[bytejunkie]

all, just completed a xenon swap, pre-lci to same in an e91.

got a bulb that wont light up. have learned the lesson of testing before fitting now

so i need to swap bulbs and or ballasts from side to side to see if i can work out which it is thats duff.

does anyone know if the ballast comes out of the headlight unit in situ, without removing the lamp or if you need to remove the lamp?
after investigation, its loose with the two visible bolts removed, but it felt held in. i wasn't sure if the third u shaped bracket on the end inside the lamp housing is a locator or a fixing. i didnt want to put too much weight into pulling it out so as to break anything.

also got an issue with the coding. managed to add the code to the CAS, but the instructions i had said to add it to a second module which it called the LRM, but i didn't appear to have one of them. more research needed.

[Sensible_]

Originally Posted by bytejunkie

all, just completed a xenon swap, pre-lci to same in an e91.

got a bulb that wont light up. have learned the lesson of testing before fitting now

so i need to swap bulbs and or ballasts from side to side to see if i can work out which it is thats duff.

does anyone know if the ballast comes out of the headlight unit in situ, without removing the lamp or if you need to remove the lamp?
after investigation, its loose with the two visible bolts removed, but it felt held in. i wasn't sure if the third u shaped bracket on the end inside the lamp housing is a locator or a fixing. i didnt want to put too much weight into pulling it out so as to break anything.

also got an issue with the coding. managed to add the code to the CAS, but the instructions i had said to add it to a second module which it called the LRM, but i didn't appear to have one of them. more research needed.

The module you refer to is the FRM (footwell module) which controls lights / Windows / mirrors etc etc.

Being pre-LCI you'll have FRM1 or FRM2 (NFRM) if it's the later then NCSExpert will show NFRM.

[bytejunkie]

thanks mate. ive put the FRM2 in and used the BM loom to add the pins in, so I'll go back and look for that option.

[bytejunkie]

found a youtube video late last night which shows a third screw in the u shaped bracket. the bloke in the video takes the bumper off to swap a ballast out, so it looks like that is what i'll be doing.

[bishbosh]

Don't forget that once you've added the VO ($522 IIRC) to the CAS and the FRM module that you need to code the FRM to default, this then tells the footwell module that you have xenon lights installed

[bytejunkie]

would not having done the last two (vo on FRM and FRM to default) stop one of the headlights from working?
clutching at straws to stop myself from having to take off the bumper. I thought I'd read somewhere that both headlamps light up without coding them in.

[bishbosh]

Don't know why coding (which is the proper thing to do) would cause a light not to light up. Yes, the lights might work without coding, but coding ensures the ballast receives the correct voltage.

Taking off the bumper only takes around 20-30 minutes.

[bytejunkie]

Originally Posted by bishbosh

Taking off the bumper only takes around 20-30 minutes.

it might do for you, but im a different proposition

I've roped the guy in who installed them in the first place. he is a trained installer for aftermarket bits so he will probably only take 20 mins.

thanks for replying.