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One yellow xenon

Discuss the problems with your X5 (E53).
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pcdee
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One yellow xenon

Post by pcdee » Tue May 30, 2017 4:50 pm

Turned the car on this morning and noticed on the garage door that one side of the beam was yellow and the other white.  I got out to double check as it was bloody early (03:45), and sure enough my eyes were not playing tricks.

Would this mean I need a new set of bulbs?  The car is a 2007, I'm not sure how long they last.
X5 E70 3.0D SE

acarty
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Re: One yellow xenon

Post by acarty » Tue May 30, 2017 5:15 pm

Yes, it means the bulb has gone....my bulb went yellow on my old E53 and I found two Philips bulbs (with igniter attached) on ebay for £40. The are what BMW use from the factory I believe, will try and find the link.
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pcdee
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Re: One yellow xenon

Post by pcdee » Tue May 30, 2017 6:17 pm

[quote="acarty"]
Yes, it means the bulb has gone....my bulb went yellow on my old E53 and I found two Philips bulbs (with igniter attached) on ebay for £40. The are what BMW use from the factory I believe, will try and find the link.
[/quote]
Thanks......are these easy to change?

Just realised I should of put this in the E70 part

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Last edited by pcdee on Tue May 30, 2017 6:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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X5Sport
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Re: One yellow xenon

Post by X5Sport » Tue May 30, 2017 6:28 pm

E70 lamps are D1S (E53 are D2S so not compatible) 35W and as suggested OEM are either Philips or Osram.  Do not get them from a main Dealer as they will charge you really silly money.  Similarly I would not advise buying cheap Oriental copies as the focus is often in the wrong place.  Typical service life is around 3,000 running hours but this can be shortened if switched on and off frequently.

Eurocarparts sell a number of different lamp options - as do HIDS Direct and similar - but they are not cheap.

I have a nasty feeling the bumper has to come off due to items in the engine bay being in the way of getting the lamp out backwards.  Not the best piece of design by BMW (who are far from alone in this area).

Wear safety glasses and gloves as these lamps are the high pressure, no touch type and make sure the electrics are dead too.  HIDs run at 18kV or more on 'ignition' but less once running.

If one is on the way, then the other may be too.  4,300°K are the standard colour and you can get a little whiter by going up in temp.  The Philips & Osram lamps are available as 6,000°K (a bluer white) and going higher than that is a waste.
Last edited by X5Sport on Tue May 30, 2017 6:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: One yellow xenon

Post by acarty » Wed May 31, 2017 9:16 am

I got one of my bulbs out of my E70 a few months back and it was surprisingly easy considering the room they give you, its on the outside of the headlights and there is some room within the arch to get access.

Like X5Sport says, its a D1S bulb and I would go for Philips, try ebay...ECP are showing them at £75 each with the current 30% off discount code.
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Re: One yellow xenon

Post by pcdee » Wed May 31, 2017 1:21 pm

Okay, went on Ebay and found this;

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-x-Philips-D1S-4300K-35W-XENON-HEADLIGHT-BULBS-HID-85410-AUDI-BMW-MERCEDES-WV-/191782064404?hash=item2ca71a1114:g:arYAAOSwARZXkSFo

Is the above right?

Seems like a bargain and its phillips, they also do the 6000K at the same price.
X5 E70 3.0D SE

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Re: One yellow xenon

Post by acarty » Wed May 31, 2017 1:48 pm

Looks like a good deal to me and judging by the amount sold (668), seems its a popular choice. The 6000K looks slightly blue when you google it, I think the 4300K may be a better choice if your wanting the OEM look.

Its the cheapest I've seen and what I would go for  :thumbup:
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Re: One yellow xenon

Post by pcdee » Wed May 31, 2017 7:37 pm

Ordered...........how hard are these to fit??

Any special tools required?

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Re: One yellow xenon

Post by X5Sport » Wed May 31, 2017 7:38 pm

If no bumper removal needed then it needs no tools. 
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Re: One yellow xenon

Post by pcdee » Sat Jun 03, 2017 7:39 am

Lights have arrived......silly question but I'll ask anyway.....do I need to disconnect the battery?

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Re: One yellow xenon

Post by X5Sport » Sat Jun 03, 2017 8:59 am

Not essential, but do make sure all of the lighting is off.  Xenon HID lamps run an ignition circuit to produce the arc which generates 18kV or more so there is a potential hazard.  It's down to how comfortable you are with that.  The risk is low though.
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Re: One yellow xenon

Post by pcdee » Sun Jun 04, 2017 9:48 am

All done.....passenger side is a lot easier.
Entire job took about 30 mins......if u got big hands.....good luck!!!!

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Re: One yellow xenon

Post by henrym3 » Sun Jun 04, 2017 10:17 am

Must admit when I read X5Sport's comments I had this vision of a bloke standing in front of his car,  hair spiked, slightly smoking having just had 18Kv pass through him :)
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Re: One yellow xenon

Post by X5Sport » Sun Jun 04, 2017 2:45 pm

It does give a little 'tickle' if it zaps you..... :crazy1:
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