Poor Visibility on Stock Standard E32

[Eggie86]

Posted this earlier on Bimmerforums:Hey guys,I just wanna seek your expert opinions regarding the rather poor visibility whenever my E32 is driven in the dark. It seems that the car's lights are facing too low, hence the light wouldn't disperse like normal cars do, whether they're halogen or xenons. It's akin to the driver not being able to see the light disperse anywhere past the hood. :stupid:I'd tried changing the standard halogen bulbs in the main beam with a pair of 4,300K bulbs, and although it did brighten up the beam a wee bit, night driving was still an utter pain in the arse, and a sight for sore eyes. Picture this:Imagine driving in pitch darkness, with all my lights being switched on, and yet, visibility is so bad that I can't even see about 10m away. Of course, I can't go around using the high beams, which strangely seems fine and unaffected.I even bought a brand new, original right side lense, but the clearer lense doesn't seem to have helped too. My mechanic had tried putting in brighter bulbs, and tried to readjust the headlamps so that it would face higher, and yet the problem still remains. Even my foglamps aren't spared. The standard Hella ones are pretty temperamental, with the left side failing to function, due to a wiring problem, which always reoccurs whenever I go over a speed bump. I've seen some of the members using a mixture of Xenon-ish bulbs, and they look great, and I believe they aid visibility very well too. Had any other members faced lighting problems with their E32s too? I can't go around flashing my high beams forever... Since I'm not a keen DIY person [careless etc], is there any reliable mechanic or workshop who's familiar with this problem? I've read up on various sites about headlamps adjustment and cleaning the lenses from the inside, but being me, I'd rather let a professional deal with them.

 

[AAM]

Hai Eggie,

Have u sort out ur light problem ?
I am having d same problem too with my E32
Thanks.

 

[535i]

Either change your headlites to a 'newer' ones - or you can clean it yourself.

Changing bulbs won't help much.

 

[ALBundy]

Eggie, the solution is to follow what 535i said, change the headlights and if budget permits get a set of HIDs (below 5k temperature). Otherwise they are some brighter halogens like Osram's Silver Star which has longer throw and about 20% brighter. Downside is they burned off a little faster than stock halogens. But, it will be a marginal improvement, unless you get new headlights.

Cheers

 

[Eggie86]

Hai Eggie,

Have u sort out ur light problem ?
I am having d same problem too with my E32
Thanks.

Hey, managed to settle the problems d. Mechanic said he adjusted some stuff [sorry, not technically inclined] and said got something to do with solenoids.[???], but thing is, he got the problem settled. Bulb wise, he changed the previous ones to the 100W halogen ones.

& the results are simply awesome. Much brighter than before, although the throw on the left side slightly shorter than the right, but driving at night is now a HUGE pleasure. Made lotsa difference being able to actually see far ahead...

Eggie, the solution is to follow what 535i said, change the headlights and if budget permits get a set of HIDs (below 5k temperature). Otherwise they are some brighter halogens like Osram's Silver Star which has longer throw and about 20% brighter. Downside is they burned off a little faster than stock halogens. But, it will be a marginal improvement, unless you get new headlights.

Cheers

Thanks for the advice. Still thinkin whether I should get the Osram's or Nightbreakers like king82 mentioned before for my next purchase. So far the car's as good as new thanks to the improved lighting.

Either change your headlites to a 'newer' ones - or you can clean it yourself.

Changing bulbs won't help much.

Noted bro. Problem settled already. Might aim for a set of Nightbreakers to improve the visibility further. Thanks!

 

[king82]

Hey, managed to settle the problems d. Mechanic said he adjusted some stuff [sorry, not technically inclined] and said got something to do with solenoids.[???], but thing is, he got the problem settled. Bulb wise, he changed the previous ones to the 100W halogen ones.

& the results are simply awesome. Much brighter than before, although the throw on the left side slightly shorter than the right, but driving at night is now a HUGE pleasure. Made lotsa difference being able to actually see far ahead...



Thanks for the advice. Still thinkin whether I should get the Osram's or Nightbreakers like king82 mentioned before for my next purchase. So far the car's as good as new thanks to the improved lighting.



