Does changing the T6 Beach headlight bulbs invalidate the warranty?

[Cloud Dodger]

Does anyone know if I change \ upgrade the bulbs in my T6 Beach (H4 lights) will it invalidate the manufacturer warranty?

Been to Halfords and made some enquires about better bulbs but not sure how you would stand with VW warranty.

Thanks in advance

 

[calikev]

No it wouldn't unless the bulbs melt the headlight lens and you then try and make a claim.

 

[WelshGas]

Does anyone know if I change \ upgrade the bulbs in my T6 Beach (H4 lights) will it invalidate the manufacturer warranty?

Been to Halfords and made some enquires about better bulbs but not sure how you would stand with VW warranty.

Thanks in advance

As long as they are Legal ie: E marked, No.

 

[Cloud Dodger]

Many thanks for the replies.

Is it something I can do or is it a specialist job (i.e tools required and or headlamp removed to get new bulbs in).

Thanks

 

[WelshGas]

Many thanks for the replies.

Is it something I can do or is it a specialist job (i.e tools required and or headlamp removed to get new bulbs in).

Thanks

It is something you should be able to do. No tools or headlamp removal but a little fiddly.
Halfords offer a fitting service.

 

[BeagleMum]

Does anyone know if I change \ upgrade the bulbs in my T6 Beach (H4 lights) will it invalidate the manufacturer warranty?

Been to Halfords and made some enquires about better bulbs but not sure how you would stand with VW warranty.

Thanks in advance

We will be interested to know how you get on & your view on the improvement as this is something we are thinking of doing.

 

[sapto]

Changed bulbs twice so fare (H7), used a headlamp and gloves.

 

[Cloud Dodger]

From my *limited* understanding from what I have read, with replacement bulbs such as Philips Racing Vision +150% and Osram Nightbreakers parts of the filament or bulb are in a more *stressed* state to give you more bang for your buck in relation to light or the beam of light they produce.

Because the bulbs are in a more *stressed* or highly tuned state they are more prone to failure hence manufacturer warranties of only 6 months for example.

So I am thinking, instead of going for a maximum performance bulb which gives better lighting but also higher failure rates, that I should go for a slightly reduced performance which hopefully will give a better lifespan.

I have read stories and seen videos of of these 3rd party bulbs failing after a few weeks or months in some cases.

I am no technician, so feel free to correct anything I have put so it educates me and others on this topic.

Sapto mentions that they replaced the bulbs twice on their H7 lights, I would be interested to know over what period of time and what make and model of bulb?

 

[WelshGas]

From my *limited* understanding from what I have read, with replacement bulbs such as Philips Racing Vision +150% and Osram Nightbreakers parts of the filament or bulb are in a more *stressed* state to give you more bang for your buck in relation to light or the beam of light they produce.

Because the bulbs are in a more *stressed* or highly tuned state they are more prone to failure hence manufacturer warranties of only 6 months for example.

So I am thinking, instead of going for a maximum performance bulb which gives better lighting but also higher failure rates, that I should go for a slightly reduced performance which hopefully will give a better lifespan.

I have read stories and seen videos of of these 3rd party bulbs failing after a few weeks or months in some cases.

I am no technician, so feel free to correct anything I have put so it educates me and others on this topic.

Sapto mentions that they replaced the bulbs twice on their H7 lights, I would be interested to know over what period of time and what make and model of bulb?

I have replaced mine with Osram Nightbreakers, i think 120% increase. They are now 5 yrs old. My vehicle is a daily driver with lots of night driving.

 

[sapto]

From my *limited* understanding from what I have read, with replacement bulbs such as Philips Racing Vision +150% and Osram Nightbreakers parts of the filament or bulb are in a more *stressed* state to give you more bang for your buck in relation to light or the beam of light they produce.

Because the bulbs are in a more *stressed* or highly tuned state they are more prone to failure hence manufacturer warranties of only 6 months for example.

So I am thinking, instead of going for a maximum performance bulb which gives better lighting but also higher failure rates, that I should go for a slightly reduced performance which hopefully will give a better lifespan.

I have read stories and seen videos of of these 3rd party bulbs failing after a few weeks or months in some cases.

I am no technician, so feel free to correct anything I have put so it educates me and others on this topic.

Sapto mentions that they replaced the bulbs twice on their H7 lights, I would be interested to know over what period of time and what make and model of bulb?

No techie her either and agree with you about lifespan.
My 2005 SE had his headlight units changed after 9 years when I bought it. The bulbs were until that time VW ones.
Since 2014 I changed them or let them changed around 5 times. I used VW bulbs and Osram (nightbreaker laser/unlimited). We use the van all year round and cover around 25k a year. Light is always on as a daylight. Hope that helps.
I am aware that some bulbs do greater damage to the headlight unit.

 

[Billywizz]

I use GE Megalights 150, much improvement on standard and have had no issues ( 8 months use so far) I think £30 for the pair. It is a little fiddly but start with the drivers side which is slightly easier to get to, you can then see how the bulb is removed making it easier on the nearside.

 

[Cloud Dodger]

I have bought some Osram Nightbreakers +150 (eurocar parts £20) they did not have +130 in stock.

Just a bit dubious about fitting them after reading Calikevs comment about melting the headlamps .

I also made enquires with VW van centre regarding H7 headlamps, the H7's where approx £220 each side, plus 1.5 - 2 hours to remove bumper and fit, they where not sure regarding any re-coding from H4 to H7s.

Hopefully I will be getting a call tomorrow on whether they can fit H7's, any coding and a full fitting quote if possible.

 

[tuono001]

I've fitted bulbs before, philips extreme if I remember rightly, I'd suggest wearing latex/rubber gloves. This is mainly to keep your hands clean and from being scratched, space is tight around one of the headlights.
I wouldn't worry about melting headlamps if you buy genuine branded bulbs, only worry if you buy cheap chinese copies.
Just remember when fitting to keep your fingers off the filament part of the bulb.

 

[hirsty]

Upgrading H4 bulbs is very fiddly unless you have very nimble (and strong) fingers - I didn't think that the Philips 130% bulbs made that much of a difference, but it's better than nothing. The standard H4 lights are borderline dangerous IMO.

Far better to swap whole headlamp unit to an H7 unit, as standard on Ocean & at least some Caravelles.

I bought some from Travelin Lite & swapped them myself on Saturday, no coding, a straight plug & play swap - was a little concerned beforehand, but this excellent video shows how to do it:

 

[Cloud Dodger]

Thanks for the video and pictures. your lights look great!.

I think I read somewhere about having to re-code H4 - H7 lights to get all the functions of the lights to work but I may be wrong or I misunderstood.

If yours worked fine and still had all the functions by simply swapping units it may not be as complicated as I thought.

Out of interest how long did it take you to finish the conversion and I assume it was a two man job.

Thanks..

 

[hirsty]

2 or 3 hours ish - I was going very slowly to be safe. You do need two people to lift off the bumper for a few mins, and I had my helper 'catch' the lights when undoing each final Torx.

Ideally get some spare VW-style fasteners from eBay first.

My lights came with a loom add-on to keep dip on with full beam (same as 'flash') but I binned it - I think this is what you may have read about coding, as I understand it can be done with VCDS too.