330Ci Headlight Loose/Dropping + Burnt Bowls?

Hey guys. New Member and first post. Will be posting in New Member section within the week. Proud and mildly obsessed owner of a Mysticblau ZHP for 2 years.

First of all, I know there are many threads on headlight issues but I cannot find a single updated source of info that explains my issue. Most threads are old with broken links. I believe my issue is rare if not unique.

The Car:
2004 330Ci ZHP with Adaptive / Auto-Leveling headlights

The Issue:
Poor light output from both headlights
Driver's Side Headlight too low

Issue Isolated to:
The driver's side headlight assembly has become loose/broken internally.
Likely have burnt bowls. Asking you to confirm.

Notes:
brand-spankin-new Osram Nightbreakers installed yesterday and light output is better but still bad.
Auto Headlight switch LED is solid green.
Self-leveling test is performed when headlights powered on. Both headlights go up/down without issues so the leveling motor appears to be ok. (Driver headlight still lower than passenger though)
Adaptive headlights swivel left/right when turning ok.
Headlight plastic lens faces have been refurbed/sanded with the 3M Headlight Resto kit about 1 year ago.
No CEL.

Troubleshooting Videos:
Video #1: https://youtu.be/zvt87YXIBhA
Video #2: https://youtu.be/YvrWoPikEvA
Video #3: https://youtu.be/dym5vH3MK4U

My Predicament:
I would gladly buy full replacements if I had $1000+ to spare but I do not. I can spend a few hundees if need be but I can't do 4 figures.
Ideally I would like to have quality angel eyes installed as well.

My Questions to you fine people:

Question #1:
Once removed, is the headlight assembly easily disassembled
and
can the internal light assembly be tightened up or is it likely broken?

Question #2:
Can you confirm which OEM made my headlights (AL, ZKW, etc?)
Can you confirm if I have burnt bowls?

Question #3:
What are some quality options for fixing the issue?

https://www.theretrofitsource.com/al...kw-repair.html

https://www.retrofitlab.com/en/bmw-3...em-md2s-1.html

http://www.oemxenonshop.com/BMW-E46-...placement.html

http://www.khoalty.com/bmw-e46-depo-...eadlights.html


Can provide more info/pictures upon request.
Thanks in advance.

The headlight being aimed too low can either be a bad alignment of the headlight, a broken autoleveling motor, or a broken leveling sensor or connecting arm.

The coupe headlights do not have bowls that burn out. If it is burned out, it's probably because a previous owner ran 55W HIDs in there and that excessive heat caused the issue. This is pretty unlikely, however.

As far as output being bad, perhaps the Xenon controllers (ballasts) need replacing. Is one side brighter than the other, or are both sides equally dim? Or, am I misunderstanding entirely and the issue isn't the light being dim, but just bad adjustment?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by az3579

The headlight being aimed too low can either be a bad alignment of the headlight, a broken autoleveling motor, or a broken leveling sensor or connecting arm.

---

I got under the car and fidgeted with both leveling sensors and confirmed they are both working. both headlights moved when I manually moved both sensor arms. Both sensor arms appear to be physically intact, the connection to the control arm and subframe appear unbroken.

The autoleveling motor appears to be intact as well, because the autolevel check on startup looks ok. Both headlights raise and lower.

Quote:

---

The coupe headlights do not have bowls that burn out. If it is burned out, it's probably because a previous owner ran 55W HIDs in there and that excessive heat caused the issue. This is pretty unlikely, however.

---

I think that is unlikely too. Can you tell by the color of the bowl in Video #3 if it's burnt?

Quote:

---

As far as output being bad, perhaps the Xenon controllers (ballasts) need replacing. Is one side brighter than the other, or are both sides equally dim? Or, am I misunderstanding entirely and the issue isn't the light being dim, but just bad adjustment?

---

Both sides are equally dim. It appears to be 2 different issues. Lighting is dim on both headlights AND the left headlight is misaligned. The looseness in the left headlight noted in the troubleshooting videos is non-existent in the right headlight.

I can hear a low-volume buzzing sound from the engine bay when the lights are on, if that's relevant.

Have you tried re-aligning / re-aiming the droopy headlight with the set screws?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SWO Daddy

Have you tried re-aligning / re-aiming the droopy headlight with the set screws?

---

I have not. I was not aware there were set screws. Can you provide a link or keywords to search for that? That's basically what I was asking, if they can be adjusted.

Quick google search and...

http://www.diymybmw.com/e46/aligning-xenon-headlights/

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=636016

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=408335

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SWO Daddy

Have you tried re-aligning / re-aiming the droopy headlight with the set screws?

---

I found the set screws and adjusted both. Left headlight was all the way down, right headlight was adjusted alittle bit. Noticable improvement but still not the best.

