Xenons not aimed correctly

withoutink · 07-14-2018, 09:42 AM

I bought a '12 e92 yesterday, and drove it from FL to GA... When night set in on the ride to ATL last night, I noticed that the xenons are literally pointing nearly straight down. I think the bright white light shoots out 6' and then dies off. The xenons were recently replaced by the dealer in South Florida, and I obviously am not driving back... I assume I can just level them?

Also, it seems they are heavier on the driver side (light output) as apposed to the the passenger side, not sure if thats 100% normal.

How can I fix this tonight?

jeter660 · 07-14-2018, 10:46 AM

If you take off the wheel for the side of the car the issue is on and take out the Fender Liner then you can check what the issue may be. Could be this black dial for leveling or the headlight might be loose. My friends headlight on his 2010 was having the same issue with the leveling when he got it on the driver side.

On a side note I am having an issue with my driver headlight not coming on after replacement of the bulb and ballast and checked all fuses and I am baffled on why it will not come back on... If someone is able to help me figure out that issue it would be greatly appreciated

dauble2k5 · 07-14-2018, 10:51 AM

Check the headlight level sensor under behind the driver's side wheel. You won't have to remove the wheel well liner. The black arm should be pointing forward, if I recall correctly. The little bends or kinks in the silver arm are normal.

http://www.n54tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19926

Mine has been knocked loose a couple of times and was bent in the wrong direction when I had new tires installed.

Efthreeoh · 07-14-2018, 11:19 AM

This could be problematic. The xenons should self-level upon engine start when the lights are either in auto mode or in the on mode. So first thing you should do after dark is put the switch either in auto mode or on and then start the engine. The lights should cycle down and then up to level.

From what you described, the beam is way out of adjustment, which is not correctable by the range of adjustments allowed by the mechanical adjusters. The mechanical adjusters allow tuning of the height and horizontal position of the beam once the system levels the lights.

The best thing to do is find a brick wall and a perpendicular level surface and park about 3 feet away from the wall and see where the horizontal beam cutoff line sits. If you have experience doing this type of process you should be able to tune the beam direction. It might be best to call the selling dealer (I'm assuming it's a BMW dealership) and tell them the headlight alignment is not correct. Tell them you do not want to drive back to Florida and that you want to take it to a the local ATL BMW dealership for an assessment. Get the Florida dealership to agree to pay the ATL dealership to align the headlights.

withoutink · 07-14-2018, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dauble2k5

Check the headlight level sensor under behind the driver's side wheel. You won't have to remove the wheel well liner. The black arm should be pointing forward, if I recall correctly. The little bends or kinks in the silver arm are normal.

http://www.n54tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19926

Mine has been knocked loose a couple of times and was bent in the wrong direction when I had new tires installed.

Thank you =)

Ok turned the wheel so I could look behind it and everything looks connected... any other ideas?

withoutink · 07-14-2018, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

This could be problematic. The xenons should self-level upon engine start when the lights are either in auto mode or in the on mode. So first thing you should do after dark is put the switch either in auto mode or on and then start the engine. The lights should cycle down and then up to level.

From what you described, the beam is way out of adjustment, which is not correctable by the range of adjustments allowed by the mechanical adjusters. The mechanical adjusters allow tuning of the height and horizontal position of the beam once the system levels the lights.

The best thing to do is find a brick wall and a perpendicular level surface and park about 3 feet away from the wall and see where the horizontal beam cutoff line sits. If you have experience doing this type of process you should be able to tune the beam direction. It might be best to call the selling dealer (I'm assuming it's a BMW dealership) and tell them the headlight alignment is not correct. Tell them you do not want to drive back to Florida and that you want to take it to a the local ATL BMW dealership for an assessment. Get the Florida dealership to agree to pay the ATL dealership to align the headlights.

Sadly, I bought it from a friend, but he had to replace the lights prior to me buying... I have a warranty on parts from BMW though, as the lights were replaced about a month ago.

When I start the car, the lights did move when I was in his garage so I had expected all to be well... But the car was 3-4' from the wall...

nsjames · 07-14-2018, 12:06 PM

you need to get ista or inpa on it and see what the level sensor reads.

If it's failed your lights will do wonky things.

Check that before you go monkeying with the light adjustments.

dauble2k5 · 07-14-2018, 12:23 PM

The other problem that sometimes happens is a part pops out of a socket. I haven't experienced this personally, but have read several threads about it.

