THE SHORT STORY:
Had a headlight replaced by dealer, now directional and leveling headlights dont work.

THE LONG STORY:
Have a 2004 530i. Passenger side Xenon headlight died, so I took it to the dealer at Hilton Head BMW while on vacation. The tech happily told me he tested the whole shebang by moving my driver side (good) bulb to the passenger side and put the brand new bulb in the driver side. O... K...... So I drive away and a couple days later drive home to MD. I didn't get much of a chance to check out my headlights while at Hilton Head but after getting home I start to notice the adaptive headlights aren't working. That is, when I turn in a dark enough area the headlights don't turn and light up the area I'm turning in to. Also I notice that the driver's side headlight (this is the one that ended up with a brand new bulb) is brighter... or is it aimed higher... or is it both? I think it's both, when I park in the garage the driver's side headlight is higher on the wall and seemingly brighter. Dammit. What a pain, I just want normal, functioning, equal headlights.

I've searched the forums. All I've seen is suggestions to turn the headlights on and watch the wall to see if they bounce up and down and auto level, which they do not and I clearly remember that they used to. I do not have any warnings or errors from the computer. Could this BMW repair guy have knocked a wire loose? I looked at the assembly and it's kind of complicated looking as far as disassembling, I'm handy in the shop but this looks over my head.

Any experience or advise is welcomed.

A FREE COOKIE TO ANYONE WHO HELPS ME SOLVE THIS!

 

sounds like a pain sorry mate goodlck

 

if u have no error messages, u should be fine. The adaptive lights only turn one way for pre-LCI headlights. Take a look inside anyway. Follow my DIY to take the headight out. It';s VERY simple. PM, call, or text me if u need help

https://5series.net/forums/index.php?showto...mp;gopid=969316

 

Xeons are known to dull with age (Think its something like 8-10 years)... how old is the original bulb looking at the lights from the front can you see a difference?

Get someone to turn the wheel full lock while you look at the lights from infont of the car and see if you can see the lights move or even flicker and as brabus209amg suggests have a look that all the bulbs are in properly seated and and connections are tight..

 

I can't understand as to why you just don't take it back to the dealer's and let them sort it out as they screwed it up in the first place,or am I missing something?

 

I'm guessing it's distance... take it to local dealer and show them the invoice / receipt for the work and tell them they need to fix the problem, but it may save you time and effort if you do some basic checks before hand...

 

Sanj; I live in MD and the dealer I took the car to is in SC. Also I didn't actually notice the problem for at least a month. The car is out of warranty. Honestly, I don't think I have much recourse here at any dealer.

 

There are two connectors on each headlight, one is for the powering the bulbs and the other is for the adaptive function to talk to the computer on the bottom of the headlight. Check if they are both plugged in, if you use a flash light you should be able to see them on the outside corners of the headlight.

I think if the cable is not plugged in or the light control module (in the car) is not talking to the controls in the headlights itself the green light on the light switch blinks. Is the green light blinking?

The dealer is supposed to to a full check of the system after replacing the headlights because they have to re-align them, I doubt they did this. Have you tried calling them?? although they will probably claim they worked when you left!

 

Ahhh,I see i'm sorry if I came across as being a little blunt as I did'nt know that you had spotted it a month later,still give em a ring and see what they have to say as they can only say no.

 

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll check for a disconnected plug like you said. It sounds kinda like exactly what the problem might be. No, the green LED is not blinking.

I suppose calling them wouldn't hurt, maybe the tech (if it's on record) can make some suggestions. Good idea, thanks! I'll update after I check the headlight for disconnected plug(s).