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Thread: Headlight Gremlins

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Tampa, FL
    Posts
    165
    My Cars
    '06 BMW X3

    Headlight Gremlins

    I had a stuck high beam shutter on my 06 X3 E83. Bi-xenon, adaptive. Ended up buying a new whole headlight due to wiring rot inside. I assumed swapping over the ballast and ECM would work fine, but didn't, had to use a new ballast and all seemed OK with the new passenger side light.

    However, while messing with the wire rot on the drivers headlight, I managed to fry something on the Xenon light. Replaced bulb, igniter, ALL to no avail. At this point the DRLs, turn lights, fog lights, all worked fine on BOTH sides, xenon + high beam worked fine on passenger side.

    Bought another new ballast and still nothing as before, but all other lights worked. Then after I zipped the lights/bumper back up and started the car again, BOTH DRLs don't work!! wtf.

    The pass. xenon still works, but why would a new driver ballast cause BOTH DRLs to go out? Drivers xenon still totally dead.

    Do ballasts need programming? I still have both original ECMs, do I need to start replacing those? Fuse on the DRLs?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Tampa, FL
    Posts
    165
    My Cars
    '06 BMW X3
    Anyone? No ideas why a simple ballast swap would cause BOTH DRLs to go out? Canbus programming?

    Next question, are the ballasts typically generic as long as you buy the exact part number? Or are BMW parts somehow different even with the same part number?

    I bought this part off amazon for part no. 63127176068. Doesn't list my EXACT model, but it's the same part no.?

    https://www.amazon.com/AUTOKAY-Xenon...mw+63127176068

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Location
    Philadelphia
    Posts
    175
    My Cars
    1997 m3
    Have you checked fuses? If not, check fuse 9 and 32 in the passenger side fusebox behind the glove box. Those are the light module fuses.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Tampa, FL
    Posts
    165
    My Cars
    '06 BMW X3
    Not yet. Up to now my problems were light/side specific. All other lights that were working are still working. Only the DRLs went out together for some reason. I had tested them and they worked and did nothing electrical, just anchoring stuff back down. Then upon next start, totally dead, not even a flash.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Tampa, FL
    Posts
    165
    My Cars
    '06 BMW X3
    Replaced both headlights now. Fuses OK, at least the ones in the glovebox. Any other headlight fuses anywhere else?

    DRLs still dead with both new headlights. I do have a mishmash on the ballasts/ECUs. One headlight has new ballast and original ECU, other headlight has old ballast and a replacement ECU off a 645 (same side though and same light type, HID w/ adaptive).

    And now one of the high-beam shutters stopped working. Seemed pretty loud out of the box, so I'm hoping it's a mechanical problem and not some other electrical gremlin.

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