I found the culprit of the drooping headlight.
The plastic housing that attaches the light to the height adjuster has sheared.
Picture:
Attachment 29926

Video:
https://youtu.be/Vafby5N7Z_8

Hard to get to but maybe a little epoxy will fix you right up.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SWO Daddy

Hard to get to but maybe a little epoxy will fix you right up.

---

I was thinking that too. Which brings me to my previous question: Can this headlight assembly be opened up easily once it's out of the car? I'm also thinking maybe the focal lenses are tarnished in some way because they have look "frosted" and the left one has an uneven pattern in the frosting. Can those be replaced easily?

I'm not an expert, but the only way I know to get into the headlight housing is to bake in the oven to soften the adhesive holding the clear headlight cover to the housing. It's the same technique used to mount halos to coupe / cabrio headlights. Search on youtube.

I much prefer the sedan headlights where the clear covers are sealed with a gasket vice glue.

Also, please note that the driver's side will always be lower than the passenger side as to not blind oncoming traffic.

Hope you can make the repair without many complications.

So these are the 2.4" Bosch lights, not the 3" ZKW lights correct?

I think I want to remove the headlight, bake to open, epoxy the broken plastic, replace the lenses, and possibly apply angel eyes.

all I'm finding are these, if indeed they are the 2.4" lenses

https://www.theretrofitsource.com/co...C50242#reviews

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-morimoto...dk~dk/?pdk=AQE

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Haynix

So these are the 2.4" Bosch lights, not the 3" ZKW lights correct?

I think I want to remove the headlight, bake to open, epoxy the broken plastic, replace the lenses, and possibly apply angel eyes.

all I'm finding are these, if indeed they are the 2.4" lenses

https://www.theretrofitsource.com/co...C50242#reviews

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-morimoto...dk~dk/?pdk=AQE

---

Bumping. Can anyone confirm if the lenses are 2.4" or 3" and what a good replacement solution is?

it's 3"

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by sillieidiot

it's 3"

---

I see two different sizes: 74mm and 75mm. Thoughts?


74mm:
https://www.theretrofitsource.com/al...28HID+Equipped

75mm:
http://www.morimotohid.com/all-produ...28HID+Equipped

It's a typo on the second link. If you scroll down to the picture, it shows 74mm. If you buy it from TRS, contact them and tell them that you need the one for the E46 bixenon. They should give you one with the notch so you don't have to grind it away on your projectors. At least they used to do that.

OK I have a game plan. Bake open the headlights, epoxy the broken part, replace HID lenses with clear ones, apply angel eyes. Just need some advice on angel eyes.

It seems like the angel eye technology has gotten better and cheaper. I don't want to get something trashy looking. I'd like to either get something modern opaque white or have them with a slight amber crystal color like the first gen BMW angel eyes (for a more period OEM look).

I've got it narrowed down to 2 options. Does anyone have any input on these?


Umnitza Predator Orion v2.5
https://www.umnitza.com/predator-ori...ies-coupe.html

Pros:
Fitment shouldn't be an issue, they're made specifically for facelift coupe
Can get clear or opaque.
Can get 4300k (slight amber) or 6000k (white).
fade on/off when car locked/unlocked

Cons:
They're a bit older and I don't know how good the light output will be.
afraid of them turning out looking trashy.
no amber turn signal activation (switchback)


Morimoto XSB 3.0
https://www.theretrofitsource.com/le...o-xsb-3-0.html

Pros:
Seems to be newer/better tech
Turn signal amber (switchback)
alittle cheaper

Cons:
Don't know which size to get. Worried about fitment. Can anyone confirm diameter?
I don't think they have the fade on/off with unlock/lock
White-only (and possibly slightly blue, though that may have been fixed in V3)



P.S. I installed the new Eonon GA7150a today, will probably do a video review soon if anyone is interested.

I think I'm gonna go with the Morimoto XSB 3.0
https://www.theretrofitsource.com/le...o-xsb-3-0.html

Can anyone confirm which diameter to get?

I found a couple pairs on eBay specifically for the LCI coupe and they state the outer diameter is 106mm.
Morimoto only makes 100/110mm so i'm trying to figure out if I could make them fit well.

example:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Switchback-A...pYp8yE&vxp=mtr

Well the one that you want to clear is the low beam one. The angel eye ring needs to clear the chrome bezel. For the highs, it doesn't matter because the angel eye ring will be sitting on top of it so all you gotta do is center it. The inner diameter is more important here. I could not find my caliper so this is the best you can get lol

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...psvd5vrpp1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...psaugkka5d.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...psma4vitc4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ps5teqsqre.jpg

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by sillieidiot

Well the one that you want to clear is the low beam one. The angel eye ring needs to clear the chrome bezel. For the highs, it doesn't matter because the angel eye ring will be sitting on top of it so all you gotta do is center it. The inner diameter is more important here. I could not find my caliper so this is the best you can get lol

---

Thanks man, appreciate it.
So it looks like 110mm is the best option.