I have a 2007 530xi equipped with stock active xenon headlamps. One of them started going out moments after start up. It sometimes lights again briefly, then goes out. A local BMW completed the usual diagnostics and determined the headlight assembly needs to be replaced due to corrosion of the internal wiring. Is there a good approach for repairing the headlamp assembly? I have read online posts referencing use of electrical tape and liquid insulation. Neither of these approaches is satisfactory. Any other suggestions for repair?
How did they determine the headlight wiring was corroded? Do you have any moisture behind the lens of the headlight? The best way to test if its the bulb or headlight is to swap the bulbs from side to side and see if the issue follows if it does then you need a bulb. But if it doesn't then you would look into the xenon control module on the bottom of the headlight and could swap and see if the problem follows. Not to say there wrong in there diagnosis but I rarely see issue with wiring failures in theses headlights unless moisture got in.
Charlson, if the car suffered front-end damage in a collision, might that cause or lead to such an issue?
Possible to have a damaged head light from a accident, but it wouldn't be internal wiring. If the wiring is the issue most likely it got corroded from water from a damaged seal on the headlight.
Yes - just speculating if an accident might somehow damage a seal, by getting pushed into something or any metal somewhere behind the headlight.
The dealer swapped side to side each of the various components you mentioned. They ultimately concluded the assembly was bad. I have owned the car for about one year and have never noticed any sign of moisture inside the lens. We keep the car garaged at night, though it is parked outdoors during the day. My local independent mechanic states that 75% of the time the bulb is the culprit, however, the dealer used a new bulb as part of their diagnostics (I am not sure of their exact step by step procedure).
Sorry to say I don't know of any way to repair those lights internally. I know they are quite expensive.
I saw a video on U-tube where a guy removed the entire headlamp assembly within a few minutes without having to first removed the bumper cover. The dealer tells me removal of the bumper cover is sometimes required depending upon exactly which model/year/head lamp feature is in question. If the job is as simple as what I saw in the video, I'll do it myself. The guy removed four bolds, and voilla, the head lamp assembly was out. Also, are there any other components included with a new headlamp assembly? I have seen some OEM Hellas priced around $700. Right now I am not sure whether this is something for me to tackle in terms of difficulty. Is is necessary to remove the headlamp assembly to replace the HID bulb? I have a 2007 530xi with active xenon head lamps. Thanks for your help.
Here's the follow up on my headlight issue. My independent shop took apart the assembly and found a small wiring harness the connects to the bulb. At the point where the wires flex due to the active nature of the xenons, the aluminum wires were fractured. He used a crimp connector of some sort and covered the work with heat shrink tubing. Same bulb was retained and not other parts replaced. The head light has worked perfectly fine until last month, although this time I suspect the bulb is bad. I have seen a package available from ECS Tuning which my mechanic believes would replace the repaired wiring harness. Any thoughts? Has anyone tried this?
