[E90_BMW]

Hi

Very dissapointed about my HID light output on my 2010 E90 with bi-xenon.
Many cars with hallogen headlight has even better light on the road.

So I decided to change the D1S to Osram Xenarc Nightbraker. To my surprice my BMW alrady had Osram installed. So after one light was changed I was even more dissapointed. The new bulbs was so much yellow compared with the onces installed. But since I had purched two, I changed the other as well.

OK I now got two yellow HID. The light on the road now match most new cars with hallogen but doesn't come close to other cars with HID. They have so bright light and so white light.

The glass on the projector seems to be clear as far as I can tell.

But why is the light som dim on the bi-xenon on a LCI?

[E90_BMW]

BTW here some photos from the replacement

[sea6speed]

As a previous E46 owner with the ZKW HID's with burnt bowls I'm noticing some discoloration similar to that on the facelift E90 headlights.

[avocet]

Originally Posted by E90_BMW

Hi

Very dissapointed about my HID light output on my 2010 E90 with bi-xenon.
Many cars with hallogen headlight has even better light on the road.

So I decided to change the D1S to Osram Xenarc Nightbraker. To my surprice my BMW alrady had Osram installed. So after one light was changed I was even more dissapointed. The new bulbs was so much yellow compared with the onces installed. But since I had purched two, I changed the other as well.

OK I now got two yellow HID. The light on the road now match most new cars with hallogen but doesn't come close to other cars with HID. They have so bright light and so white light.

The glass on the projector seems to be clear as far as I can tell.

But why is the light som dim on the bi-xenon on a LCI?

Those are 4300k bulbs? That is on the 'warmer' side of xenon's, and from what I understand they will get whiter after a few hundred hours.

I personally think anything cooler is obnoxious. Just my 2¢.

[avocet]

PS- Don't confuse 'cool' with bright. Many halogens have blue filters but will not be technically as bright as a good HID. And many new LEDs have crazy crisp lights.

Maybe you should have gotten these?
https://www.powerbulbs.com/ca/produc...arc-d2s-single

[Welcome to NBA Jam]

4300k xenons will be yellow by default. They color shift over time, creating the blue color we've come to know and love.

You can try to return the bulbs and get a set of 5000k-5900k bulbs. They'll look just like you expect.

OSRAM makes Xenarc CBI bulbs that are bright and white. You may want to try them instead.

[RocketSurgeon]

The stock projectors suck, especially on the e90. My e92 has new bulbs, clean bowls and lenses, good ballasts, and even new headlight lenses; output still sucks. The projectors just don't put the light on the road.
I retrofitted my old e39 with FX projectors and the light output was vastly better. Projector retrofits are an unholy amount of work, but you can really improve output. I'm eventually going to retrofit my e92 with either Lexus RX projectors, or Morimoto mini D2S 4.0. Either way I'm going to retain the adaptive control and mount the new projector in the gimbal. The e90 has a really inefficient system with fixed reflectors and a swiveling lens. A retrofit may require deleting your adaptive headlights and getting a wide projector. Or maybe you could get a mini H1 projector and stick it in your halogen bowl to run quad projectors.
I tried 55w ballasts, but went back to OEM 35w. Nothing beats OEM ballasts and bulbs. I prefer the warmer ~4300k light, I find the 5000k+ bulbs to be pretty unpleasant. I found the light to be harsh and unnatural. Perhaps newer bulbs have a better CRI.

[RossBMWZseries]

My passenger HID went out on my 2011 E92 LCI. It never flickered, it never turned any other different color, it just went off from one day to another. I know the symptoms before one of the HID's go out, but this time there were no symptoms. I'll have to swap and check the ballasts but'

* is there any easier way to check if it's the HID or the ballast with the problem?

I've never opened the rear of the headlights on the 328i, I can only imagine it's not too complicated.

* What is the OEM bulb type and color (kelvin)?

Thanks in advance guys.

[djh2]

Originally Posted by Welcome to NBA Jam

OSRAM makes Xenarc CBI bulbs that are bright and white. You may want to try them instead.

+1 on OSRAM CBI, I put them in my car and they are a great white color

Almost like they’re named wrong, I don’t see any “blue” at all (wouldn’t have wanted them if they actually were blue).l

[hassmaschine]

HID bulbs wear out over time. I think it's something like 50% of their original brightness after 5 years (if they last that long).

[mxchris727]

I think my e39 may have similar symptoms of the common ZKW burnt projector bowl issue. The light output is not superb, but it's pretty good being a 2003. My pre-LCI E93's output is amazing. Who makes the LCI projectors?

Regarding the color, the 4300K is standard. They start semi-warm then turn pure white after a hundred hours or so. From your pictures, they look normal. Do your lenses need refinishing?

[Riceball777]

i kind of feel the same way. The hids on my honda s2000 are way brighter and clearer and whiter than my e90. bother cars have never had the bulbs replaced and both cars are over 100k miles.

[boostE92d]

I've heard this story before and I simply don't understand. I have a 12 335is and I am constantly getting flashed over how bright my headlights are. I can honestly say that I don't even use the brights, even when I'm in the countryside. My 09 335 was more than bright enough as well, although I didn't get flashed as often. Bone stock lighting in every way. Sorry fellas, but something isn't right with your cars

[BimmerNugget]

check the aim! If it's aimed too low, it might seem the light is not bright or does not shine far.

