jayla Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 hi could someone advise me what the bmw oem bi-xenons lights do, when flash high beams and also when you have them on parmanant high beams. i am guessing that when you do flash high beam only halogens come on and when you do parmanant the xenon lights come on and the halogens do not. i hope it is that way, as i have made harness like that. after alot of research i found out that all i need to do is wire pin 2 to postive to make high beam work on the xenon. so what i did is ran a new wire inside car and will be puting a switch to acc so i can use that switch for high beam xenon when i need parmanant, usefull site that helped me. also test pin 2 for high beam and worked fine with no other wires connect from that connector Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz 330 Cs Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 We had this last week on a different thread , E46's do NOT come with Bi Xenon ....the main beam is a Halogen Bulb . I believe a mod is possible though to convert main beam to Xenon also .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayla Posted June 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 hmm your wrong e46 do and can come with bi-xenons on the facelift model 2002 and above as standard. so i want to know how are they set up from factory. question i was asking is if the halogens high beam and xenon high beam come on when on permantent high beam on stalk. i search other froms and it looks correct the setting i have done for oem bi-xenons. when you want to flash high beam the halogens come on and when you want permanent high beam then you use xenon high beam and halogens high beam Do not come one. this can also be programmed on the lcm unit which will trigger pin 2 on the lcm for the left light high beam xenon and i think it was pin 67 for the right headlight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz 330 Cs Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 hmm your wrong e46 do and can come with bi-xenons on the facelift model 2002 and above as standard. so i want to know how are they set up from factory. Er NO ..im not wrong at all , E46s do NOT come with 4 Xenon Bulbs as standard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 From wikipedia:- Bi-Xenon Headlights refers to HID (High Intensity Discharge) Xenon headlights that offer both low (dipped) and high (main) beam lighting from a dual headlight system (as opposed to a quad headlight system). A bi-xenon system eliminates the need for a separate halogen high beam bulb/lens by either moving the xenon bulb within the lens or by moving a shield up or down in front of the bulb (depending on the reflector design) to allow light to escape from the lens in a different pattern. Another explanation:- Most xenon-equipped headlights are only offered as a low-beam headlight with a halogen bulb for the high beam. Bi-xenon headlights offer xenon-light output for the low and high beams, and they’re housed in the same headlight capsule/projector. Bi-xenon headlights typically have a shade or filter in front of the bulb during low-beam operation. When the high-beams are needed, the shade moves out of the way and the bulb’s full-light output is projected onto the road. Bi-xenon headlights are offered in luxury makes like Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Lexus and Audi. Jayla the way your Bi Xenon's are working sounds right as xenons dont like being switched on and off randomly hence having the halogen bulb for flashing, and the shield moving for hi beam xenon light when the xenons are on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz 330 Cs Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 Stu what you have posted would apply to a single Headlight , not 2 lights side by side ..new Shape Z4's have only 1 light each side and have Xenon Dipped & High Beam Unlike an E46 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 Daz from what I have seen and am probably wrong, but early E46 xenon headlights had a smaller projector dome than the later ones which were described as Bi Xenon, the bigger projector dome being bigger because of the shutter? Ignoring the fact that there is still a halogen high beam bulb, surely they are bi xenon because there is the shutter that makes the xenon bulb do the high beam work? Anyway as this has already been talked about last week I aint saying nuffink more so shall keep my thoughts to myself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz 330 Cs Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 Well i know how mine work , when i change from dipped to full beam , the Xenon doesnt change at all . And ive never seen an E46 with Xenon main beam as well as dipped , unless a mod has been done , its definitely not standard which is what i was saying Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayla Posted June 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 Er NO ..im not wrong at all , E46s do NOT come with 4 Xenon Bulbs as standard hmm i am lost. who said about 4 xenon bulbs. anyways does not matter i found out what i needed. as fur as i knw there is only one xenon and one high beam holagen and one dipped light the reason they have high beam halogen is only for whan you want to flash someone reason for this is bi-xenon on high beam is not suitable for flashiing. so that why that is there. for parmantant high beam the bi-xenon is used which just moves the sheild to high beam from low beam. in this mode the high beam halogen is not used. i am guessing thats how bi-xenon are configured from bmw factory with bi-xenon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz 330 Cs Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 ^ ^ ^ ^ You dont half Waffle ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clubsport_chris Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 They do come with with bi-xenon headlights but that don't mean all 4 lights are projectors or xenon bulbs. My st had bi-xenon lights and it had halogen high beams. the part that makes it bi-xenon is a slide o that moves up and down when high beam is selected uncovering another part of the bulb. When i first got my st the one high beam would not come of when deselected and it was the slide on the bulb not working correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz 330 Cs Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 Ok let me word it a little bit different fot those of you that are having difficulty here , On the E46 the main beam comes from the Halogen bulb , it doesnt matter if you use the flash or push the stalk away from you on dipped beam . NONE of the main beam comes from the Xenon Unit . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mit Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 Ok let me word it a little bit different fot those of you that are having difficulty here , On the E46 the main beam comes from the Halogen bulb , it doesnt matter if you use the flash or push the stalk away from you on dipped beam . NONE of the main beam comes from the Xenon Unit . +1 (on the e46). Of course other cars do have xenon main beam using the shroud or element moving techniques, but as Daz says, not the e46 (as far as I know)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clubsport_chris Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 And my high beam on my BI-XENON lights had halogen as well but the were still BI-XENON for thiose people who are struggling with the concept. Here is a e46 BI-XENON projector showing the high beam flap working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mit Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 And my high beam on my BI-XENON lights had halogen as well but the were still BI-XENON for thiose people who are struggling with the concept. Here is a e46 BI-XENON projector showing the high beam flap working. I always thought that was for the levelling? Video reminds me of Johnny 5 from Short Circuit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 Thank you Chris for clearing that up! I knew I was right in what I thought was a Bi-xenon light! Nice video as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clubsport_chris Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 theses a lot of people having differing ideas on what a bi xenon light consists of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 Do all factory lights with projectors have the flap then? Mine was originally halogen which I've changed to xenon bulbs, can I test if the flap is there and needs activating to get full beam xenons? Lights are facelift, self leveling with projector lenses Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayla Posted June 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 ok this is just getting stupid now. i have oem bmw bi-xenons which have a connector just for that flap to work for the high beam on the bi-xenon. if bmw did not have his function why would they put a connector on the ballast for this function. i know for a fact that the lcm unit can be programmed (on facelift models only) for it to know when the flap needs to come on and when not to come on. i sirously dont know what oem lights come on when you use the high beam, thats why i wrote this thread in the first place and now the thread is about whos right and whos wrong. i guess i am just waffling and the oem bi-xenons do not have a flap like my one does. the flap for bi-xenon high beam also works on mine and so do the high beam Halogen. so i just choose which ones come on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayla Posted June 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 here is a video which show excactly what i was saying Another video of the headlamps in my 2002 325i. First the headlamps auto-level, then the first two flashes are the halogen "flash to pass" feature (pull the turn signal stalk backwards), then the xenon high beams (push it away), then another flash to pass and another full high beam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayla Posted June 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2009 copy and paste from e46fantics also saying same thing as me. Quick background: All pre-2002 e46s came with standalone Xenon headlights (or straight halogen headlights). On the Xenon headlights, halogen lights are still used for the high beams, as well as flash-to-pass. (NOTE: All Projector 46s are single Xenon headlights, using a halogen high beam) In 2002, the e46 had an option for bi-xenon headlights. The bi-xenon was a great improvement over the regular xenon, because instead of using a halogen light for a high beam, it opened the shutter “eye” of the xenon projector, and used Xenon light for a high beam as well. The difference in light output is tremendous. The halogen bulb remains in the car only for flash-to-pass. This is done to protect the Xenon ballast / igniter, from potential damage with quick a ON-OFF for flashing the lights (Xenon lights also take longer to turn on, making halogen light’s instant-on a better choice for flashing). Anyhow, anyone with a 2002+ e46 could swap halogen lights with bi-xenon’s and get functioning single Xenon’s, by simply plugging in bi-xenon’s where the halogens had been, and then having the car’s LCM flashed at the dealer. In order to get the bi-xenon functionality working, you need to do some extra wiring. e46 fanatics link hmm or is this more waffles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz 330 Cs Posted June 5, 2009 Report Share Posted June 5, 2009 So back to my original post , its an Option , not standard which is what i said to start with Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mit Posted June 5, 2009 Report Share Posted June 5, 2009 So back to my original post , its an Option , not standard which is what i said to start with But your original post didn't answer Jayla's question though lol Come on let's just admit we were both wrong and he and Chris were right. I'm happy to have learnt from this thread anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clubsport_chris Posted June 5, 2009 Report Share Posted June 5, 2009 So back to my original post , its an Option , not standard which is what i said to start with Well we all know there an option as are normal Xenons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
