N55/LCI E90 LUX H8 Install - BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum

So after about two hours of trying to install my new LUX H8 V3 lights, and having two other people trying to install them, I finally managed to get the bulbs in and they look pretty sharp. This DIY doesn't have any pictures that I personally took, because quite frankly the pictures on the installation PDF on the LUX web site are pretty accurate, but the instructions themselves make the install seem very straight forward.

I'm writing this from the perspective of an N55 engine bay. I'm not sure how this works no the N54 bay, as I have not closely examined the area around the headlights.

1) Remove the cap covering the hole to the headlight assembly, and the headlight/bulb. Using a flashlight locate the bulb. On my car the bulb has a yellow piece of plastic on it, making it quick to identify.

2) Once you locate the bulb, do two things. First the black round tab below the bulb...You'll want to pop this off and just shove it out of the way. I did this first because otherwise there is tension on the wires, and makes it hard to take out the bulb later. Second, notice to the side of the bulb is a black plate/plastic. This is on the outside side of the assembly. So on the drivers side it'll be closest to the drivers wheel, and passenger side closest to the passenger wheel.

3a) The black plastic plate/piece that I told you to identify in step to? The reason is because this prevents the bulb from being twisted. Here is why...The instructions on the LUX website says to twist the bulb counterclockwise to get it out. This is not the case. On the driver side trying to twist counterclockwise results in the bulb hitting the black plastic plate and it won't twist any further. Rule? Twist each bulb towards the center of the car, not towards the outside of the car (drivers clockwise, passenger counterclockwise).

3b) This is the worst part. You'll need to twist the bulb so that the "T" tabs line back up and it slides out. Once you get the initial twist started it will twist with ease, but unlike the instructions on the LUX site I'm telling you that it is a PITA to get started. I had to use the index and middle fingers only to twist. In hindsight some gloves would have made this easier because the plastic really digs into the hands. If you are going to have your wife/girlfriend do it, because small hands really go a long way, you'll probably want to buy her some gloves. Disclaimer: Nothing against women, but really unless you have some major callouses on your finger tips it is really going to dig in. My finger tips are all scratched up, and I managed to split back open my knife cut on my finger.

4) Okay so up to this point you've just been going in blind, feeling for the bulb and twisting. You've made note of the "T" shape in the image above, so you know what I'm talking about. This is where I did something a bit different. I shined a bright LED flashlight into the FRONT of the headlight assembly. This lit up the hole REALLY well so that I could look in and see how the tabs need to line up. With mine the tabs needed to be an upside down "T" shape. To do this since I couldn't always see the hold I knew that in order for my LUX bulbs (both of them) to form the upside down "T" shape the blue wire needed to be on the right and the white on the left, perfectly horizontal. Hope that makes sense. From here it is stick it in and press a lot until you feel the tabs slide into the slots. Then twist in the OPPOSITE direction that you did to remove the bulbs. This requires a LOT more torque/force, but don't give it up. It'll turn about a good 2-2 1/2 inches.

5) Once it is in you're going to want to make sure it locked into place. First shine your light back into the front of the headlight and then look at the bulb..make sure you see no light come out from around the bulb. If it is you have NOT managed to seal the bulb completely. Second, you want to give it a wiggle and a tug. DO NOT TUG TOO FORCEFULLY! You will break the bulb! If you can give it a nice firm tug without it coming out, then you're locked in place....also note that you'll have some wiggle back and forth. The only reason I want you to wiggle is because one of my tabs didn't go in, but the other two did, so it actually popped out when wiggled. Just to reenforce that, wiggle is normal but if the tabs didn't lock the wiggle will let you know by popping out.

6) Plug in the LUX lights, this is pretty straight forward, and you're going to tuck everything into the headlight assembly. There is plenty of room in here. If you are of the mindeset of, "I wont' see it so I don't care" you can just kind of push everything around until it is behind the plastic threads and then put the cap back on the "pit of hell". If you are like me and even though you can't see it you know the wires will be all crammed in and crappy, you can get a zip tie and do a really nice job of zipping all the wires to the V3 box and then just tucking the little box in all nice and neat. You're call.

7) Do this with both lights and give it a look-see.

Additional tip: Do the drivers side first! The passenger was easier than the drivers, so you don't want to get one in and then get to the drivers and get so frustrated you decide to take it to the dealer or someone to let them do it. If you get the drivers side in, just know that the passenger will be easier.

I know this may seem like a repeat of the PDF on the LUX website, but I feel like they sugar-coated the install a bit for sales reasons. While it IS possible to do this by yourself it takes a bit of dedication to do. Also as I pointed out the instructions weren't entirely accurate. I don't know if that was a mistake or what. The only instructions that were close to what I needed were the LCI E90 instructions, so it is possible that if they did this on an N54 headlight assembly that this could be the difference between the instructions and what I was seeing...hence the reason I listed this as an N55 install. :-/

Good luck!

All images used in this DIY were from the LUX Angel Eyes PDF. I took screenshots of them and hosted them on my personal Photobucket. I do not claim copyright or ownership of these images, but used them because I honestly do not think I could have taken any better pictures.

Tutorial Tools	Search this Tutorial
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Tutorial: Advanced Search