[RocketSurgeon]

Originally Posted by BimmerNugget

check the aim! If it's aimed too low, it might seem the light is not bright or does not shine far.

I've noticed that the electronic aiming system can "wander" out of adjustment. Both my e92 and e82 lights had turned into owl finders. If you park on a level surface 40 or 50 feet from a wall, the cutoff line from the lights should be at about the same height as your headlights. There's a small height adjuster screw on top of the light.

I've also seen burnt bowls or oily film on the inside of the projector lens contribute to poor output.

[Mr.Fast335i]

Kind of bringing this thread back from the dead but since I’m a new member, I can’t create a new thread but I need help/advice please.

So for starters, I bought my 2009 335i e90 about 5 years ago. I couldn’t BELIEVE how well my lights lit up the road. It was like driving in the day time with just my low beams on. I did raise them a tiny hair since they were noticeably lower but I rarely got flashed.

Fast forward to about a little over a year ago, I had to have heart surgery with a few complications so recovery took a while. Well, the car sat in the driveway, without ever moving, for about 8 to 9 months straight (car started right up but had to re-enter the date and time). When I got better and was able to, I went out and fully detailed my car. The front and rear windshield weatherstripping was all dry rotted and cracked so I replaced that. Took it out for a night drive and I could barely see!! The headlights had gotten a little oxidized from sitting so long but they weren’t too bad. Used a 3M resto kit and now they’re crystal clear. Only problem is, I can still hardly see.

I asked my brother to drive it (since he has driven it in the dark before and praised how well he could see) and he even said they were bad. I kind of live out in the country so the only extra light I get is from the moon except when going into town. Anyways, driving 45 mph feels like I’m out-driving my headlights and driving in the dark in the rain is downright scary!! I’m going to be going back to work soon and I’m nervous. I have to be at work real early every morning (meaning I have to drive in the dark every morning, and god forbid if it happens to be raining).

I’ve done as much research as I could. I’ve read that HIDs don’t really “dim”, but change color as they start to wear out. I’ve also read the ballast either works or it doesn’t, so it can’t be that since they do turn on. They do their little auto adjust when I turn them on and they do move left and right when I turn. I’ve also raised them a little more just incase sitting that long messed with them. Any ideas? Sorry for the long story if you read it all lol. Thanks in advance.

[e90yyc]

Glad the heart surgery was a success!

It is a tad ironic that a post about poor visibility has only one paragraph break and is therefore very difficult to read, but I'll move past that

Headlight aim should not drift downward with time. There have been cases of broken adjuster arms--which would cause the affected headlight to basically point at the ground--but this is obviously not the case for you. HID headlights, like pretty much every light source, will become dimmer as they get old. But just sitting there without being used shouldn't cause this. If you found them very good before, they shouldn't all of a sudden suck 8 months later, even if you were driving your car every day.

When parked up against a flat wall on a level surface, does the aiming of the lights look okay? I know this is far from scientific, but it should give you a rough idea if there is a MAJOR issue with your aim.

My guess is that your issue is not related to the aim of the lights at all. So be careful you aren't now aiming them too high in an effort to compensate for other issues. Even a dim HID shone into the eyes of other drivers will be blinding and dangerous.

If you look at the actual projector lenses, are they hazy? In my case, a technician did not install the rear moisture seal correctly after replacing a bulb on one of my headlights. As a result the projector lens is now hazy on both sides. This should be easiest/clearest to diagnose when the lights are on.

It took me a while to figure this out as it was subtle in appearance, but actually made a major impact on light output. I managed to rig up a cleaning tool and got one side clean which helped quite a bit, but I have no clue how I'm going to access the other side of the lens without splitting open the headlight (not worth it).

This was my experience. If it doesn't solve your problem, at the very least it'll help you eliminate one potential issue from the list.

Good luck!

[RossBMWZseries]

Originally Posted by RossBMWZseries

My passenger HID went out on my 2011 E92 LCI. It never flickered, it never turned any other different color, it just went off from one day to another. I know the symptoms before one of the HID's go out, but this time there were no symptoms. I'll have to swap and check the ballasts but'

* is there any easier way to check if it's the HID or the ballast with the problem?

I've never opened the rear of the headlights on the 328i, I can only imagine it's not too complicated.

* What is the OEM bulb type and color (kelvin)?

Thanks in advance guys.

My passenger HID is out again

My starter died 2 weeks ago, I just replaced it and the car starts now BUT HID is just gone. I'll check the ballast but if it's the HID, it'll only lasted about 1.5 years. I bought it from Umnitza (phillips). Recommendations on 6000k bulbs?

[E90_BMW]

Guess that my ZKW projectors are burned out.
Look at the red color.

Holy, new headlights are expensive. I think I will chose Hella this time

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by E90_BMW

Guess that my ZKW projectors are burned out.
Look at the red color.

Holy, new headlights are expensive. I think I will chose Hella this time

That red colour is normal.

FYI, I just installed a set of OSRAM Night Breaker Laser in my LCI lights. The light output is incredible. Almost don't need high beams.


https://www.powerbulbs.com/product/o...oaAqk3EALw_wcB