New one in here with 02 330Ci and problem with HID lights

[Vlad_330Ci]

Hi and happy to all!

I bought my first BMW about a month ago and just a week ago, I started to have some issues with my HID. Now, since I bought this car used with about 92k miles on it, I am not sure if HIDs are OEMs or were installed using a kit later on. They look blueish color and have auto alignment (move up and down) what I start the car. I don't know what Kelvins they are. So, to make story shorter, my passenger side started to be on and off when I start the car about 10 days ago. First time, I got dashboard bulb out message, turned off the car, then turned it on again and it was working. Few days later, same thing happened, but this time it was off for a good 30 min before, It turned off. Today, all of the sudden, my driver's side light AND passenger side could not be turned on at once. Few minutes later, passenger side turned on, but driver's remained off for rest of the night (I drove maybe 1 hour). Another thing, is that I noticed lights flickering when I hit bumps at times. They never flicker when I turned the car on though.

Now, since I never had HIDs before, I am not really sure what exactly to do with it, except learning from scratch about it. I don't want to just bring the car to dealer and be charged $500+ to replace something maybe I could do myself. Did any of you ever had similar issue? I would really appreciate any input.

[witeshark]

I think I'd start with inspecting the connections.

[Vlad_330Ci]

Originally Posted by witeshark

I think I'd start with inspecting the connections.

I just looked up quickly today and found no loose wires or something like that. When I first turned on the lights today, driver's side did not work, but after 4-5 repeated on and off tries, it went on stayed on for good 20 min until I turned it off. Also, last night I took car to car wash and noticed that some moisture accumulated inside the headlight. Now, it is gone. I have no clue what is going on. Will try it again later tonight.

[witeshark]

Maybe the starter(s) aren't working right...

[Vlad_330Ci]

Originally Posted by witeshark

Maybe the starter(s) aren't working right...

OK, I will give you an update after few days of driving.... so far so good and no more problems have been noticed with a change of one thing: I no longer use Auto headlights (headlights switch would be to the left). I basically turned it on manually every night and so far both lights are working fine it seems. Had anyone ever had something similar?

[ega]

since you said you found moisture in the headlight, maybe the mosisture has also gotten into the connections, they may be tight but corrosion could have set in. Unplug the connectors, clean them and remove any corrosion if any. You may want to dab a little light oil on the connectors, but never on the bulb connectors.