if this helps you, i had found in many instances that if you inspect the circuit board there may be a solder crack on curcuit tracks to components within if find one resolder the pin and all should be ok
also in part to my previous reply i am looking for a electronics schematic on the igniters for the 325i model headlights [hella] if anyone can help in this request it be greatfully appreciated
Last edited by twobloods; 11-12-2011 at 04:25 PM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost
Did anyone ever figure this out? Mine has gotten to the point I can't drive it. Xenon headlights, both flickering nearly continuously now, randomly last week had a signal that the rear light was out but that went away when I got back in... Was going to replace the dash switch, but it's 400 bucks and I'd rather identify that is the issue. Help please?
thanks in advance, Erika
if you haven't done so, try regrounding the taillights. Otherwise it might be the LCM; seems the older (pre-2002) units are less reliable than the newer ones. If you're interested, I can code and sell an LCM to you for a lot less than the brand new price. Since I'd code it for your VIN, there wouldn't be a tamper dot
Last edited by TerraPhantm; 01-13-2012 at 12:05 PM.
My left headlight flickers on and off and finally quits until after the lights are cut off for awhile. I've swapped side with the bulbs and it stays with the lefts side which probably means it's an igniter or ballast. Since mine is a pre-2001 car, a replacement igniter is almost $500. Has anyone tried an aftermarket replacement such as these? http://www.xtralights.com/xetronicba...ompatible.aspx
Took my car to the dealership and watched them troubleshoot my driver side Xenon headlight being out. They checked bulb, ignitor, & ballast..all were good. Then somehow the light started working again. After putting everything back the light went out again. They then swapped the LCM switch and the headlight went on again! He told me to buy a LCM, bring it back and he will reprogram it. So I went on Ebay, bought a used LCM (same part number/year), put it in and the light went on again (with Tamper Dot). I shut off my car went inside only to come out the next day and my headlight not work again. Waited a couple days, took out LCM switch, put it back in and headlight was back on. I shut off car went inside, couple hours later came out started my car and my headlight is out yet again! Every time the headlights out the red indicator light on the dash shows.
Any advice/suggestions, I'd appreciate it.
~ Matt
I known this may sound crazy but a bad ground in the the trunk corner lights will cause the flicker also. Some put in a ground wire directly to the trunk. Check it out http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=391682
Hi, My 330 ci '03 just starting doing the flickering then went out but only on the drivers side. The next day the light comes back on and does the same thing again. I just dropped it off to my mechanic today, should I suggest the bending of the pins? I live in Los Angeles and drive very bumpy roads so does that usually have an affect on this issue? Any advise is welcome.
Thanks
The infamous bad taillight ground was my issue with headlight flickering. If your turn signals ever "fast blink" that's usually a good sign it's the ground wire. Very cheap/easy to fix. And this thread reminds me I need to fix the left taillight now.
I made a thread for the proper fix for this month's ago.. Shoulda stickied it lop
You should include the link http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh...ckering-SOLVED
I had the same problem that you all describe on here, and I fixed it. its corrosion on the turn signals and brake lights. if you pull the bulbs on the drivers side brake and turn lights, see if there are divots on the metal contacts on the bulbs. if so, its corrosion and needs to be fixed before the lights will work properly again.
I replaced the bulbs, sanded/scraped off the excess metal on the car light assembly terminals and applied dielectric grease on the bulbs. I also had corrosion on the the male and female plug that connects the tail light assembly to the car. for this, I scraped off as much of the corrosion as I could get at and then I submersed the male end into a rust remover from rust911.com and let it sit for an hour. i used super hot water to dilute their product 8 oz. rust remover to 1 gallon of water ( i didnt use an entire gallon, but that was the ratio). the hot water accelerated the corrosion removal process.
i also put dielectric grease on those connectors. when I started the car up, the light operated perfectly. I was told that BMW has a feedback loop on the lighting system and thats why the headlights flickered.
This whole process took about 2 hours (includes the hour waiting time for the rust remover to work,
If you dont have this problem now, it would be wise to put the dielectric grease on the bulbs now before you have this problem.
Good luck
*This is not a solution but more of a temp workaround.
Hey there lots of great posts on here about this topic.....I tried to read them all but couldn't wait to share my findings on this issue.
