Laser headlights from BMW and Aliexpress

A look at some car headlights that uses laser based light sources to get very narrow beams

[@fletcherreder6091]

'I've never seen that top section lit up' *turn signal* 'oh, right, that would explain it: *generic BMW joke*'

[@ikocheratcr]

Also, maybe because it ran out of fluid and they do not know how to fill it.

[@fletcherreder6091]

@@ikocheratcr I wonder if more people would use their blinkers if the fluid was easier to find.

[@allothernamesbutthis]

Toyota are probably the worst for not signalling for me at the moment.

[@f.d.6667]

@@allothernamesbutthis In our family, we have two Priuses and both drivers NEVER signal!

[@Quick_Fix]

Over here it's mostly Audi and BMW that are having faulty indicators.

[@ZWingPK]

Just to explain the wiring - BMW Laser headlights are active. That means, it does all sorts of stuff like adaptive high beam where it forms light tunnels for cars in front of you and cars coming against you so that you can have high beam on all the time and still don't blind people. They also do stuff like highlight signboards. So the lens assemblies swivel and individual LEDs are controlled based on inputs from a camera mounted mounted behind the IRVM.

[@Tupeutla]

LEDs are working the same , it's a matrix + motorized lenses doing that

[@sFde46]

dont foget every headlight has its own serial number and you need to code it in to the car, otherwise, they won't work.

[@_DutchFox_]

They also react on the weather conditions. Heavy rain will give you another light beam then dry weather. Also the speed will change the beam from wide on slow speeds to an beam with long range at high speeds

[@gsilva220]

Now *this* is innovation

[@witeshade]

Styropyro needs to get his hands on a few of these!

[@prakharmishra3000]

Nah they don't look powerful enough for him to care

[@talusranch990]

Styropro needs to be arrested for encouraging lasers shined at aircraft

[@gingersnap7793]

Lol yeah hes the best, that kid is smarter than most I'll say that

[@thetruthexperiment]

He’s got tons of this crap.

[@Mulletsrokkify]

That BMW headlight is from an adaptive system. A computer alters the beam shape using a forward facing camera to see oncoming traffic etc. So light is always in high beam. That's why the loom was so complex! Crazy stuff for just a headlight!!

[@mikeselectricstuff]

I read somewhere it also used the GPS Satnav data for beam steering to follow the road ahead

[@dimitar4y]

@@mikeselectricstuff proper smart car at that point. What's next, full Nvidia Turing card with an artificial intellect? I think I'm seeing the left headlight wink at me?

[@cambridgemart2075]

It may well work well for the driver, but it's dreadful coming the other way and meeting a modern BMW at night, I have no idea how they ever got approved.

[@WitoldWitkowski]

Mercedes digital light (available on 2021 S class) is using a DLP chip. I can't imagine what one of those housings cost.

[@cambridgemart2075]

@@WitoldWitkowski What the heck are they using a DLP for? Is it some type of adaptive reflector?

[@adpmol]

Some explenation of the BMW light/tech: The little light at 6:25 is the cornering light. The connector at 6:40 is the FLE ECU (Light ECU) on each car you have 2 ECU's FLER and FLEL (Right - LEFT) These FLE's are doing all the work controlling the lights and communication to the BDC ZGM (body domain controller and Central gateway module) it does this on the Canbus K-CAN6 line. The BDC is the main body module and is connection with every module through the ZGM. ZGM connects all the networks together : ( D-CAN - K-CAN - ETHERNET - FLEXRAY - PT CAN - OBD - LIN) The Lights are adaptive lights with adaptive beam control. They are semi- matrix lights and still use vertical aim servo's. With this they can use high beams without dazzling oncomming traffic. New versions with the KAFAS camera can even spot traffic signs and dim the light to stop reflections. The Blue accent lights are part of the welcome lights. The Laser module will only be active if the KAFAS camera does not see oncoming traffic and the speed is more than 80km/h. Also the light switch has to be on AUTO and the High beam assistant button should have been pressed. Safety was always a concern for these lights. in the US cars need to have a warning on the headlight for Emergency Personel. There is also an old youtube video with the prototype Laser lights featured in the BMW technology center. Also they do a demo of the much more spectacular and handy Dynamic spot assistant. (found it! kzbin.info/www/bejne/nmOchKqAeb2AeMU) (demo of the Dynamic Light spot kzbin.info/www/bejne/qYLKgGOYdtJlkNk) It's amazing how they shrunk the design in 10 years. The BMW i8 was the first car with Laser lights 2014 and it used 3 lasers and a prism.

