Good day

My 04 max got some issues with headlights xinon system and they dont work fine .

I want to replace the system with something better . Something that can fit in place of the OEM system . Any suggestions ?

 

I found this in ebay

http://www.ebay.com/itm/OEM-2004-201...59f37f&vxp=mtr


what do you think about it ?

is it stronger than OEM ballast ?

 

The 6th gens use gen III Matsush!ta ballasts. The one that you posted is the gen IV Matsush!ta ballast which is newer, I'm not sure how much better they actually are, but they are 100% swappable. There is currently an even newer gen V version, I am not sure if it is 100% swappable or not, but if it follows their trend then it should be. The gen V version is available on theretrofitsource.com, they have great customer service so you can ask them if the gen V can replace the gen III.

http://www.theretrofitsource.com/pro...roducts_id=147

Are you sure that the ballasts are bad? What exactly is happening?

 

I washed my car in the washing machine in the morning . In the night I just turned on the lights to start diving , I noticed the left one (driver side) is not working. Later , I went to elictretion to see what is the problem . When he took out the ballast , it was flooded by water . Water coming out from it .

So I decide to put a universal system , ballast with pulp and keep the old one with me until I find a new system for both (left and right) . Actualy both should be replaced because they are being week and I can't see from them . That's why I ask for stronger ballast .

 

Water leaking from the ballast? I'm not sure how that can happen, the OEM ballast is mounted underneath the headlight, is sealed on the outside of the headlight and seals against the headlight. It would be pretty hard to flood the ballast. Just to make sure, are your headlights OEM HID's? Do you have a picture of your ballast and bulb? And just so you know, the bulbs make a bigger difference in brightness than the ballasts do. The bulbs age quicker than than the ballasts, so if the bulbs are old you may just need new bulbs. Stick with Philips or Osram bulbs if you want brighter lights again.

 

I have replaced the bulbs two months ago . It was Hella and I installed the same bulb . I saw big a deference but thats not good enough . The yellow bulbs ( non xenon ) are more powerful than my xenon .

 

Sounds like u got a pnp kit. Oem bulbs would be made by Phillips osram

 

I dont know what is pnp ??? what I know is hella made in germani and they are good . most of BMW cars use hella bulb .

most of the peple here take their xenon system from BMW junk yards .

anyway . I just ordred the ballasts and got my hands on philips bulb .

I wont through the old system away. I will use it on the fog lights . that will make better lightining.

 

Without starting a new thread, I have the OEM HIDs and my driver side one went out several months ago. When I put a new bulb in, it still doesnt work. Is it the ballast? How do you diagnose the problem?

 

You check the fuses?

 

Yes, all fuses are good.

 

see the retrofit source

get new projectors/ballasts/bulbs.

 

pnp is plug-n-play, meaning an aftermarket kit. The only OEM Hella components of the Maxima lighting are the projectors. Please post pictures of your old ballasts/bulbs so we can verify you have OEM xenon lighting.

Swap the ballast from the driver side to the passenger side and see if the problem follows the ballast.

 

Is the ballast the silver box that plugs into the light?

 

If it's OEM it should be a dark grey circular ballast underneath the headlight, looks exactly like this.



There are three screws holding it in. Once those are removed, unscrew and unclip the igniter and you should be able to easily swap the ballasts.

 

Yes. This is it .

 

maxam, if you have OEM ballasts and one is bad, you can either just replace that ballast or if you want replace both with at least the Gen IV's. Regarding your lack of output brightness, there are several things that can be happening, but the ballast shouldn't affect anything (assuming the ballasts are working). The ballasts are more of a "they either work or don't work" kind of thing. The two things that really affect the brightness are the bulbs and the projectors.

You said you replaced your bulbs with Hella bulbs (which I believe are rebranded GE bulbs), were they used or new? Are they 4300K color? There are other bulbs that perform better than others, one of the cheaper options is the Phillips 85122+, more expensive options are the Osram 66240 SVS and the 66240 CBI (SVS is 4300K, CBI is 5000K).

For projectors, you can inspect the inside of the reflector bowl to check for any burn marks as that will definitely decrease your output brightness. If you remove the cap to access your bulbs, you can remove the projector through there by removing the 6 screws (2 for a heat shield, 4 for the projector). If there are burn marks on the inside of the bowl, you can find replacement projectors on theretrofitsource.com. As for replacements, you can use the same projector (Maxima E55) or the Hella EvoX-R (aftermarket E55 style). I personally am using the EvoX-R's and the output is a bit better than the E55's. There are tradeoffs because the EvoX-R is an aftermarket projector, but I think the benefits outweigh the tradeoffs.

 

I have OEM HIDs. Do I need to remove the bumper to get the ballast or is it accessible with bumper in place?

 

you'll need to take the bumper off and remove the whole headlight assembly. the oem ballasts are mounted directly under each headlight.

 

My Hella are new 4300 35W . I will check the projectors when The ballasts arrived .
If you have an ebay link for new projectors that will hellp alot .

Ammmmm . My Hella are new

 

What he said. You need access to the bottom of the headlight, will be a lot easier to do if you just remove both headlights altogether.

Yeah, that would be a good time to check them. For the Maxima E55's, you'll have to contact theretrofitsource.com directly since it isn't listed on their website anymore, but they do have them. Below is an eBay link and a direct link to their website for the EvoX-R's, both links are the same seller. For some reason the direct link is $10 cheaper than eBay, probably because of eBay fees.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HELLA-EVO-XR...346cb4&vxp=mtr
http://www.theretrofitsource.com/pro...products_id=92