The issue I have is flickering left (right has only done it once or twice in 3 years) and occasionally the left that flickers will just shut off completely until I turn the lights off and on again. So..... I have tried replacing all pieces involved, as well as swapping parts from one side to the other with very little success which is to say that the issue is so inconsistent that it's hard to tell if your making progress or its just being random again. With that said I have been running his work around with a 99.9% success rate for about 2 years now (yes I know that's a long time but I'm on a budget and I love my car #WorthIt) here it is....There seems to be a power issue as in not enough draw to the head lights so when the low beem xenon lights kick on its almost as if they pull all the power out of the line and have to wait for the power to come back...this lead to the following discovery. I figured if I could pull some power to the front at a lesser draw then it wouldn't be shuch a shock to the system and it worked! I started turning on just the parking lights followed by the fog lights and let the two stay on for about 20 or 30 seconds then with the fog lights still on I turn on the headlights and leave the fog lights and headlights on together for another 20 or 30 seconds then I turn off the fog lights and the headlights never flicker or shut off. This process takes no more then 60 seconds of not less and I am able to drive while in doing it so no real time lost.
Additional experimenting...
With the power draw issue in mind I have tried other routes with similar success.
- Putting the high beam lever in the "ON" position before turning on the headlights seems to have a similar result, no flicker or failur, but I have tested this only a limited number of times. Seems to help draw power to the front though.
-Higher RPM's seems to help as well
Again for my issue it seems to be a lack of power being pushed to the front but the fog light solution has been working great for about 2 years now.
*Disclaimer - regardless of the workaround you choose to use here my dash light indicator that shows a headlight out/failur still comes on every time even with no apparent issues from the the headlights themselves. This leads me to think there is again a power issue that the car knows is there, I just haven't found it yet.
Hi,
Yes, I realise this thread is ancient, but it is one of the best which comes up when you Google "E46 Xenon Flickering", and thought my experience might be useful to someone.
I retrofitted OEM bi-xenons to my E46, with used parts from eBay. When I switched them on they looked like they were working, but later noticed they were flickering. The bulbs came with the lights, so I assumed they were old and defective (and they weren't even the same colour). I bought new Osram Nightbreaker from what appears to be a reputable source, bulbs and fitted these, but it made no difference. If you turn the ignition, then switch the lights on, they usually work, but with the engine running, usually don't work.
I ordered 2 new ballasts, not from BMW, but from an online company who listed them as the correct item for my car, and loads of other cars. They look the same, and I fitted one of these to one of the headlights, but it has made no improvement.
I read earthing on the rear lights can be an issue. I already have the extra-earth mod installed to the RHR light unit, because of previous bulb-failure issues, but I disconnected both rear light clusters to check if the made a difference too. It didn't.
I ran new temporary supplies from a good earth and the main positive in the engine on croc clips, and these made the lights work fine. No flicker at all. Which says to me: bulbs OK; igniters OK; ballasts OK.
I then tried using the original positive from the connector, with the temporary earth - flicker came back. Then tried connector earth with the temporary positive - lights stable with no flicker, engine on and off. So, somewhere the positive supply to the lights has an issue. It tests OK when they're on at 13V+, even while flickering, but I'm only using a multi-meter, so guess this wouldn't show me if there were really quick drop-outs of power. I've also cleaned the connectors to make sure this isn't the issue.
Now I have ordered a used LCM (the proper one for xenon lights), to see if that makes a difference. If it doesn't, I'll probably just run new positive wires, then switch these on a relay, taking signal from the original positive signal.
I have to do the mod to make the high-beam flaps work properly anyway. I've already made up the circuit board for this and got the connector plugs. For reference, I bought used reversing sensor plugs with tails from eBay because they are the same connection.
I got another LCM, which works the lights fine. I have now ordered PA Soft so I can code the LCM to the car (and get rid of the tamper-dot on the odometer).
This problem seems pretty common in BMW E series. I have an E92N 2010, faced the same issue read, read different threads on various forums. I checked the tail lights and connectors, tried swapping the bulb from one side to the other but nothing worked. Having done all that I decide to replace that ballast. Searched on google and it at quite reasonable price. Even I should say very cheaper than the BMW dealers. I replaced the ballast, and everything is perfect now. Here is the ballast I bought, you guys should give it a try
https://www.xenonplanet.com/al-1-307...n-ballast.html
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