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      02-14-2016, 10:17 AM   #1
philc21
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Convert halogen headlight to stock HID w/o autolevel?

Hi guys,
I'm sorry if this has been answered but I've searched for a long time and cannot come up with this answer.

Is it possible to swap out the halogen headlight for oem projectors if you do not expect to wire up the auto leveling function?

Everything I find is how difficult and expensive it is to do with trying to the full conversion. But if I just want to swap out the headlight and use an aftermarket led or hid kit and not have auto leveling, do you think this is possible? Have any of you done this before?

Thanks
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      02-15-2016, 09:59 AM   #2
vstolpner
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You're better off going with an aftermarket headlight. Might need to code the computer not to check for light errors so you don't get any annoying messages that you would otherwise with changing the bulb type

Check on eBay and AliExpress, there is also a review of one set of these lights either on this forum or the other one
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      02-15-2016, 09:22 PM   #3
philc21
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Thanks for the advice. I'll look into some aftermarket's i guess, but was definitely hoping to keep it oem. Is there a reason the stock lights wouldn't wire in appropriately? Or would it require getting rid of the stock plug and completely rewiring?
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      02-15-2016, 09:46 PM   #4
stanjohn123
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Quote:
Originally Posted by philc21 View Post
Hi guys,
I'm sorry if this has been answered but I've searched for a long time and cannot come up with this answer.

Is it possible to swap out the halogen headlight for oem projectors if you do not expect to wire up the auto leveling function?

Everything I find is how difficult and expensive it is to do with trying to the full conversion. But if I just want to swap out the headlight and use an aftermarket led or hid kit and not have auto leveling, do you think this is possible? Have any of you done this before?

Thanks
I would strongly advice against such an upgrade.

1) Because the HID installed on a Halogen assembly setup will just scatter all over the place. You will be blinding other motorists on the road.

2) It would just look ugly and won't look as good as projector HID lights.

Save up some cash and go the projector route as it will look really good with the HID and also it will be very effective in lighting up the road.

You can check out this thread below, where OP has installed successfully and the costs are much lesser than compared to getting it done at BMW dealership.

http://e84.xbimmers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1109510

Try to get some more buyers from this forum interested and you can probably get a group discount.
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      02-15-2016, 10:00 PM   #5
philc21
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I definitely do not want to go the route of hid in the halogen housing. That's why I was hoping to put in the oem projector housings and just wiring in the hid kit if the autolevel was the only thing that made the swap so difficult.
After seeing that post though, the aftermarket could be an option if oem is a no go.
Thanks!
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      02-16-2016, 09:07 PM   #6
philc21
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In looking at the price of the aftermarket lights, I'd definitely rather go the oem route if possible...
Does anyone know if the plug on the oem projectors and the oem halogen are the same?

Would it be possible to switch these out and then just wire in the aftermarket hid/led kit?

The auto leveling really doesn't matter to me if that's the only issue with the conversion.
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      02-17-2016, 02:01 AM   #7
vstolpner
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Not sure on the plugs but if you don't level the HID's properly you'll be blinding every driver on the road.

Considering the OEM HID uses the same bulb for high and low beams and, if I'm not mistaken, the halogen does not, I don't imagine it would be that simple. At the very least you'd need an adapter or to cut the cable and use a new plug.

Again, aftermarket would be much simpler and would likely already resolve the issue with the proper leveling of the HID's.
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      02-17-2016, 08:16 AM   #8
philc21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vstolpner View Post
Not sure on the plugs but if you don't level the HID's properly you'll be blinding every driver on the road.

Considering the OEM HID uses the same bulb for high and low beams and, if I'm not mistaken, the halogen does not, I don't imagine it would be that simple. At the very least you'd need an adapter or to cut the cable and use a new plug.

Again, aftermarket would be much simpler and would likely already resolve the issue with the proper leveling of the HID's.
Thank you for this answer, it's exactly what I was looking for. Since I have yet to purchase the car and am planning ahead it's difficult to know either setup for me. I was unaware of the bulb difference, but if that is the case I definitely think aftermarket would be the easiest.
I just wanted to make sure if I do end up finding one without oem hid I have some sort of recourse to install them. I'm liking the idea of led kits anyway instead of hid. Would definitely be easier in a complete aftermarket switch.

Do a lot of people on here offer coding help? The lights for sale on eBay say there will be an error unless you disable the drl
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      02-17-2016, 10:11 AM   #9
vstolpner
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There are a few people who offer coding assistance on here but I would recommend going the BMWhat route. It's a mobile app that codes the car using either a Bluetooth or WiFi OBDII adapter (depending if you use Android or iOS). I recently did this on my car and it was extremely easy, practically fool proof.
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      02-19-2016, 10:18 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by philc21 View Post
In looking at the price of the aftermarket lights, I'd definitely rather go the oem route if possible...
Does anyone know if the plug on the oem projectors and the oem halogen are the same?

Would it be possible to switch these out and then just wire in the aftermarket hid/led kit?