[@nelsondisalvatore9812]

Are you a wizard?

[@prithvirajbasu7422]

The Messiah!

[@dykon8190]

Working at bmw? 531?

[@josetovar3939]

Thanks for technical info.hard to believe a simple thing has to work on network communication

[@enda320]

That certainly explains a lot of questions. When I first heard about laser headlights, I assumed it was some marketing BS, since lasers are a) focused very tight, and b) not white. Using a laser to get a phosphor pad to glow never even crossed my mind.

[@MVVblog]

Because is totally useless and not durable. This kind of technology is just a publicity stunt

[@momue100]

@@MVVblog well yeah, lasers make everything cooler. Just waiting until they release RGB headlights that set the color temperature depending on the weather or user settable and do rainbow puke at a stoplight until you drive again...

[@906MediaProductions]

@@momue100 tunable color temperature ones already exist, you can set them to deep yellow in fog and snow, and 5,000K for normal use.

[@TigeroL42]

The idea is quote new as blue LEDs and lasers are only like 10yr old technology. The laser phosphor was first used in projectors and in them it is very long-lifed amd stable. So no need to doubt that they wouldn't work well on this application.

[@hypernate1481]

The led on the inside wall that looks like a fog light is actually the light that turns on to illuminate your turn. So if you come up to a stop sign and have your turn signal on, that led will light up the direction you’re turning to help you see that way at 90°

[@zuestoots5176]

Old idea Ford did it as far back as 79

[@hypernate1481]

@@zuestoots5176 didn’t say it was original, bmw is like apple. They like to make something that’s been around for a while flashy, then claim they made it.

[@sootikins]

@@zuestoots5176 Even older than that. 1973 Cadillac Sedan de Ville had that feature - they were called "cornering lights".

[@Miata822]

Lessons I learned today: Don't crash a BMW, not even a little bit.

[@JamesBond-zi2xq]

More like DO NOT buy BMW! Good looking car shitty quality.

[@jobelewis6416]

@@JamesBond-zi2xq Literally just incorrect🥴

[@unlisted9494]

These only come on the top top spec models, if you can afford those, you can afford to fix them

[@rotor13]

Thats what insurance is for. If you have a good driving record, your insurance policy would even have a very low deductible. Me personally, I have just a $400 deductible for my policy, so if somehow I get into a little bump that destroys only my headlight on my 2020 X3M Competition - the lights are similar to this design and are also adaptive - while BMW charges about $1800 per side, I'm only ever going to pay $400 and my insurance takes care of the remaining $1400 plus the labor cost for the dealer to install it. If you're going to argue about rising insurance premium when making a claim.... Most insurance companies that are worth your business don't raise premiums just because of a claim. Otherwise you can simply switch companies to one that is better to deal with. Also these adapative headlights are both an option for lower spec trim level, and are included as a package for the higher spec trims. If you can afford a car on a higher trim level, you should be able to afford the cost of repairs. If you're worried about even the cost of replace an adaptive headlight on a higher trim spec car - you REALLY can't afford the car. Here's some simple financial advice when buying a car: Never buy brand new unless you're expecting to keep the car for more than 7 years Never finance a car (new or used) if the monthly payments are more than 25% of your monthly income Never lease a car unless you like throwing money down the toilet - the lease payments are calculated based on how much the depreciation the car is expected to lose during the term, you're literally only paying for the depreciation. Or unless you want to drive an expensive luxury or exotic supercar for a short time because thats about all they're good for. And simply put... never buy a car, if you complain about the cost of repair and maintenance. Cars are depreciating assets. People need to stop thinking they hold their value.

[@eowanpassion]

This was a real treat to see. I've been wondering how these things were built. Very much seems built to a spec, not a price. Thanks Mike, your content is always something to look forward to.

[@trevorvanbremen4718]

I just took a quick look at my own car headlight setup... It's got a SLIGHTLY less complicated wiring loom. Pin 1: Ground Pin 2: +12V for the low beam filament Pin 3: +12V for the high beam filament As STRANGE as this might seem, this 'oversimplification' of my headlights hasn't (yet) caused me to drive into any trees / buildings / parked cars etc while driving at night.

