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Hey guys, I just bought a 2003 e39 (forgive me, I am still learning the terminology because this is my first BMW--I am moving from Mercedes) with xenon headlights. I already paid for it but the BMW dealership is prepping it to near perfection for me (free thorough state inspection including replacing anything that is worn, replace front bumper, order extra key, touch up paint, full detail) and I am going to take delivery of it Saturday (hopefully). While I anxiously wait, I figured you guys may have some great answers to my questions.
Does this include bi-xenon (low and high beam), or just low beam? If it is only low beam, what do you recommend to make my high beams xenon (or least an inexpensive bulb to give the xenon "appearance")?
Do my angel eyes light up in halogen or xenon? If they are halogen, how can I change them to xenon? Is there a specific bulb I can instert or do I have to replace the whole assembly?
How can I get my fog lights to be xenon? Is there a good/reliable bulb to buy to give the even color match to my headlights? (instead of the cool blue tint of my xenon headlights being spoiled by the yellowish fog lights)
The low beams will be xenon; the highs will be halogen. Given how rarely you will use the high beams, and the fact that you will need to use them to flash from time to time (very bad for xenon bulbs), I would suggest that you NOT convert them.
Angel eyes will be halogen colored. You can get direct screw-in bulb replacements from jlevisw.com or umnitza.com that install in under 15 minutes to change the color to the whitish light of xenon.
Fog lights are meant to be yellowish. If they are xenon, they will be worthless as fog lights.
I am assuming "angel eyes" is slang...but what is the technical term I could use to search for angel eye bulbs or in case I need to talk with a BMW tech who is being an asshole because I didnt use the "technical term"?
Also what is the purpose of angel eyes...are they extra park lights, or.....?
Also is changing the angel eye and fog light bulbs an easy reach-in job or does stuff (in and around the headlight assemble and bumper) have to be disconnected, removed, etc like in my Mercedes?
Everyone will know what you're talking about when you say angel eyes. I've had 2 E39's and I don't think I've heard a more technical term.
The sole purpose of angel eyes is cosmetic. If you don't have daytime running lights enabled, they can also serve in that capacity as well. It makes the E39 look meaner.
Changing angel eye bulbs is an easy reach-in job. Changing the fogs will be harder, but not terrible...of course, if you're still wanting to swap them out for xenons, good luck with it but it will be harder.
Below is a picture of my and my cousin's E39s. He has the jlevisw/umnitza product to change the angel eyes to a xenon color. His car is on the left.
thanks for the reply......so your car is on the left...the angel eye lighting looks so much brighter and denser. Do you have the full xenon HID kit or just the bulb?
How did you get JUST the angel eyes to come on by themselves, instead of with the headlights, parking lights, etc?
cool--thanks for clearing that up-----I went to both the jlevisw/umnitza websites and could not find the bulbs anywhere...they are just simple direct-replacement bulbs for around $40 right?
cool--thanks for clearing that up-----I went to both the jlevisw/umnitza websites and could not find the bulbs anywhere...they are just simple direct-replacement bulbs for around $40 right?
[quote=Teh Prof;529156]My angel eyes are brighter because they are DDE's, while my cousin has stock headlamps with a change of bulb.
[quote]
The way you said that, I was under the impression that it was a simple bulb swap for like $20-30 or something, but the link you sent me to described replacing the angel eyes unit for $170..am I missing something here?
I am very confused...bottom line is: I want an inexpensive fix to remove the yellowish angel eye look without spending over $50. Does that make sense? Is that possible to just replace the bulbs---if so, where do I find them?
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