Passat TDI 9005-9006 headlight bulb conversion or changing your headlight bulb
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Difficulty 1/5

Introduction

Your North American spec Passat TDI probably has dim headlights.  The issue is that it doesn't use a bright bulb and the plastic becomes opaque due to sun, oxidation, and road wear.  There are two solutions: clearing the lenses and improving the light output.

The bottom of the article also shows a picture of the headlight housing and how to change the headlight bulb

Parts/Tools

Dremel tool or file
9005 high beam bulb
headlight polishing materials, see procedure below for more details and link

Related links

1000 answered questions: polishing headlights

Procedure

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First you have to clear up your old headlights.  Review the article: 1000 answered questions: polishing headlights.  You might not get 100% perfect results, as years of sun exposure has faded the plastic internally, but 90% is acceptable.  If it's really bad you should sand away a thin layer of plastic and you will get 98% results by going down to the clearer plastic underneath.

Then you want to improve the light output. Take a new 9005 high beam bulb, which is your existing high beam bulb, and use a dremel to grind the plastic guide in the plug and middle tab down.  It will then fit into the 9006 low beam socket.  The light bulb is the same dimension and the same wattage as your 9006 low beam light, but it doesn't have the painted tip.  It's filament position is also the same so it won't mess up the focus of the headlight housing.  As long as your headlights are properly adjusted, the light pattern is pointed down so it won't blind other drivers like a high beam would.  It's also brighter than a eurolight beam.  Pictured below is the spots where you have to remove plastic.

Note: do not touch the light bulb with your hands or when grinding the plastic - wrap it in a fresh, clean paper towel to avoid getting oils or other contaminants on the bulb.

Final results

Here is a picture of one headlight with a low beam (1000 lumens) and one headlight with a high beam (1700 lumens).  To give you an idea of how this compares to other headlight brightness levels, here are the ratings for H1 and HID bulbs.

9005=1700 lumens (high beam bulb that you modified)
9006=1000 lumens (low beam bulb)

HID=3200 lumens (real "xenon" HID lights)
H1 =1550 lumens  (eurospec lights)

Here is a picture showing the back of the headlight.  The black plastic cover has been removed.  The light bulb rotates and then pulls straight out.

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