Noted bro. Problem settled already. Might aim for a set of Nightbreakers to improve the visibility further. Thanks!

bro...if i'm not mistaken, 100w will work, but it will burn your fuse...suggest that you keep back to stock 50w...my mechanic previously changed mine to 100w...but few days later, the headlights went "black"...i thought it was the bulb which blew, but it was the fuses...

 

[Eggie86]

bro...if i'm not mistaken, 100w will work, but it will burn your fuse...suggest that you keep back to stock 50w...my mechanic previously changed mine to 100w...but few days later, the headlights went "black"...i thought it was the bulb which blew, but it was the fuses...

Wah, alamak. Serious ka? Been using it for close to a month already. So far still alright. Haha. Guess too syiok sendiri revelling in my night time driving.

Erm, if that's the case, should it be a case of 'wait & see' or should I change it first, considering that so far, nothing's wrong with the bulbs?

 

[king82]

wow...1 month and nothing happened...i'm not 100% sure, but my fuses burnt 1-2 days later...or did your mechanic change the fuse to a higher ampere one? maybe you should take out the fuse and check if it's has the same ampere as suggested by BMW?

 

[Eggie86]

wow...1 month and nothing happened...i'm not 100% sure, but my fuses burnt 1-2 days later...or did your mechanic change the fuse to a higher ampere one? maybe you should take out the fuse and check if it's has the same ampere as suggested by BMW?

Eh wait. Now that you mentioned it, I just remembered. A day after collecting the car [before my trip to Alor Setar], my left side low beam failed to work. I mean, the one in the O didn't light up, only the small strip on the top of the headlamp did.

So when I got back from outstation, I asked the mechanic to fix it, he said wiring loose. Maybe it's that burnt fuses you were referring to?

So far, since the day he repaired it, no such problems anymore.

 

[BMW2007]

I used to have the same problem when I was driving the E34. I was also thinking of changing the 100w bulb but the BM spare part shop didn’t recommend me to use 100w bulb and insists me to use stock 55w. The spare part shop owner (he used to own E34 as well) said that the glass of headlight will easily crack when kena hujan or water as the heat produced from the 100w bulb is almost 2x up. Ended up I have to pasang additional sportlight to light up the road in M’sia.

 

[Eggie86]

I used to have the same problem when I was driving the E34. I was also thinking of changing the 100w bulb but the BM spare part shop didn’t recommend me to use 100w bulb and insists me to use stock 55w. The spare part shop owner (he used to own E34 as well) said that the glass of headlight will easily crack when kena hujan or water as the heat produced from the 100w bulb is almost 2x up. Ended up I have to pasang additional sportlight to light up the road in M’sia.

Hmm. Serious? *Sighs* Guess I ought to get them bulbs replaced back to the 55W ones... Then again, there's always the Nightbreakers as King82 said...

 

[king82]

hahaha...if your headlamp has not gone through any modifications to support the 100w, suggest you keep back to stock 55w.

wiring loose? haha...not sure about that. mine did not work because the fuse (in the fuse box) was burnt. I just hope your mechanic knows what he is doing and hope that he DID NOT change your fuse to a higher ampere. If he did, there's a possibility of your wiring melting due to higher voltage required by your 100w bulbs...

i didn't encounter (yet) the cracking of the headlight glass as i only had the 100w for 1 or 2 days...

not trying to hard sell nightbreakers, but it's the most economical way for me to have brighter lights at night...

please do check on the fuse and compare against the recommended in your fuse box cover...

 

[Eggie86]

hahaha...if your headlamp has not gone through any modifications to support the 100w, suggest you keep back to stock 55w.

wiring loose? haha...not sure about that. mine did not work because the fuse (in the fuse box) was burnt. I just hope your mechanic knows what he is doing and hope that he DID NOT change your fuse to a higher ampere. If he did, there's a possibility of your wiring melting due to higher voltage required by your 100w bulbs...

i didn't encounter (yet) the cracking of the headlight glass as i only had the 100w for 1 or 2 days...

not trying to hard sell nightbreakers, but it's the most economical way for me to have brighter lights at night...

please do check on the fuse and compare against the recommended in your fuse box cover...

Hmm, I see. Thanks for the advice bro. Gonna check it ASAP. Where's the fuse box located? Right next to the windscreen, near the coolant tank?