[@crcomments8509]

Let me guess, if one of your lamps fails, you can replace the individual build for about £5, now that would be a crazy idea

[@trevorvanbremen4718]

Exactly!!! And while I am certain that my 'dinosaur-technology' headlights effectively WASTE some quantity of fuel over their life (due to the larger current they consume), I strongly suspect the following: 1: The money I'd save buying less fuel would be HUGELY outweighed by the sheer cost of a set of these 'lights'. (Note that I use the term 'lights' rather loosely here) 2: The amount of pollution generated by that extra fuel over the entire life of the vehicle is, most likely, significantly LESS than the amount of additional pollution simply manufacturing those behemoths! And in conclusion, I would like to pose the following question... Q: How many highly skilled (and overpaid?) 'mechanics / engineers' does it take to change a light bulb?

[@IgnoreMyChan]

10:30 That side firing LED is for the driver to have better lighting through the corner. It illuminates the street on the side of the car for when you're turning in that direction. More expensive systems have turning headlights and cheaper systems use the mist lights (often seen on VW's).

[@jensharbers6702]

Well, it is only used in applications sub 50km/h, as "turning light". Those headlamps are also fitted with the adaptive lowbeams, which enable the headlamp to have "city mode, country road mode and also highway mode", each does change the lighting pattern. With non adaptive LED (which includes the typical Matrix LED from Audi), you doesn't get adaptive Lowbeams that rotates the projector into the curve. There the "turning light" might as well fire up for better illumination and to mimic the adaptive low beams.

[@RealitaetsverlustTV]

Also VWs have a second bulb for cornering in the fog lightsm which is shining far more to the side. These are only activated on slower speeds, when signaling into that direction or turning the steering wheel very far. Using the actual fog lights was just an intermediate solution or is just programmed in by the owner afterwards. (Which is made possible by the manufacturer in the first place) It however ist not a steering light. It may be used in addition to that, like in the BMW.

[@SierraLimaOscar]

One reason for the motors in the light assembly is that legislation in Europe (I'm guessing elsewhere too) requires these new high output lights (1st gen was the ones with xeon bulbs) to be self levelling. Basically regardless how heavy the load in the car is the low beams will not blind oncoming traffic. The second reason is the BMW auto panning feature for the high beams, that create a dark hole in the beam and keeps the cars in front in that dark spot as to not blind them and yet keep the high beams on. As for the over engineered comments I will say try and drive those lights on the autobahn or on a nice country road. The illumination is mind blowing. So definitely engineered but not really over.

[@sheldonholy5047]

Yep, the BMW adaptive headlights are incredible

[@hausaffe100]

@@sheldonholy5047 not if you are driving in front or oncoming traffic

[@sheldonholy5047]

@@hausaffe100 no, the point of these lights is that they don't shine light in the direction of oncoming traffic. Works surprisingly well with the BMW lights, not so well other brands yet though.

[@hausaffe100]

@@sheldonholy5047 my experience on my daily comute proofs otherwise, bmw audi benz all of these luxury cars are more blinding than any of the halogen cars

[@christheswiss390]

Fabulous video, great narrator, no fluff, straight-forward information, no self-agrandizing, perfectly done - thank you!

[@realcygnus]

The future: When a busted headlight means your car is totaled. Nifty but overkill.

[@f.d.6667]

Agree. Already now, swapping a single LED headlight can cost you EUR 600 or more (and that's with a cheap brand). What people forget is that phosphors in LEDs are under a lot of thermal stress, meaning they break down over time. This a) affects the light color (it gets dimmer and more blu-ish, decreasing visiblity in fog/haze by A LOT, b) increases short-wave light output, thus increasing the risk of retina damage in the eye. ... this means that during the lifetime of your car you WILL have to swap both headlights at least once!

[@LesLaboratory]

Wow! I always thought "Laser headlights" was just marketing blurb! Fascinating tech!

