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Headlight downgrade - Boris.t - 7:th-Oct-2020

Hello,

I own a 2014 Astra J 1.6cdti, which came with regular halogen headlights and factory LED DRLs. The DRLs on the right side, however, have stopped working and I don't think there's a way to repair them, is there? Anyway, not sure I want to.

Here's what I'm thinking instead: I found a pair of good halogen lights with standard DRL bulbs. IMO, they even look better with white-ish bulbs than the stock LED DRLs (never been a fan of those). So, is it a straight swap? Also, are all light units the same, pre and post - facelift? 

Any input is much appreciated. Cheers.

RE: Headlight downgrade - Rusty2009 - 7:th-Oct-2020

Units are the same some.

Some have chrome inside some have black inside.

In terms of fitting the halogen DRL/Side light if memory serves me right you can fit an LED DRL/Sidelight bulb and the get no errors.

In terms of fixing the current headlamps they would really need splitting open the LED's and resistors would need checking & replacing.

RE: Headlight downgrade - Boris.t - 7:th-Oct-2020

(7:th-Oct-2020, 15:39:55)Rusty2009 Wrote: Units are the same some.

Some have chrome inside some have black inside.

In terms of fitting the halogen DRL/Side light if memory serves me right you can fit an LED DRL/Sidelight bulb and the get no errors.

In terms of fixing the current headlamps they would really need splitting open the LED's and resistors would need checking & replacing.

Thanks for the info.

I'm about to order the units I found and do the swap. Will post an update once the job is done, in case anyone ever tries the same, however unlikely it seems. Hopefully, I'll get away with it error-free.

RE: Headlight downgrade - Jerry - 8:th-Oct-2020

Hi, they should fits. The main connector pin-out is the same.
Question is just how the BCM will react on the higher DRL consumption, but I think there will be no error massage and it will work fine.

Actually I have swapped vice-versa :-) and just add resistor due to lower current consumption of the LED DRLs.

RE: Headlight downgrade - Boris.t - 15:th-Oct-2020

Okay, I've done the swap - completely error free. I'm using standard, yellowish bulbs on the DRLs, so haven't tried fitting LEDs there yet. But I'm happy with the result as it is. Now that everything is fully functional, I can take my time researching bulb upgrades. 

Conclusion: If anyone has a faulty factory LED unit - you can downgrade to headlights with regular DRL bulbs. In my case, I found a pair of used ones for a bargain and they were both newer and with less wear and tear than my original ones. Also, cheap replacements.