Xenon headlight bulb replacement

[misterawa]

One of my headlight bulbs finally went out this morning . I have the oem bi-xenon lights and was wondering which bulb replacement brand to go with. I'm considering going to a 6000k for looks. Any experience or suggestions on brand and thoughts on kelvin? TIA

[mfanatic325]

6000 Kelvin would be good for aesthetics and won't compromise lumens in output. I personally have a friend that runs a small lighting business for automotives, so I just get my stuff from him. Prices are agreeable, and I get the best service/warranty through him than anywhere else in the world, so works for me
But pretty much, try not to skimp out on bulbs. You do pay for what you get when it comes to these things. Particular brand, I can't throw any at you (they're mostly made in Asia anyway lol), but just look for the best warranties available. G'luck!

[misterawa]

Originally Posted by mfanatic325

6000 Kelvin would be good for aesthetics and won't compromise lumens in output. I personally have a friend that runs a small lighting business for automotives, so I just get my stuff from him. Prices are agreeable, and I get the best service/warranty through him than anywhere else in the world, so works for me
But pretty much, try not to skimp out on bulbs. You do pay for what you get when it comes to these things. Particular brand, I can't throw any at you (they're mostly made in Asia anyway lol), but just look for the best warranties available. G'luck!

Thx mfanatic325 for the advice. I'll most likel go with a brand sold from one of the sponsors on the forum as opposed to a cheap ebay brand.

[nickpapa]

what you have in there now are Philips 85122+ (or 85122). the projector itself causes the bi-xenon effect, the bulb is just a single bulb and no different. so all you're looking for is a D2S bulb not a bi-xenon specific bulb which in some cases have 2 bulbs in one. check out theretrofitsource.com, they sell the 85122+. The Morimoto bulbs they sell aren't that bad either and they have those in 5000k. that will give you a pure white color.

6000k will be a quite a bit bluer than what you have in there now. the higher the kelvin the lower the light output. in my opinion i wouldn't go over 5k if you want optimal output. stock is around 4300k.

If you want factory reliability, stick with the philips. the other brands are known for fogging up headlight housings, melting, and not lasting as long (except for Morimoto). if you're interested on reading up on this more you can check out hidplanet.com. a lot of knowledgable guys on there which will steer you in the right direction.

[mfanatic325]

Oh man, just tried the swap this morning on my driver side only. What a pain in the ass Taking everything off and out wasn't a big deal, but putting everything back together sure was a bitch and a half 1) for anyone that's going to do the swap, be careful to make sure the bulb is sitting flush in the housing, then secure it with the two spring pins. 2) the square box that attaches to the back of the light bulb is spring-loaded inside, so it needs to be compressed enough as to allow to twist and lock into the bulb itself. 3) there's yet another spring pin that wraps around the square box. 4) Then the primary hard plastic cover needs to slide back into place. This requires a certain angle and some slight force. If it does not sit flush, then you won't be able to relock the wire clamp back onto the cover. G'luck! Lemme know if you have any questions. I consider myself somewhat an expert now in the lowbeam lightbulb swap business

[ryushe]

Hi mfanatic325, how did you figure out it was the bulb that died? My low beam died recently, but my high beam works fine (the actual high beam, not the low beam in high setting if that makes sense).
The dealer and another mechanic suggested it's the electronics that are on the fritz, and that I should replace the igniter or controller box. I'm skeptical but don't know a good way to test this. Just the bulb would make life a lot easier, as that seems like something I could repair myself.

Did you disconnect the battery and short the circuit to work on it? From what I hear, the major danger lies in the fact that these are such high voltage items.

Let me know as I'm genuinely interested. It's been 1 1/2 weeks now thinking about what to do and with darkness coming early these days, can't afford to wait much longer!

Thanks for any replies...

[mfanatic325]

The easiest way to check for bulb out is to cross-reference a good bulb into the questionable side.
i.e. If you know that your passenger side low beam is working perfectly fine, and your driver side low beam is questionable, then put the passenger side bulb into the driver side and run it to see if it lights up. If the bulb lights up fine, then you know 100% it was the driver side bulb. If the bulb doesn't fire up, then it's something with your igniter and/or ballast (something other than the bulb).
Good luck!

[foiled]

I just tried changing a bulb and couldn't get the ballast back on. Any tips would be appreciated.
The instructions on a youtube video made it look pretty easy. I had a hard time pulling the ballast off after I twisted to the open position so maybe that explains why it's so hard to put back.
I tried inserting the bulb into the ballast to make sure it fits and that works. Was also able to lock the ballast into place without the light bulb. So the two things that are supposed to happen function individually. But with the bulb in place, couldn't get the ballast into the slots to lock it in. Tried pushing hard and it just wouldn't go. Pretty frustrating. So I thought maybe the bulb wasn't seated properly but played around with that and it looked alright too. Don't really know what else to try.
Anybody have a similar problem?

[mfanatic325]

It's been years since I did mine last, but I remember it was quite frustrating. Just keep at it buddy

[big-server]

Kind a off-topic, but I couldn't find how to make a new thread, sorry...

Last week, my left headlight went out.
First, I changed the bulb, but it wouldn't work.
And I thought it was ignition element' s failure, so now I changed it, but it wouldn't work neither...
Any similar problem you have had ?

[mfanatic325]

You may have to bring it into a shop to have it looked at professionally

[StickMon]

A common method is to swap parts from one side to the other to find out which part the outage follows.

