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New E46 HID headlights

10K views 8 replies 4 participants last post by  DJ Hellfire 
#1 ·
I just got a 2003 325i with hid headlights. on all the other bmw's including my brother in laws 2003 530i the xenon headlights are really bright on the road, and they have a blueish color to them when you look at them from the front of the car. My headlights are barely any brighter than most halogen headlights on new cars, and they are kinda yellowish green when you look into them. I just picked up the car on friday and am wondering if anyone knows if something is wrong or if that is normal now for the new ones.
Thanks
 
#4 ·
do they look yellow-ish when you are looking at them? i have bi-xenons on mine and sometimes when i'm in the driver's seat, they tend to look yellow-ish, but if i walk to the front of the car and look at them they are white.

the xenons will have a blueish tint when first turned on, but once they warm up, they will turn white. if they are turning yellow, i would take it to the dealer and have them look at it. it should not be yellow at all.
 
#5 ·
When sitting in the car and driving they put less light on the road than my old toyota with halogen headlights, and the light is a really weird greenish yellow light, i've never seen that color before. The lights look really blue and purple if you stand directly in front of the projector and look just slightly above the cut off line, but if you look it from the side or bellow the cut off they are kinda dim and that weird color they put on the road. The only time they are as bright as other bi xenons that i've seen are for about the first few seconds while they warm up. I hope this isnt an electrical problem allready, not even a week after getting the car.
 
#7 ·
My girlfriend just came back with the car a few minutes ago and said she could barely see on her way home. I went out and took a look and the headlights only shine about 10-15 feet in front of the car, i started the car and turned them on, and they were moving up and down constantly, like the car is going over bumps in the road, but its sitting still in the driveway and they finally stopped shinning light everywhere and now they just shine right straight down in front of the car. I think I might have a lemon on my hands.
 
#9 ·
Brand new Xenon lights will not be as blue when first used. They will be slightly yellowish white. After about 200-300 hours of use, they will turn more whitish bluish. It's called color shifting. Xenon bulbs are desinged to last about 2000-3000 hours vs halogens which last 250-300 hours. By the end of a xenon bulbs life, it will be almost purple.

Also, the amount of blueish color you'll see depends on what angle you are at when look at your light from in front of your car. Your lights will always look blue to oncoming traffic.

As for the guy who's lights are pointing at the ground, you just need to aim them or take the car to the dealer and have a tech do it. When you first turn them on after the the car has sat for a while, they should be pointed at the ground. And after about two seconds, they should automatically move upwards to where they arepointing straight ahead. If they are pointing at the ground after they have stopped moving, you just need to turn the little wheel on the back of the headlight until the light is at the level you want. The wheel is black and has a spot for a phillips head screw driver in the center of it. Each headlight has two wheels. One is for up and down aiming, the other is for left and right. If your headlights are moving up or down very little as you are moving the wheel a lot, them you are adjusting the left and right wheel. When you adjust the up and down wheel, the level will move significantly. This is for E46s.

Bi-xenons simply mean that the they are hi and low beam. When you push the stalk forward, they projectors will let more light out.
 
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