Argh please make my headlights better. Vw van content

Needing advise as cant see at night .it seems the lumen wars of the mtb age has happened in the auto world

T6 van with standard H4 lights  which are dire  even with so called better bulbs installed .

no money left for the led light pack offered by VW

yes I could make some lights but they would be very not legal

so how can I get into better van lights without loads of dosh heading out of my bank account

i got the same van and the fact that vw sell them with these lights is disgusting , only affordable upgrade for me is the transporter hq lights with philips led bulbs , about 600 quid but 1000 times better than stock !!!

I use a 20 quid 24 inch light bar tucked into my bumper.

Makes rural driving at night much less taxing.

u need to buy the bulbs though as the lights themselves are only marginally better

You can get an upgraded loom for the headlights that doesn’t go around the whole wiring system five times before getting to the bulbs.

I did mine and it made an incredible difference. In fact I’ve done every “modern” VW van/car I’ve ever owned.

Have a look online or talk to any Independant VW specialist. It’s an “easy” fix really, I’ve always had mine fitted though as I’m a numpty with wiring.

Cheapest way of doing it is to fit shuttle/Caravelle lights. There’s a few other options, you can get led bulbs but not legal and tricky to install.

There isn’t a lot of voltage drop at the lights like there used to be on the older vans so that route of beefing it up isn’t there anymore. If you’ve tried decent bulbs then changing lights is the best option.

Hazzy days will convert them to oem spec led… but it’s crazy money.

I feel your pain. VW seem incapable of producing decent halogen headlights. Like most people I had to stop my van and check that there wasn’t soemthing wrong with the bulbs the first time I drove it. Main beam is good for illuminating tunnel roofs, and that’s about it.

Do you main and dipped come on at the same time? They do on the velle, but not on others which seems a bonkers setup.

Am currently butchering my t5.1 Caravelle lights with some Morimoto BI-LED units. Being LED they don’t need auto adjusters for MOT, just washers. Proper beam pattern with great cutoff, shutter main beam activation & excellent control units. I just need some time to finish the work off.

Hazzy days will convert them to oem spec led… but it’s crazy money

Yeah, £3 grand the last time I checked. THREE GRAND!

Same problem here lights look to low as well!

^thats why the velle option works – dual bulbs. If you retro fit you need a wiring mod to get both lights to stay on together – because it’s wired for h4 dual filament bulbs both won’t run together like they should. Travelinlite sell a harness to do this but I’m sure trout will be able to make those mods.

It’s madness they really are awful. I’ve had a couple of California’s and species the second one with LEDs as had experienced the Victorian era experience of driving in the dark by candlelight ! About to get a new Beach and have specced with LEDs while not cheap much better than retrofit.

T5.1 Velles use a H7 headlight which is OK, ish. and H15 combined DRL/main beam (which is pish). AFAIK you need a harness adapter in the upstream loom, or in the steering column wiring to make the standard headlights come on with main beam like in the velle. Given the laughably cynical way VW went from t5.1 to T6 I would suspect its the same for them.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WOW-High-End-180W-30-Offroad-CREE-Combo-LED-Driving-Work-Light-Bar-Truck-ATV/252035465876?epid=1355036891&hash=item3aae7c0294

I put the above on my work T6 , it’s impressive & still working @ 1 year plus. Going back onto dip is a shock though.

what are you allowed to have as extra lights when on dip

as see lots of cars with 4 lights on but not on main beam .

those projector lights are the work of the devil when they are coming towards you even in daylight

its dipped beam that is most useless on my van

I believe you may only have a 5w side marker in addition to the main headlight on dip. Unless visibility is “seriously reduced” in which case you can illuminate fog lights.

Edited into oblivion.

NZCol: About to get a new Beach

Welcome back.

You can get an upgraded loom for the headlights that doesn’t go around the whole wiring system five times before getting to the bulbs.

Plus one for this. See for some basics:

Doesnt work the same on OP’s t6, 5.1 and newer is very different canbus system and there isn’t the volt drop there used to be.

Yeah, £3 grand the last time I checked. THREE GRAND!

About right for LED systems, I was reading about the cost of replacing parts on modern cars, an LED unit around £1500, a plastic bumper £1200…

Little wonder insurance costs are so high.