Adaptive headlight failure?

[AMS135iMB]

Hey guys, Had another thread in the cosmetic section but wanted to get peoples general opinion.

Installed the LUX angel eyes yesterday, had no issues until today when I got a warning light about the adaptive headlights. Per the recommendation from the other thread, I checked to make sure the power supply box for the lux wasn't in the way. After double checking I don't think there is anyway that box got into the way of the adaptive headlight. I have it tie wrapped out of the way so it can't even slide over there while driving. And the back covers both seem to be installed correctly

I drove the car tonight.. the adaptive headlights work for first 2-5 minutes or so and then I get the warning and they do not move anymore. Car is under warranty, and the stock angel eyes will be in when I bring the car in for a hopefully free fix!

Just curious to see if people think this is a problem with LUX/install.. or a freak incident?? It seems suspicious to me.. happening a day after I installed LUX but from what I can tell I have all the wires & boxes zip tied so they can't impede the motion of the adaptive headlights. I'm a little nervous that after I get the headlamps fixed about putting the LUX back in it might somehow cause it again? Opinions? Thoughts? Anyone else experience working adaptive headlights for 2-5 minutes and then they fail?

Thanks guys/gals!


Completely off topic.. when I bought the car used from a private seller one factory exhaust tip was gone, what are my chances I'll get that fixed under the warranty?

[funseries]

Where did you zip tie it to?

Initially I had mine velcro taped to the back cover but that actually made it worse since the motor's cable was probably touching the box while it was adjusting. Best to just leave it dropped in there so it can be pushed around a bit if the motor hits it.

Does it always fail within 2-5 mins of driving, turning or not?

[AMS135iMB]

More or less zip tied to itself. Basically zip tied all the excess wires to themselves just so it doesn't have the slack to move over into the area of the adaptive headlights. Right now the power pack pretty much sits right behind the LUX aluminum heat sink.

Some times it says it fails on start-up, if I don't get the warning then, with-in 5 minutes it will come on regardless if I go straight or turn. If it is working.. the adaptive response almost seems too quick or quicker than it used to be while turning. Funseries did your initial velcro job give you an adaptive headlight warning? I'm hoping its a coincidence, I really like the look of the angel eyes, but am worried about putting them back in after I get the adaptive headlights fixed.

Thanks!

[funseries]

Yes, my adaptive errors went away after I unvelcro'd the boxes. And it would only happen after making larger or sharper turns. If yours are throwing errors that quickly it must not be a blocking issue. I'd go back to stock and get the lights checked out. Maybe also swap one out at a time to see if it's just one light or the other. Could be a faulty pair of LUX too.

[AMS135iMB]

Well I had the chance to change back to stock angel eyes today 1 light at a time. Every combination still triggered the adaptive headlight failure warning! Even with both being the stock angel eyes, which I guess is a good thing! Still weird it happened so soon after installing after market angel eyes! Anyway, hopefully the warranty covers it.. but with only 2 months left on the factory warranty, small stuff like this makes me think twice about getting an extended warranty!

Thanks funseries for the suggestions

[ken1137]

I have a similar problem with my adaptive lights after installing the LUX. I decided to use dbl sided 3M tape to fix the Lux box to the inside cover. I thought the problem could be due to the Lux box floundering around inside and preventing the adaptive lights from moving per the error icon. The other problem, that may not be related, is the low/High beam light on the drivers side went out last night. Just picked one up from the dealer and will install tomorrow. One more thing...the wire for the Lux system popped out of the connector so I soldered it back in and that was a bit surprised with the cheap connector.

[AMS135iMB]

Ken did fixing it to the back cover fix the headlight warning from coming on? Just took mine out tonight (with stock angel eyes) and it did not throw a warning. Earlier today in the garage with stock angel eyes it did manage to throw a warning once. Also noticed my driver side has some moisture again inside the lens, wondering if the moisture and the warning are related?

I saw recently a thread about moisture inside the lens.. I seem to recall there might have been an issue with some part of the lens or back cover cracking? I'll try to find the thread.

