Newbie LED Headlight Bulb Question

[pungo]

Originally Posted by SD ///M4

So it looks like they're legit! I'm planning on installing the bulbs within the next few days. I'm going to try the on-the-ground first method first with the front wheels turned, as I've seen in some videos, and if that's too much of a pain then I'll just put the car up on my QuickJacks and remove the front wheels for better access.

My recommendation would be to use the quickjacks to remove the wheels, then removed the projectors to clean the lens and reflector. After 15 years the projector lens and reflectors build up a hazy foggy film on both the front and back of the lens which reduces the light output.

Here's one where I wiped off 1/2 the lens to show the difference. I always clean them when I do dual AE LED ring retrofits for people. Also, the wire insulation can deteriorate behind the projector which should be repaired with some liquid electrical tape.

[Huz-Z]

Originally Posted by SD ///M4

My OSRAM Night Breaker Laser Xenarc D2S bulbs arrived today from Amazon. I scanned the QR code on the box with my phone and it took me to OSRAM's mobile verification website. It asked me to verify that the numbers on the base of the two bulbs in the package matched the numbers shown on their website. They did, so I responded yes and got the following message:

"Your OSRAM product has been successfully authenticated
The packaging label code matches with your lamp data.

You have bought (an) original OSRAM xenon lamp(s). You can now rely on the highest OSRAM quality."

So it looks like they're legit! I'm planning on installing the bulbs within the next few days. I'm going to try the on-the-ground first method first with the front wheels turned, as I've seen in some videos, and if that's too much of a pain then I'll just put the car up on my QuickJacks and remove the front wheels for better access.

This is a timely thread as the passenger side xenon on my 2006 Z4 just gave out. Let us know how the Osrams work and if you get any code issues. I’ll Probably order a set for my car. Thanks!!

[SD ///M4]

Originally Posted by pungo

My recommendation would be to use the quickjacks to remove the wheels, then removed the projectors to clean the lens and reflector. After 15 years the projector lens and reflectors build up a hazy foggy film on both the front and back of the lens which reduces the light output.

Here's one where I wiped off 1/2 the lens to show the difference. I always clean them when I do dual AE LED ring retrofits for people. Also, the wire insulation can deteriorate behind the projector which should be repaired with some liquid electrical tape.

I looked on YouTube for videos and it appears that the projector can be removed without removing the bumper cover without much problem. I've done that a couple of times before but really don't want to do it again.

Do you just stick a microfiber cloth through the opening to clean the inside of the lens? Any particular cleaning product or technique that you recommend?

I'll take a good look at all of the wiring. With my luck, the rats/rabbits might have nibbled on those wires as well.

[SD ///M4]

Originally Posted by Huz-Z

This is a timely thread as the passenger side xenon on my 2006 Z4 just gave out. Let us know how the Osrams work and if you get any code issues. I’ll Probably order a set for my car. Thanks!!

I'm not anticipating any code issues because it's a direct replacement for the OEM bulb. My understanding is that LED replacements cause code issues and these are D2S Xenon bulbs. I'll make sure to come back and update this thread after I install them and take them out for a spin at night.

[pungo]

Originally Posted by SD ///M4

I looked on YouTube for videos and it appears that the projector can be removed without removing the bumper cover without much problem. I've done that a couple of times before but really don't want to do it again.

Do you just stick a microfiber cloth through the opening to clean the inside of the lens? Any particular cleaning product or technique that you recommend?

I'll take a good look at all of the wiring. With my luck, the rats/rabbits might have nibbled on those wires as well.

Unfortunately, the projector has to be removed to properly clean the lens. You're not going to be able to even clean the back of the lens trying to stick a microfiber in through the tiny hole where the bulb goes, there's a shutter blocking access as well. If it were mine, I'd remove the projector, it's only 4 nuts and comes right out through the bulb access panel. I use 70% rubbing alcohol and a microfiber.

But sure, if you don't want remove the projector, just leave the foggy haze on the lens and live with it

Those wires in the pic are internal to the headlight so there's no way critters can get to them to nibble.

Here's another pic of a 1/2 cleaned lens, imagine that haze on both sides of the lens, it has to effect the light output.

[Huz-Z]

Originally Posted by SD ///M4

I'm not anticipating any code issues because it's a direct replacement for the OEM bulb. My understanding is that LED replacements cause code issues and these are D2S Xenon bulbs. I'll make sure to come back and update this thread after I install them and take them out for a spin at night.

Thanks! I’ll look forward to your update!

