Need help from the xenon headlight experts

[Kimber]

I just got my '06 ZHP vert and it has the Xenon lights with adaptive option. I'm brand new to BMW and honestly didn't know anything about these headlights until I have spent hours trying to read up on them now that one of them went out.

Here's what happened: I went to my local mechanic to help me do a full fluid change out (we did everything but brake fluid) the other night. (what a difference that made, like a new car now, so happy with it!!) I always keep my headlights on the auto setting (far left) and when I started to pull into his garage the passenger side Xenon light flicked on and then went out right away. (driver side stayed on, and the fog lights came on automatically, I couldn't even turn them off by hitting the button) Couple seconds later the light on the dash came on for bad passenger light.

I hit a really bad pot hole the other day, but I don't know if that had anything to do with it as I didn't use the lights since then.

It's been rough because there are so many terms to understand, but I am assuming I have the "AL" lights because of my year, and the rear light issue/recall (which I read messes with the headlights sometimes) shouldn't be an issue either because of the year of my car.

So after reading until my eyes and head hurt, I went out and swapped the bulbs and also the igniter (the red box thing) from side to side and they both worked on the passenger side, but not on the driver side. The bulbs were different brands which I am not sure why as I thought these bulbs last a long time (I have 92k miles). I forgot to take a picture but I am pretty sure one was a Philips and the other one was a weird name.

I also check the connections and wiring as people seem to say the wiring falls apart easily. Honestly my wiring looks like new. (maybe '06 they fixed it???)

So that is as far as I got before realizing that I should just post on the forum where there are so many helpful and knowledgeable members.

What is my next step to try to fix this? (the fogs, turn, parking lights work fine, and so do the other big lights which I think are just the day time running lights) The Xenon do low and high beam right?

I did notice a couple weeks ago (after like 5 days of constant raining) that the passenger side had a little condensation in the passenger side headlight towards the turn signal area. Would that cause this?

I'm doing a full detail on this car in about a week where I am going to be removing the bumper to refresh the grill and detail behind the bumper area.

So while I have the bumper off is there anything else I should be doing? I see some guys talking about replacing bulbs in the fogs to more match the Xenon color, but that they basically become useless then because the light output is nothing compared to stock. (bulb type I think I read)

Does it matter that I have 2 different "brands" of DS2 bulbs?

Sorry for the long post, but wanted everyone to have the full information to hopefully help me get this all rectified.

Thanks everyone!

[cakM3]

I would buy a set of new xenon D2S bulbs and swap them out. Try that first. I never mis-match D2S bulbs...

[Kimber]

I would buy a set of new xenon D2S bulbs and swap them out. Try that first. I never mis-match D2S bulbs...

But the passenger side bulb works in the driver side, so do you really think it's the bulb? The PO said he didn't have any issues...

I'm trying to do this cheap as I have a limited budget and really wanted to do the cooling system refresh soon.

What bulbs would you guys recommend? (aren't they pretty expensive?)

[cakM3]

check all connections to ensure they are on securely. I mentioned swapping out D2S bulbs with a complete set because I never run with mis-matched xenon bulbs. If I change out a bulb then I will change out the other side to make sure I have a complete set. That's how I do things with my cars.

[Aeternalis]

Plain Jane D2S bulbs are (comparatively) quite affordable.

https://www.theretrofitsource.com/components/bulbs/d2s-philips-85159.html
https://www.theretrofitsource.com/components/bulbs/osram-66240-d2s-xenon-bulb-48741.html

The fact that both ballasts and both bulbs work on only one side of the car leads me to think that those parts aren't the issue. I'm not an expert though.. just using some logic.

Good luck!

[Kimber]

Plain Jane D2S bulbs are (comparatively) quite affordable.

https://www.theretrofitsource.com/components/bulbs/d2s-philips-85159.html
https://www.theretrofitsource.com/components/bulbs/osram-66240-d2s-xenon-bulb-48741.html

The fact that both ballasts and both bulbs work on only one side of the car leads me to think that those parts aren't the issue. I'm not an expert though.. just using some logic.

Good luck!

Thanks, I guess it's not that bad, but when they both are still working and look the same, then i hate to waste $100 on bulbs that don't need to be replaced.

I am thinking it's the controller, it seems from my reading that is the only other part that could go bad, since the bulb and igniter work when swapped to the driver side.

But the controller is hard to get to and I think involves taking the whole head lamp assembly out. So to swap it to see if that's the issue, i would have to take both headlights out.

Just hoping someone else had the problem and had a easy fix before i go thru all that removal headache. :)

thanks!

[Aeternalis]

Thanks, I guess it's not that bad, but when they both are still working and look the same, then i hate to waste $100 on bulbs that don't need to be replaced.

I am thinking it's the controller, it seems from my reading that is the only other part that could go bad, since the bulb and igniter work when swapped to the driver side.

But the controller is hard to get to and I think involves taking the whole head lamp assembly out. So to swap it to see if that's the issue, i would have to take both headlights out.

Just hoping someone else had the problem and had a easy fix before i go thru all that removal headache. :)

thanks!
Ohh, so only swapped the igniters. I assumed you moved the ballasts (controllers) around too; my bad.

