Burnt headlight lens…both sides

[wallball]

…both driver and passenger sides. (Just bought the car, and noticed the driver side burn, but not the passenger). Must be plastic lenses and they just get too hot, what, over time? As they get old and more brittle? What the heck is that all about? And what the heck is the best remedy without spending $2000? I've looked at the headlight threads but where does one begin? (So many questions!)

Who has a very practical, no nonsense, straight-forward, inexpensive, easy-to-do, peer-supported, elegant, beautiful, green, low carbon footprint, less-than-twenty dollar remedy? (I'm losing it a bit; spending too much time looking at forum threads).

[BladeRunner919]

Can you put up pics so we can see the damage? Burning suggests that the lights are over-wattage and getting too hot. From your post I assume you are talking about the inner lenses, rather than the front cover?

The normal problem with the headlights is that the front cover gets cloudy which is easily remedied with something like this, which I have had great results with:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/3M-Headlight...estoration+kit

[dawenth]

i've seen cracked lens-covers before...best time to kick them out and upgrade to fx3.0r projectors ;-)

[kungfooren]

The 2000+ have plastic lenses with chrome surrounds. <=1999 models have glass lenses. I've seen small burn marks on the high as well as low beams. These are from the OEM bulbs. Unfortunately, there is no easy solution to this. To replace just that component, you'd need to open up the headlight--even their internals are in high demand.

+1 on dawnth's comment. This forum has a nice community that's done a lot of retrofits (get in touch with sky1z3).

[BimmerBreaker]

There is no under $20 remedy unless you can find new lenses for that price. But you also shouldn't spend $2000 - decent condition used headlights can be found <$500, just make sure the new ones dont have burn marks too. But the only real fix is to replace the headlights or lenses. Lenses can be found separate from headlights sometimes but if you want an immediate fix, get some used headlights that dont already have the problem.

It happens from heat, the problem will be greatly exacerbated if non-OEM bulbs are put in place of the OEM bulbs (particularly bad with HIDs thrown in without proper projectors).

[Craig in Alabam]

Hi Folks,

Maybe not applicable in this case, but for those of you who have cloudy headlight lenses, there's a product called Wipe New (wal-mart for about $10) that works great! I used it on my neighbors hyundai which had really cloudy lenses. Made them look brand new.
They were really bad, so I wet sanded them first with 2000 grit paper (which was really scary), but after wiping with the chemical cloth in the kit, the results were amazing.

Cheers!
Craig

[BimmerBreaker]

I believe he is talking about burnt inner lenses, not foggy outer lenses...

[wallball]

I believe he is talking about burnt inner lenses, not foggy outer lenses...

Yep, burnt inner lenses, as Bimmer Breaker has illustrated; not the covers. Nice photo, by the way. In fact, those look just as mine do, so it's a relatively common problem. Considering that, I think a more permanent fix is appropriate: Projectors. I'll start looking around (more forum time…)

[wallball]

I believe he is talking about burnt inner lenses, not foggy outer lenses...

Yes, burnt lenses...BimmerBreaker, all, has anyone replaced just the lenses? I'm thinking that it might be possible, and not too much of a pain, to find some flat-faced glass headlights and cut them to the size of the Z3 lenses and pop them in place (so to say). Anyone with experience in this area?

[BimmerBreaker]

The lenses are sort of clipped into place. I imagine it'd be very hard to get them to hold in place if replaced with plain glass. You might be fine to remove them completely if your plan is to replace them with flat glass.

I've taken my burnt lenses and trimmed them to fit projectors through using SkyZ brackets. The hole cut was just large enough to remove all the browning. That'd be my recomendation. Its not exactly a cheap mod, but it makes a huge difference as far as drivability of the car goes.

[wallball]

The lenses are sort of clipped into place. I imagine it'd be very hard to get them to hold in place if replaced with plain glass. You might be fine to remove them completely if your plan is to replace them with flat glass.

I've taken my burnt lenses and trimmed them to fit projectors through using SkyZ brackets. The hole cut was just large enough to remove all the browning. That'd be my recomendation. Its not exactly a cheap mod, but it makes a huge difference as far as drivability of the car goes.

Thanks, I've contacted Skylar. I've looked at some posts with the Skylar bracket DIY and it looks great.

[robb1887]

You have another "replacement" option. You could find a set of -99 lenses and swap them. I think I have a set in the garage. It would still require baking the headlight open and replacing the inner lenses. Unfortunately for this you have to break both joints in the headlight to swap them. The 00+ lenses install from the lens side to the middle section. The -99 lenses install from the headlight bowl side with metal clips. (okay idea if you don't mind losing the chrome rings)

You can also find a set of replacement chromes that don't have the burnt marks but they are likely to "melt/burn" again in the future. (bad idea)

Or as others have suggested you jump headfirst into the deep end and go with a full Projector retrofit. (suggested)

[Old city bimmer]

I need to double check my car cause I have a 1999 and it has crack inner lenses too.

[Chamberlin]

If you were to replace the lenses, or drill out the burnt areas, what (normal Halogen) bulbs should you be using to avoid the problem in the first place? Say I just found a brand new time capsule vacuum sealed 2000 M Coupe with 0 miles on it; what readily available bulbs today should you use in place of the OEM burners?

[mpire]

I got some lenses. Who wants them?

[MudHut]

I'll take them.

[mpire]

I have the internals from a brand new set of headlights that I bought new from BMW and then installed the original Projector Z setup about a decade ago.

I also have one clear left turn signal that goes inside the headlight. No idea where that came from.

I am selling the lenses and reflectors together.

PM me your cell phone number and I will text pictures.

[Bladecatcher]

I have the internals from a brand new set of headlights that I bought new from BMW and then installed the original Projector Z setup about a decade ago.

I also have one clear left turn signal that goes inside the headlight. No idea where that came from.

I am selling the lenses and reflectors together.

PM me your cell phone number and I will text pictures.

Not to be completely be off topic here, but mpire, would you happen to have a driver side front marker (the one in the bumper) laying around? Amber. Just the exterior amber piece; not the socket itself. One of those things that I need to do eventually (one of the corners is gone), but not very high on the list.

[mpire]

Not to be completely be off topic here, but mpire, would you happen to have a driver side front marker (the one in the bumper) laying around? Amber. Just the exterior amber piece; not the socket itself. One of those things that I need to do eventually (one of the corners is gone), but not very high on the list.

I probably do, I am working on building a proper inventory at the moment because I have no clue about most of the little stuff. I probably have a couple cars in there worth of parts.

If you just want the orange ones, they are only a few bucks on fleabay for knock offs and they are about the same as OEM.

[Bladecatcher]

I probably do, I am working on building a proper inventory at the moment because I have no clue about most of the little stuff. I probably have a couple cars in there worth of parts.

If you just want the orange ones, they are only a few bucks on fleabay for knock offs and they are about the same as OEM.

Good to know. Thanks!