Question Re: Used Headlight Purchase

[RJRDenver]

Hey everyone, I've been looking for a way to convert from halogen to Xenon lights and I came across a guy with a left and a right headlight with xenon bulbs / projectors for sale. I have a 2003 4.4 with halogens and the guy is selling the enclosures/housings from a 2000. My plan is to purchase the headlights and a HID conversion kit such as the ProLumen HID kit from JLeviSW.com. Here are my questions, feedback on my plan is also welcome.

1. What should I be looking for when I examine the headlight assembiles before buying them? (i.e. broken tabs, scratched lens, etc)
2. I believe stock Xenon setups have a self leveling motor? Is this a function within the enclosure or something else I need to purchase? Do I need the self leveling feature?
3. What would be my best HID conversion kit to avoid dash board warnings, etc? Is there one that is completely plug and play in terms of not having to cut wires, etc?
4. If there isnt a plug and play conversion kit, what should I be concerned about with regard to my remaining warranty?
5. What is the BMW stock bulb rated at in terms of brightness (kelvin measurement)?

I've made arrangements to pickup the headlights from the guy tomorrow afternoon. Any input from you all will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Randy

[Sedoy]

• Broken tabs, lens scratches = easy fix, look for broken internal components, especially beam adjustment parts.
• You don’t need self-leveling. Don’t even bother, retrofit is extremely painful.
• To avoid error message you need regular 35W kit powered from stock wires. There are kits with H7 sockets which eliminate cutting but they are usually more expensive. ProLumen HID kit from JLeviSW.com is good but not worth the money, I would get brand new Philips or Osram bulbs and cheaper HID kit from eBay with lifetime warranty.
• If you got remaining warranty do not install HID, unless you will remove it (which is pain on the ass) every time you visit your dealer.
• Kelvin = color (or temperature of color) measure, not the brigthness. Brightness = luminance (lm) which is a measure of the density of light. Stock HID bulbs are Philips or Osram, rated at 4100-4300K and 3200 Lm bright. You can try Philips or Osram 6000K bulbs but brightness will decrease, for example 5800K Philips Ultinon D2S Bulbs are only 2400lm bright (+/-250lm). I always recommend purchasing NEW Philips or Osram bBulbs, everything else is a piece of crap.

I went with 50W ballasts and Phillips 4500K DL50 bulbs rated at 5300 Lm bright. Here is the link:

http://www.xoutpost.com/x5-e53-forum/34665-finally-50w-hids-ccfl-angel-eyes-blue-led-projector-illumination.html?highlight=dl50

[george1202]

Originally Posted by RJRDenver

Hey everyone, I've been looking for a way to convert from halogen to Xenon lights and I came across a guy with a left and a right headlight with xenon bulbs / projectors for sale. I have a 2003 4.4 with halogens and the guy is selling the enclosures/housings from a 2000. My plan is to purchase the headlights and a HID conversion kit such as the ProLumen HID kit from JLeviSW.com. Here are my questions, feedback on my plan is also welcome.

1. What should I be looking for when I examine the headlight assembiles before buying them? (i.e. broken tabs, scratched lens, etc)
2. I believe stock Xenon setups have a self leveling motor? Is this a function within the enclosure or something else I need to purchase? Do I need the self leveling feature?
3. What would be my best HID conversion kit to avoid dash board warnings, etc? Is there one that is completely plug and play in terms of not having to cut wires, etc?
4. If there isnt a plug and play conversion kit, what should I be concerned about with regard to my remaining warranty?
5. What is the BMW stock bulb rated at in terms of brightness (kelvin measurement)?

I've made arrangements to pickup the headlights from the guy tomorrow afternoon. Any input from you all will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Randy

I just did a successful Halogen to Xenon conversion using all OEM parts:
1. Make sure that tabs are all in tact since these are what holds the headlight assembly in place. Look for deep scratches and possible condensation marks inside the lens
2. Forget about the self levelling motor as you can adjust the beams manually. This feature is a big job to install plus $$.
3. Even OEM hella Gen3 ballasts would give you the bulb out error mesaage but their are resistors that are plug and play available to eliminate this. Ask one of our members Zulu95 (Paul). I ordered a resistor from him simple 10 minute plug and play. error message is gone.
If you are buying OEM headlights w/ projectors then only D2S bulbs will fit.
4.Stay away from H7 HID conversion kits. It will not fit the OEM bulb socket. Look for Hella Ballasts (Gen 3 so you don't need an igniter) w/ the bulb adaptor and possibly bulbs itself. If you do this simply 30 minute install.
5. I could be wrong on this but BMW D2S bulbs are rated between 3800K to 4300K

Hope this helps

[Sedoy]

1. Tabs are not important since BMW sells kit to fix them (around $5-7 per tab).

2. Agree, self leveling is a waste.

3. Not necessarily, HID use 42 watts during normal operation (35W for the bulbs and 7W in heat losses), stock H7 halogens use 55 watts, so the difference is not substantial. Depending on your particular case you may or may not get “bulb out message”. I was confirmed by few members here. So I suggest trying before purchasing any resistors which will create additional load on the harness.

4. Correct my H7 sockets were little bit bigger but I fixed them in 2 min.

5. Most X5s has Philips D2S 85122 which are 4100K bulbs. But color change over the time, new bulbs rated at 4100K and then it goes up to 4600K after 2000-1500 hours of operation. So here is change in brightness:

100% at 0 hours
90% at 200 hours
80% at 1000 hours
75% at 1500 hours
70% at 2000 hours

That’s why I recommend new bulbs.

Originally Posted by george1202

I just did a successful Halogen to Xenon conversion using all OEM parts:
1. Make sure that tabs are all in tact since these are what holds the headlight assembly in place. Look for deep scratches and possible condensation marks inside the lens
2. Forget about the self levelling motor as you can adjust the beams manually. This feature is a big job to install plus $$.
3. Even OEM hella Gen3 ballasts would give you the bulb out error mesaage but their are resistors that are plug and play available to eliminate this. Ask one of our members Zulu95 (Paul). I ordered a resistor from him simple 10 minute plug and play. error message is gone.
If you are buying OEM headlights w/ projectors then only D2S bulbs will fit.
4.Stay away from H7 HID conversion kits. It will not fit the OEM bulb socket. Look for Hella Ballasts (Gen 3 so you don't need an igniter) w/ the bulb adaptor and possibly bulbs itself. If you do this simply 30 minute install.
5. I could be wrong on this but BMW D2S bulbs are rated between 3800K to 4300K

Hope this helps

[Zulu95]

So I suggest trying before purchasing any resistors which will create additional load on the harness.

Of a whole 0.017 amps per side.

[RJRDenver]

Hey guys, thanks for all the input. I met the guy yesterday and walked away from the deal. The headlights had broken tabs, a big pit on one lense and a loose part inside one of the units.

He was originally asking 280.00 (which was probably a good deal) even with needing to replace the tabs and the pitted unit. Anyway, I offered him 100.00 for the set and he came back with 150.00. I am going to take them for 150.00 and I've still got some extra money in the event the pit is too much to work with and buy another single headlight.

I'll post more as the project progresses.