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showt...=288958&page=2

It's a little more complex, but could be worth checking. However, if the lights are covered under a BMW warranty, I'd just take it to a dealer and have them check them, assuming there will be no charge.

Efthreeoh · 07-14-2018, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by withoutink

Thank you =)

Ok turned the wheel so I could look behind it and everything looks connected... any other ideas?

There is a level sensor in the rear as well. It does affect headlight level as well. It's on the left rear lower control arm. Scanning the car with a BMW scan tool will tell you if any of the sensors are not working.

And.... holy shit is that car clean underneath

withoutink · 07-15-2018, 07:04 AM

Ok, I think I got it mostly sorted, the gears at the top of the lights were set way too low.

I drove the car up to my garage, and parked about 6-8’ back, and adjusted till the light was even-ish at about 24” from the ground. The wall sorta looks like this when I turn the lights on

_______ ________
—————-/ —————/

Not exact, but you should get the idea, is this ‘stepped’ pattern normal, or do I need to do more to adjust something? Note that I do have for cornering lights as well.

withoutink · 07-15-2018, 07:05 AM

Seems the wysiwyg killed the formatting, I’ll take a picture later.

nsjames · 07-15-2018, 09:25 AM

stepped pattern is normal, that's part of the lenses. You should have more light on the upper right, keeps you from blinding oncoming traffic.

withoutink · 07-18-2018, 07:59 AM

Ok, after a couple nights of tweaks, I finally got them aimed nearly perfectly. Thanks again.

e90yyc · 07-18-2018, 09:03 AM

FWIW, I remember one of the first things I noticed when I picked my car up was how low the headlights were aimed... My case doesn't seem to be as extreme as yours, but nonetheless this wouldn't be the first time I've heard of this.

As the car was previously dealership-serviced only, it's highly unlikely anyone had tinkered with the vertical aim. After doing a little searching on this forum, I came to the conclusion that our lights are aimed very low from the factory.

I made some minor adjustments and now all is well. Better view of road for me, but without blinding oncoming drivers.

Glad yours was just a simple case of needing to be aimed!

07-14-2018, 09:42 AM	#1
withoutink Enlisted Member 28 Rep 47 Posts Drives: 328i Coupe ('12) Join Date: Jun 2018 Location: Atlanta, GA iTrader: (0) Garage List 2012 328i [0.00]	Xenons not aimed correctly I bought a '12 e92 yesterday, and drove it from FL to GA... When night set in on the ride to ATL last night, I noticed that the xenons are literally pointing nearly straight down. I think the bright white light shoots out 6' and then dies off. The xenons were recently replaced by the dealer in South Florida, and I obviously am not driving back... I assume I can just level them? Also, it seems they are heavier on the driver side (light output) as apposed to the the passenger side, not sure if thats 100% normal. How can I fix this tonight? __________________ Cheers- Withoutink
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07-14-2018, 10:46 AM	#2
jeter660 Registered 0 Rep 2 Posts Drives: e92 BMW 335i XDrive 2010 Join Date: Jul 2018 Location: New York iTrader: (0)	If you take off the wheel for the side of the car the issue is on and take out the Fender Liner then you can check what the issue may be. Could be this black dial for leveling or the headlight might be loose. My friends headlight on his 2010 was having the same issue with the leveling when he got it on the driver side. On a side note I am having an issue with my driver headlight not coming on after replacement of the bulb and ballast and checked all fuses and I am baffled on why it will not come back on... If someone is able to help me figure out that issue it would be greatly appreciated
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07-14-2018, 10:51 AM	#3
dauble2k5 Private First Class 57 Rep 180 Posts Drives: 2011 VR E92 335i, 6MT Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Earth iTrader: (0)	Check the headlight level sensor under behind the driver's side wheel. You won't have to remove the wheel well liner. The black arm should be pointing forward, if I recall correctly. The little bends or kinks in the silver arm are normal. http://www.n54tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19926 Mine has been knocked loose a couple of times and was bent in the wrong direction when I had new tires installed.
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07-14-2018, 11:19 AM	#4
Efthreeoh General 17278 Rep 18,722 Posts Drives: The E90 + Z4 Coupe & Z3 R'ster Join Date: May 2012 Location: Virginia iTrader: (0)	This could be problematic. The xenons should self-level upon engine start when the lights are either in auto mode or in the on mode. So first thing you should do after dark is put the switch either in auto mode or on and then start the engine. The lights should cycle down and then up to level. From what you described, the beam is way out of adjustment, which is not correctable by the range of adjustments allowed by the mechanical adjusters. The mechanical adjusters allow tuning of the height and horizontal position of the beam once the system levels the lights. The best thing to do is find a brick wall and a perpendicular level surface and park about 3 feet away from the wall and see where the horizontal beam cutoff line sits. If you have experience doing this type of process you should be able to tune the beam direction. It might be best to call the selling dealer (I'm assuming it's a BMW dealership) and tell them the headlight alignment is not correct. Tell them you do not want to drive back to Florida and that you want to take it to a the local ATL BMW dealership for an assessment. Get the Florida dealership to agree to pay the ATL dealership to align the headlights. __________________ A manual transmission can be set to "comfort", "sport", and "track" modes simply by the technique and speed at which you shift it; it doesn't need "modes", modes are for manumatics that try to behave like a real 3-pedal manual transmission. If you can money-shift it, it's a manual transmission. "Yeah, but NO ONE puts an automatic trans shift knob on a manual transmission."
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07-14-2018, 12:06 PM	#7
nsjames Brigadier General 2440 Rep 4,330 Posts Drives: 08 328xi Touring Join Date: May 2017 Location: ohio iTrader: (0)	you need to get ista or inpa on it and see what the level sensor reads. If it's failed your lights will do wonky things. Check that before you go monkeying with the light adjustments.
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07-14-2018, 12:23 PM	#8
dauble2k5 Private First Class 57 Rep 180 Posts Drives: 2011 VR E92 335i, 6MT Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Earth iTrader: (0)	The other problem that sometimes happens is a part pops out of a socket. I haven't experienced this personally, but have read several threads about it. https://www.e90post.com/forums/showt...=288958&page=2 It's a little more complex, but could be worth checking. However, if the lights are covered under a BMW warranty, I'd just take it to a dealer and have them check them, assuming there will be no charge.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