[SD ///M4]

pungo Huz-Z

Ok, damndest thing. I got the car up on the QJs and took off the wheels. I started on the driver side, popped off the plastic cover, turned the igniter counter-clockwise and pulled it off, released the wire clips on the bulb, took it out, replaced it, lined up the igniter and clicked it in place clockwise, put everything back together, tried the headlights, everything's fine.

I repeated this on the passenger side, only the igniter was way tighter, but I managed to loosen it with a little force. Repeated everything on this side, only when I put the igniter back in place, it wouldn't turn clockwise at all, wouldn't even budge. After trying several times with no luck, I finally decided to go back to the driver side and remove that igniter. Put it in place on the passenger side and it easily turned clockwise and clicked into place. Tried the reluctant one on the driver side, and again, no luck. Put the good one back on the driver side, clicked in, no problem. Took the reluctant one back to the passenger side and tried again and managed to break off one of the plastic clips. I examined both igniters side by side and for the life of me, I can't see any difference.

This one definitely violated the rule that the first time is the hardest, and after that, it's a piece of cake.

Since I just can't get this to install correctly but the other one does, plus I broke off a tab, I'm just going to order a new one from Amazon. It's $58.95, way less than the $106.49 from getbmwparts.com or the $82.88 from ECS Tuning, and I'll get it later next week. (FCP Euro is $120!)

EDIT: Put everything back together with the passenger igniter in place but not clicked into place clockwise, and both lights work just fine. Weird, because I didn't think the bulb contacts would line up correctly if it wasn't clicked into place. Still going to put the new one in though.

pungo, I looked at removing the projector lens, but those 4mm nuts are REALLY tiny, they're really recessed with stuff in the way, and I could see this just becoming exponentially worse and turning into a complete disaster, so I passed on that. I can see some haze on the projector lens on the passenger side because it actually looks a little smudged and I assume the other side has similar haze, but I'm just going to have to live with it. I wish I'd known about this when I had the bumper off for over a year in the last couple of years because it would be way easier if the headlights were removed.

[pungo]

Originally Posted by SD ///M4

pungo Huz-Z

Ok, damndest thing. I got the car up on the QJs and took off the wheels. I started on the driver side, popped off the plastic cover, turned the igniter counter-clockwise and pulled it off, released the wire clips on the bulb, took it out, replaced it, lined up the igniter and clicked it in place clockwise, put everything back together, tried the headlights, everything's fine.

I repeated this on the passenger side, only the igniter was way tighter, but I managed to loosen it with a little force. Repeated everything on this side, only when I put the igniter back in place, it wouldn't turn clockwise at all, wouldn't even budge. After trying several times with no luck, I finally decided to go back to the driver side and remove that igniter. Put it in place on the passenger side and it easily turned clockwise and clicked into place. Tried the reluctant one on the driver side, and again, no luck. Put the good one back on the driver side, clicked in, no problem. Took the reluctant one back to the passenger side and tried again and managed to break off one of the plastic clips. I examined both igniters side by side and for the life of me, I can't see any difference.

This one definitely violated the rule that the first time is the hardest, and after that, it's a piece of cake.

Since I just can't get this to install correctly but the other one does, plus I broke off a tab, I'm just going to order a new one from Amazon. It's $58.95, way less than the $106.49 from getbmwparts.com or the $82.88 from ECS Tuning, and I'll get it later next week. (FCP Euro is $120!)

EDIT: Put everything back together with the passenger igniter in place but not clicked into place clockwise, and both lights work just fine. Weird, because I didn't think the bulb contacts would line up correctly if it wasn't clicked into place. Still going to put the new one in though.

pungo, I looked at removing the projector lens, but those 4mm nuts are REALLY tiny, they're really recessed with stuff in the way, and I could see this just becoming exponentially worse and turning into a complete disaster, so I passed on that. I can see some haze on the projector lens on the passenger side because it actually looks a little smudged and I assume the other side has similar haze, but I'm just going to have to live with it. I wish I'd known about this when I had the bumper off for over a year in the last couple of years because it would be way easier if the headlights were removed.

I bet you're glad you put it on the quickjacks, access is tight, even with the wheels off.

I've had trouble in the past with a few lights where the tabs on the igniter didn't seem to want to seat properly. I think I remember the black inner part of the igniter can get out of alignment and needs to be rotated slightly? It's been a while, but I do remember it tripping me up more than once.

I can understand you being leery about removing the projector to clean the lens. Yes, the nuts are small (7mm), you need a deepwell socket, preferably with a magnet and you wouldn't want to drop a nut in there Definitely way easier on the workbench.

The lens is a fresnal type, a popular upgrade is to swap it for a ZKW-R clear lens for a better hotspot and sharper cutoff.