[Dackelone]

Be careful with the moister/condensation because inside the headlights is some(kind of) circuit board for the xenon bulbs and ballasts. There was a thread awhile back of a guy here in Germany that his condensation caused his ballast to blowup. In the end he needed two new headlights and ballasts. It wasn't a cheap COD repair.

[ken1137]

Originally Posted by AMS135iMB

Ken did fixing it to the back cover fix the headlight warning from coming on? Just took mine out tonight (with stock angel eyes) and it did not throw a warning. Earlier today in the garage with stock angel eyes it did manage to throw a warning once. Also noticed my driver side has some moisture again inside the lens, wondering if the moisture and the warning are related?

I saw recently a thread about moisture inside the lens.. I seem to recall there might have been an issue with some part of the lens or back cover cracking? I'll try to find the thread.

Yes, fixing the the power box to the inside of the cover with 3M tape (Red - outside tape from Home Depot) prevents it from hindering the movement of the adaptive light. Thus, the error icon is no longer present so that's fixed. Moisture must have killed my Xenon light so I am installing the replacement today after it warms up a bit. Hopefully, as Dack pointed out, the circuit board is not fried.

[AMS135iMB]

My car is scheduled to go into the shop for regular maintenance later this week. I'll wait until after that to try out fixing the box to the inside of the cover and reinstalling angel eyes.

I am a little worried about the moisture... Any ideas on how to get rid of the moisture? I tried blowing out the inside with bottled nitrogen, seemed to work for a little while but I still get condensation it seems if I have my headlights on for a while? I'm wondering if the moisture is more my issue than angel eyes/power supply box causing the warning code. I got the warning once even with the stock eyes.. but so far can't seem to get it again.

I really thought I read a thread not long ago about moisture inside the lens and someone in that thread found where bmw issued something about possible cracking causing this?? For the life of me right now I can't find that thread

Thanks guys


edit: Figures right after I post that I haven't been able to get the warning again with stock angel eyes... I try it and get the warning! No condensation in the lens right now either... I guess we shall see what the bmw dealer has to say this week, I'll post again after that. Thanks guys

[ken1137]

Yep, my low/high beam is dead (Xenon). I picked up a new Xenon from the dealer and that did not work either so the assembly is dead. So, the Dealer ordered a new driver's side headlight assembly due to a faulty gasket.

[AMS135iMB]

Sorry to hear that ken! I'm sure that's not a cheap fix!

Brought my car in earlier today, they found the driver side adaptive headlight motor failed. I'm thinking it is dumb luck that it started shortly after lux install. And it did seem to fail slowly, as it started with a few warnings but would still work, the last 2 days the code was on all the time and no adaptive lights. Looking forward to installing the lux again!

Also they said "some moisture inside the lens is normal and that it should burn off with use of the headlights". I don't really buy it as I think my driver side had more than "some" moisture, I tried to show them a picture of my moisture and they just said they've seen it before! So needless to say, my car will be going through many hot car washes to see how bad the moisture gets again, and probably another trip to the dealer I might even take it through a steamy car wash right after I pick it up and drive it right back to ask if its normal

btw... I tried to get them to replace the missing factory exhaust tip(no idea how it came off.. still baffles me) their reply was, "We can't warranty items that are no longer on the car" Seriously?? I wouldn't be asking if it was still on the car! wankers!

[ken1137]

Originally Posted by AMS135iMB

Sorry to hear that ken! I'm sure that's not a cheap fix!

"We can't warranty items that are no longer on the car" Seriously?? I wouldn't be asking if it was still on the car! wankers!

Still under warranty Your SA is a comedian

[AMS135iMB]

Still under warranty Your SA is a comedian

Warranty And yes, I thought it was a joke! So if my door/trunk/tail light falls off because of poor quality they wont be covered under warranty either, bc they "aren't on the car". Now I understand why BMW drivers drive like dicks! They're still pissed from getting reamed by the dealer

They wanted $80 for 1...1 exhaust tip...


Anyway, Angel eyes back in and loving them! LUX system is expensive but seems like you get what u pay for. And, no codes/warnings yet Best of luck with you're headlight situation!