///M3 Tech Procedures -
Euro Headlight with HID Installation
Page 4

 

With the headlights out, this is a good time to put the superwhite bulbs into the foglights. Twist off the end, and pull up the tabs that hold the bulb in place. They should look very familiar since they work the same way as the high and low beams. This seems like an easier way to replace these bulbs than having to get the screw driver and take the whole foglight assembly off.

Hook up the stock low beam connectors to the ballast (the top connector). The bottom wire goes to the HID bulbs. I ended up

With the kit came some Velcro with adhesive sides. I first cleaned off the back of the ballast and the spot below the headlight assembly (the inside of the bumper) with more rubbing alcohol. Keep pressure on the adhesive for 30 seconds to make sure the connection is good.

I had to unwrap some of the electrical tape holding all the wires together to get more slack for the wires that go from the car into the ballast. Tape everything back up and slide the ellipsoid headlight into the cavity. Notice how much more room it takes than the US headlight? If you have an aftermarket intake, I hope you have an 8" cone filter instead of a 9" filter and I hope you don't have the Dinan intake. From what I read, getting the Dinan intake to fit with the Euro light is a bitch!

See these parts? You won't need them!

Do the other side the same way. Be careful with the wire colors because the other side of the car had different wire colors! Button everything back up, replace the fuses with 15A fuses and put the cowl back on.

Here is a close up. These headlights look much nicer. I intend to get some 3M plastic to cover the glass to prevent rocks and sand from scarring them on the highway.

You will need to aim the lights. Use these aiming instructions that I got from UnofficialBmw.com.

Unfortunately I get the infamous low beam failure warning on the check control on the onboard computer. From what I read it is a toss up whether you will get it or not. I guess I am one of the lucky ones. There is some sort of an impedance mismatch that triggers the warning. For now I'm just going to ignore it until I can find a way to fix it.

I had to wait until dark to find out how good it turned out. Oh man! I got in the car and turned the lights on and out came this beautiful white (with a blueish tint to it which is very similar to my friend's S4) and there was a nice fine cutoff on the light. I love driving down the street and seeing the exact line where the light stops.

I went for a 45 minute drive and only got flashed two times which isn't too bad. When someone would flash me, I'd just flash them back. See! My high beams aren't on! With the stock lights, the high beam would be very noticeable. The high beams are now disappointing, but they still project light further than the cutoff on the low beams. Getting out of the car and looking at the front, the superwhites now look like superyellows. If I was filthy rich I'd love to put HIDs in the high beams and foglights, but I'm not and after I make my attempt to get angel eyes working and put the 3M clear laminate on the glass lenses, I'll be done with my headlights.

Page 5 - Pictures of the lights on.