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Xenon front headlight failure - intermittent, both lights

75K views 35 replies 20 participants last post by  slosvt 
#1 ·
I have a 2000 328ci with 130k on it with OEM Xenon headlights. Over the last two years, I have been experiencing intermittent outages while driving. Sometimes the left side, sometimes the right. Never any flickering as I have seen in other threads. I can turn the lights off while driving and turn them back on seconds later and the light comes back on. Sometimes it will stay on for an hour and sometimes it will go out within a minute. The problem has been getting progressively worse over the last few months. The lights rarely have difficulty coming back on.

I noticed in another thread that the suggestion is to disassemble the light following the DIY video and check for corroded or damaged components. Once that has been done, then I can consider checking the Light Control Module for an issue. From the threads that I've read, it does not sound like the igniter is the issue since the lights come without issue.

Does this sound like the right way to proceed? Have I left anything out? Thanks as always.
 
#31 ·
Intermittent headlight issue

I have a 2001 325I with the same problem - intermittent outage of (passenger side) xenon headlight. The headlight comes back on when switch is cycled, and outages become more frequent in cold weather (now!). From the two pages of this two-year thread, it appears the consensus is that the culprit is probably a bad ignitor(s), although old bulb and/or old ballast could be issue(s). Please confirm this summary is accurate, and advise on your finding, 217Bimmer.
 
#32 ·
swap the bulbs first!!! i tried reading and thought i had done the bulb swap right, but i am an idiot and the problem was with the low beams, not my high beams, which are halogen, so my bulb swap was worthless. because i swapped the wrong bulbs the problem remained on the same side and i thought that it must be the igniter. i bought one and swapped it out and the problem wasn't fixed, so i ordered new xenon bulbs.

swapping the xenon bulbs is much easier!!! just the 4 bolts and a trim clip to slide out the headlight. still a pain in the ass just for a headlight, but do that first because the igniter is a true pain in the ass and you might break something like i did with the leveling screws.
 
#35 ·
After this weekend I may have an igniter for you if you need the more expensive one. New online are like $300.

Also, first I would swap your bulbs!!! Do this first to make sure that the issue stays on the same side and is not just a failing bulb
 
#36 ·
Is there a way to test the ignitor?

My son's 2000 328i is doing this. It was really random, but now it is happening every time he drives the car at night. Sometimes the dash indicators come on, but the lights do not go out.

To the best of my knowledge the car has the original bulbs. It did have LED side indicators rear turn signals with the needed capacitors. I might have to remove those as part of this process.

Sent from my SM-G935P using Tapatalk
 
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