[@binky_bun]

Now I understand why I think the cops are behind me every time someone with those things goes over a bump in the road behind me. It's the chromatic aberration of the lens pulling the blue to the edge so as the edge of the beam hits my mirror I see flashes of blue and white

[@witeshade]

or just the super sharp edge of the beam flicking back and forth making it look like they're flashing their lights at you, even without the blue haze too

[@Bibl888]

i'll rub the numbers off the chips so no one can steal the design i stole

[@semifavorableuncircle6952]

Nice to see the difference between "it sort of works" Chinesium and an actual, safe, compliant product. Its always quite hard to explain people, especially higher-ups and "makers" why work takes so long after a proof-of-concept prototype has been demonstrated. Sure, the chinesium thing produces light in some way. Just its not where it should be, it is where it shouldnt be, and it has exactly zero safety functions. Also, it looks like the misused LED has some burn mark already from the laser beam? Looks like great reliability then. Even better, the failure mode is spectacular: Phosphor burns and darkens, burns off, chip now is reflective, laser beam goes out front.

[@davidleeming9842]

Fascinating video. I learned a lot. I thought the laser lights were just a marketing ploy and they didn't really use lasers, but apparently they do. Really appreciate the teardown.

[@howarthcd]

Great video Mike, thanks for taking the time to produce it. Goodness knows how complicated the rest of the car is if they put this much effort into the headlights.

[@111chicane]

All of the BMW LED and laser headlights are beam forming. For the EU market they are lit as high beams and only shut off specific sections that are pointed towards cars in the oncoming traffic and prevents blinding their drivers. Due to the regulations In the US, this system is disabled by software and you have separate low beams and high beams. Years ago, when Audi came out with the first Matrix headlights, I also bought one with broken lens to take it apart and see what inside. I was amazed by the amount of custom lenses, light pipes, LEDs on flex PCBs, custom heatsinks, control modules, wire looms and stepper motors I found in it. I also recovered over 60 T20 self tappers. And I was looking at the laser headlights for a year now, but thanks God Mike did it before I find one.

[@stevebollinger3463]

The US has relented and allowed the matrix system now. But the vendors don’t use it. In the EU they got permission to make matrix headlights twice as bright under the theory that the lamps will turn off the areas which are aimed at other people and cars. So no one is (temporarily) blinded by the now twice as bright lights. They did not get permission for the extra brightness in the US. Headlights that are twice as bright are a sellable feature. But since they cannot offer that they turn it all off. I guess the matrix dimming just isn’t as sellable on its own?

[@tomvleeuwen]

These BMW lights are controlled via a K-line (slow single wire serial connection) but are also connected to the CAN-bus to be able to diagnose and update the module.

[@DielectricVideos]

Good info! Somehow the concept of "update the software on my headlights" sounds vaguely like "change your blinker fluid", but I guess that's the way of the future!

[@techalyzer]

Seeing how these new clunkers eviscerate my eyes at night, they'll soon use artificial stars powered by actual nuclear fusion. Why doesn't anyone do anything? Some of these cars are so bad that when they come from the other side, all I can see is a blinding blue-fog, until they pass me. If there's a pedestrian or anything in front of me at that exact time, I have no chance of seeing it. Where I live, this is an increasing problem, driving at night has become an ordeal due to these crap headlights.

[@Galeere2]

Yes I dont get how they archive certification. Even modern bicycle lights have this problem. I think the luminous flux density is just way to high. A bigger aperture or lower brightness would help

[@Broken_Yugo]

@@Galeere2 I agree, too much lux. Even the taillights keep getting smaller and harder to look at. On the headlights a softer cutoff would help a bit too, and/or regulating them to be aimed lower. I think all the regs, especially in the USA, haven't been updated to really account for what can be done with LEDs, so the manufacturers ignore the spirit of the law (functional lighting that doesn't blind people) and do whatever looks nice and sells.

[@mervo1477]

The light output is not the issue, but the morons who generally never have their beams aimed properly. Always sitting just high enough to blind you

[@andymouse]

Fascinating ! there's some serious engineering in the moldings alone, looking forward to seeing what you do with the laser module...cheers.

[@milksheihk]

All those stepper motors, my Merc 190 was doing basically the same thing with vacuum actuators.

[@f.d.6667]

... so did my old Fiat (which, amazingly, shared other parts with Mercedes as well!)... I guess vacuum actuators are too slow nowadays.

[@ferrumignis]

That was a super interesting teardown, thanks Mike.

[@702Wolfi]

There are more electronics in a BMW headlight than in my whole Toyota.

[@Knaeckebrotsaege]

When he mentioned the 700-800gbp used ones on ebay I went like "cool so that headlight costs as much as my entire Citroen C1* did" *= Toyota Aygo with a bodykit

[@vsvnrg3263]

fmcprogrmr, and toyota thoroughly test all their electronics before they are installed in a car.

