Headlights

[CHIMV8]

One of the headlights has toatally fogged up on the inside with condensation

Is the unit fooked?

Know where I can get 2 replacements and not get my arm ripped off!

 

[andyf1140]

No, just take out the bulb and dry it out with a hair drier. Then refit the cover with some vasaline around the seal to stop the water getting in again. Mine is starting to fog up so I'll be doing the same soon along with fitting some LED bulbs

 

[parabolica]

My o/s headlight suddenly fogged up and I tried the hairdryer trick - worked for 1 day before it was back to the same. I ended up removing the entire headlight as it turns out my ballast had gone; the amount of water that poured out of the unit - even after I had attacked it with the hairdryer - must have been around 1/2 a pint. Also the ballast had water get into it and fried it. All fixed now, but there is still a tiny bit of fogging around the hockey sticks.

 

[CHIMV8]

Ballast???

 

[mmm-five]

Ballast???

It’s the metal box that is located underneath the headlight to regulate voltage to the bulb - that in BMW’s wisdom is directly in the line of any moisture that tries to run down the housing.

Genuine Hella ones can be had for about £40, but you’ll want to replace the rear headlight covers as the seals leak - even when they look okay o the naked eye.

I replaced both of mine at the same time (along with new xenon bulbs and a clean of the projector), as it was likely that the other side wasn’t far behind at 150,000 miles.

So much brighter after that little bit of servicing - shows how much they’d changed over the last 10 years, but so slowly that I’d never noticed.