If you really want to step up your lighting, upgrade the projectors. With your new bulbs and some Morimoto EvoX-R 2.0 projectors, they would be incredible
https://www.zpost.com/forums/showpos...02&postcount=2

[kaybat]

SD-That sucks. I just did this tonite, and it worked out fine.
The only snag I had was one of the igniters wouldn't fit because one of the bulb push clips came undone and it took me a few tries before I realized it.

[SD ///M4]

Originally Posted by pungo

I bet you're glad you put it on the quickjacks, access is tight, even with the wheels off.

I've had trouble in the past with a few lights where the tabs on the igniter didn't seem to want to seat properly. I think I remember the black inner part of the igniter can get out of alignment and needs to be rotated slightly? It's been a while, but I do remember it tripping me up more than once.

I can understand you being leery about removing the projector to clean the lens. Yes, the nuts are small (7mm), you need a deepwell socket, preferably with a magnet and you wouldn't want to drop a nut in there Definitely way easier on the workbench.

The lens is a fresnal type, a popular upgrade is to swap it for a ZKW-R clear lens for a better hotspot and sharper cutoff.

If you really want to step up your lighting, upgrade the projectors. With your new bulbs and some Morimoto EvoX-R 2.0 projectors, they would be incredible
https://www.zpost.com/forums/showpos...02&postcount=2

The only difference between the two igniters that I could determine is that the metal ring was lifting a bit on the recalcitrant one, but it pressed down when I pushed on it. It seems that it would get pushed flat when pressed against the light housing. Everything else seemed to be the same. The fact that the light came on even when the igniter wasn't in the correct position would seem to be caused by what you mentioned though. I'll take a closer look when I replace it with the new one.

I took it for a drive tonight and my overall impression is that everything is a bit brighter. On low beam, there is quite a bit of light to the driver left and directly in front of the car. There is a much more distinct cutoff that rises diagonally to the right and then flat directly in the middle of the lane ahead. On high beam, the "half dome of light" that this car emits is definitely brighter, particularly when driving down a residential street, illuminating the houses and trees on either side but also a bit further down the road.

One of the reasons I looked into light improvement is that the lights on my '16 M4 are so dramatically better that driving the Roadster at night feels a little like I'm driving blind in comparison. The other reason is that the passenger beam was sometimes dropping out and a good whack would bring it back. I hit several potholes tonight and the passenger beam stayed lit, so I seemed to have solved that problem. It may very well be that the igniter is misaligned, so the new one should be a definite fix.

If this was my everyday driver and got driven more at night I might consider even better lighting. It's a third car and gets drive sporadically at best, mostly in the spring and fall, and only for fun.

I appreciate all of your feedback!

[SD ///M4]

Originally Posted by kaybat

SD-That sucks. I just did this tonite, and it worked out fine.
The only snag I had was one of the igniters wouldn't fit because one of the bulb push clips came undone and it took me a few tries before I realized it.

Yeah, I discovered during one attempt to twist the igniter that I hadn't put the bulb clips in place at all and when I removed the igniter the bulb came out too! So glad I didn't break it!

[SD ///M4]

Originally Posted by Huz-Z

Thanks! I’ll look forward to your update!

I installed them tonight and took a test drive. See my reply to pungo. They're probably worth the upgrade if you drive a lot at night and want a little extra light and are willing to pay the price. If you just want to replace both because one is out, I read one comparison that I may have linked to above that said that while this was the best D2S bulb overall, the DMEX bulb is better than the original and ranked pretty well at 1/3 the cost!

EDIT: I came back and removed the link to the cheaper DMEX bulb based on comments by pungo later in this thread.

[Huz-Z]

Originally Posted by SD ///M4

I installed them tonight and took a test drive. See my reply to pungo. They're probably worth the upgrade if you drive a lot at night and want a little extra light and are willing to pay the price. If you just want to replace both because one is out, I read one comparison that I may have linked to above that said that while this was the best D2S bulb overall, the Amazon DMEX bulb is better than the original and ranked pretty well at 1/3 the cost!
https://smile.amazon.com/DMEX-D2S-He...9611885&sr=8-7

Thanks very much for this! I think I’ll get the same bulbs that you installed.

Thanks!

[Huz-Z]

Originally Posted by Huz-Z

Thanks very much for this! I think I’ll get the same bulbs that you installed.

Thanks!

Quick question!!

Is this the right bulb?


https://www.amazon.ca/OSRAM-Xenarc-N...0424307&sr=8-1


I think that includes two bulbs. Is there any difference for North American left hand drive cars versus vehicles sold in the United Kingdom where folks drive on the other side?

