Headlamp replacement FUBAR

[Z3crazy]

Hi guys,

This is about my 1.9i 2000 Z3

As it's getting darker earlier i reckoned it was time to go for brighter lamps as an upgrade.
I checked the manual for bulb types, checked 3 forums for bulb types and checked the headlamp lenses for bulb types. HB4 and HB3 everytime.
I went for Osram Nightbreaker Unlimiteds (22 quid for a duo box) and they arrived next day.

So, Saturday morning up went the bonnet and i started by taking the washer reservoir ouy and changed the right HB3 lamp. Then moved on to the HB4 lamp and...... WTF it's a 30% larger, brown fitting with a removeable H7 lamp.

How that happened? No idea, but it all looks very OEM. Everything points to a HB4 and i have a HB?(7) with a larger fitting.

Anybody had this happen to them or know how i can solve this without having to buy new lamps (like are there spacer rings to enlarge a HB4 fitting?)

Dave.

[colb]

Checked OEM for 3/2000 car revealed what should be fitted
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showpar ... Id=63_0316

Could it be you have item 12 Bulb adapter fitted to your car for H7 Bulbs?

Looks like there was a change of bulbs in 4/99 check your car out on OEM using your last 7 numbers of your Vin no to double check what was factory fitted.

[Z3crazy]

Hi,

I suppose anything is possible, certainly with the all the other changes they made around 99/00. I also just checked the new TIS (in German) and i found out BMW used H1, H7 and HB4 lamps for European models so i suppose it was just the luck of the draw which fitting and lamp was used.

Apparently there weren't many H7's in a HB fitting used coz nobody mentioned it before.

Mind you, that does make my car very rare, doesn't it ? Can I smell money somewhere down the road?

Dave

[Emek]

All facelift Z3 models have H7 bulbs.

[Z3crazy]

Aha, someone in the know.

Still funny that the headlamp glass has HB4 embossed on it, but there you go.

Thanks, mate. Well done.

Dave

[colb]

Could be the factory used up stock they had on hand, when your car was built or a previous owner if it had one, has been in there and changed them to H7?

[colb]

Snap, mine has the same as you HB3 and HB4 bulbs.
Intrigued by what you found had a look at my Facelift wide body December 1999 built 1.8, handbook says HB3 High Beam and H7 Low beam, upon checking I find HB3 and HB4.

[Robert T]

Intrigued by this thread, as I don't recall anyone mentioning that they had to change the headlamp bulbs when the swapped to later headlight units. Does the adapter for the H7 bulb have the same fitting at the HB4? And are the connectors the same between the two bulbs?

Cheers R.

Sent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk

[Z3crazy]

Robert,

The fitting is brown and about 25 -30% larger in diameter. It takes a standard 2 prong H7 bulb and the fitting goes in the headlamp unit in the same way as the HB4 (quarter turn so the fitting points down).

I've been checking out a number of Owner manuals on the web and the German one says H7, but an English one says HB4.

Apparantly, somewhere between August 1999 and March 2000 the decision was made by BMW to convert to H7 bulbs for low beam.

So, that would seem to be that....... All facelift Z3's have H7 low beam bulbs, no matter what is embossed on the headlight unit (unless there are facelift Z3's out there that were put together with leftovers from pre-facelift models).

Also it means you have to be careful with aftermarket, non-OEM replacement units.

Dave.

[colb]

Facelifts do not all have H7 bulbs as I found out when I checked mine with HB3 and HB4 fitted appears mine built December 1999 was factory fitted. English Owners manual shows H7 which it dosn't have.

[Tufarlian]

HB3 and HB4 here.

In a July 2000 build Z3 3.0

[Z3crazy]

Well, there goes German "grundlichkeit".

BTW, mine is a March 2000 1.9 with H7's. I'm swapping the HB4's for H7's and i'll take a couple of photo's of my headlamps and bulbs, just for the record

[Z3crazy]

Well, i promised a couple of photo's...........

This is headlight glass with HB4 embossed on it..


And this is what the sticker had printed on it (it was the real situation)..


I'd seen the sticker before but thought it was just a reference for left or right hand models. The bit about the lamps was hidden under a piece of bodywork

[Robert T]

Sorry Dave, with the Union Jack against your profile details, I assumed you were in the UK, rather than a Brit living in forn' parts.

It seems that LHD headlights are different and might well all use H7 bulbs as Emek suggests. In the UK, it seems that HB4 are more common. BMW don't seem to be terribly clear on it either, as the UK manual for my car suggests that H7 are used on pre-facelift 2.8 and ///M cars, whilst my 1.9 is shown correctly has having HB4.

A few people have swapped RHD to LHD headlights when taking their cars abroad on a semi-permanent basis, but I don't recall seeing mention of them having to change the bulbs.

You learn something new every day.

Cheers R.

[Z3crazy]

Hi Robert,

Yeah, a Brit in Holland. Actually just took on Dutch nationality coz after 40 years over here I just can't wait to see how the Brexit pans out.

It is funny about the lights, sort of a tombola really, which ones were fitted. Oh Well, at least the stickers were right. So now I know what lamps i need.

[peter2b]

I've just seen my head lights don't match, on dip 1 has a blueish tint the other has a yellowish tint , a few weeks ago 1 dip bulb blow so I had a look in my spares box found another bulb to replace it now all I've got to do is match the brighter one now
peterz3