Right low beam malfunction... Out of ideas :(

Hello everyone! I have been reading posts on this forum for a while now and finally decided to join in. Well in truth I need some help...

I have a 06 e90 with xenon headlights and about a month ago the right low beam went out and I got the error on iDrive.

The first thing I did was replace the bulb with an OEM replacement. I bought a pair so I went ahead and replaced the driver side lamp as well. This did not fix the problem and having read many posts on here I thought for sure that the controller / Ballast must be bad so I ordered a new one as well as a new cable that runs from the ballast to the bulb.
I replaced the ballast and the cable and I still get nothing out of the right side. So I thought maybe I might have DOA parts but when I install these parts in the driver side head lamp, they work just fine. So I then thought maybe the ballast is not getting the 12v form the wiring harness, tested the power at the main headlamp connector and it read 12v, I then tested the connanuity of the wire that plugs into the ballast to the connector that the wiring harness plugs into and I get a steady "Beep" from my tester.

I don't have anyway to test the current that is coming to the ballast, I don't know if that can be an issue but I'm just out of ideas.

I have had my bumper off 3 times now trying to fix this issue and what sucks is I think I bought all these parts for nothing lol...

And I don't want to add any more weirdness to this post but I think one time when I was switching out parts and I had the left side head lamp assm. unplugged, It came on all of the sudden but when I plugged both lamps in the right one went out again and the left one came on again..

I have checked the plugs 100 times to make sure they are in tight.

Any ideas? please? Thanks!!

have you plugged the original head lamp that does not work into the side that does work? At least you can see if the bulb is still good, if it is, I would check the ground, thats always been the issue on older cars. if not, sounds like a trip to the dealer, but take all the parts and you would only get hit with labor

Hondo

I have not switched the headlamps, I was not sure if the wiring on the connector would match but next time I take the bumper off I will check it. I do know that the xenon bulb itself works because I have switched just the bulbs at one point.

Everything else is working in the headlight... ring lights up, DRL light up and autolevel, turn signal works but the xenon bulb will not ignite.

Originally Posted by mikejc

....I then tested the connanuity of the wire that plugs into the ballast to the connector that the wiring harness plugs into and I get a steady "Beep" from my tester.

I don't have anyway to test the current that is coming to the ballast, I don't know if that can be an issue but I'm just out of ideas.

....I think one time when I was switching out parts and I had the left side head lamp assm. unplugged, It came on all of the sudden but when I plugged both lamps in the right one went out again and the left one came on again..

Aha. You'll need a multimeter and detailed circuit diagram. Post the last!

I'm having same issue on my E90 06 330i. Passenger low beam malfunction after putting in new bulb, ballast, and ballast wire. I put those new parts in a couple months ago and noticed some flickering upon start-up in the last couple weeks and now its completely out, won't turn on just like before I installed new parts. Low beam malfunction on iDrive. As far as ALL the parts on the headlight, it seems like it could be a smaller control unit on the bottom of the headlight, part numb 63127189312, can anyone confirm if there's any truth to that? Looks like its an 'ALC control unit/module'. The bulb or ballast is not the issue.

HELP!

Hmph. Same problem here: R. lo beam bulb obviously blown out, new good bulb w/igniter installed and still no lo beam light; no current is being delivered to bulb. Car is clean for all fault codes and fuses #s 84 & 86 for headlamps are good. The only other anomaly is that the bulb for the L. angel eye light rings is also blown out and is waiting to be replaced. Whaaaa! Sounds like there is a chronic or design fault in this system somewhere . . . . Someone has got to have had this problem and tracked down the solution!

Originally Posted by bikhe

Hmph. Same problem here: R. lo beam bulb obviously blown out, new good bulb w/igniter installed and still no lo beam light; no current is being delivered to bulb. Car is clean for all fault codes and fuses #s 84 & 86 for headlamps are good. The only other anomaly is that the bulb for the L. angel eye light rings is also blown out and is waiting to be replaced. Whaaaa! Sounds like there is a chronic or design fault in this system somewhere . . . . Someone has got to have had this problem and tracked down the solution!

Are you sure your bulb was blown? Did you test it on your driver's side? The bulbs do brown and darken with age but are still fully functional. I have a constant good power supply to the low beam pin connector in the main headlight harness. So, that means my issue was from within headlight. I have a brand new ballast, bulb, and ballast to bulb cable and still have an issue. So I started playing with the two pin connector harness that powers the ballast and with that I found the issue. It's a black and yellow wire that connects to the ballast and supplies it with power... Pushing and pulling that harness made my bulb flicker on and off. I suggest you have that checked out. As far as your left halo, that's most likely a bulb issue and unrelated to your passenger low beam.

Swap everything left to right and see if the non-functioning items now function. My car did this. It turned out that the wiring from the switch to the control unit (NOT the one to the ballast, but the one with two wires and a clip) had the wires loose inside the clip. Tightening the connection restored all function.

Originally Posted by chopin1012

Swap everything left to right and see if the non-functioning items now function. My car did this. It turned out that the wiring from the switch to the control unit (NOT the one to the ballast, but the one with two wires and a clip) had the wires loose inside the clip. Tightening the connection restored all function.

Not sure I understand you clearly? The ballast is also referred to as the control unit. It has two connectors on it: unit to bulb wire, and power supply to unit (yellow wire and black wire - small harness). The yellow and black wires are loose in the little harness on my car and that is the issue.

Ballast/control unit/module part# 08 in this diagram: http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...18&hg=63&fg=05

Keep in mind on this diagram above(clickable link), the ballast/control unit is illustrated improperly. There are two slots for connections inside the round oval (power harness and ballast to bulb wire)

Sorry, when I was writing my post I somehow missed your stating what the issue was. My issue was the same: the black and yellow wires were loose. I had a shop fix that as I didn't feel sure I could do it without messing it up. After they fixed that, my problem went away.

Gotcha'. I am at a auto electric place as we speak. FYI BMW won't do this as they'll want to replace whole headlight. Any shop familiar with electrical components/wiring will be the place to go. Even car audio ect.

I didn't go to the dealer; I have a great Indy who took care of it for one hour of labor. I originally had a spare plug that I could have spliced in. If I still had it, I'd offer it to you. I'm sure any good auto elec shop can fix it. It's odd, though. I have no idea how those wires got loose inside that plug.

Yeah these guys just said heat tends to make them go bad and loosen. I just hope people with low beam issues see this thread so they don't waste money on bulbs and ballasts

in most cases, a simple D1S bulb replacement is suffice for most issues, eventually many D1S bulbs will turn pink overtime