Facelift xenon ballast replacement anyone ?

[mikem]

I think the passenger side ballast is starting to fail. It lights first timne when starting the car at night but if switched off manually it then wont re-light, unless I turn the ignition off and wait a little while.

The car`s under AUC warranty but if its a fairly simple procedure, I`d rather get the part and do it myself than have the hassle and time of 2 dealer visits and at least I`ll know its done properly.

Can the ballast be removed without removing the headlight ? If not does the bumper have to come off too ??

[X5Sport]

Have a look here - it's the BMW Tech Manual

http://tis.spaghetticoder.org/

If it's a facelift version you may need to move the front bumper. I think the control unit may be under/in the headlamp, and they're not cheap either.

But whatever you do, be careful. Xenon HID Systems run at VERY high voltages (up to 25kV) and can seriously injure if you don't fully disconnect and discharge the electronics. If you have the AUC Warranty, personally I'd use it. They may give you a loan car, even though it will cause some inconvenience.

[Raj]

Hi Mike,

The ballast is actually on the back of the bulb within the headlight. You do need to remove the bumper to get the headlight out as there a couple of torx screws holding the cover on the back of the headlight.

Raj

[mikem]

Cheers guys, have done some digging.

Raj, am I right in saying the ballast/ignitor is the little silver box that doubles up as the bulb holder ? Is that all there is to it ??

If so it`s just the 4 torx screws on the casing, undo the earth wire and twist ??

[Raj]

You got it Mikey. Still had to remove the headlight to get enough room to undo all the torx screws (well that was on my 4.

Pity ya not down this way as we could have sorted it.

Also would be good to catch up.

[mikem]

Yeah, it`s a bit far bud.

Is it likely to be the ignitor or the control unit do you think ?

[mikem]

Well the LED angel eye bulbs are back out and I`ll ring the dealer tomorrow to take a look at it.

There seems to be plenty of room on the diesel to get the back covers off without removing the light but I don`t want to order an ignitor incase it`s the controller thats fecked.

[mikem]

Incase anyone else has this problem, mine turned out to be the bulb itself. Replaced under warranty.