Z4M Xenon Problem
Discussion
Hi all,
Yesterday my car developed a problem with it's xenon headlights. I always have the dipped lights set to auto and they work fine when the car is started. however, one of the main beam lights on the passenger side doesn't fire up at all. I phoned up BMW and was told that it could either be the bulb (apparantly very rare), the ignitor or the control unit.
The problem happened on the way home from work yesterday, no warning, just an illumination on the dash. Does anyone know how easy it is to check and self diagnose before getting the unit swapped or repaired?
What do I need to check for behind the unit (having looked at the car, it appears to require going in via the wheelarch).
Cheers.
Yesterday my car developed a problem with it's xenon headlights. I always have the dipped lights set to auto and they work fine when the car is started. however, one of the main beam lights on the passenger side doesn't fire up at all. I phoned up BMW and was told that it could either be the bulb (apparantly very rare), the ignitor or the control unit.
The problem happened on the way home from work yesterday, no warning, just an illumination on the dash. Does anyone know how easy it is to check and self diagnose before getting the unit swapped or repaired?
What do I need to check for behind the unit (having looked at the car, it appears to require going in via the wheelarch).
Cheers.
If it failed suddenly then it's probably the ignitor, the weakest link in the chain.
I had the same problem with my M3 and it was a bloody nuisance tbh, as there was no way of knowing exactly what type of ignitor was on the car without pulling the entire assembly apart. It took a couple of attempts as I bought the wrong part (different serial numbers and connector types) thinking that the year of the car would give it away - not so. Also, you can never be sure if it's the control unit or the ignitor, as it's a process of elimation.
Unless you know what you're doing, take it to an Independent BMW specialist and get them to check it and then source the part from Ebay, that's what I did, as BMW charge an arm and leg.
I had the same problem with my M3 and it was a bloody nuisance tbh, as there was no way of knowing exactly what type of ignitor was on the car without pulling the entire assembly apart. It took a couple of attempts as I bought the wrong part (different serial numbers and connector types) thinking that the year of the car would give it away - not so. Also, you can never be sure if it's the control unit or the ignitor, as it's a process of elimation.
Unless you know what you're doing, take it to an Independent BMW specialist and get them to check it and then source the part from Ebay, that's what I did, as BMW charge an arm and leg.
torres del paine said:
If it failed suddenly then it's probably the ignitor, the weakest link in the chain.
I had the same problem with my M3 and it was a bloody nuisance tbh, as there was no way of knowing exactly what type of ignitor was on the car without pulling the entire assembly apart. It took a couple of attempts as I bought the wrong part (different serial numbers and connector types) thinking that the year of the car would give it away - not so. Also, you can never be sure if it's the control unit or the ignitor, as it's a process of elimation.
Unless you know what you're doing, take it to an Independent BMW specialist and get them to check it and then source the part from Ebay, that's what I did, as BMW charge an arm and leg.
Thanks torres, as far as i'm aware, it was a sudden occurance as the dash lit up when I started the car to go home. I've checked the lights out and it is the only one with a problem. I had the same problem with my M3 and it was a bloody nuisance tbh, as there was no way of knowing exactly what type of ignitor was on the car without pulling the entire assembly apart. It took a couple of attempts as I bought the wrong part (different serial numbers and connector types) thinking that the year of the car would give it away - not so. Also, you can never be sure if it's the control unit or the ignitor, as it's a process of elimation.
Unless you know what you're doing, take it to an Independent BMW specialist and get them to check it and then source the part from Ebay, that's what I did, as BMW charge an arm and leg.
I was quoted £80 + 1/2 hour labour (@ £140 ph from BMW) + VAT for the ignitor. when i asked about the control module, she said "a few hundered plus a few hours of labour!"
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