low beam malfunction (not ballast or bulb)

lemonpark · 11-07-2014, 02:44 AM

hey guys.
so let me start off this whole story, a couple of months back a friend asked me if I wanted to try out RGB angel eyes on my 335, I had always wanted them and didn't see why not (he installed his and one other car before mine) I ordered the parts I needed and it was under way. Install was fine and I was happy with them, then they started to malfunction so we decided to change them out with just white LED rings. (the new ones plug into the stock H8 power but are LED rings, the RGB ones were wired to the starter so would come on when the car was started)
One day I went to wash the car and noticed condensation in the headlight and then when I started the car the driver side low beam wasn't working and the passenger side came on for about 1minute and then went out. I ordered new bulbs straight away and called my friend to see if we could seal the headlight again with some stronger stuff. I changed out the bulbs but they still weren't coming on. we re did the seal on the lights and in the mean time I ordered 2 new ballasts. When they arrived (last week) we installed them and the passenger side worked!!! BUT, the driver side still wasn't coming on

We tried swapping the ballasts from driver to passenger side and the ballast still worked so it's not the ballast, We swapped bulbs and they worked so it's not the bulb. I even plugged in the driver side headlight to the passenger side and everything worked, and also tried it on its own power source and it still worked.

So in the end I've figured that the ballast on the driver side isn't getting any power (my driver side indicator and turning light still work) What could be causing this? Took it to my friends shop who sold me the bulbs at the start of all this and he had a look and he reckons it might be the footwell module since it's not getting any power, but he doesn't specialise in BMW, more JDM cars, not doubting his knowledge, but maybe someone with some experience with this can give me a hand?
I called my friends shop who specialise in BMW and N54's and he thinks it shouldn't be the footwell module, im going to take my car to his shop when I'm free to have a look and try to find out what it is, he said something about deleting the code and seeing if it works, I've also checked all the fuses and they are still all fine

but in the meantime I don't want to get a new footwell module and pay for coding and all that to see it still not working, suggestions would be good! thanks heaps!

Yozh · 11-07-2014, 04:06 AM

I was gonna say it's you ballast. They shut down for good after so many tries when a short is detected (may be due to condensation). But looks like you have eliminated that possibility. Have you tried testing the input circuit with a multimeter to see what power is it getting pre-ballast?

lemonpark · 11-07-2014, 04:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yozh

I was gonna say it's you ballast. They shut down for good after so many tries when a short is detected (may be due to condensation). But looks like you have eliminated that possibility. Have you tried testing the input circuit with a multimeter to see what power is it getting pre-ballast?

my friend that sold me the bulbs said he checked that and the wires that plug into the back of the headlight don't have any power going to them

WilliamS · 11-07-2014, 12:12 PM

Arent the headlights fused separate?

11-07-2014, 02:44 AM	#1
lemonpark Captain 59 Rep 610 Posts Drives: '08 335i E92 Join Date: May 2014 Location: Melbourne iTrader: (0)	low beam malfunction (not ballast or bulb) hey guys. so let me start off this whole story, a couple of months back a friend asked me if I wanted to try out RGB angel eyes on my 335, I had always wanted them and didn't see why not (he installed his and one other car before mine) I ordered the parts I needed and it was under way. Install was fine and I was happy with them, then they started to malfunction so we decided to change them out with just white LED rings. (the new ones plug into the stock H8 power but are LED rings, the RGB ones were wired to the starter so would come on when the car was started) One day I went to wash the car and noticed condensation in the headlight and then when I started the car the driver side low beam wasn't working and the passenger side came on for about 1minute and then went out. I ordered new bulbs straight away and called my friend to see if we could seal the headlight again with some stronger stuff. I changed out the bulbs but they still weren't coming on. we re did the seal on the lights and in the mean time I ordered 2 new ballasts. When they arrived (last week) we installed them and the passenger side worked!!! BUT, the driver side still wasn't coming on We tried swapping the ballasts from driver to passenger side and the ballast still worked so it's not the ballast, We swapped bulbs and they worked so it's not the bulb. I even plugged in the driver side headlight to the passenger side and everything worked, and also tried it on its own power source and it still worked. So in the end I've figured that the ballast on the driver side isn't getting any power (my driver side indicator and turning light still work) What could be causing this? Took it to my friends shop who sold me the bulbs at the start of all this and he had a look and he reckons it might be the footwell module since it's not getting any power, but he doesn't specialise in BMW, more JDM cars, not doubting his knowledge, but maybe someone with some experience with this can give me a hand? I called my friends shop who specialise in BMW and N54's and he thinks it shouldn't be the footwell module, im going to take my car to his shop when I'm free to have a look and try to find out what it is, he said something about deleting the code and seeing if it works, I've also checked all the fuses and they are still all fine but in the meantime I don't want to get a new footwell module and pay for coding and all that to see it still not working, suggestions would be good! thanks heaps! __________________ JB4 G5 ISO \| BMS Backend Flash \| Alpina B3 TCU Flash \| AR Design Catless DP \| BMS DCI \| ER CP \| Turbosmart Race Port BOV \| Muffler Delete \| H&R Sport Springs \| BMS Cowl \| BMW Performance Alcantara Wheel \| M3 DCT Paddles \| Muse Concept and Design Interior \| 19" GTC-CX \| M3 Lip Spoiler \| Zieg CF Rear Diffuser \| Flow Designs Front Lip \| Black Grill \| RGB LED Angel Eyes \| 8000K HID \|
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11-07-2014, 04:06 AM	#2
Yozh Colonel 870 Rep 2,615 Posts Drives: 2011 335d M-Sport Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Wet Coast iTrader: (4)	I was gonna say it's you ballast. They shut down for good after so many tries when a short is detected (may be due to condensation). But looks like you have eliminated that possibility. Have you tried testing the input circuit with a multimeter to see what power is it getting pre-ballast?
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11-07-2014, 12:12 PM	#4
WilliamS GoofBall 50 Rep 1,055 Posts Drives: 2008 E92 N54 Xdrive Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Tampa, FL iTrader: (2)	Arent the headlights fused separate?
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