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Replacement of low beam bulb on a 2016 BMW RT
- Thread starter 217don
- Start date
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- bulb replacement h7 bulb
alegerlotz
Member
You are correct. (On a wet head) When a single high beam is on, it is because your low beam (center) bulb is what is blown. The bike switches to a single high beam so you can still see and so others can still see you.
When looking at the bike from the front, the right bulb is the one that is out. It would seem that it is the one that is on when the engine is running so I assumed it was part of the low beam. Also looking from the front, the left bulb is on when the engine is running. Also I get the little exclamation point and bulb icon on the dash.
I looked at one of the videos but that bike seems very different from mine. I can't see the back of the bulb - not even close. Even reaching in from the front, I can't get a grip on the back of the bulb holder.
I see what you mean. When I switch on the ignition, the left bulb is lit, right bulb is out. Center is out. When I hit the high beam, both left and right come on. I assumed the right bulb was out because it didn't light up. Very important information!
Should I disconnect the battery before removing the horn? One of the threads recommended removing the horn for better access.
This was on page 3 in this forum. https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?95399-Front-Lights-Replace-Main-Bulb
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kioolt
New member
I didn't find it necessary to remove the horn at all when I did my 2018 RT. I have a Denali Sound Bomb which I believe is even bigger than stock and it wasn't in the way at all. I changed mine by sitting on a stool in front of the bike and reaching up from the bottom. Took about 5 minutes.
dlowry
bored, bored ...
Definitely the best way to change the bulb. You might want to look in to changing the filament based bulb to LED or HID. After many bulbs in 3 years I went LED and haven't had to change it since. Check out either Cyclops or ADV Monster for great LED bulbs.
ncpbmw1953
Member
I've had exactly one H7 burn out now in 3.5y and 39,555 miles. I religiously follow the internet rumor that letting the electronics FULLY boot up before hitting the start button helps reduce low beam burn out, and so far compared to similar stories like yours (many bulbs, and many similar stories) it seems to be holding up. Replacing the low beam is a simple matter once you understand how to do it which is mostly a case of understanding how to remove and replace the retention clips in their holds.
alegerlotz
Member
You've been lucky Noel. I always let my electronics fully cycle and I lost my first H7 at 12K miles. It just so happens to have occurred as I was starting up the bike to ride it to the dealer for the 12K service, so I had them change the bulb while it was there.
Pardon, can someone explain this?
patm
Member
Someone, in a previous discussion, suggested that not waiting for the bike's boot sequence to end, would cause a surge and weaken the low beam headlight causing premature failure.
Whether this is true or not, as there is only some anecdotal evidence, some have had good results following that religiously, doing it seems to help. In other words, there is no scientific proof that it works but for some it seems it does.
As it doesn't cost anything, just a few seconds of your time, why not do it.
ncpbmw1953
Member
Unless the rumor has merit
I actually removed the initial oem H7 which was still good at ~14K miles because I was leaving on a trip and wanted to know how to change it in the comfort of my garage having heard the tales of woe. I happened to have a new PIAA high output H7 so installed it and it only lasted 4K miles. So at 18K miles when it failed I installed that BMW H7 long life bulb and it's still going now at almost 40K miles. It's one of those rumors that is vaguely plausible if highly unlikely and frankly we can't even say for certain that all RTW's, depending on where various components involved were source from, might not behave differently so the rumor could apply for some and not others. In general though I agree I'm most likely....just lucky
I do know one thing--it's a very minor issue one way or another once you learn how to change it as needed which is why I say why bother w/ an LED conversion just not worth cost nor hassle. And that the system employs an automatic backup using the 2nd high beam is a very thoughtful feature. Destroyed u-joints, stators and soft cam lobes are quite another matter though!
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alegerlotz
Member
Unless the rumor has merit
I actually removed the initial oem H7 which was still good at ~14K miles because I was leaving on a trip and wanted to know how to change it in the comfort of my garage having heard the tales of woe. I happened to have a new PIAA high output H7 so installed it and it only lasted 4K miles. So at 18K miles when it failed I installed that BMW H7 long life bulb and it's still going now at almost 40K miles. It's one of those rumors that is vaguely plausible if highly unlikely and frankly we can't even say for certain that all RTW's, depending on where various components involved were source from, might not behave differently so the rumor could apply for some and not others. In general though I agree I'm most likely....just lucky
Your initial statement of "I've had exactly one H7 burn out now in 3.5y and 39,555 miles." sounded as if you had had the same bulb in the bike for all of that time. Since you've changed them out along the way, who knows how long the original would have lasted. 22K is pretty good on the second oem bulb, but I still think you've gotten lucky. Whether the full cycle rumor is true or not is pretty hard to tell.
I don't let my bike's electronics "fully boot" because of the light bulb rumor, I do it because I'm in the software business and figure that there's a reason for the self check and other things going on during that time, and it just makes sense to let that process complete before attempting to use the computer(s) embedded in your bike... its the equivalent of the old "Ready" prompt.
lupinblue
New member
I’ve had one ( low beam) OEM bulb go in 58,000 km on my R1200RS - but fortunately it’s a doddle to replace on the RS.
The road goes ever on and on
ncpbmw1953
Member
Who knows if there's anything to it all I know is neither of the two OEM bulbs burned out and yet you hear stories of people needing to change them out many times. I would also have tended to let the electronics fully boot up anyway for similar reasons that you cite.
My 17 low beam just went while on a road trip. [emoji3]
Bought a replacement, down on on knee, cover off, pull and pry and can’t get the wire connector off the bulb, could pull bulb 1/2” out of housing but no success. Even wedged a tool between connector and bulb.
Any ideas out there?
Bought a replacement, down on on knee, cover off, pull and pry and can’t get the wire connector off the bulb, could pull bulb 1/2” out of housing but no success. Even wedged a tool between connector and bulb.
Any ideas out there?
ncpbmw1953
Member
I remember I was able to somehow get a a finger or two from each hand on it from the front of the bike, down on knee, and by rocking it to and fro it finally released. Try the rocking motion. As you know sometimes it doesn't seem like you're getting anywhere until by being persistent finally it moves.
