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      07-04-2012, 07:08 AM   #12
Surly73
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Drives: '11 535xi 8AT KWv3 MPE MHD xHP
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Oakville, Ontario

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Quote:
Originally Posted by saxon View Post
check the adjustor that goes into the inside body of the light, both of my headlights are broken inside there and if i didnt take my lights apart i wouldnt have known
I presume that you mean the vertical and horizontal adjusters. These are very, very common failures on E39s (which I had until May). I *think* that mechanism is stable and fine. The lights respond to adjustments on either screw and seem well attached. I have re-aimed the headlights myself since acquiring the car so I have been using those adjustments. See http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/aim/aim.html

I would love to take the light apart, if only it was easier (like on the E39 - tired of me talking about E39s yet?) All of the DIYs I've read from people who want to put rainbow LEDs in their AEs or whatever make it look like the lights are never the same again after heating, prying, scraping etc...

Broken adjusters would affect the stability of the projectors in the light assembly. I want to make sure I'm clear that I'm getting vibration of the entire light unit that is unacceptable, as well as a certain degree of vibration in the projector (which could be broken adjusters, loose screws, whatever). When you lightly thump the top of the light (hood open) you can see the whole thing - including the exterior lexan covering - vibrates up and down due to lack of support from the bottom. I am reasonably confident that if I stopped the whole assembly from shaking, then the projector vibration would be acceptable but not zero. What's left may be the "normal" shaking people describe.

Last edited by Surly73; 07-04-2012 at 07:21 AM..
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