Horrible light output

[midlandtech]

I have really bad light output from my xenons (my fogs have more light output) any ideas why? Bad xenons?


~Steve
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Johal E32]

burnt headlamp projectors....

http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?3598-The-ZKW-Burnt-Bowls-Thread&highlight=burnt+bowl

http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?5445-ZKW-Burnt-Projector-Bowl-Repair-Retrofit-DIY&highlight=burnt+bowl

[az3579]

You have ZKW projectors, which on the E46 are garbage. Bowls are made of plastic, which eventually burn out, causing little to no useable light output.

Only solutions are to either replace with brand new replacements, which will eventually do the same thing, or to swap the projectors one of a few possible solutions such as E90, E46 M3, or any of Lightwerkz' available projectors.

www.lightwerkz.net
Go here if you want it done for you.

[Johal E32]

Oh, I also hear the AL headlamps were in a few E46 facelift models and they did not suffer from this issue. Maybe you can source a set of those?

[az3579]

Oh, I also hear the AL headlamps were in a few E46 facelift models and they did not suffer from this issue. Maybe you can source a set of those?

That's the M3 option, the route Charlie and I took.
I just happened to get unlucky; my projector high beams don't work properly. FUBAR projectors. :shifty

[midlandtech]

You have ZKW projectors, which on the E46 are garbage. Bowls are made of plastic, which eventually burn out, causing little to no useable light output.

Only solutions are to either replace with brand new replacements, which will eventually do the same thing, or to swap the projectors one of a few possible solutions such as E90, E46 M3, or any of Lightwerkz' available projectors.

www.lightwerkz.net
Go here if you want it done for you.

thank you everyone for the help. Will any of the projectors from the above lightwerkz website fit our cars or is there a specific one that I need to buy

[cakM3]

Steve,

Steve (SNA77) sourced AL headlight assemblies from his indy shop and got a warranty with them so he replaced both headlight assemblies to restore his lighting. The route BP was describing is that I rebuilt my ZKW headlight assemblies by replacing the cheap ZKW plastic projector bowls with OEM ///M3 "AL" projector bowls, which required some work to get it done.

There are others who have gone the E90 projector bowl retrofit route....

Or you can go to Lightwerks and have FX-R projectors retrofitted into your ZKW headlight assemblies which will provide even better lighting...either way all previously mentioned methods will restore lighting to your ZHP.

At the time I retrofitted my ZKW headlight assemblies I was frustrated because there were no comprehensive DIYs out there showing how to do this from start to finish so I, with BP's, Steve (prowlerflyer), Chad44, and Dane's help, produced a retrofit DIY to help others in the same situation. If you have questions, feel free to ask :thumbsup

~Charlie

[nike001]

lol Steve. Don't take this the wrong way.. but seriously, where have you been?

This topic has been discussed endlessly here on the forums and I thought everyone and their mother knew of this problem :rofl

[danewilson77]

lol Steve. Don't take this the wrong way.. but seriously, where have you been?

This topic has been discussed endlessly here on the forums and I thought everyone and their mother knew of this problem :rofl

+1. Totally caught me off guard. He won't be offended. I have no idea how he missed it either.

Sent from Williamsburg, VA USA

[midlandtech]

lol Steve. Don't take this the wrong way.. but seriously, where have you been?

This topic has been discussed endlessly here on the forums and I thought everyone and their mother knew of this problem :rofl

I know it had but for some reason I had it in my head that this was a halogen only issue. Guess part of me was hoping that I wouldn't have to dismantle my headlights and rig up a solution. alas it looks like I will be spending a weekend with my work bench in the hopes that I can fix it.... on a side note why the hell are the direct replacements so damn expensive make no since to me

Thanks everyone for the help... and pardon my ignorance :blushing

[JupiterBMW]

The ZKW option is to do an 'E90 retrofit' (parts from any E90 with xenons), that's the one I chose. I did a fairly extensive DIY thread, in the lighting forum.

And as for the AL option, there are two. Johal mentioned an AL produced light assembly. Yes, AL made our exact lights with metal projector bowls... Direct fit, drop in and go... But good luck finding them, and be ready to pay $600+ for the pair...

The other AL option is the retrofit that Charlie did. I believe the DIY in his sig is the MOST comprehensive one out there for the 'AL retrofit' (part from an E46 M3).

Here's the quick and dirty on all the options... at least how I see it..