I'm not looking forward to removing my headlights either, but one needs resealing badly and the other's high beam shutter isn't working. :(

[az3579]

The controller sounds like it's at fault if everything else works on the other side. By everything else, I mean bulb and ignitor.

Removing there headlights really isn't that bad, just slightly time consuming.

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[Kimber]

Yeah I guess I am just going to have to take them out and try to swap the controllers and see if that's the problem.

Is there something that has to get recoded then? I thoght i read somewhere along the way here that a new unit would cause problems.

Can i just swap the controller from one side to the other to test it?

I also found this on ebay, it looks like what i would need, anyone chime in?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-BOSCH-AL-Xenon-HID-OEM-Part-63-12-7-176-068-Ballast-Control-Unit-LRB020-/231963142290?hash=item360214a892:g:VboAAOSw2x1XMPK O&vxp=mtr

[az3579]

Yeah I guess I am just going to have to take them out and try to swap the controllers and see if that's the problem.

Is there something that has to get recoded then? I thoght i read somewhere along the way here that a new unit would cause problems.

Can i just swap the controller from one side to the other to test it?

I also found this on ebay, it looks like what i would need, anyone chime in?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-BOSCH-AL-Xenon-HID-OEM-Part-63-12-7-176-068-Ballast-Control-Unit-LRB020-/231963142290?hash=item360214a892:g:VboAAOSw2x1XMPK O&vxp=mtr

You should take yours out to match up the part number to be certain.

[Kimber]

You should take yours out to match up the part number to be certain.

That's the part number i got from realOEM site. It seems like a lot of cars use the same module.

[PdZHP]

I had the same thing happen to me. Check the wiring inside the housing. I had a couple wires, red and green, break. I replaced the wiring and now it's good as new.

[Boca_RatonZHP]

I had the same thing happen to me. Check the wiring inside the housing. I had a couple wires, red and green, break. I replaced the wiring and now it's good as new.

I agree,

I've had a ground issue and wiring issue with my oem headlights on an 05 Vert.

Flickering would cause one side to go out, but daytime still running. Sounds to me to be an absolute wiring problem. Open it up and check. The wires on inside of headlight are very poorly insulated. The heat of xenon and daytime runners as well as heat/cold do damage to them. You want to definitely turn off the battery to avoid the red wire from arching on you if your AHL are on. After you fix the wiring and ground the brown wire.

I suggest you thoroughly test the system and modules (bottom of each headlight) and then get new bulbs.

After about 10-20k after having a headlight wiring problem it was time for new bulbs in my case.




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[az3579]

I had the same thing happen to me. Check the wiring inside the housing. I had a couple wires, red and green, break. I replaced the wiring and now it's good as new.


I agree,

I've had a ground issue and wiring issue with my oem headlights on an 05 Vert.

Flickering would cause one side to go out, but daytime still running. Sounds to me to be an absolute wiring problem. Open it up and check. The wires on inside of headlight are very poorly insulated. The heat of xenon and daytime runners as well as heat/cold do damage to them. You want to definitely turn off the battery to avoid the red wire from arching on you if your AHL are on. After you fix the wiring and ground the brown wire.

I suggest you thoroughly test the system and modules (bottom of each headlight) and then get new bulbs.

After about 10-20k after having a headlight wiring problem it was time for new bulbs in my case.




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He said he checked the wiring already...



I also check the connections and wiring as people seem to say the wiring falls apart easily. Honestly my wiring looks like new. (maybe '06 they fixed it???)

[Rovert]

Sounds like an LCM issue. A new LCM and recode to your odometer would probably do the trick after you've exhausted your possibilities.

[az3579]

Sounds like an LCM issue. A new LCM and recode to your odometer would probably do the trick after you've exhausted your possibilities.

I don't find this to be likely. The controller is more likely as it is more of a failure point than an LCM is (I've heard of more of these going bad than LCMs). Hopefully he'll test it soon and we'll find out.

Kimber, if you swap controllers and the problem persists, then we can test Trevor's theory. I have a spare LCM I can send you to test with...

[sillieidiot]

It's not any of those. But the issue has been resolved.

[BMWCurves]

It's not any of those. But the issue has been resolved.

What did you end up doing?

[Boca_RatonZHP]

What did you end up doing?

I am eager to know how you came to fix it!



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[Kimber]

Yup it's all fixed, at least for now. Hopefully for good! I honestly didn't do anything. SillieIdiot gave me some advise to try, and I had a whole list I was going to do today. I went out to the car to get some pictures for him and he told me about the feature if you pull the flash to pass without the key in, it fires the lights for a short time. I did that and both Xenon's fired right up no issues. I then went thru a ton of tests with the car off and also running, and they worked perfectly. I drove it 30 miles tonight and not a single problem. Adaptive system works as it should and all.

Have no idea!! But I don't care, it just saved me a couple hours of troubleshooting, and saved me some money that I can put towards my cooling system refresh soon!

Thanks to everyone who gave their thoughts and advise, and especially SillieIdiot!

Love this forum!