Z4 headlight wiring disitegrated/crumbeled

[raptor_demon]

Hi All,

so when the headlight blub on my 2006 z4 3.0i died and i was changing the drivers side headlight bulb i touched the wire and about 1-2 inches of wire insulation fell off. while changing the bulb more fell off and i noticed cracking in the insulation.


20130924_222920 by raptordemon, on Flickr

now these are stock halogens with standard bulbs in them.


has anyone else had this issue? i have seen 5 series posts that had this issue but no other z4's.

BMW said there is no recall so they wont fix it for free.

i have wrapped it in tape for now until i can remove the headlights and take a good look.

Raptor

[raptor_demon]

Has anyone had this happen?

[jeebus87]

I recently took apart both headlights and didn't see any issues with the wiring. Do you park outside? Maybe the insulation fried from being too hot?

[raptor_demon]

Originally Posted by jeebus87

Do you park outside? Maybe the insulation fried from being too hot?

The car does get parked outside some days, there is yellowing on the headlights. not sure parking heat is solely responsible for this, as the bulb heat must get fairly hot but all factors combined may be an issue.

[the dink]

I would think heat , high resistance in connection. Normally when you see that the bulb housing would be melted also. Hopefully BMW makes a pigtail for that and it will be easy fix. If you splice in new pigtail use heat shrink butt connectors or solder then heat shrink.

[AK72]

I had same Issue, end up of opening headlights and redoing all wires

[Vanne]

Me too, both sides wires shot.
Redid everything.

[pwrdbym]

I haven't seen it in that location, but I repaired a Z4M coupe that had frayed headlight wiring from rubbing on the chassis. Further back on the right side.

[Vanne]

Nah this is definitely heat related.

[pungo]

I've done a lot of dual Angel Eye upgrades on facelifted Z4s and ~50% of them had crumbling insulation, mostly near the Xenon projector area. This is due to the high heat from the bulbs. I paint on a few coats of liquid electrical tape.

[GGGGOAT]

Bringing this back from the dead. I just went to replace my bulbs and ALL the wiring for headlight harness was like this, bear in spots, then insulated. You can bend the wire and the insulation just falls off. Looking to either replace the harness or just change out the entire headlight assembly.

Any recommendations on upgrades? Currently have the stock halogen lights which leave a lot to be desired.

Thanks in advance!

Tim
Severn, MD

[GGGGOAT]

Following up on this. Talked to BMW this morning and the parts guy knew exactly what I was talking about (bad sign). However, BMW DOES NOT make just a replacement harness for the headlights! If you want the harness, you have to buy the entire headlight assembly (at $608/side after discount). I guess I'll be pulling this apart and making a new harness myself.

[pungo]

Originally Posted by GGGGOAT

Bringing this back from the dead. I just went to replace my bulbs and ALL the wiring for headlight harness was like this, bear in spots, then insulated. You can bend the wire and the insulation just falls off. Looking to either replace the harness or just change out the entire headlight assembly.

Any recommendations on upgrades? Currently have the stock halogen lights which leave a lot to be desired.

Thanks in advance!

Tim
Severn, MD

Originally Posted by GGGGOAT

Following up on this. Talked to BMW this morning and the parts guy knew exactly what I was talking about (bad sign). However, BMW DOES NOT make just a replacement harness for the headlights! If you want the harness, you have to buy the entire headlight assembly (at $608/side after discount). I guess I'll be pulling this apart and making a new harness myself.

I've successfully used this stuff to repair crumbled wire insulation on headlights. When built up with several layers, it's as good if not better than new. Much easier with the headlight assembly on the workbench than reaching through the fender liner access panel, though that can be done, easier if the wheel is off. Just give it 10 minutes or so to dry between coats and put on 3-5 coats. You can find it at home depot, lowes or amazon and even comes in different colors.

[GGGGOAT]

Nice! Thanks for the reply! Yeah, I've already decided I'm pulling the bumper and just taking it apart that way. There's some other things I want to fix/look at while it's apart anyway. Was looking at that liquid electrical tape or just cutting the wire at one end and sliding heat shrink tubing over it. The wire itself is good, just the insulation is coming off.

Just sux BMW used such cheap wire for this!

Thanks again!

Tim
Severn, MD

[wdb]

My headlights need this treatment. I was looking for harnesses but it appears as though the whole front harness needs to be sourced. Ouch.

BMW plastics suck in general. I have a 996 that is 5 years older than my zed and the plastics are in FAR better shape. In fact they're pretty much just fine, with the exception of some foam rubber bits.

[GGGGOAT]

I ended up pulling the front bumper and headlights out yesterday and just replaced ALL the headlight wiring myself. Soldered/heat shrinked new wire in and then used wire loom to protect the new wire. Took about 3 hrs start/finish and about $50 in parts. Now I have brand new crappy headlights again! LOL

[Lucys.oddyssey]

Originally Posted by raptor_demon

Hi All,

so when the headlight blub on my 2006 z4 3.0i died and i was changing the drivers side headlight bulb i touched the wire and about 1-2 inches of wire insulation fell off. while changing the bulb more fell off and i noticed cracking in the insulation.


20130924_222920 by raptordemon, on Flickr

now these are stock halogens with standard bulbs in them.


has anyone else had this issue? i have seen 5 series posts that had this issue but no other z4's.

BMW said there is no recall so they wont fix it for free.

i have wrapped it in tape for now until i can remove the headlights and take a good look.

Raptor

The exact same thing happened to me . But it was on both headlights . We were gonna replace the old wiring but decided to order a new set of headlights .