LED Headlight Repair
LED headlight repair starts with finding which part has given up: a board, the driver that powers it, or the strip behind the running light. That part is renewed and the unit sealed again, so the factory headlight stays on your car. Send a photo with the lights on and the quote names the fault.
Dipped or main beam out on an LED unit
When one side's beam goes dark, the cause is usually one board or the driver feeding it. Sometimes the board still lights but draws an odd current, and the car cuts the dipped beam anyway.
Boards and drivers: what gets replaced
- A burnt-out board comes out with the metal heat sink it is bonded to, and a new assembly goes in; nothing is re-soldered.
- A failed driver, the small power unit for the LEDs, is swapped for a new one.
- Parts no longer made can be taken from a donor headlight.
Daytime running lights: strips, boards and drivers
A running light that fades to murky yellow has scorched the strip its LEDs press against. A new strip brings the white back, which is why a plug-in module bought online rarely changes anything.
Boards mounted outside the housing can be changed without breaking the seal. Inside-mounted ones, usual on newer cars, mean the lens comes off.
More on the Audi A3 DRL Repair and BMW Headlight Repair pages; the Range Rover Velar has its own page under makes and models.
DRL faults and the MOT
Factory daytime running lights are inspected on cars first used on or after 1 March 2018, and they must give white light. What counts as a fail, and what only gets noted, is set out in DRL MOT Failure: Why Running Lights Fail and How It's Fixed.
Adaptive units: when only a module is swapped
Matrix and laser headlights are not repaired at board level: the failed module is replaced as a complete part, inside your own headlight.
When an LED headlight is sealed for life
LED units leave the factory bonded shut, and dealers treat them as replace-only. With controlled heat the joint softens, the lens lifts, and after the repair fresh sealant closes it. The sealant needs time to cure, so it is never a while-you-wait job.
Testing every board before it goes back
Each board is powered up on the bench before the unit is closed. The dipped beam on many units is the exception: it only lights when the car's CAN bus talks to it, so its last check comes after refitting.
Questions about LED units and running lights
Can a matrix or laser headlight be repaired?
Yes, by changing the failed module inside the existing headlight; the rest of the unit stays as it is.
What should the photos show?
The headlight switched on, or a short video if the fault comes and goes, plus the make, model and year.
Find out which part has failed
Send a photo with the lights on for a quote that names the faulty part and the price.
Send the details, get a price back
Say which car it is and what the headlight is doing, add a couple of photos, and your quote arrives by email. Nothing has to come off the car until you have agreed to it.