[xPETEZx]

Hey,

Calling anybody with an LCI E90/1, who has had a Halo ring bulb fail.

My driver side halo rings are dead, and I get a warning on the dash about a bulb fail.

I read in the manual that you just pull this wire and out pops the bulb. It refers to "Parking light".
I assume this is pre-halo rings as I cant find this bulb.

I can however see this big plastic bulb casing that is screwed in.
I checked on the passenger side, and this bulb lights up when the halo's come on.
It is secured with 2 screws and does not look like it comes apart.

Do I need to order the whole assembly from BMW? Or am I being thick and you just un-screw it and a regular bulb exists inside?

Thanks!

[mjafin]

Does this help you:
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=441393

[xPETEZx]

Thanks.
The post by Dizzle I think helps.
Ill have a look and take the bulb out and try get a replacement from Hellfords or something.

[xPETEZx]

Ok so I managed to get the bulb out:
Stupid design to use Torex screws on this!!

This does not look like a part that comes to pieces.
Anybody bought one of these from there dealer?

It does not look like part 9 in this diagram...
http://bmwfans.info/parts/catalog/E9...dlamp_halogen/

Just called my stealer.... an eye watering £33 just for the part....
Makes me think I may as well just get new White LEDs....

[raj55]

there are lots of thread on this bulb change. Here is one where the owner has used a LED replacement. tells you how to remove the bulb.
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=540404

and this guy tells you how to do a cheap replacement with an Osram bulb.
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=740820

one more with a video shot.
http://volvospeed.com/volvo_repairs_...placement.html

[raj55]

looking at that video, I had a thought and that is if the orientation of the bulb in the reflector matters for angel eye brightness since the filaments are placed transverse and not axial. Look at the orientation of the bulb filament with regard to the reflector in the original set up before you remove the bulb so that you can orient the new one in the same way.

[xPETEZx]

Thanks for the link to that guide.
It just dosent look like my bulb. As you can see mine has this plastic guide which clips on to the headlight on the front, and there is no way to take this off.

Going to get a price for the LED ones, and if its too much just bite the bullet and get another one from the dealer.
Although I prefer the white of the LED's, I actually don't mind the yellow tint of the OEM rings.

[NormanHomes]

cheaper to get a set of led's

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-E90-E9...item20cece9732

[xPETEZx]

Anybody tried these?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...tchlink:top:en

I know a lot of people have used different ones, with mixed results.

CREE seems to be a name I hear thrown around as pretty good.

Thanks

[raj55]

I would be very suspicious of the LED bulbs. They promise more than they deliver. The light out put is not high and they are hardly noticeable in sunshine and the life of some of them is shorter than the halogen bulbs. There is a guy in the Swedish BMW forum whose LED halo bulb packed up after 6 months! I would either get a new set up from BMW (bulb +reflector) or modify it using the philips or osram bulb of correct size.

[raj55]

If you are going to buy the led lights, remember that the LCI models have a different connector and there must be a separate connector with these lights or it is not plug and play. Here is a link that shows the intermediate wire connector in the first photo.
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=540404

[xPETEZx]

I went ahead and just got another bulb from BMW last night.

Like I said to start, I don't mind the yellow glow

Couldn't be bothered with the mine field of good/bad LEDs

Thanks for reading all.

[raj55]

I have been looking at other sites and it seems that there is a way around to changing that halogen bulb inside that holder that you have shown. There are two blobs of plastic (one on each side that holds that bulb inside the holder. If you were to melt or sand off the blob with file you could easily pull out the bulb with its grey holder from behind. Then you could change the bulb (osram 64113) and reattach the holder using a blob of silicon and reassemble it in the car. Here is the photo that shows the original plastic melted blob that is holding the bulb in place (red arrow). Now you have got the old bulb to play with. On second look I see that your holder is slightly different but there must be a similar way of fixing that bulb in place.

[xPETEZx]

A colleague at worked suggested this too.

Like you say, now that I have the old bulb to play with, going to give this a go.
If it works, great. I have a spare for when the other side goes.
If it dosent work, nothing lost.

Will post back results.

[raj55]

Please take photos and post back so that we all can benefit from your research.

[xPETEZx]

So I had a go at trying to get the bulb out of the failed bulb today, and after some pliers and drill work managed to get the bulb out.

It is the worst design I have ever seen. If the little plastic bits where not melted on and instead removable the bulb holder would just pull out the back (much easier to do when in the car than the bloody hex screws!!)

Once the holder is out, the bulb is even push-and-turn spring loaded secure!
Made to be removed.

Now going to see if Halfrauds stock this bulb

Some pics of the process below. You can use a drill bit along the groove as in the picture to remove most of the melted plastic.

[IanS100]

What wattage is the OE AE bulb?

[raj55]

It is a 12 V , 10W bulb BA9S. Ebay has them. Here in Sweden, you get two of them for the price of one bulb (Biltema Sweden).
Ebay site,
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/OSRAM-6411...item4170990658

[raj55]

Thanks XpetezX for your photos. I suppose you could devise some sort of clip to hold the bulb holder in place after changing the bulb (in the worst case a rubber band around holder). That would make the next change easy as you would just pull out the holder with the bulb (as you said yourself). I wonder why BMW made that bulb a non replaceable kind! Hard to believe that it is just for financial reasons since all other bulbs in the car can be changed. If some one went one stage further and devised a plastic window on the wheel liner itsel opposite to this angel eye set up (like the head light bulb change window), then the bulb change would not even require the wheel liner to be removed.

[raj55]

How about two, flat metal plates with a slight double bend at one end, applied one above and one below the plastic body that looks like this (black lines in the photo). They can be super glued to the plastic body or screwed in place with tiny screws. All you have to do is part the ends to remove the bulb holder and after being reinserted, they click to lock the bulb holder. I think it is dooable.

[xPETEZx]

Likeing the ideas!

Going to see what I can do. I like the idea of this being removable in the future, so if I ever get another bulb failure it will be so much easier to fix.

Thanks for the link to the bulb. Was struggling to find the right one online. There is no info on the bulb itself, just "10W 12V"

Using your BA9s found some bulbs on ebay. Including this one:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/White-Bayone...d_sim_sbs_kh_2
Wonder if this could be a cheaper way to LED Halo's? Then these might just cause bulb out errors...

[Frobius]

You could code out the bulb errors easily enough. Interesting idea. I might have a play at this as I just happen to have a blown angel eye bulb to play with.