[Elberoth]

OK, got the remaining parts today. I was missing the grommets, that seal the cable against the harness socket housing. Each socket has 14 inlets *4 = 56 are needed.

Since the headlight uses only 11 out of 14 available pins, you need to seal off the remaining 3 holes with a suitable cap (orange and green).

Now need to put those harness extensions together. Some soldering ahead !

 

[Elberoth]

Put those harness extensions together today. It was soooo labour intensive - it took me almost 5h ! I did not think it would take so long, but there are so many wires, that need to be cut, tinned, soldered, insulated, installed etc + some unexpected problems. Anyway, here it is:

And here are all the parts needed to do the front swap (minus the headlights and headlights support plates) - they don't look as scary anymore:

I was to install the headlight tomorrow morning, but unfortunately, I have just learned that AUDI Poland has shipped to my dealer the wrong headlight support bracket. Instead of left and right, they sent me two lefts - that is this black metal part on the bottom right.

I'm gonna order that missing part on monday, but that also means that the final install will be postponed by another week

 

[Elberoth]

Here is a full DIY guide on how to fabricate your own extensions.

The parts you will need:

- 1J0 973 737 (socket) - 2 pcs
- 1J0 973 837 (socket) - 2 pcs

- 000 979 225 E (fat wire with pin) - 5 pcs
- 000 979 226 E (fat wire with pin) - 5 pcs
- 000 979 131 E (thin wire with pin) - 6 pcs
- 000 979 132 E (thin wire with pin) - 6 pcs

- 357 972 740 D (thin grommet) - 24 pcs
- 1J0 972 741 A (fat grommet) - 20 pcs
- 3C0 972 841 (thin cap) - 8 pcs
- 357 972 841 (fat cap) - 4 pcs

plus soldering iron, heat gun and some heat shrink.

(Please not that the dealership ordered for me the wrong sockets. Instead of 1J0 973 837 they ordered me 5Q0 973 837 [headbang]. They are gray instead of black, and needed some trimming to make them work. Get the right sockets the first time, and that will save you 1 hour worth of work).

1. First of all, you need to cap the unused holes in the sockets. There are 14 holes - 6 big and 8 small - but only 11 are used. The remaining 3 need to be capped to prevent water from entering the socket. As you can see - there are two types of caps - thin and fat:

2. Wires come with pins already installed on both ends. Unfortunately, they are same type on both ends (Male - Male and Female - Female) so you need to cut them in half and solder Male-Female pairs. I cut mine in 3 parts, as the extension doesn't need to be that long (the wire is about 24 inches long).

All cables nicely cut:

3. Now it is time to put the grommets on the cables:

 

[Elberoth]

4. Before soldering the pairs together, cut to size and put 3" long heat shrink tubing:

5. Solder the wires in pairs (there should be 22 pairs):

6. Put the heat shrink tubing on and use heat gun to shrink it:

7. Now you can insert all pins into the sockets. Move the grommets to the very end of the cable, so that they will fit flush into the socket:

Each pin has its number on the socket, so running cables is as easy as connecting 1 with 1, 2 with 2 etc.

8. Some hours later, and you should have a nice harness extensions

 

[José]

Awesome write up. Your hard work I'm sure will be appreciated by more than a few people!

 

[windmill]

Wow what detail. Excellent job.

 

[Elberoth]

I have swapped both headlights today. With all the missing parts bought and new harness extensions already prepared, it was a breeze. Took me only 2h to do both fronts.

Rignt now, the high and low beams work, turn signals work, DRLs work, BUT do not dim. When you switch the low beams or turn signal on, the DRLs instead of dimming - just switch off.

I was told that it is normal and they need new coding. Tomorrow I'm paying a visit to some local coding guru, so keep your fingers crossed. I'm gonna do the rears tomorrw as well.

 

[Elberoth]

I just got the programming done. Everything works as if the car came with those fronts and rears from the factory. Even the cool dim to full lit fade feature works.

I also got the Bluetooth and cruise control installed. Next will be the multifunction steering wheel (already got the right module installed with the cruise control) - need to buy one now.

I will post some final images when I get back home and wash the car.

 

[Bonzoboy]

Good job. Glad the programming fixed the issue for you Elberoth. What you like at installing bathrooms?

 

[José]

I just got the programming done. Everything works as if the car came with those fronts and rears from the factory. Even the cool dim to full lit fade feature works.

I also got the Bluetooth and cruise control installed. Next will be the multifunction steering wheel (already got the right module installed with the cruise control) - need to buy one now.

I will post some final images when I get back home and wash the car.

Are the headlights the ones with the corner lighting? I only discovered this weekend that there is a separate side facing bulb in the cluster, I thought it was the fogs up until then...

Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App

 

[Elberoth]

Are the headlights the ones with the corner lighting? I only discovered this weekend that there is a separate side facing bulb in the cluster, I thought it was the fogs up until then...

Mine are without corner lighting. I belive it makes no difference, buy you need to get FL headlight that have this feature - otherwise headlight would not work.

 

[Elberoth]

BTW - great news for those afraid of making their own harness extensions: Kufatec just started offering a suitable adapter.

I've been in contact with Kufatec for the past 3 weeks, but unfortunately the adapter was not ready when I needed it. Not only it is ready made, but it also costs only half as much as parts bought from Audi stealership needed to homebrew your own !

http://www.kufatec.d...lift-headlights

I'm gonna order one now for a friend, as he also wants to do the conversion on his 2012 Q5 (he literally bought the car a week before Audi started shipping the FL model - talk about bad timing).

 

[Hectorshouse]

I'm really impressed with your dedication. No need for me to undertake the mods, but your skill and patience in sharing it with this forum is fantastic. Congratulations.

 

[Elberoth]

Was the tail light swap a simple process?

Thanks for sharing, nice to know this can be done.

Tails are a breeze. You can replace them yourself in 10 minutes. Each tail light is held in place with 3 screws. Very easy access. On the DIY scale from 1 to 10, I would give this mod 2.

Sockets do not fit, but suitable Kufatec adapter fixes the problem.

http://www.kufatec.d..._ms=1&info=8397

After the install, the ligfts need new coding. You can either visit some local shop, or get that OBD coding dongle from Kufatec:

http://www.kufatec.d...elift?info=4400

 

[Elberoth]

OK, here are some final pictures. I have to say, the car looks spectacular in person now. Those images just do not do it justice !

Headlights:

and tails:

The above image does not give the correct impression of the real color. On that image it looks as if red was more of an orange.

In real life, red is very dark, more like this:

 

[José]

Congratulations on a great mod.
Best update your profile pic!!

Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App

 

[missile]

Well done. Next mod is to change out those shitty number plate lights for LEDs?

 

[Elberoth]

Next mod is is to do the same to my S5

That will require a bumper and hood change though.

 

[ray.afzal]

Actually when i test drove the S5 i really did like the V8 engine, so a V8 engine + new facelift front would be an ideal car, and would be very desirable when it comes to seling!

Your Q5 looks great by the way mate

 

[shabazmo]

You are an amazing man. Well done. Now, I assume that you do not have high beam assist. I Think this should be your next project as I am desperate to upgratde my A7