 

[king82]

whoops...let's see...mine is located in the engine bay, left side passenger, in front of the wiper...hope this makes sense =)

 

[Eggie86]

whoops...let's see...mine is located in the engine bay, left side passenger, in front of the wiper...hope this makes sense =)

Haha. I know where it is already. Thanks! Was referring to the same location. LOL. Left passenger, that's the word I left out!

Anyways, how's your E34 coming along? Mine's in good shape. Spend a couple of days last week claying and waxing the car... Love it so much when the rain water just beads away on the paintwork... Just drive around for a while, and voila! As good as dry.

 

[king82]

haha...my E34 is ok lor...just the usual vacuum, wash and dry...haven't gone shopping for the detailing materials...

would be sending my E34 for ATF and filter change, check on the front brakes (there's been some squeeking sound), check on engine (as there's some kluk kluk kluk sound when i accelerate) and some other minor minor stuff. there goes my bonus...sigh...

saw one E39 520i in mudah.my...seems nice...but can only dream of it at the mean time as i need to see what is my new salary after the upcoming increment...calculations, calculations and calculations...need to think of the installment, insurance, road tax, maintenance...sigh...
http://www.mudah.my/BMW-520i-2.2L-E39-2002-5134388.htm

 

[Eggie86]

haha...my E34 is ok lor...just the usual vacuum, wash and dry...haven't gone shopping for the detailing materials...

would be sending my E34 for ATF and filter change, check on the front brakes (there's been some squeeking sound), check on engine (as there's some kluk kluk kluk sound when i accelerate) and some other minor minor stuff. there goes my bonus...sigh...

saw one E39 520i in mudah.my...seems nice...but can only dream of it at the mean time as i need to see what is my new salary after the upcoming increment...calculations, calculations and calculations...need to think of the installment, insurance, road tax, maintenance...sigh...
http://www.mudah.my/BMW-520i-2.2L-E39-2002-5134388.htm

Haha, Self wash ah bro? I'm sure your car is one neat example! :top:

Whoa, looking at the E39 huh... Why not consider the 7 series? Hehehe.

 

[king82]

i prefer to get it self washed...that way, i could make sure it's sparkling clean and also notice any new scratches or bumps...

hm...the 7 series that i saw in thestar classifieds are not expensive, just that I'm worried I can't afford to pay for the maintenance...I'm just a lowly paid salary worker...:20:

think the jump from E34 to E39 should be more acceptable (not much culture shock) for me...

anyway, the upgrading plans will have to wait until I am 100% sure that I am comfortable and capable to handle the installments, roadtax, insurance, maintenance etc...

 

[Eggie86]

i prefer to get it self washed...that way, i could make sure it's sparkling clean and also notice any new scratches or bumps...

hm...the 7 series that i saw in thestar classifieds are not expensive, just that I'm worried I can't afford to pay for the maintenance...I'm just a lowly paid salary worker...:20:

think the jump from E34 to E39 should be more acceptable (not much culture shock) for me...

anyway, the upgrading plans will have to wait until I am 100% sure that I am comfortable and capable to handle the installments, roadtax, insurance, maintenance etc...

Hehe. Same here. Car wash fanatics. Wish we could be as great as KC / Seech though. Hahaha.

Anyways, I'm sure you'll make the right decision eventually. Prices of used cars especially those higher CC ones might fall further if the proposed fuel subsidy thingy goes ahead. Still finding it a rather silly decision though.

Haha, the E39 is one good example. Have you seen Paul Tan's E39? Awesome man! Hahaha.

 

[king82]

haha...fanatics? i'm not to that extent la...just wanna keep my E34 clean, that's all...don't think i would be able to spend too much time claying and waxing the car like you did...weekdays i would be dead tired, weekends would be either back to ipoh or in kl doing housekeeping...but who knows? one day my brain wires might be all screwed up and i take my whole day claying and waxing... haha...

yup...all the fuss now is about how the gov would be able to implement the fuel subsidy plan...there's still a lot of fine-tuning needed on the plan...

nope i haven't seen paul tan's E39...try to search for it at home tonight...limited internet access in office :stupid: