One of the xenon high beam lenses is aimed down

Ferruccio · 07-21-2019, 05:38 AM

I turn on my high beams and immediately I see a super bright light right next to the car on the left side. I go out to take a look and it seems that one of the lenses is turned off to an angle and down. I'm not sure what's going on. Is this anything that I can attempt to fix? I've searched and I cannot seem to find similar problems that other people have had.

opjose · 07-21-2019, 01:14 PM

Put the car in front of a wall so you can see the beams.

Then put the car in reverse.

If the beams move back up and towards center, you have adaptive headlights and this is normal.

Ferruccio · 07-21-2019, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by opjose

Put the car in front of a wall so you can see the beams.

Then put the car in reverse.

If the beams move back up and towards center, you have adaptive headlights and this is normal.

What? I know I have adaptive headlights. I've had this car for 8 years and this is definitely not normal behavior.

Upon straight driving, on a level road, at a constant speed, turning on the highbeams results in having an abnormally bright patch of light shining onto my own bumper with that bright patch of light continuing onto the ground just a few feet in front of the car. This has not happened before.

Quote:

I go out to take a look and it seems that one of the lenses is turned off to an angle and down.

I will emphasize: With the car in neutral, with the wheel straight, one of the lenses is turned off to an angle and down, in a manner that is far more asymmetric than I've ever seen it in the ~70000 miles I've driven this particular car (or any of the other E9x's I've driven that had adaptive headlights).

To put it more simply: The motors around my highbeam lens are messed up. How do I go about fixing this? Can they be reset? Is this a problem that other people have experienced?

opjose · 07-22-2019, 09:47 AM

Please read the BMW guide about adaptive headlights to see if your car is behaving out of spec.

TheMidnightNarwhal · 07-22-2019, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ferruccio

What? I know I have adaptive headlights. I've had this car for 8 years and this is definitely not normal behavior.

Upon straight driving, on a level road, at a constant speed, turning on the highbeams results in having an abnormally bright patch of light shining onto my own bumper with that bright patch of light continuing onto the ground just a few feet in front of the car. This has not happened before.

I will emphasize: With the car in neutral, with the wheel straight, one of the lenses is turned off to an angle and down, in a manner that is far more asymmetric than I've ever seen it in the ~70000 miles I've driven this particular car (or any of the other E9x's I've driven that had adaptive headlights).

To put it more simply: The motors around my highbeam lens are messed up. How do I go about fixing this? Can they be reset? Is this a problem that other people have experienced?

Is it the left headlight? If so then this does sound like how the adaptive headlights work especially with euro coding.

dpaul · 07-22-2019, 03:04 PM

You have most likely broken one (or both) of the linkages between the motors that adjust the headlamp positions (left-right and up-down) and the lamp carrier. There are a lot of relatively flimsy plastic pieces inside the headlamp and impacts can break these plastic parts in a few different spots.

These are not meant to be serviceable items. However, adaptive headlights are very expensive and a number of posters have described interventions to restore function. I don't have links for you but if you search you'll find them.

I've experienced this problem twice. Once I was able to simply re-connect a ball-socket type connector that popped off. The other time it required some epoxy glue.

You'll have to remove the headlight assembly from the car to start, then dismantle as much as you can. Unfortunately there is no simple way to remove the lens on the front of the headlight, which would give all the access you'd need. So you have to do everything from the rear. Be prepared for serious frustration.

One piece of advice I will offer is not to get headlamps from salvage yards unless you can personally inspect them. Any car that has taken a significant impact will likely have the same problem as yours.

drawz · 07-25-2019, 09:22 PM

Check your ALC module also. If you got condensation in the lights, this can short out and fail, resulting in a beam aimed all the way down (safe default I guess). Also what dpaul said.

07-21-2019, 05:38 AM	#1
Ferruccio First Lieutenant 40 Rep 373 Posts Drives: 2010 335i Join Date: May 2011 Location: Colorado Springs, CO iTrader: (1)	One of the xenon high beam lenses is aimed down I turn on my high beams and immediately I see a super bright light right next to the car on the left side. I go out to take a look and it seems that one of the lenses is turned off to an angle and down. I'm not sure what's going on. Is this anything that I can attempt to fix? I've searched and I cannot seem to find similar problems that other people have had. __________________ 2000 540i 6 speed, bone stock except for aluminum hinge replacements for rear sunshade, rear-ended by a texting lady, totaled, being rebuilt. 2010 335i xDrive 6 speed sedan, ETS Intercooler, COBB, Vishnu Intakes, Musicar Northwest upgrade, SPEC Stage 2+ Clutch, VRSF Downpipes
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07-21-2019, 01:14 PM	#2
opjose Major 242 Rep 1,354 Posts Drives: 335xi Join Date: May 2016 Location: Md iTrader: (0)	Put the car in front of a wall so you can see the beams. Then put the car in reverse. If the beams move back up and towards center, you have adaptive headlights and this is normal.
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07-22-2019, 09:47 AM	#4
opjose Major 242 Rep 1,354 Posts Drives: 335xi Join Date: May 2016 Location: Md iTrader: (0)	Please read the BMW guide about adaptive headlights to see if your car is behaving out of spec.
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07-22-2019, 03:04 PM	#6
dpaul Lieutenant Colonel 654 Rep 1,893 Posts Drives: 2009 E90 335xi, 2011 E93 M3 Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Boston iTrader: (3)	You have most likely broken one (or both) of the linkages between the motors that adjust the headlamp positions (left-right and up-down) and the lamp carrier. There are a lot of relatively flimsy plastic pieces inside the headlamp and impacts can break these plastic parts in a few different spots. These are not meant to be serviceable items. However, adaptive headlights are very expensive and a number of posters have described interventions to restore function. I don't have links for you but if you search you'll find them. I've experienced this problem twice. Once I was able to simply re-connect a ball-socket type connector that popped off. The other time it required some epoxy glue. You'll have to remove the headlight assembly from the car to start, then dismantle as much as you can. Unfortunately there is no simple way to remove the lens on the front of the headlight, which would give all the access you'd need. So you have to do everything from the rear. Be prepared for serious frustration. One piece of advice I will offer is not to get headlamps from salvage yards unless you can personally inspect them. Any car that has taken a significant impact will likely have the same problem as yours.
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07-25-2019, 09:22 PM	#7
drawz Second Lieutenant 78 Rep 239 Posts Drives: 06 330xi 6MT, 08 535xiT 6MT Join Date: May 2009 Location: Newton, MA iTrader: (0)	Check your ALC module also. If you got condensation in the lights, this can short out and fail, resulting in a beam aimed all the way down (safe default I guess). Also what dpaul said.
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