E90 ZKW retrofit- Easiest electrically, more mechanical creativity needed. (due to the E90 using a different bulb... bulb needs a retaining unit fabbed up)
E46 M3 AL retrofit- Easiest mechanically, some electrical retrofitting needed as well. (uses the same D2S bulb, but the wiring for the bixenon shutters is different)
E46 AL produced headlight assemblies- The easiest solution, direct plug and play... but also the hardest to locate and most expensive...

Good luck. :thumbsup

[cakM3]

What Jon just posted is accurate, depends on the option you want to choose Steve.

There is a link to my retrofit DIY in my sig if you want to see just how I did mine using the OEM M3 projector bowls. You can also see how Jon did his E90 projector bowl retrofit through his DIY. Either way will cost you around $200 in parts to DIY.

Either way will restore your lighting. The electrical mod wasn't a problem for me, which is why I used the M3 projectors. I wanted to continue using D2S bulbs and retain an OEM bulb holder.

As I said, you can go to Lightwerks and have your headlight assemblies modified by them to retrofit FX-R projector assemblies. The FX-R projectors are far more superior to AL projectors and put out much better lighting but is more expensive and much more difficult to DIY than the E90 or M3 projector retrofit methods. To have them do this will run you $400 just to mod your headlight assemblies...all in all you're probably looking at $700 to do both headlight assemblies.

Finding the AL headlight assembly is probably the best, and easiest, way to restore your poor lighting but is the most expensive. Each headlight assembly will run you $1000 each ($2k for the set) and you can get them through your dealership, worse case, if you have to order them.

Hope this info helps :thumbsup

[midlandtech]

Thanks for the help and I apologize for the repeat post


~Steve
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[danewilson77]

Thanks for the help and I apologize for the repeat post


~Steve
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No biggie Steve.

[gr330zhp]

Oh, I also hear the AL headlamps were in a few E46 facelift models and they did not suffer from this issue. Maybe you can source a set of those?

This is true, mine has ALs from factory, no issues.

Sent from my POS Droid. -_-

[danewilson77]

And the best price I have found for the Al's (Magnetti Marelli) is a lil over $700 each at FCPeuro....which is an affiliate.

[nike001]

And the best price I have found for the Al's (Magnetti Marelli) is a lil over $700 each at FCPeuro....which is an affiliate.

Yeah if you want brand new ones. Used ones can be sources sort of cheap

[cakM3]

And the best price I have found for the Al's (Magnetti Marelli) is a lil over $700 each at FCPeuro....which is an affiliate.

Dane, that's awesome pricing. These are actually the best solution to failed ZKW headlights but the avg person most likely don't want to shell out over $1,400 for just headlights when they can mod them for much cheaper and use the difference towards other mods :thumbsup

[midlandtech]

Dane, that's awesome pricing. These are actually the best solution to failed ZKW headlights but the avg person most likely don't want to shell out over $1,400 for just headlights when they can mod them for much cheaper and use the difference towards other mods :thumbsup

true... I hadn't planned on shelling out that kind of cash... especially since I just bought tires and am ordering shock and struts. paying 10% of the cars value on headlights rubs me raw

[danewilson77]

Charlie....since we're bringing this up again........Questions in BOLD

Is the below kit what I would need? or would I need the other kit that is $315.00?

http://shop.lightwerkz.net/Complete-FXR-Bixenon-Projector-Retrofit-Kit-Stage-2

And what about the options? How long does the retrofit take? Can it be done in a day?

Available Options:
Bulb Color Temp:
Please select the color temperature of your HID bulbs Philips 85122+ 4300K
Shroud Type:
Please select your desired projector shrouds Iris MC-R Ocular Apollo E46-R E46-R Extended E55-R Gatling Gun GTI-R Do Not Include ( - $30.00 )
Harness Type:
Please select your harness type 9007 HB5 H4 9003 H13 9008 H1 9005 9006 H11 H7 Super Canbus Warning Canceler No Harness or Cancelers Required ( - $25.00 )
Ballast Type:
Please select your wattage Matsushita Ballasts Gen 5 Denso Ballasts
Shield Type:
Please select your shield type Left Hand Drive (North American Standard) Right Hand Drive

http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af278/nicee46/Maintenance%20and%20Misc/1_zps7eedf527.jpg

[danewilson77]

Moved to "Lighting"

[zj96sc]

Either way will cost you around $200 in parts to DIY.

I bought two e90 bowls with retainers and adaptive lighting assemblies off of ebay for $60 shipped last summer.

