled, don't be silly, a half an inch poke/slice with a kitchen knife made openings that are good enough to get the wiring through. Double-sided tape to hold the ballast to the headlight plastic assembly (there is tons of space), and t-type splicing connectors (4 of them for less than a buck) to clip to the wires. The wire harness is visible and the brown wire is negative on both sides, and the yellow wire is positive (passenger side had a blue stripe on it, drivers side had a black stripe). Everything was pretty simple, and without any cutting, soldering or breaking it should be reverseable within minutes if desired. Turned them on, and looks great. Cutoff stayed the same, a lot more light output, and perfect white light, not blue crap or anything. It's hard to know it's an aftermarket mod looking at the car with them on, looks like the car should've come with these to begin with. Super happy, I hope they last awhile! :) They came with 2 year warranty by the way, so I know that I will have 2 years of HID for $30 in the worse case scenario. Replacement of both ballast or bulbs should take seconds so I'm not worried about quality at this point. ;) Very happy I must say... The USP kit looks good as well, but I just don't see why pay 3 times the price for the same thing.
Did you put in your own error cancellers in line? I just got the USP kit and installed it myself because it had the error cancellers built in as well. Yeah, agreed - super easy install, makes for so much safer driving. I had DDM kits on all my cars before, something like a $25 HID kit and I'd just buy two so I had a spare of everything :).

Thanks for the EBAY reference, I need an additional bulb holders, USP wants $24.99 for some pieces of plastic.

Agreed, no need to drill, but using a large drill bit just to mark it works well and then use a utility knife + scissors to cut around the line so you can get a good tight snap fit of the wire loom retainer.
 

Roishe Cheng

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Joined
May 25, 2013
Location
South Bronx, NYC
TDI
2013 Passat
We'll see how long that $30 kit lasts for you.

Here is a quick video of our kit starting up... turned out pretty well for an iPhone video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJZZegndR3w
Vee:

Can you tell me from a technical standpoint what makes your XE+ kit better in terms of quality vs a $30 kit? The majority of these kits are produced in a Chinese factory, many with so so QA controls. Are you using a factory with ISO certs? Better capacitors? Different soldering processes? It was always a bit of a mystery to me between all of the different Chinese produced and then private/white labeled HID kits for sale here with differing prices.
 

VeeDubTDI

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No I can't... it could be that what I have is identical to a $30 kit with a different sticker on it. Time will tell which (if any) is more reliable. There are so many kits out there that it's hard to tell one from another just by looking online, especially when some companies use stock photos for their kits - what you see online might be different from what you get in the mail.
 

Roishe Cheng

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Joined
May 25, 2013
Location
South Bronx, NYC
TDI
2013 Passat
No I can't... it could be that what I have is identical to a $30 kit with a different sticker on it. Time will tell which (if any) is more reliable. There are so many kits out there that it's hard to tell one from another just by looking online, especially when some companies use stock photos for their kits - what you see online might be different from what you get in the mail.
Agreed, I think it's a hit or miss. There isn't enough data to generate substantial findings. Say your XE kit lasted 5 years, but another XE kit (ballast) died after 6 months, there is no way to determine if that was just a defective batch or during production run yours had at the time better quality/higher quality components used. I used to run DDM for years in all my other cars and could almost time their failure, it was as if their MTBF was right around 18 months, however at the low cost, popping in another ballast was easy enough to the OPs point.
 

VeeDubTDI

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Jul 2, 2000
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Springfield, VA
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I'm curious to see how long mine last. I run them all the time, so they certainly have quite a few hours on them by now.
 

Roishe Cheng

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Joined
May 25, 2013
Location
South Bronx, NYC
TDI
2013 Passat
What year is your car. I'm curious how you make out with the USP kit. My car is a 2013 SEL and so far I'm having issues.

For the record I believe the ballasts are the same ones used in the XE kit. The ballast housing looks identical minus the stickers to me.
2013 SEL. No issues. What problems are you having? I used the T-taps but I wrapped them with waterproof shrink tape that stretches and is under tension, so even if the T-Tap wants to release it can't. I've done a lot of HID installs in other cars so I have some diagnostic experience with them.
 

TDIEQNY

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Oct 25, 2013
Location
East Quogue, NY
TDI
'13 Passat TDI SEL
Just ordered my HID Kit

4300K with bulb retainers as well… stay tuned… they should be here in a few days...
 
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