[jafxdwg]

I think you are talking about the Igniter.
It's located inside both covers
Its a twist on / twist off
Turn it in the direction of the arrow to open.
Be gentle. I think it's only about 30 degrees.
And then pull it straight back.



There is also a small electrical connector just above the 'close' text on the back. A slight tug to remove. Make sure you connect when you install your new bulb.

PS As mentioned 4300K is stock and is supposed to be close to natural light. I went up to 6000K which is the next higher power and results in a white light. I am very pleased with my choice.

[unluky]

It could be the ballast as well if you swapped out the bulbs and the igniter. Not sure where it is located, but that should be another piece of the puzzle. I assume besides trying the "good" parts on the bad side you also tried the "bad" parts on the good side to double check yourself - correct?

I have been in here several times and find it much easier to just remove the wheel from the start. I have done it both ways, but it takes 1 minute to remove the wheel and it saves you more than that while you are in the jacking with it. I went with the 6000K as well and find it to be bright white with just a very slight tint of blue at the edges. I like it better than the 5000K as well.

[OleSport]

So are all the 07' Z4 main bulb headlight xenons?

[BIMMERGUY91]

I like my Morimoto bulbs.

[mfanatic325]

Originally Posted by OleSport

So are all the 07' Z4 main bulb headlight xenons?

No, definitely not all cars came with HIDs. It depends on how the car was optioned at the factory. There are a lot that of bimmers that run normal halogens, but may still have projectors to help focus the light (as opposed to the usual reflector style housings with the mirror-like insides which bounce light towards the front of the car).

[OleSport]

Originally Posted by mfanatic325

No, definitely not all cars came with HIDs. It depends on how the car was optioned at the factory. There are a lot that of bimmers that run normal halogens, but may still have projectors to help focus the light (as opposed to the usual reflector style housings with the mirror-like insides which bounce light towards the front of the car).

Ah I see. Thanks Mfanatic

[TomD335xicoupe]

Northern NJ, 2008 335xi coupe leather nav nicely equiped. Bought car from private party, did not do PPI, yea I know!!! It appears from my decoded vin(not sure if correct, no window sticker available, seller less that honorable ) that I have adaptive xenon headlights, at least one moves up and down during start up. Once on, the drivers side points up into on-coming traffic, > ugh; the other doesn't bother to go on, and the lenses cover is full of condensation, yea I knew that going in but was not aware of the cost factor with this headlight system.. Is there a plug and play replacement entire headlight unit like a base non adaptive regular type headlight that I can point where I want the beam to go and leave it there? I saw a few videos about getting the headlight out , wow the bumper, really, I mean realy!!! So I guess I can remove it but once out just want to put in the replacement adjust beam and put it all back together. Don't care about quality of beam just don't want to have any more issues with this system, saw a bunch of threads about pot holes popping out system adjustment piece and the like, do not need the hassle. please help, if the consensus opinion is that I am stuck any addition advice and recommendations of local shops for this issue , Thanks

[mfanatic325]

Originally Posted by TomD335xicoupe

Northern NJ, 2008 335xi coupe leather nav nicely equiped. Bought car from private party, did not do PPI, yea I know!!! It appears from my decoded vin(not sure if correct, no window sticker available, seller less that honorable ) that I have adaptive xenon headlights, at least one moves up and down during start up. Once on, the drivers side points up into on-coming traffic, > ugh; the other doesn't bother to go on, and the lenses cover is full of condensation, yea I knew that going in but was not aware of the cost factor with this headlight system.. Is there a plug and play replacement entire headlight unit like a base non adaptive regular type headlight that I can point where I want the beam to go and leave it there? I saw a few videos about getting the headlight out , wow the bumper, really, I mean realy!!! So I guess I can remove it but once out just want to put in the replacement adjust beam and put it all back together. Don't care about quality of beam just don't want to have any more issues with this system, saw a bunch of threads about pot holes popping out system adjustment piece and the like, do not need the hassle. please help, if the consensus opinion is that I am stuck any addition advice and recommendations of local shops for this issue , Thanks

I believe you can get DEPO headlights for your E92 335. Look for popular online vendors, and they might have options for you. I know this because my friend had an E92 328 and converted the stock halogen lights to projectors with HID and angel eyes. You might as well do both headlights at the same time so they match.

[pungo]

Originally Posted by TomD335xicoupe

Northern NJ, 2008 335xi coupe leather nav nicely equiped. Bought car from private party, did not do PPI, yea I know!!! It appears from my decoded vin(not sure if correct, no window sticker available, seller less that honorable ) that I have adaptive xenon headlights, at least one moves up and down during start up. Once on, the drivers side points up into on-coming traffic, > ugh; the other doesn't bother to go on, and the lenses cover is full of condensation, yea I knew that going in but was not aware of the cost factor with this headlight system.. Is there a plug and play replacement entire headlight unit like a base non adaptive regular type headlight that I can point where I want the beam to go and leave it there? I saw a few videos about getting the headlight out , wow the bumper, really, I mean realy!!! So I guess I can remove it but once out just want to put in the replacement adjust beam and put it all back together. Don't care about quality of beam just don't want to have any more issues with this system, saw a bunch of threads about pot holes popping out system adjustment piece and the like, do not need the hassle. please help, if the consensus opinion is that I am stuck any addition advice and recommendations of local shops for this issue , Thanks

Try posting in the 3 series forum for more responses.