[@Conservator.]

@@Knaeckebrotsaege A new 5 series led matrix headlight will set you back €2,200. 😬

[@simengfu7352]

@@vsvnrg3263 apparently you have no idea about toyota's that are sold in China.😁

[@MrHott-zf5fc]

It's not a fog light, it's a cornering light for making turns at intersections

[@Peter_S_]

Thank you for that! I wasn't expecting a video so quickly after you and Clive commented about them.

[@jtveg]

I didn't know about this new technology in headlights. Thanks for sharing. 😉👌🏼

[@TheFool2cool]

Thanks Mike, always interesting to hear your insight

[@CyclicscoobyFlyer]

I had no idea that's how the Laser was utilised..!! Very interesting and well made vid.. Thanks Mike.. x

[@wtechboy18]

My guess about the translucent blue bricks on top of the light sensors is that they're detecting the laser light itself, rather than the bright light coming off the phosphor. I'd imagine the system would want to shut itself off quickly if, as you mentioned, the phosphor fails and the laser comes through.

[@andrewhannay]

Now I get it! I’ve never understood laser headlights as lasers aren’t white. But now I see the light. Makes so much sense now. Thankyou.

[@Rashombo]

Driving at night has become increasingly infuriating, I drive both a small car and a van, in the van everything is fine but the small car, literally every new car has it's headlights shining right in my eyes from the side mirrors.

[@Laser2120]

Yeah I hate driving at night now. I often can see the shadow of my own car in my headlights becuase the new car behind is so bright lol. You cant even get away from them in the daytime now with the stupid EU daytime running lights law.

[@MSK_MKT]

A Miata owner agrees

[@Broken_Yugo]

It's a real problem, I've yet to confirm it but my working theory is they're all aimed as high as legally possible to wow the buyer ignorant of how headlights are supposed to work (low beam is only supposed to light the road ahead and signs, not shit a hundred plus yards directly forward of the driver's eyes). At this point I've learned to spot them and look away before the oncoming car comes out of the pothole it just hit and flash blinds me. And that's not even getting into the blatantly illegal led light bar shit all the asshole 4x4 trucks around here have decided is the hot new thing to have.

[@Zoli1972s]

@@Broken_Yugo This type of cheap aftermarket LED lights are way beyond legality in most EU countries afaik.

[@sebykos]

there are too many SUVs everywhere these days...

[@beartastic-ftw]

Applied Violence - didn't see the grinder coming, despite the warning. But now I can't wait for Ben to start a second channel...

[@Marci124]

Hopefully starting with the bastards who robbed his workshop...

[@tissuepaper9962]

When you showed the low beams on the wall, I noticed a "bump" in the top line that I have noticed every time I get into a BMW at night, and now I know *why* it's there. It's a shadow from imperfect alignment of (what I would call) the shutter. Thank you.

[@unclejohn5012]

If your referencing the "slop" in the cut off then your incorrect. It is intentionally there to light up your side of the road but is sloped to not blind on coming drivers. Sadley we dont see it too often with all the idiots slapping leds into reflectors.

[@tissuepaper9962]

@@unclejohn5012 the step is too small to be useful for that. Normally those cutouts are much larger, and much more circular.

[@Franksey180]

I remember acquiring a car headlight as a child and connecting it to my model train set transformer back in the 80s. How things have changed, alien technology compared to a Cortina headlamp :)

[@Francois_Dupont]

i remember buying starters, alternators and headlight without even checking the make and model and using them on my tractors and various equipment. now you need a 30pin connector just to drive a single headlight.

[@danielegger6460]

I believe the unidentified light fixtures are not fog lights but cornering lights. The reason why different groups of LEDs are switched is to change the beam depending on the traffic and environmental situation, it's like a low cost matrix implementation, but together with the curve lighting it should be quite effective (judging from how incredibly well BMWs curve lighting works with HID lamps). It's quite an impressive design, but I'd be very interested in an unbiased comparison between regular LED and LED + Laser since I'm not convinced that the potentially much longer range of the laser is actually that useful.

[@Todd66]

It doesn’t take too much longer to heat them and separate than cutting. I start out at 250*F for 5 min and check the adhesive. Once I get it soft enough to begin, I use my heat gun to keep the adhesive pliable. If the headlights are going to be put back together, while I am taking the lens off, I use the heat gun to keep the adhesive hot so once the lens is off, I start removing whatever adhesive is left over in the housing. Great video!

