[E90N52Fan]

I have a 2011 (LCI) E90 328i XDrive (with Xenons) that I drive in the winter, every month I like to hook it up to my trickle charger, then give it a start-up and let it idle for a bit, to get the fluids running and circulate. For reference the car has just over 150K (KM) on it.

Today I just noticed that my passenger Low Beam is out. error on the dash corresponds to that. Had my partner start up the vehicle as I observed the outside, upon start up the self-leveling calibration works as it should, with no flicker or light coming out of the bulb. Halos, turns both works fine.

I was wondering if anyone else has had experienced anything like this? What's the probability that it's a bulb vs ballast? Trying to figure out what parts to get and is there's a way to pinpoint if it is the bulb or ballast (or potentially anything else that can cause this) other than tearing apart both sides and do the ol'guess and check. I am praying that it is just the bulb, as the ballast is going to be challenging to source from a part out ($1K CAD from dealer LOL), and is going to be hell to replace. .

thanks in advance, still very new to cars, trying to learn more about cars every day.

[spazzz]

Usually you can tell if a bulb is on the way out because it gets dim and the color is almost pink.
If the bulbs are old I would buy some decent Phillips or Osram and change them hoping that was it. Either way it should tell you its the ballast if it doesn't fire.

[E90N52Fan]

Originally Posted by spazzz

Usually you can tell if a bulb is on the way out because it gets dim and the color is almost pink.
If the bulbs are old I would buy some decent Phillips or Osram and change them hoping that was it. Either way it should tell you its the ballast if it doesn't fire.

As far as I can tell, the low beam went out abruptly, it was working 100% when I put the car away in March, and didn't notice the issue till now. No indication of dimming or flickering before I stored the car. Good point on the quality bulbs, I have looked on Amazon and there was several alternatives for a lot cheaper, but I would want a quality piece for all the effort to replace it.

[spazzz]

Any signs of rodent nibbling?
What year is your 328?
How do you access the bulbs? Up top, wheel well, both? I replaced bulbs in a 328 but it was a '08 E92.
When replacing bulbs, you would take known working bulb and pop it into other side before putting new bulbs in. Kinda doing what you didn't want to do.
I probably would have tried the smacking routine for a hint of life, lol

That Canada thing probably makes shipping weird but The Retrofit Source or HID CONCEPT are good places for guaranteed legit bulbs. The latter is where I usually purchase lately.

[E90N52Fan]

Originally Posted by spazzz

Any signs of rodent nibbling?
What year is your 328?
How do you access the bulbs? Up top, wheel well, both? I replaced bulbs in a 328 but it was a '08 E92.
When replacing bulbs, you would take known working bulb and pop it into other side before putting new bulbs in. Kinda doing what you didn't want to do.
I probably would have tried the smacking routine for a hint of life, lol

That Canada thing probably makes shipping weird but The Retrofit Source or HID CONCEPT are good places for guaranteed legit bulbs. The latter is where I usually purchase lately.

Wheel well only, but precisely trying to avoid the hassle of disassembling it on both sides, I'm not competent working on cars, so this would have to be done by my shop. Could there be anything else other than bulb and ballast? Wanted to get an idea so I have some parts ready. Thanks for your reply btw.

[spazzz]

Unfortunately that is the starting point for me. I would get the headlights out and swap ballasts around and take it from there.
A bulb purchase okay but a ballast gets pricey without knowing for sure.
The easy way is buy a used one from Ebay.
What year is your car?

[E90N52Fan]

Originally Posted by spazzz

Unfortunately that is the starting point for me. I would get the headlights out and swap ballasts around and take it from there.
A bulb purchase okay but a ballast gets pricey without knowing for sure.
The easy way is buy a used one from Ebay.
What year is your car?

Mine is a 2011, I purchased a used ballast, the revised part number 63117318327 for $50 Canadian Loonies, at this point the bulb is going to cost more haha! but I'd still rather not deal with the bumper removal which is going to be a lot more in labour fees. Pray for me that it's just a silly bulb

[E90N52Fan]

Update, did more research and narrowed it down to pretty much 4 items. bulb or ballast, FRM or connecting cable. Going to formally diagnose it and report back on a fix (if it gets fixed). Estimating it will cost anywhere between $200 to $1000