Headlight Problem: Does anyone know what this is??

[StudioWizard]

Hi,

I just bought this OEM bi-xenon headlight assembly off of Ebay and it has two issues. I'm curious if anyone has seen these problems before and if it's just normal wear and tear or an indication of possible major problems with the assembly, esp moisture or worse.

The first two pictures show some type of smudge of something both on the inside of the lens AND on the black trim. There also appears to possibly be two tiny pinholes, but I'm not sure. What's really odd is that the "smudges" are almost exactly the same shape so it looks like a shadow, but they are two distinct and separate "smudges" on the lens and trim.

The last picture shows some type of flaking or material defect. I'm at a loss as to what the cause of this could be and what it might mean for the long-term operation of the assembly.

Has anyone seen either of these kinds of defects before? Are they something I can fix? Should I just return it or be glad I got it for a fraction of the cost of a brand new one?

[1536Z4]

Are they something I can fix?

I would contact the seller first of all and ask them and then if your happy with what they say and you want to keep them I would remove the projectors and get a cloth in behind the lens to see if the smudges can be removed and get a better look at the paint bubbles. The last photo looks like the paint has bubbled probably due to moisture or even heat maybe ? There are some photos here of how to disassemble viewtopic.php?t=76217&start=15 and if you search z4 forum headlights i`m sure there are other posts showing them being cleaned from the inside . The outside pin holes could be from someone drilling through to try and release the moisture or could just be stone chips but it is hard to tell from photos . Probably a good idea to sand the lenses down and polish which there are plenty of you tube videos about .

[GT Spec]

Hi,

I just bought this OEM bi-xenon headlight assembly off of Ebay and it has two issues. I'm curious if anyone has seen these problems before and if it's just normal wear and tear or an indication of possible major problems with the assembly, esp moisture or worse.

The first two pictures show some type of smudge of something both on the inside of the lens AND on the black trim. There also appears to possibly be two tiny pinholes, but I'm not sure. What's really odd is that the "smudges" are almost exactly the same shape so it looks like a shadow, but they are two distinct and separate "smudges" on the lens and trim.

The last picture shows some type of flaking or material defect. I'm at a loss as to what the cause of this could be and what it might mean for the long-term operation of the assembly.

Has anyone seen either of these kinds of defects before? Are they something I can fix? Should I just return it or be glad I got it for a fraction of the cost of a brand new one?

I'm pretty sure the OEM finish of the plastic reflector part of the headlamp is silver not black? Has it not been painted at some point in its life?

[StudioWizard]

Unless you're talking about the silver ring trim around the projector, it's black trim. BMW made/makes a bunch of different versions of headlights. Some have amber turn signals, some clear. Some have silver internal trim, some black. Mine has black internal trim and amber turn signals, although the ring around the project is probably silver in all cases as is mine. It's all OEM for sure.

[StudioWizard]

I would contact the seller first of all and ask them and then if your happy with what they say and you want to keep them I would remove the projectors and get a cloth in behind the lens to see if the smudges can be removed and get a better look at the paint bubbles.

Good idea. I already contacted the seller, but it might be easiest just to fix it myself as these things are hard to find and really expensive. New, they cost $1500. I paid $375.

[StudioWizard]

Btw, the possible pinholes aren't on the actual lens. They would be on the black plastic trim, but it's really hard to tell.

[StudioWizard]

The seller offered to let me return the headlight.... I think I would keep it but the bubbling of the black paint in front of the projector bugs me. I think I could fix the smudges, but the bubbling paint...??? I think that's not going to go well.