[@MegaFPVFlyer]

These BMW headlight assemblies are absolutely ridiculous. My neighbor bought a 2021 BMW for their teenage daughter and (surprise surprise) the headlight got a massive hole in it from a rock chip on the highway. Funnily enough the hole is almost exactly the same location and size as the one in the video. They said the dealer wants 3 grand to replace the headlight. 3 THOUSAND DOLLARS. FOR A HEADLIGHT. I get that it's all fancy and modern with movable lenses and such, but it's like they intentionally make it as complex as possible to jack up the price, knowing that the sorts of people that buy these cars won't mind spending a ludicrous amount of money on maintenance.

[@NiHaoMike64]

They're nicknamed "Breaks My Wallet" for a good reason! :)

[@mikeselectricstuff]

There are replacement lenses available from third-parties - check KZbin for videos on replacing. Failing that look for ones from a breaker - typically about £800-1K on ebay

[@ledhunters]

@@mikeselectricstuff People that buy newest BMWs for their teenage daughters/sons are not really interested in DIY stuff. They would rather pay someone to deal with the problem than do it themselves for 5 times less $.

[@DaveBrown1]

Hi Mike, thanks for the really interesting video. It's a very small world, that BMW headlight came from my neighbours' car! Very expensive bit of kit but works very well and has lots of tech in it. Regards Dave

[@AureliusR]

How could you know that?

[@DaveBrown1]

The guy checked it with his insurance pictures, it's the same one.

[@ThePoolboy789]

the lensed lamps are all main beams and the reflectors are all high beams. the small lamp in the corner is a steering lamp that comes on when making low speed turns or have a turn signal on, lights up the road on the side of the vehicle.

[@bborkzilla]

That's so over-engineered it's insane.

[@peterfitzpatrick7032]

Have you looked inside a modern toaster recently ? 🙄😂

[@semifavorableuncircle6952]

Well half of the effort went into useless "design" stuff, the other half was actually needed to put something rather dangerous like a multi-watt collimated laser into a car that is used by non-laser safety-competent persons. The chinese thing is "simple", but it is one component failure apart from permanently blinding oncoming traffic. And i dont exactly like being on either end of that kind of event.

[@Qui-9]

A laser malfunction or accident would unlikely be harmful. I know he said "collimated" but it's focused on one target, if any escaped it would most certainly spread out and be an annoying glare, weak enough that looking away would be enough to avoid issues.

[@MaNNeRz91]

to be fair I think it would be cheaper to equip every car with night vision. Then headlights can be made obsolete 😆😆 lowering light pollution. lowering glare related accidents. I think I've said too much 🤐

[@1700iDiGuy]

@@peterfitzpatrick7032 yeah they have an ecu, diagnostics port, toast smoke recirculation and a engine management light 🙄

[@brynnrogers5081]

I think your 'fog' light on the side actually lights up the area to the side so you can see where you are turning when you put your turn signal on. I have a 2015 435, (F36). and yes, it also auto levels, and also steers the normal low and high beams proportional to the steering position. Also, I believe the projector lens is a Fresnel lens or Fresnel hybrid or something.

[@Jay-py6ln]

The headlight you have are what is called Adaptive Headlight System or smth like that differing manufacturers have different system, this system rotates the whole fixture that you removed when the car is turning, they do this to keep the road lit precisely where youre going and also they make the light seem to go dimmer when a car is detected first using the fixtures to make a spot for the car when its farther away, then when it gets within dip-beam reach it turns it off, theres a video on @BMW Toronto

[@gregorymccoy6797]

My wife has an Audi. Tried to replace a light at a regular mechanic shop. Had to go to the dealership because the car's computer needed to be "introduced" to the light assy. Until the dealership did that, the light refused to power up

[@Dan-mu5oy]

same for many parts these days, same tactics companies like apple use. if you can push for the right to repair in your country

[@iamdarkyoshi]

Lightbulb DRM? I'm done with this shit gimme my tungsten lamp back But seriously though I'm with Dan, push for right to repair! If we don't take this shit back soon, it's just going to get harder and harder

[@oscarbear1043]

Ask a farmer about right to repair. We all need to pressure our politicians. In Dubai they have better led household bulbs because the ruler asked philips to make bulbs with longer life.