The auto leveling really doesn't matter to me if that's the only issue with the conversion.
The plugs are 100% the same, except there is 1 pin that needs 12v on the OEM xeons.
What others have done is to just bridge that pin at the light end to the 12v pin next to it.
Then all you need is a bit of coding.
There is a lot of info on doing this in other BMW forums.
I can provide you with the pin detail.
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      02-23-2016, 01:25 PM   #11
philc21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Njerts View Post
The plugs are 100% the same, except there is 1 pin that needs 12v on the OEM xeons.
What others have done is to just bridge that pin at the light end to the 12v pin next to it.
Then all you need is a bit of coding.
There is a lot of info on doing this in other BMW forums.
I can provide you with the pin detail.
Thanks for the info on bmwhat. That sounds amazing. It looks much easier than the programs I've seen before at least!

Njerts - I'd love to see the info from the other forums. Do you know where you read about this?
I've searched everywhere and couldn't come up with anything aside from trying to do the full conversion with auto level and everything.
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      02-23-2016, 03:27 PM   #12
outlawdevil
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If someone could create a video on this type of simple plug and play conversion, that will be great...Most people just show the after conversion effect. I am still on the fence about this.
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      02-24-2016, 10:45 PM   #13
Njerts
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Quote:
Originally Posted by philc21 View Post
Thanks for the info on bmwhat. That sounds amazing. It looks much easier than the programs I've seen before at least!

Njerts - I'd love to see the info from the other forums. Do you know where you read about this?
I've searched everywhere and couldn't come up with anything aside from trying to do the full conversion with auto level and everything.
You can use this E90 thread as a starting point (lots of reading between the lines) but it is almost the same.
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=695805

This is the pinout for the E84 headlight connector.
Pin 1 = Angel Eyes
Pin 2 = GND for xenon (Not wired for Halogen)
Pin 3 = Bi-xenon (low/high beams)
Pin 4 = GND
Pin 5 = Shutter On/Off
Pin 6 = Corner
Pin 7 = X
Pin 8 = Leveler
Pin 9 = Leveler
Pin 10= Leveler
Pin 11= Leveler
Pin 12= Indicator

The hardware mod is basically adding a jumper from 4 to 2 to power the xenon.
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      06-08-2021, 01:22 AM   #14
BMWX86
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Hi all,

First of all nice to meet you guys here.

I hope someone can help me with my xenon conversion problem..
I have recently bought a X1 prefacelift (2011) with halogen lights and replaced these lights with OEM Xenon headlights.
Installed an extra ground wire at Pin 2 to the chassis and swapped Pin 5 to Pin 6 for high beam. Then the garage did the coding ($522VO).

The problem now is that all work fine on ignition (engine OFF). But if the engine is ON, the Xenon flicker and shut off (both headlights).
(I thought maybe a ground problem so I removed the bridge between Pin 2 and 4, then installed separate ground from Pin 2 to chassis but no luck. So ground should be fine.)

Do I miss something?? Or do I maybe need to install capacitors on the low beam wires (Pin 3)?

Thanks in advance.
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      06-09-2021, 05:38 AM   #15
BMWX86
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Anyone can help me please? Need to fix it asap
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      06-09-2021, 05:32 PM   #16
chance91
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Reading it, it seems like it may be a coding issue? Do you get a bulb out message with the lights turning off?

That's all that I can think of. If the lights actually light up, then everything should be good, unless the vehicle is cutting power for some reason. Would need to make sure they did coding of all modules correctly. I'm not an expert but I believe you need at least both Kombi and FRM to get it to work.
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      06-12-2021, 11:36 PM   #17
imrankabirayon
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BMWX86 View Post
Hi all,

First of all nice to meet you guys here.

I hope someone can help me with my xenon conversion problem..
I have recently bought a X1 prefacelift (2011) with halogen lights and replaced these lights with OEM Xenon headlights.
Installed an extra ground wire at Pin 2 to the chassis and swapped Pin 5 to Pin 6 for high beam. Then the garage did the coding ($522VO).

The problem now is that all work fine on ignition (engine OFF). But if the engine is ON, the Xenon flicker and shut off (both headlights).
(I thought maybe a ground problem so I removed the bridge between Pin 2 and 4, then installed separate ground from Pin 2 to chassis but no luck. So ground should be fine.)

Do I miss something?? Or do I maybe need to install capacitors on the low beam wires (Pin 3)?

Thanks in advance.
You need to flash your frm3 to eeprom+p flash of frm3 max.

https://mhhauto.com/Thread-BMW-FRM3R-Max-Brose-EEPROM-Dump-Needed-61359224598-01

Download and flash. But this is for rhd, so you need to code to LHD in NCS expert.

I just did it and stuck as I need to repin the rear drl led and brake lights. I'm looking for the pinout on frm3 max and taillight
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      06-20-2021, 01:50 AM   #18
BMWX86
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I solved the problem by using warning cancellers (capacitors)
Anyway thanks for your replies.
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