I think the e90 bowl retrofit is far and away the cheapest and most permanent way to fix this issue.

It's not the cleanest option technically/optically and gets a little fiddly with bulb retention, but when it cost me $30 to fix one xenon versus $300 or $1000 my mind got made up pretty quick.

Mine took me a few hours of bending wire and it was good to go. I didn't have to do any of the dremeling or bulb depth adjustments JupiterBMW did, see my retainer and bulb depth below:

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j234/paulkeith/cars/TIAG_ZHP/HeadlightsTrimKidneysCleanup/IMG_0408Large.jpg

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j234/paulkeith/cars/TIAG_ZHP/HeadlightsTrimKidneysCleanup/IMG_0409Large.jpg

and got the following bulb pattern (oem unburned ZKW Driver, e90 bowl in oem ZKW Pax):

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j234/paulkeith/cars/TIAG_ZHP/HeadlightsTrimKidneysCleanup/IMG_0436Large.jpg

driver by itself:

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j234/paulkeith/cars/TIAG_ZHP/HeadlightsTrimKidneysCleanup/IMG_0435Large.jpg

e90 bowl by itself:

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j234/paulkeith/cars/TIAG_ZHP/HeadlightsTrimKidneysCleanup/IMG_0434Large.jpg

Probably a week and a half later I tried to push that headlight through a minivan using a ZHP as propellant...that's another story.

[midlandtech]

Nice... So you just bought e90 bowls and swapped them out... 60 sounds waaaaaaaay better than 300-1000


~Steve
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JupiterBMW]

Nice... So you just bought e90 bowls and swapped them out... 60 sounds waaaaaaaay better than 300-1000


~Steve
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

$60 for a pair will probably not happen unless you get reeeeally lucky. I paid about $140 for the pair of E90 assemblies.

[midlandtech]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/02-05-BMW-E46-3-BI-XENON-HID-PROJECTORS-HEADLIGHT-PAIR-CHICAGO-/390471463573?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item5ae9e9b295&vxp=mtr
will these work?

[danewilson77]

What brand are those?

Sent from Williamsburg, VA USA

[zj96sc]

Nice... So you just bought e90 bowls and swapped them out... 60 sounds waaaaaaaay better than 300-1000


~Steve

All you need is the bowls. Mine came with the black plastic frame, bowl, lens, and adaptive headlight motor/arm/assembly.


$60 for a pair will probably not happen unless you get reeeeally lucky. I paid about $140 for the pair of E90 assemblies.

Funny the change a year can bring - things were all over ebay for 30-40ea when I bought mine. Just took a look and see hardly any available, let alone those kind of prices. Bummer.

[midlandtech]

What brand are those?

Sent from Williamsburg, VA USA

I thought stock but your guess is as good as mine

[midlandtech]

what do you guys think of these to replace my burnt bowls?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/02-05-BMW-E46-3-BI-XENON-HID-PROJECTORS-HEADLIGHT-PAIR-CHICAGO-/390471463573?hash=item5ae9e9b295&item=390471463573&pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr

[danewilson77]

what do you guys think of these to replace my burnt bowls?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/02-05-BMW-E46-3-BI-XENON-HID-PROJECTORS-HEADLIGHT-PAIR-CHICAGO-/390471463573?hash=item5ae9e9b295&item=390471463573 &pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr

Where are the bowls?

Sent from Williamsburg, VA USA

[midlandtech]

my bad wrong link
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-ORIGINAL-METAL-E90-ZKW-BI-XENON-PROJECTORS-FOR-E46-RETROFIT-/221133987569?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item337c9cdef1
is what I meant to put. it says for retro fitting but I honestly could use a better trained eye than my own. not to mention I am slightly aprehensive about ordering all the way from Turkey... wish there was a direct replacement with a better part, you would think with as many E46's that were sold that the aftermarket would have a part to support this fault.

[JupiterBMW]

The first link you posted are the OEM E46 'AL' bowls... To use those, you will need to follow Charlie's retrofit. The second link you posted is for OEM E90 ZKW bowls (as the title states)...

For what its worth, the second auction shows a location of Turkey, but the item price is in British pounds... That sounds shady in and of itself...


Good luck...

[zj96sc]

that's exactly what i bought.

Those pictures at the end of his listing are from the E46F thread on how to do the retrofit....not sure what's up there.

[danewilson77]

127 sales, all positive.