[@sanches2]

I hear you, this is when heavy legislation and sales meets engineering. And i clearly see how legislation and standards are built to keep new players out and to artificially blow pricing up

[@firstmkb]

Haven't gotten more than a minute into the video, but I'm so excited because I've wanted these for my car ever since I saw a commercial for them! At the time they came out, they were not US DOT (Department of Transportation) approved because it was new technology. Crossing my fingers that I can 1) afford them, 2) fool the computer into being happy with the drain, and 3) make them fit - without looking like I made them fit!

[@USEC3]

6:30 excuse me a what? Since when do BMW's have blinkers?

[@TotesCray]

they all come with blinkers, but they use a very expensive, difficult to source, synthetic blinker fluid, which typically only lasts the first 5-10km. Almost no BMW owners bother having it refilled at the service appointments, and usually the dealers are out of it, even if they wanted to.

[@trevorvanbremen4718]

@@TotesCray Even worse is the fact that when attempting to use the blinkers when they are low on blinker fluid, it can cause the wiring loom smoke to escape. Thankfully, I still have a truly vintage can of Lucas wiring-loom-smoke ready for use

[@sootikins]

Interesting stuff - thanks. That BMW lighting assembly perfectly illustrates why I'm keeping my 1995 Lexus until the wheels fall off. The added usefulness of the fancy lighting is in NO way sufficient to justify the added cost and ridiculous complexity compared to plain ol' halogen. IMHO.

[@sigmaxi7822]

I agree. Although, if you ever drove one of these cars, you could not deny the impressive performance of modern LED/Laser headlights. A few years ago I had the chance to drive a BMW 7 series with (at that time) prototype headlights. It had DLP-based adaptive Low/Highbeam and a Laser Highbeam that reaches as far as 600m. I think it's safe to say that with these headlights, you carry your own artificial sunlight.

[@SeanBZA]

@@sigmaxi7822 Unfortunately they also suffer from being misaligned, or from the loose nut behind the wheel turning the levelling control up to max, so all you get as oncoming vehicle is a blinding light from the vehicle. In the vehicle and correctly aligned they are great, but unlike a cheap $5 Osram halogen bulb, which probably will last the life of the vehicle, these very likely will fail shortly after the vehicle is out of warranty, like the HID units are very prone to doing. Only reason the manufacturers love them is because the entire optical unit is very small, and thus there is a massive reduction in the space needed to fit them in the vehicle, plus they also can be made very flat, reducing frontal area. That they are also a good source of upgrade option money, plus guaranteed spares sales as the vehicles age, or accident damage, is just classed as a bonus. The BMW ones with the 2 stepper motors is so the lights can self level from the 3 axis gyro unit in the vehicle, plus also the adaptive cornering turns the lights into the corners to both reduce glare to oncoming vehicles, and to illuminate the inside of the corner as well.

[@stevebollinger3463]

Yeah. That car is disposable. The unit can’t even be opened let alone repaired. Once the car reaches 10 years old then it is just one rock impact from being totaled due to repair costs. After 15 you probably won’t even be able to get the parts. What a waste.

[@jacekpaw1]

Thank you for the video! I would love to see more like this total tear-downs. Regarding the lamp - two words: OVER ENGINEERING :)

[@tmmtmm]

The yellow phosphor has a much wider beam angle than the laser, so the metal bar in front of the BMW laser will be to also block the blue laser beam while allowing most of the yellow phosphor light to pass.

[@RyanJardina]

Always enjoy your videos.

[@SproutyPottedPlant]

Amazing video 💪👍 the BMW assembly was really interesting to see inside! I hope they do make their way to torches, even better throwers and floody lights, more uniform beam and no evil tint shift!

[@MrGeekGamer]

"applied violence" is my new favourite term.

[@pibblesnbits]

I'm guessing that the light at 10:43 offers side illumination. For example, when you turn on your left turn signal that light in the left headlight will turn on and illuminate the ground in front of the left side of the car, to increase visibility when turning left.

[@casemodder89]

Yep, thats what i thought instantly. Most cars use the foglights for this but that doesn't shine pretty high. The higher the lights source pointing downwards the farer it shines without blinding ppl.

[@tinygriffy]

Oh Mike, you always dig out EPIC stuff... thanks so much ! Where do I get my samples ? (24:38)

[@frankowalker4662]

I can remember when car headlights had 2 incandescent bulbs, 1 for highbeam, another for lowbeam, clipped into a reflector mounted on 3 screws with springs to align them. It was simple, it worked and it was cheap to fix.

