Headlight issues

[Mickybo]

Hi all, have a 2006 R320cdi and tue factory HID headlights are dangerously dim at night, they don’t light up the road at all, but if I pull into my driveway they do appear to have do light patterns but not bright, when I look at the lights both are crisp white not a low yellow or pink colour and I checked they are OSRAM Zenarc bulbs, I’m wondering if this would be a bulb issue or a ballast issue, also I did just get it into a star diagnostic and it’s showing headlights control module not coded? Would this cause the headlights to be dim or is it just for the dynamic cornering and motor levelling control?

 

[W1ghty]

Hi all, have a 2006 R320cdi and tue factory HID headlights are dangerously dim at night, they don’t light up the road at all, but if I pull into my driveway they do appear to have do light patterns but not bright, when I look at the lights both are crisp white not a low yellow or pink colour and I checked they are OSRAM Zenarc bulbs, I’m wondering if this would be a bulb issue or a ballast issue, also I did just get it into a star diagnostic and it’s showing headlights control module not coded? Would this cause the headlights to be dim or is it just for the dynamic cornering and motor levelling control?

Does the car have level sensors with arms which corrode and snap . One in the front right wheel well and one above the rear diff ?

 

[Mickybo]

Yes but they aren’t the issue, it’s the brightness of the light I’m concerned with, looking at them in from the outside they look crisp and white but they don’t light the road, had the level checked and that’s fine, they don’t do the normal up/down side to side motion on startup but that’s because it appears the previous owner fit a replacement headlight control module in tue passenger footwell and didn’t have it coded but that won’t affect the brightness of the light, it’s actually dangerous I need the full beams on to see

 

[Larkone]

Yes but they aren’t the issue, it’s the brightness of the light I’m concerned with, looking at them in from the outside they look crisp and white but they don’t light the road, had the level checked and that’s fine, they don’t do the normal up/down side to side motion on startup but that’s because it appears the previous owner fit a replacement headlight control module in tue passenger footwell and didn’t have it coded but that won’t affect the brightness of the light, it’s actually dangerous I need the full beams on to see

But if they are not aligning properly on the road on dipped beam they could appear dimmer - get the headlight control module properly coded and see if the problem is still there. If your bulbs are reasonably new (less than 3 years old) then they should be fine, but if older then I would upgrade to the Nightbreaker versions of the Osrams

 

[Mickybo]

I’ve no idea how old the bulbs are as just got the car a month ago, but they are aligned properly as had them checked so the break point is fine, they aren’t pointing down just have no light on the road, it will light the car in front a bit but on an open road it’s nothing

 

[davymead]

Changed my bulbs after buying my 350 as although they looked bright enough to the eye, the change made a staggering amount of difference in practice.

 

[Mickybo]

Changed my bulbs after buying my 350 as although they looked bright enough to the eye, the change made a staggering amount of difference in practice.

That’s really what I’m thinking but just wanted some feedback before I drop £100 on 2 bulbs for no difference they look good to look at but if I look directly into the beam it doesn’t blind me I can look straight at it, and for all I know they previous owner used knockoff osram bulbs

 

[Larkone]

This is a must if you are buying Osram bulbs

OSRAM Trust Program | OSRAM Automotive

With its Trust Program OSRAM takes an important step to assure the originality of OSRAM Xenon products.

www.osram.com

 

[Mickybo]

This is a must if you are buying Osram bulbs

OSRAM Trust Program | OSRAM Automotive

With its Trust Program OSRAM takes an important step to assure the originality of OSRAM Xenon products.

www.osram.com

Yes been doing my research, just bought a pair of osram night breakers lasers from powerbulbs.com who are a approved osram partner, good price on sale £82 delivered for a pair

 

[Mickybo]

Ok so got the new bulbs fitted Osram nightbreakers laser and it’s made a massive difference, after looking at the old and new bulbs side by side the difference I can see is the round bit in the middle of the bulb filament is all frosted over or white in the old and the new it’s crystal clear

 

[EndlessMoneyPit]

The only thing that stops me trying these brighter bulbs for my old cars is the longevity of them. Quite a few reviews saying they only last a year.

Anyone had some for a while and care to comment?

 

[SpikyMikey]

The only thing that stops me trying these brighter bulbs for my old cars is the longevity of them. Quite a few reviews saying they only last a year.

Anyone had some for a while and care to comment?

No experience of upgraded HID burners, but the Nightbreaker Halogens I fitted to my old 3 series lasted at least 3 years before I sold it on.

 

[markjay]

I went through several H7 Halogen Nightbreaker, Nightbreaker Plus, and Nightbreaker Unlimited (the Laser weren't out at the time), that was on the W203 that did not have DRLs and I just drove with the headlamps permanently on, and the bulbs didn't last very long. The two bulbs fitted to the high beam obviously lasted longer than those fitted for the dipped beam.

On the W204, I fitted 4 x H7 Halogen Nightbreaker Silver form day one, and I found the Silver to be a great compromise between brighter headlamps and longevity, in fact they lasted for the 5 years that I owned the car and as far as I know they still haven't failed (the car was sold to a forum member). That been said, the W204 had DRLs, and so the bulbs didn't get as much use as they did on W203.

Hope this helps.

 

[Mickybo]

The only thing that stops me trying these brighter bulbs for my old cars is the longevity of them. Quite a few reviews saying they only last a year.

Anyone had some for a while and care to comment?

Well they come with a 4 year warranty