07-15-2018, 07:04 AM	#10
withoutink Enlisted Member 28 Rep 47 Posts Drives: 328i Coupe ('12) Join Date: Jun 2018 Location: Atlanta, GA iTrader: (0) Garage List 2012 328i [0.00]	Ok, I think I got it mostly sorted, the gears at the top of the lights were set way too low. I drove the car up to my garage, and parked about 6-8’ back, and adjusted till the light was even-ish at about 24” from the ground. The wall sorta looks like this when I turn the lights on _______ ________ —————-/ —————/ Not exact, but you should get the idea, is this ‘stepped’ pattern normal, or do I need to do more to adjust something? Note that I do have for cornering lights as well.
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07-15-2018, 07:05 AM	#11
withoutink Enlisted Member 28 Rep 47 Posts Drives: 328i Coupe ('12) Join Date: Jun 2018 Location: Atlanta, GA iTrader: (0) Garage List 2012 328i [0.00]	Seems the wysiwyg killed the formatting, I’ll take a picture later.
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07-15-2018, 09:25 AM	#12
nsjames Brigadier General 2440 Rep 4,330 Posts Drives: 08 328xi Touring Join Date: May 2017 Location: ohio iTrader: (0)	stepped pattern is normal, that's part of the lenses. You should have more light on the upper right, keeps you from blinding oncoming traffic.
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07-18-2018, 07:59 AM	#13
withoutink Enlisted Member 28 Rep 47 Posts Drives: 328i Coupe ('12) Join Date: Jun 2018 Location: Atlanta, GA iTrader: (0) Garage List 2012 328i [0.00]	Ok, after a couple nights of tweaks, I finally got them aimed nearly perfectly. Thanks again. __________________ Cheers- Withoutink
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07-18-2018, 09:03 AM	#14
e90yyc Art Collector 2425 Rep 3,449 Posts Drives: 2007 328xi (GM-delete 6MT) Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: Canada iTrader: (0)	FWIW, I remember one of the first things I noticed when I picked my car up was how low the headlights were aimed... My case doesn't seem to be as extreme as yours, but nonetheless this wouldn't be the first time I've heard of this. As the car was previously dealership-serviced only, it's highly unlikely anyone had tinkered with the vertical aim. After doing a little searching on this forum, I came to the conclusion that our lights are aimed very low from the factory. I made some minor adjustments and now all is well. Better view of road for me, but without blinding oncoming drivers. Glad yours was just a simple case of needing to be aimed!
	Appreciate 0 Quote