I have an '03 MCS w/ Xenons. Last night I was pulled over by the police because my driver's side headlight was out. I checked and confirmed that it was.

This morning the light works fine. Thoughts?

 

Overheating? The ballast should have a temp sensor that will shut it down when it overheats or otherwise you would have bigger problems. I would suggest in having the dealer look at it. I wouldn't want to be zapped by one of those ballasts.

 

Poor ground? It can't be the bulb. Bulbs are either good or bad. I would suspect a poor ground or loose electrical connection. Should be under warranty. The bulbs run about $130 each...Click on this link http://www.film-tech.com/tips/XENONFAILURE.pdf for good troubleshooting information with Xenon lighting

 

I had this same problem in the past - for me, it always happened after wet or extremely humid weather. The dealership replaced some electronics and no problem since ...

 

Thank you for the replies; I am going to speak to the dealer today. I'll let you know what happens.

 

Deli,
Can you turn the light on at will or is it still out?
If it doesn't work then your dealership can check it.
If it is intermittently out then you need to have it out when your dealership checks it or if they cannot reproduce the problem they cannot troubleshoot the cause.

Sometimes it is the Xenon ignitor that goes bad. Sometimes it is the light itself or the wiring harness.

 

I took the car down to MINI of Towson. What a nice dealership! They took me without an appointment, diagnosed the problem, and replaced the headlight assembly (housing). While they were at it, they took care of the emissions recall by updating the software.

Wayne (service manager) was extremely courteous. The dealership was comfortable and the car was ready within minutes of their estimated time. I was happy with the experience.

 

Well this sucks..... .... Nov '04 the driver's side Xenon stopped working....Took the car to MINI service and a "short in harness" was diagnosed...they replaced the headlight assembly under warranty...(cost $$ 550.00, but covered by warranty)....Just the other day the driver's side Xenon goes out AGAIN....Called MINI this am to see how long they stand behind their parts and it's only 2 yrs.... Now im out of warranty and it's looking like a costly service appointment....

Before I take it in, I wanted to take the Xenon from the passenger side and try it in the driver's side to see if it's the bulb or wiring...but I can't figure out how to get the light out.... . I push the housing in on the bulb, turn it and it loosenes, but I can't seem to get it out.....Any help would be appreciated...

 

**BUMP***

No one knows how to change out the Xenons to test if it's the bulb or lighting harness?