[kaybat]

these are the ones I just did

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0771VZ353...86WRNHHWZTHVWB

[pungo]

Originally Posted by Huz-Z

Is there any difference for North American left hand drive cars versus vehicles sold in the United Kingdom where folks drive on the other side?

The bulbs are all the same for LHD and RHD, the difference is in the Bi-Xenon projector shutter.

[SD ///M4]

Originally Posted by Huz-Z

Quick question!!

Is this the right bulb?

https://www.amazon.ca/OSRAM-Xenarc-N...0424307&sr=8-1

I think that includes two bulbs.

Yes, the P/N number (66240XNL) is the same as the one that I bought, and it's a pack of two. Price is about 45% higher which initially threw me and then I realized that your link was to the Canadian Amazon site.

[Huz-Z]

Originally Posted by SD ///M4

Yes, the P/N number (66240XNL) is the same as the one that I bought, and it's a pack of two. Price is about 45% higher which initially threw me and then I realized that your link was to the Canadian Amazon site.

Perfect - thanks very much for this!

[Huz-Z]

Originally Posted by SD ///M4

I installed them tonight and took a test drive. See my reply to pungo. They're probably worth the upgrade if you drive a lot at night and want a little extra light and are willing to pay the price. If you just want to replace both because one is out, I read one comparison that I may have linked to above that said that while this was the best D2S bulb overall, the Amazon DMEX bulb is better than the original and ranked pretty well at 1/3 the cost!
https://smile.amazon.com/DMEX-D2S-He...9611885&sr=8-7

So my new bulbs are installed and I took the car for spin after dark last night. Definitely better than OEM, particularly on high beam, where the additional brightness is particularly noticeable. Its tough to quantify the difference without having a car with OEM bulbs to do a side by side comparison, but considering that these bulbs are cheaper than OEM but with much better illumination, they are the clear winner in my opinion.

Thanks for the guidance!!

[3002 tii]

Originally Posted by pungo

Just so you know, there are a tons of counterfeit bulbs being sold out there. I've seen them burn the reflectors on the projector housing since they can run hot and put out a ton of UV. The counterfeiters do an excellent job of duplicating the bulb and packaging. The real manufactures have resorted to putting security codes on the package to check against their web site for verification. Unfortunately. I've seen too many fake bulbs in peoples headlights which have caused damage.
https://rennlist.com/forums/987-foru...ake-bulbs.html

https://www.driven2automotive.com/bl...e-osram-bulbs/

Here's a good reference for the color and lumens specs for popular bulbs:
https://www.theretrofitsource.com/hi...cecategory:asc

Burnt reflector from counterfeit bulbs

Attachment 2674135

Very true, only site I trust is lightwerkz for authentic bulbs. Even Amazon (prime, shipped directory from Amazon) has fakes make their way into inventory.

FYI one of first upgrades I did on the M were the projectors. Made huge difference…

https://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1656727

[pungo]

Originally Posted by SD ///M4

I installed them tonight and took a test drive. See my reply to pungo. They're probably worth the upgrade if you drive a lot at night and want a little extra light and are willing to pay the price. If you just want to replace both because one is out, I read one comparison that I may have linked to above that said that while this was the best D2S bulb overall, the Amazon DMEX bulb is better than the original and ranked pretty well at 1/3 the cost!
https://smile.amazon.com/DMEX-D2S-He...9611885&sr=8-7

Originally Posted by Huz-Z

So my new bulbs are installed and I took the car for spin after dark last night. Definitely better than OEM, particularly on high beam, where the additional brightness is particularly noticeable. Its tough to quantify the difference without having a car with OEM bulbs to do a side by side comparison, but considering that these bulbs are cheaper than OEM but with much better illumination, they are the clear winner in my opinion.

Thanks for the guidance!!

Those bulbs are from China
Business Name:Guangzhou Suguang Technology Co., Ltd.

You saved money on the bulbs, but here's what Chinese bulbs do to the reflector. I've seen way too many ruined reflectors from Chinese bulbs, that's why I posted it earlier in the thread as a warning.

Left = burned reflector from Chinese bulb, right = normal reflector.

[Huz-Z]

Originally Posted by pungo

Those bulbs are from China
Business Name:Guangzhou Suguang Technology Co., Ltd.

You saved money on the bulbs, but here's what Chinese bulbs do to the reflector. I've seen way too many ruined reflectors from Chinese bulbs, that's why I posted it earlier in the thread as a warning.

Left = burned reflector from Chinese bulb, right = normal reflector.

Attachment 2710895

But the Osram web site says this:

“ The code on the safety label of your OSRAM packaging has been authenticated”