Whats wrong with my lights?

I have an '87 325is and I'm having problems with my headlights. My lowbeam lights rarely work. But when I turn my high beams on, two of the four light up. They are not very bright, so is this how the high beams are supposed to light up, or are all four supposed to light up? I would appreciate any help.

Your low beams and your high beams are essentially two separate circuits with a common On-Off switch and dimmer switch. There are separate relays for the the low beams and the high beams. The low beams do not change when you hit the high beams. The inside (high beam) lights come on in addition to the low beams. There is no hi-lo bulb in the outside low beam lights.

Without any additional info on how your low beams are working improperly, it's hard to make a long-distance diagnosis. I had an '89 325i and the head lights were still going strong at 174,000 miles this year. As for the lighting performance, with the exception of my 2002 E39, that E30 had the best headlights I've ever driven with. You should have to work at overdriving those high beams!

Sounds like you may have to find you a good independent service tech to trouble shoot your problem. After this many years, it could be a corroded connection or a relay with the contacts going south.

Lotsa luck.

:smokin:

Is there a diagram I can get to tell which relay's belong to which? In the manual the relays are not labeled.

Is there a diagram I can get to tell which relay's belong to which? In the manual the relays are not labeled.

:smokin:
Are you ever in luck. I also wondered which fuse/relay went where and I found the master list in my BMW service manual. Fortunately, I still had this Excel file I had used to create a reference list which I placed inside my fuse box - just in case.

Keep in mind, this if for an '89 325i but I'll be surprised if there is any difference since they are both E30 BMWs.

Fuse Identification

Fuse No. Amps Description
1 7.5 High Beam, Left
2 7.5 High Beam, Right
3 15 Aux cooling fan, low-speed
4 15 Turn signal indicator, clock light
5 30 Wipers / Washer
6 7.5 Stop lights, Cruise control
7 15 Horn
8 30 Rear window defogger
9 15 Engine electrics
10 7.5 Instruments, fasten seatbelt warning light and buzzer, back-up lights, check control
11 15 Main and Aux. fuel pump
12 7.5 Radio and Instruments
13 7.5 Low Beam, Left
14 7.5 Low Beam, Right
15 spare
16 spare
17 30 Electric windows, power sliding roof
18 30 Aux cooling fan, high-speed
19 7.5 Electric outside mirrors
20 30 Heater blower, Air conditioning
21 7.5 Interior lights, radio memory, glove box, clock, trunk light, fastern seat belt buzzer, ignition key warning buzzer, instrument panel lights, on-board computer
22 7.5 Left rear light, front positon light left, front side marker light left
23 7.5 Right rear light, front position light right, rear side marker light right, license plate lights
24 15 Hazard warning lights
25 spare
26 spare
27 30 Central locking system, door lock heating, on-board computer
28 30 Cigarette lighter, power antenna
29 7.5 Left front fog lamp
30 7.5 Right front fog lamp

Relay Identification
Relay No. Description
K-1 Aux cooling fan - Low-speed
K-2 Horns
K-3 High Beam lights
K-4 Low Beam lights
K-5 Electric Windows
K-6 Aux cooling fan - High-speed
K-7 Heater blower
K-8 Front fog lamps
K-9
K-10 Intensive cleaner control unit

Just in case you can't make out the list above, I attached a Word file with the table pasted in.

Sure hope this helps. But if it doesn't, it's worth everything you paid for it.....!

:smokin: :smokin: :smokin:

Thanks so much!