[E926Speed]

Hi all

I stole my wife's 03/2008 2008 328xi for a few updates. While I had the bumper apart I decided to finally install the LCI bi-xenons I had laying around.

Out of my 2009 335i that got rear-ended..

Anyway, install went great. Wires spliced accordingly to the diagram on this forum. When the car is off, everything works perfectly. Corona rings, high beams, and low beams..

However, when the car is started, the xenons will flicker like crazy and then shut off.

I have turned off warm/cold monitoring for the bulbs
I get no warnings
$524 and $522 in the VO, and they did stick to the car as I can read them after key off/on.


Any ideas? I've tried just about everything now. A bit frustrating not being able to drive the car after 5PM! Although the coronas/fogs are just as bright as the old halogens Hahaha

Cheers

[E926Speed]

[thalastdon1985]

Are there some coding differences for LCI lights?

[F31B48]

You need a new FRM as well i think, if you had halogens before. Pretty sure it has to have XE on the label (xenon) then you will have to write the corrected vo to the CAS and new FRM then code the FRM. Also were the igniters/ballasts present on your new head lights?

[e90yyc]

Check your coding, but as EvaBmw mentions above, you probably need a new FRM module.

This past summer I upgraded to FRM 2 and spent a bunch of time trying to understand the differences between the module variants. I was always under the impression you had to match the FRM module to your car’s options: XE AHL LED etc. But after all of that, someone then told me that it doesn’t have to be a perfect match in all scenarios. For example, my car has xenon but no AHL. I thought I’d be unable to use an XE AHL module, but apparently I could have used it and just coded out the AHL…

Take a look at the actual trace file on the module and see if there are any options, but as mentioned above you’ll probably need an XE FRM. yonversace recently had an issue with flickering headlights on an E46 (I think) after a xenon retrofit. It was solved by coding. The xenon ballasts require constant voltage, which differs from how the halogen lights are powered (PWM).

In any case leave the headlights off until you get it sorted. Xenon’s don’t like excessive cycling, and flickering is probably worse yet.

[smallseafishie]

I had this exact issue but I don't recall how I exactly fixed it. Just going into the FRM and disabling all of the checks did not work for me. If memory serves me correctly, I had to add xenon headlights to the VO and process the entire car with the updated VO. I'm not sure what other lingering settings there were but that resolved the flickering (bulb checks) and ultimate disabling of the headlights until restart. My car still has the halogen FRM for now as well. I think the biggest difference is that the shutter pins are different on the FRM so the high beams don't work for now. I'll either go in and move the shutter pins over or get another FRM. It's my project car and it's been too cold for me to be motivated to touch it.

[E926Speed]

Originally Posted by smallseafishie

I had this exact issue but I don't recall how I exactly fixed it. Just going into the FRM and disabling all of the checks did not work for me. If memory serves me correctly, I had to add xenon headlights to the VO and process the entire car with the updated VO. I'm not sure what other lingering settings there were but that resolved the flickering (bulb checks) and ultimate disabling of the headlights until restart. My car still has the halogen FRM for now as well. I think the biggest difference is that the shutter pins are different on the FRM so the high beams don't work for now. I'll either go in and move the shutter pins over or get another FRM. It's my project car and it's been too cold for me to be motivated to touch it.

Yep, shutter is as easy as pin 5 to pin 6..

I had an extra harness that I was able to take apart and use for the extra pins.

How did you process the car with the updated VO? I believe I've done that, but at the same time I'm not sure. I'm more of an E38 know-it-all..

I used my scan tool to update the VO, I have to get my laptop charger that has NCS expert to maybe go further into the car.

[E926Speed]

Originally Posted by EvaBmw

You need a new FRM as well i think, if you had halogens before. Pretty sure it has to have XE on the label (xenon) then you will have to write the corrected vo to the CAS and new FRM then code the FRM. Also were the igniters/ballasts present on your new head lights?

Yes everything is there on the headlights..

It seems as though lots of folks have been able to get their xenons working with the standard FRM.

Speaking of that,

When I replaced the FRM on my buddies xenon R56, I was able to use a halogen/base model FRM and simply code in all of the correct options..never had to find the exact FRM.

[F31B48]

Originally Posted by robjlr

Yes everything is there on the headlights..

It seems as though lots of folks have been able to get their xenons working with the standard FRM.

Speaking of that,

When I replaced the FRM on my buddies xenon R56, I was able to use a halogen/base model FRM and simply code in all of the correct options..never had to find the exact FRM.

Yes they will "work" as such, but the standard halogen FRM will not activate the high beam shutters in the headlight, so you won't be able to pass your safety inspections. I had this exact issue when i updated my FRM.

[e90yyc]

So even if you can get them working with your current module, it sounds like the best option here is to swap in a XE FRM. Don’t know about you but I wouldn’t want to be without my high beams :-). At least not permanently.

[E926Speed]

I thought I had mentioned it earlier, everything does work as it should whilst the car is in accessary mode, just when the engine is running they flicker.

I believe I've figured it out with my FRM, I'll just have to get my laptop charger from my buddy.

Good on me for lending out my tools, never know when you'll get them back haha.

So yes, highbeams work. I was able to wire the shutter to the original highbeam signal.

Even with the xenon bits activated in the FRM, both flash to pass and highbeams work.

Hell, if I have the car running, I can flash the highbeams for a good 5-10 seconds before they flicker and shut off.

No inspection here either! Just emissions, which I've passed without catalytic converters...as long as your check engine light works - and is off, you're good. There used to be a sniff test, but they've stopped doing that since 2015 or so.

[mike5124]

Originally Posted by robjlr

I have turned off warm/cold monitoring for the bulbs
I get no warnings
$524 and $522 in the VO, and they did stick to the car as I can read them after key off/on.

You added $524 and $522, did you default code the FRM module? (factory coding profile, load VO, make sure they are there, back, load NFRM module, run sg_codieren with a blank FSW_PSW.MAN file)