Headlight bulb blows again...........

[SimplyRed]

I have had the car just a few months and I have changed the drivers side low beam headlight bulb maybe 6 times.!!!

What could it be? Definitely more than coincidence now.

What should i check?

I own a multimeter and the output of the left is the same as the right, what else whould I check?

Has anyone ever tried one of these? If they give off enough light I may just go this route, at least these wont blow.

[X5Sport]

Check for the light unit being tightly fitted to the car, or the bulb fitting snugly into its home? Vibration is often a bulb killer, also is there any sign of moisture in the lamp unit? Also assuming these are Halogen lamps and you're not touching the glass with your fingers - which also causes failures. Other than that, all I can think of is that the earth connection is good. Intermittent earths will also cause filament failure

You'll need to change those as a pair due to the colour differences, and unless they are 'E' approved for road use, you are probably taking a risk in terms of light output. BMW have only just introduced full LED lighting for the X6 LCI, and that's a£1665 upgrade from the standard HIDS. LEDs need a lot of power to match the output of either Halogen filled filament or HID - hence only now really becoming a realistic option.

You will need some form of CANBUS error clearing resistor fitting, or the bulb check disabled, as LEDs 'look' different to the car check control and it will flag an error.

Although expensive, have you considered upgrading to HIDs? If you already have headlight washers fitted then you're probably OK.

[SimplyRed]

[quote=""X5Sport""]Although expensive, have you considered upgrading to HIDs? If you already have headlight washers fitted then you're probably OK.[/quote]

Excuse my ignorance, what do HID's have to do with headlight washers?

[sapphireblack]

[quote=""SimplyRed""][quote=""X5Sport""]Although expensive, have you considered upgrading to HIDs? If you already have headlight washers fitted then you're probably OK.[/quote]

Excuse my ignorance, what do HID's have to do with headlight washers?[/quote]


It's a legal requirement to have lamp washers and self levelling if a vehicle has HID's fitted. Though many a chav doesn't know that, nor care

[storminmike]

[quote=""sapphireblack""][quote=""SimplyRed""][quote=""X5Sport""]Although expensive, have you considered upgrading to HIDs? If you already have headlight washers fitted then you're probably OK.[/quote]

Excuse my ignorance, what do HID's have to do with headlight washers?[/quote]


It's a legal requirement to have lamp washers and self levelling if a vehicle has HID's fitted. Though many a chav doesn't know that, nor care [/quote]

The older links in older pages referenced penpages that described the test

Now it's been incorporated into the test manual

http://www.motinfo.gov.uk/htdocs/m4s01000701.htm

Section 1.7
Vehicles equipped with High Intensity Discharge (HID) or LED dipped beam headlamps may be fitted with headlamp washers and a suspension or headlamp self levelling system. Where such systems are fitted, they must work; however, it is accepted that it may not be possible to readily determine the functioning of self levelling systems. In such cases, the benefit of the doubt must be given. Headlamp washers may work in conjunction with the windscreen washers (when the dipped beam headlamps are switched on) or by a separate switc


Method of Inspection 1. Check the presence, security and operation of the headlamp switch. 2. Where HID or LED dipped beam headlamps are fitted, switch on the headlamps and check the operation of any headlamp levelling and cleaning devices fitted

Nothing about Factory fitted I see

Could it be argued that headlamp levelling is that wheel inside and or the self level rear ends? It doesn't say auto leveling.

Cleaning devices....washers...tick


PS section 1.8 talks about aim although I'm not sure of the beam patterns described covers X5s The E36s had Kick ups, not sure the E53 does though

Here's some of the last HID retrofit discussion...there are countless more threads about it....mostly about the law
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=3497

[SimplyRed]

[quote=""X5Sport""]Although expensive, have you considered upgrading to HIDs? If you already have headlight washers fitted then you're probably OK.[/quote]

Can you point me in the right direction of an excellent reliable kit and and a firm that can supply and fit it. (London area)

[storminmike]

[quote=""SimplyRed""][quote=""X5Sport""]Although expensive, have you considered upgrading to HIDs? If you already have headlight washers fitted then you're probably OK.[/quote]

Can you point me in the right direction of an excellent reliable kit and and a firm that can supply and fit it. (London area)[/quote]

Got a drill..around £50 to spare....then why not DIY

Drill 2 holes in the light cover backs....Plug...Play....piece of cake

Read this
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=4122

and this
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=3497

[shadrack]

[quote=""sapphireblack""][quote=""SimplyRed""][quote=""X5Sport""]Although expensive, have you considered upgrading to HIDs? If you already have headlight washers fitted then you're probably OK.[/quote]

Excuse my ignorance, what do HID's have to do with headlight washers?[/quote]


It's a legal requirement to have lamp washers and self levelling if a vehicle has HID's fitted. Though many a chav doesn't know that, nor care [/quote]
cheer up sapphire black it might never happen!! you seem to do more doom mongering than the government lately!!

[SimplyRed]

ok all, job has been done, I bought the Terminatir kit from HID Direct.

I chose that for various reasons above all its called the Terminator, surely that alone is worth the extra few quid, lol.

Anyway, all done and ok.

I was in BMW parts department for another reason and i mentioned about the HID upgrade and he was very alarmed, he said they have seen a spate of cars with the aftermarket kits fitted which have melted the plastic inards of the headlight. The parts manager says he knows this all too well because he always has people trying to buy individual parts for the headlight which have burnt/melted which are not sold separately. Do the xenons run much higher temperature than the halogens?

Or could this just be scaremongering tactics?

[X5Sport]

It's an arc light rather than a filament bulb so it might run hotter.

It might also be that people have installed higher wattage than standard HID kits too.

The standard OEM is a 35W 4,300K H2S bulb. The filament bulb is a 55W, but this is a measure of power consumption more than anything else. Probably one to keep an eye on, but I've not seen any of those who have done conversions on this forum mention melted lights. It could be one of those things that if you've been sensible then no problem, but if you've gone mad then whoops!

I also suspect it may be the 3-series modding types that have overdone it. You know what I mean, a bit like the types you find who think it's clever putting an ///M badge on a 316..

[storminmike]

[quote=""X5Sport""]It's an arc light rather than a filament bulb so it might run hotter.

It might also be that people have installed higher wattage than standard HID kits too.

The standard OEM is a 35W 4,300K H2S bulb. The filament bulb is a 55W, but this is a measure of power consumption more than anything else. Probably one to keep an eye on, but I've not seen any of those who have done conversions on this forum mention melted lights. It could be one of those things that if you've been sensible then no problem, but if you've gone mad then whoops!

I also suspect it may be the 3-series modding types that have overdone it. You know what I mean, a bit like the types you find who think it's clever putting an ///M badge on a 316.. [/quote]

kkodal78 has bought (but not fitted) a 75watt kit and another member I think has a 50watt kit

Maybe the E36 never had HID and that's the ones that are melting?