Carlo Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 Over the last couple of months noticed that my offside xenon is slightly dimmer than my nearside, thought not much of it until I got the warning light on the dash for a blown bulb... :-( Turned the light off and back on again and it was fine... Happened only every couple of days and now has started not coming on more often than not... You see the bulb ignite initially for a millsecond and then goes out... after maybe 5 or 10 "lights off, lights on" the light will come one, but very dull and then slowly increase in brightness over 10 secs... Then will be slightly duller than the nearside... Anyone had this same fault? I know it is likely to be the ballast, but with it being intermittant want to rule out dodgy connector or bulb on the way out... Cheers, Carlo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kite Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 Swop the ballast to the other side of the car and see if the problem moves with it. That should confirm bulb or ballast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 Sounds like the lamp to me, I've had a few go over the years and thats the sort of behaviour I'd expect. They are meant to last the life of the vehicle, but I work nights so they are on 10-12hrs a day, they definately dont last the life of the vehicle with that sort of use! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy007 Posted July 7, 2009 Report Share Posted July 7, 2009 My M3 light has gone off, swapped the bulbs over, both bulbs are ok, so I guess it could be the ignitor or starter, bmw want a small fortune for both, any odeas or other test I can do before I get fleeced Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyliss Posted July 8, 2009 Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 I've had similar problems in the past and the dealer found that the problem was the control unit which controls each individual light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted July 9, 2009 Report Share Posted July 9, 2009 Its almost certainly the ballast, which is going to prove a problem. As far as i know, they are not swapable on the 8L A3/S3. the ballast is part of/attached to the headlight, with the HV wire going through the headlight housing , onto the bulky plug inside the headlight. Also from what i have seen, there isnt the room to take a xenon bulb out of an S3, with the headlight in the car, which is another issue. To get the headlight out, its a bumper off job. Been there and done it. Headlights from Audi are circa £450 each Lamps are circa £120. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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