A4 headlight bulbs

[Kent McLean]

My '99 A4's headlights are dim, almost as bad as the DOT lights on the
Type 44.  I can see my car's shadow produced by the lights of the car
behind me.

Q1. Do headlight bulbs fade over time? I believe sealed beam headlights
do. What about halogen bulbs? HIDs?

The Family Album shows HID gas discharge bulbs for the A4. The FA
diagrams show the two headlamp assemblies appear/are the same, and
only the outside lamp being different -- H7 vs. D2S. (Illustration
941-00 vs. 941-20).

Q2. (I feel like such a newb...) Since the A4 bulbs are problematic
to get to, is there an easy way to tell what you have (halogen vs.
HID), short of removing the headlamp assembly to get to the bulbs?

Q3. Any recommendations on brands (that I can find at my local NAPA)?

Danke.

-- 
Kent McLean
1999 A4 Avant, V6 Tiptronic
1990 200 Avant mit V8 conversion
gone: too many to count, including my first, "Bad Puppy"