Xenon Headlights

[spielnicht]

I just bought a Z4 that should have come with Xenon headlights but for some odd reason were replaced with standard halogen lights. My guess they went bad and was cheaper to find used non-xenon headlights. I see a lot of wires cut and spliced behind the headlight assembly.

I don't know much about xenon lights but enough to know they have a leveling system. Is that part of the headlight assembly itself or is it controlled from another part? Just trying to figure out what was all removed/bypassed and what parts I need to start looking for on eBay and car-part.

Thank you.

[Our03z4]

Controlled by motor inside the light but by levers to a controller in the back of the car...if I remember right. I too changed my Xenon lights out for the others, honestly the Xenon were too dim for me and mine were too damaged to repair. At $1200 a pop I wasn't interested. I think I paid $300 for the pair of aftermarket. My guess is you have Spiders, that's the norm. Also gives you halos which wasn't available on this car.

[B328iC]

On the front passenger side lower control arm is a mechanism as is there one on the drivers rear. Between the two they send a signal to maintain the headlight aim. Under the headlight itself there is a controller for the xenon bulb.

[pungo]

There were 2 types of Xenon headlights used (pre-facelift/facelift). The facelift ones have halos. What year is the vehicle? .
There should be leveling senors on the suspension, one in the front and one in the back.
The Xenon headlights have superior light output compared to the Halogen ones.
The vehicle may have been in an accident where the headlights were destroyed and replaced with Halogen ones to cut the repair costs.
It's a shame the wiring was hacked and the headlight were downgraded to Halogen.
How did you determine the vehicle should have come with Xenons?

[spielnicht]

It's a 2006, so facelift. I bought the car salvage title with minor front-end damage but definitely had previous shoddy repair done to it in the past on the font as well because the bumper is from pre-face lift and, well, the xenon lights replaced with halogen. I confirmed the xenon option with the VIN.

My plan is to repair it right with original used parts. Gonna check out the sensors/levers on the control arms to see if they're still at least there. I suppose worst case scenario is going to new Hella halogen headlights.

[digdugdale]

Sorry this is such a delayed post to this thread, but I'm just starting to learn about my Z4 and I searched for a thread about Xenon lights and found this one.

I believe I have Xenons on my car since one of the lenses looks like a projector, but my headlights seem dim. Is there something that can be done about that? I see differing opinions on this thread about brightness of Xenon vs. Halogen (Our03z4 vs. pungo) so I'm confused about making a change/upgrade. Thoughts?

[javis20]

Are you sure your lights aren't just aimed too low. If one of your level sensors is defective the motor in the headlight assembly will aim the lights downward. This will make them appear to dim.

[javis20]

BTW, never make mechanical adjustments to your headlamp level until you know the two level sensors are working properly. Both sensors are basically potentiometers (variable resistors). They can wear out without throwing any code.
There are many youtube videos on how to replace the front sensor. I made the only video to replace the read sensor.

[DFW Tom]

When I bought my 2006 it did not have Xenon’s, but it was originally outfitted with them. A week after I bought it, someone backed directly into my passenger side headlight, I went to a good shop and they put Xenon back in it, and ordered one for the driver side that I paid for out of pocket. The Xenon’s are incredibly brighter than the halogen spiders that were in there before.

[CrazyOneToo]

Hi fans, I just put some OEM Xenon back in my car and removed the Spyder lights that the previous owner installed. Is the inside light supposed to light up? I cant get mine to come on. Just the outside lights come on even if on high beams. Do I need to program something? Thanks

[grannyknot]

Originally Posted by CrazyOneToo

Hi fans, I just put some OEM Xenon back in my car and removed the Spyder lights that the previous owner installed. Is the inside light supposed to light up? I cant get mine to come on. Just the outside lights come on even if on high beams. Do I need to program something? Thanks

Hi, I went through this myself, the inner light if fake, it just looks like a projector lens, the outer halo ring illuminates but the centre of the inner light has no bulb.
Kind of strange I know, the xenons are suppose to to be bright enough for both.
There are aftermarket xenon bulb replacements now that are brighter than the original bulbs and they are a popular refit.

[pungo]

Originally Posted by CrazyOneToo

Hi fans, I just put some OEM Xenon back in my car and removed the Spyder lights that the previous owner installed. Is the inside light supposed to light up? I cant get mine to come on. Just the outside lights come on even if on high beams. Do I need to program something? Thanks

It's common for BMW to only illuminate a single light when equipped with Bi-Xenon headlights since Bi-Xenon takes care of the low and high beams.

[CrazyOneToo]

Thank you. Is the bulb at the back for the halo?
Was hoping you also may have some info on mounting?
The previous owner was generous with leaving parts off.
So I was hoping he didn't do that when installing the Spyder headlights.
Do you know how many of the barrel mounts are used on each headlight?
Right now I have one of the barrel-like parts in the outer most mount of each headlight.
On one of the bottom mounts there is some sort of screwable washer-like mount that turns and seems to be adjustable.
I think its the part on the right in the photo. Am I missing parts?

Originally Posted by grannyknot

Hi, I went through this myself, the inner light if fake, it just looks like a projector lens, the outer halo ring illuminates but the centre of the inner light has no bulb.
Kind of strange I know, the xenons are suppose to to be bright enough for both.
There are aftermarket xenon bulb replacements now that are brighter than the original bulbs and they are a popular refit.

[CrazyOneToo]

Thanks, that's some great info!

Originally Posted by pungo

It's common for BMW to only illuminate a single light when equipped with Bi-Xenon headlights since Bi-Xenon takes care of the low and high beams.


Attachment 3150403

[DFW Tom]

An additional note, my rear leveling sensor was also broken. It’s about a foot or so in from the driver’s side rear wheel. I had to buy the replacement sensor from the dealer, but not that expensive and took like ten minutes to replace. Based on the location, I’ve found it’s a good idea to take a bolt out of it any time you raise the car on a lift set on the frame. Just the drive axle drop when lifting it pushes the limits on its range, dumbass design!