Opening e46 facelift coupe headlight question...

[carsontl]

Hi guys, it's been a while. I'm running into an issue. My right headlight stopped working and in doing my testing with swapping parts from the left headlight (which were working fine) I was able to determine the Bulbs, igniter, and ballasts were fine and the issue was with the mechanisms within the headlight itself. I ordered a used headlamp on ebay that arrived a bit beaten up. The ring around the xenon light has popped off.

I found these instructions to open it:

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=595976

Is the heating and cooling of the housing damaging anything? Just want to make sure this headlight can be put back together without too much difficulty.

The pictures of the housing I got from ebay:
http://imgur.com/a/0oE1W

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[san]

I believe heating it is the only way and I don't think it's going to cause any damage as long as you keep the temperatures within reasonable limit... I haven't done it personally but I think quite a few of them have... peter (slater) and Gary (wolfn8tr) come to mind...


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[az3579]

Check your wiring. There have been reports of some units that have wiring that has failed, apparently deteriorating insulation or something like that.

[704sw]

Is the heating and cooling of the housing damaging anything? Just want to make sure this headlight can be put back together without too much difficulty.

It won't damage anything. I've opened and modded/retrofitted many headlights and this is the only way to do it.

Make sure you spread the old butyl out evenly (or preferably use new butyl) to prevent broken seals and avoid having foggy headlights.


Check your wiring. There have been reports of some units that have wiring that has failed, apparently deteriorating insulation or something like that.

Can confirm the insulation can be garbage. I had to reinsulate all the fiber strands for my X3's OE angel eyes, and it was a nightmare. The Bi-X components were much better insulated though.


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[WOLFN8TR]

When I installed my Angel Eyes I used a heat gun. Harbor freight has them for $20. Have someone help you and make sure to wear some gloves. Just heat around the perimeter and then use a putty knife to pry it open. Be careful with the sealer when pulling it apart as it's kinda stringing. Just re heat the two pieces and push them together when reinstalling.

[slater]

I believe heating it is the only way and I don't think it's going to cause any damage as long as you keep the temperatures within reasonable limit... I haven't done it personally but I think quite a few of them have... peter (slater) and Gary (wolfn8tr) come to mind...


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yep, 270F for 7 minutes. then pry apart! wear gloves when prying (270F is hot! ;)).

and +1 on what spenser said about the butyl.

[johnrando]

Heiu installed my Angel Eyes for me and used the oven baking method. Knock on wood, zero issues and that was years ago.

[carsontl]

Thanks guys,

Here's the images for the headlight:

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Is this fixable without taking it apart? Or is that my only option? Looks like it just clips back on I think...

[san]

I can't see the images...


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[carsontl]

Here you go http://imgur.com/a/0oE1W

[san]

I think you have to open them up but I'm not a 100% sure... but really I can't think of another way to fix it... maybe others can suggest something else...


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[WOLFN8TR]

Ya you have to open them up to fix that. Time for some Angel Eyes! [emoji41]

[704sw]

I'd open them both up and use the best parts from each one. But yes, the projector shroud should be pretty easy to reattach once opened up.


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[generalvp]

As others have said, you have to open it up to fix it. I use the oven method and it works like a charm. Just be careful with those tabs because they are fragile and will break with the slightest pressure. That ring just clips on. Easy fix.

[carsontl]

Okay great I'll give it a shot this evening! Thanks for the input everyone :)

[carsontl]

Hi Guys... so I got the headlight baked, opened, and fixed and got the car put back together... but my headlights are both still angling downward and the auto light switch on the left of my console is still blinking green. My big red light error on the dash indicating the headlight wasn't working is now gone though.

I also noticed that the light still does not turn into the corners like it used to...

do you guys have any ideas? I did confirm that the headlights matched the same product number before ordering it... so i'm not sure what to do!?

[san]

The front passenger side control arm will have a small lever attached to it which controls the vertical movement of the headlight, so maybe see if that is broken? Although that shouldn't really affect the headlights not turning when you turn the steering wheel...


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[carsontl]

The front passenger side control arm will have a small lever attached to it which controls the vertical movement of the headlight, so maybe see if that is broken? Although that shouldn't really affect the headlights not turning when you turn the steering wheel...


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Yeah it was working fine before the headlight itself went bad.

Here's the picture of the product

http://i.imgur.com/Cy0QYiW.jpg (attached below)
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The "6920616" is the product number I identified on my own headlight. So when I went to ebay and found this headlight also matching 6920616 I went for it.

Is there any chance it's not the right headlight still?

[carsontl]

Anyone know if it's possible to get the headlights out of this 'failsafe' mode where they angle downward closer to the car?

[BMWCurves]

Anyone know if it's possible to get the headlights out of this 'failsafe' mode where they angle downward closer to the car?

This is all beyond me, but someone will come along soon. Sorry it's giving you so much trouble

[carsontl]

Thank you, I continue to try to grasp at straws here.. i'm going to check tonight to see if maybe it's the auto leveling sensor. I found this guy's post http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showpost.php?p=8440061&postcount=6 that says maybe the auto leveling sensor is out of place.

This guy http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showpost.php?p=16351194&postcount=17 says that you just pop the bolt on the metal side and give the plastic side a spin into the correct orientation if that's the issue.

I'll check tonight, my fear is that my headlights were leveling just fine before the incident and this isn't my problem - my fear is that the new headlight i bought isn't the right one still..

[san]

I've been thinking about when my headlights weren't moving vertically because the lever on the control arm broke but when I key on with the headlights in auto mode they would still move vertically... if your headlights don't do that now when you key on then I guess it is an issue with your headlight you bought but I am not sure what caused both of them to stop working...


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[carsontl]

I've been thinking about when my headlights weren't moving vertically because the lever on the control arm broke but when I key on with the headlights in auto mode they would still move vertically... if your headlights don't do that now when you key on then I guess it is an issue with your headlight you bought but I am not sure what caused both of them to stop working...


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Thanks San - they do move downward at the start of ignition, but they don't return to a normal height. They dip real low like normal but they don't return to a normal height. Could this point to the lever being an issue?

[san]

Thanks San - they do move downward at the start of ignition, but they don't return to a normal height. They dip real low like normal but they don't return to a normal height. Could this point to the lever being an issue?

That's sounds very similar to what my car did with a broken lever. They would move but enough to return to normal height. I would check the lever on the front passenger side control arm and I think there's another on the rear driver side control arm...


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[anandoc]

Thanks San - they do move downward at the start of ignition, but they don't return to a normal height. They dip real low like normal but they don't return to a normal height. Could this point to the lever being an issue?

You might need to manually aim the headlamps in order for them to maintain proper vertical alignment. There are knobs at the back of the headlight assembly for alignment.