I've had the P39's (w/HID of course) in the car for a little over a week now. I'm really happy with them except one thing. The shake around like mad and it's REALLY annoying and distracting whilst driving. The reflection on signs, other license plates, chrome bumpers just bounces up and down as i'm driving around. It gets worse as the quality of the pavement gets worse. The cutoff just kinda "bounces" and it gives it a really "cheap" look, like they weren't put together correctly.

Sooooo.... i took em out of the car and looked inside from the back to see what i could find. The housing inside of the housing (the chrome bracket that makes up the highbeam reflector and the mounting surface for the projector lens) is pretty loose and wiggles around on both lights (left & right). It seems clear as i move it around that the pivoting mount points for the aiming adjusters are not even close to being tight. There is visible movement between the black adjustment rod with the ball on the end, and the chrome housing which can move up/down and side/side for adjustment.

Anyone else have this issue? They either need some sort of bushing in that pivot joint, or some springs to pull them tight against the back of the outer housing so they can't vibrate/wiggle in there.

I was thinking that an "injection" of some gasket sealant (RTV) right into the "ball joint" might do the trick. It tacks and firms up real tight, but doesn't get "hard"; it stays plyable, so the lights could still be adjusted.

hhhmmmm... thoughts?:help lates, Benji

Broken adjuster...

if you bought them from Umnitza then you should have a warranty. I'd email umnitza and see what they can do for you.

I honestly don't think it's broken, i think it's just not super high quality engineering... maybe. The joint where the black adjuster rods end in a "ball shape" and the white circular clips hold those "ball joints" to the chrome housing just seems to be "loose". And there's an identical amount of "looseness" on both the left and the right headlight. There's nothing cracked or "not hooked" together, it's just got some play in it.

I got em from understeer.com Are they partners with umnitza or ddm or something, i can't figure out from the posts what relationship those vendors have with each other???

I think the silicon RTV solution will be better than going through the hassle of trying to get another pair. In theory, it should act like a nice solid bushing and keep everything tight, but still allow the adjuster to work when needed. Besides, these aren't the "auto-level" factory lights, so once its set, it won't ever be moved again.

I just think this is one of the reasons that the Depo's are cheaper and ranked lower in quality to some of the other projector housings. Also, the chrome looks cheaper than it did in the factory halogen housings or the hellas that i see pictures of. And i can see inside the projector that the cutoff "blade" should give a nice straight line with an uptick and then another straight line as you continue to the right. The actual pattern that hits the road is more of a V. Its like they're rotated clockwise a little bit.

Even with those things said, i'm still happy i got em, but won't be done "installing" them until the bounciness goes away.

Does your beam pattern look like this???

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l2/brandon5069/DSC_0201.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l2/brandon5069/My%20car/IMG_1019-1.jpg

Sounds like yours came from a bad batch or something :conf I have P39's from umnitza. Post some pics so we can compare.

Here's some more of what mine look like.

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l2/brandon5069/My%20car/IMG_1055.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l2/brandon5069/DSC_0224-1.jpg

Another question....


Are the adjusters just loose because you have them aimed at the floor? Does adjusting them upwards change anything?

my pattern on a wall is basically the same as yours. and they have been aimed fine now for a few days, not low as you were guessing. I kinda fixed the "V" pattern by loosening the screws that hold the projector (bulb/lens) to the chrome inner housing and then rotating it counterclockwise just a bit and retightening. Prior to that the pattern off to the left rose just a bit the farther it went (that's the "V" i's talkin about) It's pretty straight now, really close to yours.

as far as the loose adjusters, they are just loose. The "OEM BMW" Hella just must be tighter. there's two adjusters, right, the up/down and the side/side. And then there's a white plastic pivot point in the center that acts as the third point of contact between the inner and outer housings. All three are loose and have visible "slop" built into them. If these were all built to tighter specifications, i'm sure i wouldn't have the problem i've got.

The slight bouncing of the cutoff at night is really distracting and fatiguing to my eyes, so i gotta get sumthin figured out.

i'll get some pics as soon as possible, but i really don't think they'll reveal anything earthshattering here.

thanks for the thoughts, keep em comin.

nice car btw, what part of socal you at? I've spent some time in Victorville area cause my aunt lives there and San Diego cause my sis in law lives there, I love the dry heat and the ocean!!!

Hrmmmm.....:az

I stil think that you should try and get these lights warrantied. Why try and fix something that is defective? Mine don't shake...if they shook I would send them back until they were fixed. What you're contemplating may even void your warranty.... Either way, post pics. Everyone likes pics :)

I'm in OC. I like it here :). I spent a year in Corvallis. Good times....

Chris at understeer said neither silicon nor springs would void any warranties...

here's a couple pics,

the goup:

http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/1441/1000574rg1.jpg

spring tensioning the high beam housing:

http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/781/1000582mj0.jpg
http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/4305/1000584de5.jpg

spring tensioning the HID projector side of the housing:

http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/1543/1000585jc4.jpg
http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/3995/1000586ux6.jpg

both together finished product...
Rubber boots are very tight around the spring and there is no movement at all. Springs aren't very tight, they just hold the slack in check.
http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/5353/1000588ah6.jpg

voila! no more shake.

Very Nice!!!!
Good job being resourceful. :buttrock

If the springs don't hold it well enough you can always use some zip ties...just a thought.....