e39 xenon conversion

[whattingh]

Hello there.
I have e39 with non xenon projector headlights with angle eyes. now I would like to know what is need to go xenon?
so far i can figure out:
ballast
ballast bracket
globe

then I was on real OEM there is so level sensor on the suspension. I asssume that is on the place of the level control wheel that the non xenon have.....? is it needed?

would to go too xenon

 

[Sankekur]

The level sensor is for the auto levelling headlight, and it is not really needed.

I am not to sure about about the e39 xenon stuff, but if it is anything like the e46 stuff you will need two ballast brackets, two ballasts, two igniter, bulbs and the back covers for the light housings. Then depending on the type of projector unit you have you will probably need to get the xenon projector units as well, to be able to fit the xenon bulbs, together with that you will also need the bulb holders.

Personally I would just go for an aftermarket xenon kit that is of the same type as your halogen bulbs you have in at the moment, it would probably be the cheapest option.

 

[whattingh]

Well i would prefer the proper way, so will look more into it

 

[Sankekur]

Then you would just new to find the OEM stuff new, as you don't really want to be buying this kind of stuff second hand, especially not the older generation xenon stuff. If you get the stuff second had though try to get stuff that is round about the same age else you might have difficulty matching the colour of the headlights.

If you are going to change the projector units to those that can fit the xenon bulb you might also consider aftermarket ones as you can get much better quality projectors for a fraction of the price of new OEM ones and just a bit more than second hand OEM ones. (Note by OEM I am just referring to the standard projectors, they are not actually made by BMW)

 

[amauvis]

I'm based in Europe but I just bought an HID kit from ebay for 69 pounds. Came with H7 xenon bulbs, ballasts and bulb warning cancellers. My E39 is a pre-facelift 1998 model but I have fitted angel eyes projector headlights. They're supposed to be for Halogen bulbs but they take the rebased H7 xenon bulbs fine, and the projector lenses mean good beams with no glare or scatter.

If you're going HID, I can heartily recommend it but for the sake of fellow road users, please get some projector lenses first.

 

[whattingh]

I do have projectors as I have the facelift headlights.

 

[andrewbuch]

I do have projectors as I have the facelift headlights.

If thats the case, then just get a HID kit (should include bulbs, balasts etc)

 

[P1000]

You still need the bulb adapters for the E39...

 

[andrewbuch]

Oh..
What bulb does the E39 take?

 

[P1000]

H7, but the xenons does not just drop in for some reason, you need adapters/spacers according to the interweb, as well as amauvis:

I'm based in Europe but I just bought an HID kit from ebay for 69 pounds. Came with H7 xenon bulbs, ballasts and bulb warning cancellers. My E39 is a pre-facelift 1998 model but I have fitted angel eyes projector headlights. They're supposed to be for Halogen bulbs but they take the rebased H7 xenon bulbs fine, and the projector lenses mean good beams with no glare or scatter.

If you're going HID, I can heartily recommend it but for the sake of fellow road users, please get some projector lenses first.

You can also look up bossman's post on the subject on the forum... I think he might have posted some images.

http://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=7609&highlight=xenon

Hmm, i see he fitted them in the non-projector position, why, I do not know...

 

[amauvis]

This is what I bought:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270512316994&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

Having said that, I only bought this kit because I had a kit in there already, and one of the headlights had died, so I used one of the new ballasts and all came back to life. So I now have two spare bulbs and a spare ballast for any future problems.

---

These seem a sensible price, and in SA

 

[whattingh]

I want to try and stick oem so far I can. Going to try few scrapyards for the parts i need of full head lights... could get pricy i know

 

[amauvis]

I want to try and stick oem so far I can. Going to try few scrapyards for the parts i need of full head lights... could get pricy i know

I just replaced the Xenon headlights on my E60 as I have 2 RHD BMWs in a LHD country, and it's required to pass the annual roadworthy. 2000 Euro for proper Xenon headlights, and that was WITHOUT the ballasts and bulbs. Brand new admittedly, but serious money for new OEM Xenon lights. The HID kit on the E39 works brilliantly in the halogen projectors and the only way you can tell it's not OEM is that I have 6000K bulbs rather than the 4300K that the OEM lights used. And that's only if you know that 4300 is standard.

If going OEM is how you like to do things (and there's nothing wrong with wanting a proper retrofit ) then prepare for some expense, but to go properly OEM would mean deleting the headlight level switch from the cabin, installing the proper lights (and light washers, if legally required in SA for xenons - it is a requirement in the EU), and you would probably have to replace/code the LKM too to handle the bulb out warnings.

But, if you just want to see at night, a kit would be much better, infinitely cheaper and fitting would be really quick. And nobody could feasibly be able to tell the difference. Also, the bid or buy advert I linked to looks like it uses the same ballast I put in my car last weekend, bought from ebay.