E39 headlights crap!

[Acidrop]

The headlights on my E39 530i Sport are atrocious. They are so dim, it barely looks like they're on at all. In a bid to try and make an improvement, I bought two Philips Xtreme Vision bulbs that are supposed to be the brightest alternative to HID's.

It made no difference whatsoever and I'm worried if I fit HID's it will be the same story.

Are these just crap by design or do I have some sort of unique problem?

[Higgs boson]

I can't fathom how they made no significant difference, unless there were uprated bulbs in there in the first instance.
The headlights on the e39 are notoriously woeful. Osram Nightbreakers are my preferred solution.
They bring the performance up to "barely acceptable".

[WinstonWolf]

Higgs boson said:

I can't fathom how they made no significant difference, unless there were uprated bulbs in there in the first instance.
The headlights on the e39 are notoriously woeful. Osram Nightbreakers are my preferred solution.
They bring the performance up to "barely acceptable".

Yup, the light almost reaches the road with them in

The single worst feature on an otherwise lovely car.

[Acidrop]

Higgs boson said:

I can't fathom how they made no significant difference, unless there were uprated bulbs in there in the first instance.
The headlights on the e39 are notoriously woeful. Osram Nightbreakers are my preferred solution.
They bring the performance up to "barely acceptable".

That's what I thought. These are supposed to be better than the Nightbreakers. And I just had normal Lukas bulbs in there before so not sure what's going on.

Maybe there's a problem with the reflectors. Or maybe the fact my headlights are quite hazy is part of the problem.

[WinstonWolf]

Get the covers polished and see if that helps. If not you can strip the lights down and polish the reflectors with a soft cloth, but don't do it in cold weather as you'll probably break the clips.

[Collectingbrass]

As well as the lens being quite pitted it may be that the beam alignment mechanism has failed, in which case the light throw is at its shortest & piss poor. I had this problem combination on mine & changed the lamp unit for a new aftermarket unit, which made a significant difference.

http://blog.bavauto.com/1835/bmw-e39-5-series-flop...

Mind you, changing to a 645 with LEDs made even more of a difference...

[cptsideways]

Clean the interior lenses! This will involve taking the units apart and you WILL need new adjusters as they WILL break. Transformation with polished outside lenses too.

[E-bmw]

A quick search on ebay will find new adjusters & lenses, a VERY worthwhile spend of 1/2 day IMHO.

Take your time with it, follow the instructions & as above clean the reflectors CAREFULLY when you are in there.

[3500rpm]

Sorry for the offtopic, but while there could well be an issue with OP's headlight units, I simply cannot accept some of the later responses - I had an e39 525i with factory xenos for a decade and always found the lights absolutely fantastic, one of the best features on the car really, highway driving at night on full beam was pure joy.

Same for the following bi-xenon x3 35i - to the point that it made me feel concerned for oncoming traffic. Different standards I guess...

[WinstonWolf]

3500rpm said:

Sorry for the offtopic, but while there could well be an issue with OP's headlight units, I simply cannot accept some of the later responses - I had an e39 525i with factory xenos for a decade and always found the lights absolutely fantastic, one of the best features on the car really, highway driving at night on full beam was pure joy.

Same for the following bi-xenon x3 35i - to the point that it made me feel concerned for oncoming traffic. Different standards I guess...

Xenons, completely different ballgame! The halogens are so poor the light struggles to reach the ground...

[pits]

Usually because the adjusters are knackered and your lights are pointing at the floor, fix your adjusters and set them and then clean and polish all lenses and projectors and they're great, failing that buy a set of factory Xenons which have been refurbished, which reminds me I need to finish doing the spare set of xenons I have

[Acidrop]

Collectingbrass said:

As well as the lens being quite pitted it may be that the beam alignment mechanism has failed, in which case the light throw is at its shortest & piss poor. I had this problem combination on mine & changed the lamp unit for a new aftermarket unit, which made a significant difference.

http://blog.bavauto.com/1835/bmw-e39-5-series-flop...

Mind you, changing to a 645 with LEDs made even more of a difference...

Thanks I'll have a look.

I don't think my adjusters are broken as when I set it to the 0 or 1 position, the beam moves up and down. It's just so weak I have to squint to see whether it's actually on. Lol

[pits]

The electronic adjuster has little to do with internal adjusters, they will go up and down but not to where they should.

It's a fiddly job

[Collectingbrass]

Acidrop said:

Thanks I'll have a look.

I don't think my adjusters are broken as when I set it to the 0 or 1 position, the beam moves up and down. It's just so weak I have to squint to see whether it's actually on. Lol

It would be worth checking that they both move - with mine one did so I would see the beam move but the other didn't. If I remember right the way to tell is that the bulb holder should be firm and if it's loose it's bust.

[Fox-]

Mine were absolutely terrible when I got the car - I upgraded to a HID kit and purchased brand new genuine headlight housings and they were excellent after that.

[sidgolf]

maybe the earths for lamps are dicky- on my e30 the headlamps earth on the nearside inner-wing

[B10BRW]

The Halogen lights on my 540 were dire, failed MOT for knackered adjusters.
Bought a new pair of Hella angel eyes and fitted them with Nightbreakers but they were still crap.
Xenon is the only way to go.
Saying that, just bought a E46 330ci with Xenons, P holes in the snow is being generous, just too dangerous to drive at night until I can find an answer.

[aka_kerrly]

Are some of you lot blind or expecting to light up the roads in another county?

[Acidrop]

aka_kerrly said:

Are some of you lot blind or expecting to light up the roads in another county?

I can't even light up my garage door if I'm parked right up against it, so I would say my blindness is secondary...

[sparks_E39]

My 530i Sport had HID's which were great but unreliable. I ditched the kit and had halogen Osram Nightbreakers fitted. They were okay but nothing special.