Want to change a bad drivers side xenon bulb (2002 530i), twisted the connector however the bulb remained in the housing when the plug came out. Bulb seems very snug in housing, any tips on getting bulb out?

Any tips anyone? I would love to know myself. Does the rubber boot just pull off?..................Please?...

Rotate headlight bulb counterclockwise...

EDIT: That came directly from my Bentley so I guess it can't be trusted? You are obviously a veteran at this Jon so I believe you but I also believed the Bentley! In no way did I mean to mislead you Bar & Luv. I actually took the time (delayed dinner) to look it up and quoted the repair manual...oh well, can't win 'em all. Ah ha, just noticed that you DO say to rotate the bulb counterclockwise but only after you deal with a million other things...LOL!

Rotate headlight bulb counterclockwise...

no you do not rotate the headlight bulb, that only causes problems

after you unhook the connector, just pull the rubber boot off gently (slowly but surely. you dont want to break the adjuster inside the lights) the best way to do it is to pull the outer edge of the boot off of the plastic lip that it stretches around first. after that is off the inner part of the boot remains around the actual bulb area. I usually place a finger on the bulb (the plastic part where the connector goes) to hold it steady while Im trying to pull the boot off of it. now that the boot is off the hard part is over. the bulb will now be easily visible. there is a platic ring that screws over the bulb that holds it in place. just turn it counter clockwise and when it gets free the bulb will be free as well. the plastic ring may be hard to turn if youve never taken it off before. now that the bulb is out its easy to see how everything is connected and held in place, and putting a new bulb back in is a piece of cake. :thumbup:

Ive switched both of my bulbs out 4 times and its super easy after the first time lol

+1 jonmcc yeah it's pretty scary the first time but once you know the innards it's a snizzzzzzap!

no you do not rotate the headlight bulb, that only causes problems

after you unhook the connector, just pull the rubber boot off gently (slowly but surely. you dont want to break the adjuster inside the lights) the best way to do it is to pull the outer edge of the boot off of the plastic lip that it stretches around first. after that is off the inner part of the boot remains around the actual bulb area. I usually place a finger on the bulb (the plastic part where the connector goes) to hold it steady while Im trying to pull the boot off of it. now that the boot is off the hard part is over. the bulb will now be easily visible. there is a platic ring that screws over the bulb that holds it in place. just turn it counter clockwise and when it gets free the bulb will be free as well. the plastic ring may be hard to turn if youve never taken it off before. now that the bulb is out its easy to see how everything is connected and held in place, and putting a new bulb back in is a piece of cake. :thumbup:

Ive switched both of my bulbs out 4 times and its super easy after the first time lol

Excellent! Thank you very much! and to everyone else too!.........

Not my bad...those instructions came directly from the Bentley!

Not my bad...those instructions came directly from the Bentley!

Thanks any way, CoolDude, I hear ya about the Bentley manual. I have one too, but I needed some more to go on.......some one who has done it before.

I had trouble at first getting the boot off and didn't want to force it, so I needed confirmation from others. I finally got to it and it's all done.....

thanks again all!...........

EDIT: That came directly from my Bentley so I guess it can't be trusted? You are obviously a veteran at this Jon so I believe you but I also believed the Bentley! In no way did I mean to mislead you Bar & Luv. I actually took the time (delayed dinner) to look it up and quoted the repair manual...oh well, can't win 'em all. Ah ha, just noticed that you DO say to rotate the bulb counterclockwise but only after you deal with a million other things...LOL!

no, you never rotate the bulb, I didnt say that. you rotate the plastic "nut" that holds the bulb inside the projector.

does the bentley have different bulb removal processes for the older headlights vs. the newer 01+ AE headlights? or xenon vs. halogen? b/c rotating the bulb counter clockwise for removal sounds like the process for a halogen bulb...

Whatever do you be careful I broke my adjusters putting the bulb in.
What I did was
1. Remove Headlight
2. Remove clips on the rubber boot
3. Remove the screw ( I think it was a torx)
4. Take the bulb out
5. put the new one in
6. Did eveything above in reverse order.

I don't know if there's another way or a better way to do it, but that's just how I did it.