Left bi-xenon headlight out.
 

Hello everyone. 2004 x5 3.0i. My left headlight is out and I’m having a tough time trying to pinpoint the problem. Since I’ve owned it (only a few months) I have not gone the headlight to work. I have troubleshot it the following ways:

*unhooked the battery a few times

*Switched the bulbs and ballast with the right HL. The left ballast and bulb work fine in the right.

* unplugged and plugged in the LCM. No luck.

*I looked for the alc module behind the glove box but I didn’t see it or a wiring harness for it. So I guess I don’t have one?

*looked at the wires inside the headlight but didn’t see anything concerning.

At this point I’m out of ideas. Any help would be great appreciated. Thanks

Check to see if you have power and ground at the connector?

Which connector? The one that connects to the ballast?

I had this problem after an accident that took out the left headlight. I had to go in using INPA (or one of those things) and tell the LCM that it had the lights that came with it. That one switch and the left headlight came to life instantly.

Do you have leveling and steering function optioned (S524 Adaptive Headlights)? If not, you won't have the ALC module.

Each headlight does also have a control module on it though (not the xenon ballast). I forget the nomenclature for it. But if it goes out you will lose that headlight. Had this happen to me due to water intrusion. I documented a workaround for it on the forums. I'll search it and link it below. But, the headlight modules are not expensive and do not require coding other than an initialization. I used INPA to do it as PropellerHead did.

https://xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-forums/...questions.html

@ PropellerHead and crystal works: so I have a laptop with inpa on it. I have the kcan cable too. I’m not sure which way the switch should be in though. Any chance you guys can walk me through it to initialization it? I’m very née to coding and so is my friend who owns the laptop. Thanks

The connector that supplies power to the ballast, since you already stated that the ballast works fine when you switch it with the other side.

Do your headlights have one of these underneath?

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/EjAAA...CE/s-l1600.jpg

I will test it.

[QUOTE=crystalworks;1204615]Do your headlights have one of these underneath?



Yes I believe I do. Mine has a yellow label on one side. It says “5dv 008 29***” 2683010450”. Other part says it’s made in Germany by hella

Here is what I have:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/OEM-04-06-B....m46890.l49286

How do I get it out?

That's what failed on mine due to water intrusion. Controls the ALC functions in the headlights. When it failed, the LCM disabled power to the Xenon lights on the LHS. Needed to use the workaround to get power back at the LHS headlight. I replaced the module a long time ago but never "reinitialized" or whatever procedure in INPA until much later. I did not have adaptive lighting functionality work again until after doing that reset or initialization.

Wish I had more specific info for you on the procedure but my E53 is stuck outside while I finish a trans replacement on our E70 diesel. Otherwise I'd plug in the power supply and fire up INPA to have a look.

Edit: Swap those modules from one headlight to the other and make sure they are both still good. If you see any corrosion on the connector... DON'T swap it and assume it's fried. Cheap to replace. I think I bought 2 for $40.

So if it is the problem and I get a new one and put it in, will I still have to use INPA? And how do you get it out? Thanks

Did you fix your light issue?



Sent from my iPhone using Xoutpost.com

Not yet. A friend is coming with his coding laptop this week or next. If that’s not it then the only solution is to replace the ballast under the headlight. I will definitely update when I get it solved

It turned out to be the ballast under the headlight. However the light only worked for a day so I think it might be something else.