and the Audi gods said, "Let there be light!"

[tjs5@lehigh.edu (THOMAS J. SMULL)]

FWIW, here's my experience with the Audi headlight Euro conversion:

Background:

The lights on my 1990 200q10v were pitiful.  A hazard even!
I tried the Competiton Limited bulb upgrade w/ harness, but it didn't
help that much.  Turns out the silvering was peeling off the inside
of my headlights.  New US headlights were about $175/ea from the cheapest
source I could find.  Since they're known to be dim to start with,
I figured I'd take the plunge for Euro lights.

So...
I got the lights from Peninsula Imports (905-827-9407).
$329/each + bulbs + shipping = $700.00

I followed Peter Henriksen's very helpful directions which are available
from the Audi List Archives.  (E-mail me if you need details.)
Joe Yakubik also helped me with the wiring.

For reference, the relevant part numbers are: 

 1 Left side  headlight assembly (PN 0301071105)
 1 Right side headlight assembly (PN 0301071106)
 2 rubber boots (seals) to go around the Euro connectors (PN 447941189)
 2 plastic connector holders (PN 447972957)
 8 spade connectors (PN N-0170851-4)
   NOTE: My local Audi dealer did not have this spade connector
	 part number on file, but he had a box of connectors on hand
	 and I picked the ones that looked like they fit the lights and
	 the plastic connector holders.
	 He only had 4 and sent me to the VW dealer for the rest.
   As Peter H. stated, you must use these connectors because they're
   designed to lock into the plastic holder and not back out of same.

For me, the most difficult part of all this was dealing with the grill
and trim pieces around the headlights.  On my car, the grill has just
one screw in the top center of the plastic.  Every other attachment
is by a plastic tab of some kind or other.  The silver plastic trim which
runs under the grill is secured by a single screw on each side.
The metal trim pieces which surround the grill are held in place by
those little plastic bow ties.

Only on the left side of the car was I able to get all the trim completely 
apart, so I ended up having the grill "hinged" on the right side of the car.
I'm sure if I had tried harder it would have come free, but I was worried
about breaking an expensive piece of Audi plastic.  In any case, I had
enough space to get the old headlights out.

The Euro lights are deeper, so the battery jump-start terminal on top
of the washer fluid reservoir has to be unscrewed.  No big deal.
Otherwise the lights are easy to mount - two screws above, two below;
HOWEVER: On my car, the grill has two plastic "fingers" which slide into
slots on the metal framework at the front of the car, just to the inside
of each headlight assembly.  The Euro housings, being deeper, make the
re-positioning of these fingers very tricky.  Again, to avoid breakage,
I ended up removing the (just-installed) left side light, positioned
the plastic finger behind the light, and then re-installed the left
headlight and grill more or less together.  It all seems rather sloppy
during the process, but once you screw everything in and snap the trim
onto those bow ties, it looks like it did before.

Wiring the lights is fairly simple, just follow Peter's directions.
The connectors can be crimped, but I soldered them also.
At the moment, the "parking light" position on my car does nothing
to the headlights.  I think that's because I left out the small bulb
that sits just under the main one.  I figured that was for Canada's
DRL requirement, so I left it empty.

When the moment of truth arrived, I blew the 10 amp high beam fuses
immediately.  I have 15s in now, and they seem to be holding.
The results are very impressive - an order of magnitude better than
what I was living with before.  They look cool, too.

So is it worth $700.00 to upgrade?  What's it worth to avoid hitting
a deer (or worse) on a dark road?  I'd have to say it's money well spent.

                                                   Cheers,
						   Tom Smull