2008 BMW E90 Headlight Ballast Replacement DIY

A DIY for replacing the headlight ballast on a BMW E90 3-series. Car used was a 2008 BMW E90 335i sedan. This video can also help with any E90, E91, E92, or E93 3-series sedan, wagon, coupe, or convertible.

[pablomunoz]

Had a broken ballast on the same side on my 335i, watched this tutorial and got the job done. You just saved me like $900. Thanks a lot! Greetings from Sweden!

[Sanchoez]

Great job with this video! Followed your lead and got it taken care of in less than 3 hours on my son's 2008 328xi. Saved me $1K.

[justinbetz]

Thank you for being very thorough with a steady camera and getting great angles of these cramped spaces. Very helpful video

[JoseReyes-xekl]

Hi Nathan can’t thank you enough for this video, it was sensational and very very helpful. You save me $732.00 at the efen dealership. I ordered the part thru amazons and did it in about 2 hours approx. Thanks so much again.!!!! I will try to do this video in Spanish since there is none. You Da” Man Bro!! Greetings from Big Texas.

[loramattal]

thanks for the video it helped me a lot! i had the passenger side go out and a bunch of hassle trying to get a new part in reasonable time ended up getting the entire headlight assembly at the junkyard. 2 weeks later the other side goes out!

[MrsGondee]

Hey man, I really appreciate the detail here. Great reference video

[Casperarizona]

Bro!! Wanna say Thank You! I dont need to swap out this part that you did. I have to do the Adaptive Headlight Motor. I was able to see where it is at. And also i think thats the Adapitive Headlight Control Module i want to change also i saw. Thanks again!!

[podado]

Bmw makes it so hard to even change a bulb in your headlights it's crazy bc I have a e92

[fefe]

Congratulation !! Totally impressed with your video & your ability to explain and record to performs the Task Your a total PRO Great Job!!!

[jonathank]

Not sure if it’s because of a different year and model but I have an 07 pre lci e90, the Torx bit for the ballast/module is actually T20. Hopefully people read this before cussing out this channel like I did while holding the headlight when they find out T25 doesn’t fit.

[BigKidCertified]

Thank you for a great DIY. I just went through the do it myself bulb replacement to find the new bulb just flickered and didn't work. I am now confident it's my ballast. I am worried about the "bad cause next or cable" bit you mentioned. Is it best to buy a new ballast to bulb connector as well? I'd hate to burn up the new ballast because the $30 wire is bad haha is there a way to test the plug and wire before installing new ballast? Thank you for you patience with me. Btw what wheel specs are you running? Looks great and we have the exact same cars. Thanks buddy.

[LuStboost]

Just a heads up...you don’t have to remove the front bumper. Remove the wheel liner, loosen the headlight, unplug the wires, remove 2 screws holding the ballast, swap in new ballast.

[roleyo]

This was an amazing video tutorial. Can you please help me out. Same thing happened to me. My headlight is cracked and water moisture is going in. I bought an $80 bulb H7. I replaced it hoping it was just the bulb. Now I see that it could be something else. What can you suggest? Could it be the ballast swell? I don't want to jump to conclusions and buy it that quick.

[alejandroo.]

Dude, literally thank you so much for showing the pre-problem, literally have the EXACT same problem. 🙏 new subscriber! If I just order one off Amazon, chance are they might be different colors?

[fabianmp]

Thanks a lot! I have the same problem. I'll try to do it like this. Thanks!!

[michaeloradan]

just a heads up I've replaced my ballast without removing the bumper. proper way would be to remove it but its a little more difficult but way less work and time. lol

[willc]

thank you for the info, it was really good,

[jensprystawik]

Hey there. Great tutorial.
My left head light failed. What’s the best strategy to find out it’s the ballast or the bulb?!
Is there an easy way? … don’t want to buy all the parts for nothing.
any hint welcome

[Anthony-gwsx]

Do you guys think you can take all that out and just run a wire and a light bulb 💡 without all that mess ?

[HamishRobinson]

Have the same issue on my 335 now, but really cant be bothered with pulling the front off as I dont have a private garage to park in unfortunately (carparking building).
This really hacks me off about BMW how they design everything to make sure 99% of owners will pay stupid prices to have what should be a SIMPLE fix done at a BMW service center because its to difficult. Who in their right mind designs something that holds a lightbulb impossible to fix without having to get under the car/wheel/remove hardparts, it should be designed that even my mother could change it!
Paying $500+ (about US$400+) to have a damn bulb changed is just a rort and a blatent ripoff of consumers.
Just my 2cents rant at being pissed at not being about to fix a blown headlight myself! (hell even my audi had the balast and bulb user serviceable!)