[@BlackSoap361]

They also could be (had to be) aimed, but they weren’t as bright.

[@thoughtlesskills]

And it didn't blind everyone else on the road, those were crazy times.

[@Nef4riousify]

Nice. And you had light for exactly 2 and a half Meters. Some time ago you had to turn a lever in front of your car to turn it on. Worked too. You ether want technical evolution or u don't. So many always cry for old tech but want maximum comfort.

[@frankowalker4662]

@@Nef4riousify I'm not saying I miss the old days, (you could'nt see a thing with em, esp in the rain.), I just think there is far too much engineering in the new ones. You could still have the nice bright lights, but easier and cheaper design.

[@Nef4riousify]

@@frankowalker4662 well to be fair this headlight shown in the video is one of the most advanced that there is at the time. It is a adaptive headlight meaning it automatically controlled to always have high beam on and still not blind oncoming traffic. It has curve light which moves and titlts the light according to the curves on the street. It has 90 degree turning light if you take turn or tight corner. It has automatic self leveling for when your car is loaded different than usual. All this is for comfort. So that the driver doesn't have to worry about anything. But of course all these things have to be mechanically and electronically controlled and moved. Wich then again takes a lot of engineering to get all this in a relatively small enclosure. But surely not overengineering. It looks so complicated becouse it is and needs to be to fulfill all these wishes and needs. Ofc this leads to insane repair bills if something is broken. Mostly becouse industry needs to make complicated systems like modern headlights as 1 part items. But that's again so no casual would open it up and try to fix it themselves. Wich leads to more dmg or danger in such systems. And then again if anybody doesn't want to pay for the repair of such a headlight than just take the basic version. Wich is at best a led light with little to none mechanical movement or electronical control. Easy and cheap.

[@viagra5207]

styropyro must be designing the headlights of the drivers i go past at night

[@onlyeyeno]

Thanks for another interesting "teardown" Best regards.

[@mazdaman1286]

This is why a light front end bump writes off your low mileage 3 year old car. Think bumper(painted) parking sensors,radar distace control sensor, front fog lights, head lights,grille,aircon condenser. If your airbag(s) deploy its all over, ignoring all other damage the cost of replacement bags and trim is prohibitive.

[@rotor13]

Good. Means I get a new a car without having to worry about fixing it and not worrying that I own a car that has been previously damaged, thus significantly reducing its resale value, and the potential that the car wasn't repaired properly in the first place which will cause other issues in the long term.

[@tissuepaper9962]

@@rotor13 Do you even realize the amount of energy it takes to produce a whole new car compared to producing replacement parts? It seems like you're really only thinking about yourself when you say these things. Congratulations, you don't have to feel the effects of your waste because you can afford good insurance, that doesn't mean that there are no effects worth considering. Maybe you don't care about environmental issues. There's another major reason you might want to cut back your consumerism. China controls the largest deposits of 20/24 of the natural resources that we use the most of when producing things like cars and consumer electronics. Every new device you buy, whether that's a car, or a TV, or even a toaster oven, directly contributes to growing China's soft power, and thereby shrinking the power of your own nation.

[@poptartmcjelly7054]

The blue attenuators are probably also to filter the color and only let blue light from the laser pass, presumably to detect an excess of blue light coming from the laser indicating damage to the phosphor.

[@NeutralGenericUser]

Awesome, thank you so much for doing this teardown!

[@hooskworks]

I think we're going to see LED matrix headlights spreading downwards instead of lasers. For the same end goal but the matrix approach offers more control to prevent the problems you have with the laser source ones blinding oncoming traffic. A number of the LED matrix system use the forward looking ADAS cameras to detect on coming vehicles and dim a region of the matrix to produce a dark spot over the oncoming vehicle. The requirement to up the output during the headlight wars caused lasers to come on stream before the supporting technology for the matrix approach. From memory Ti has a couple of parts and part collections aimed at helping OEMs implement matrix systems now.

[@denizcancgsar2810]

That would be nice improvement if it works though.. Decision by electronics makes me a little nervous..

[@JeromeDemers]

wow thank you! it would make complete sense that you have redundancy in the laser system. 2 laser sensor that shut off laser if they are not equal like you mentioned. If those fail, the metal beam is the last mechanical safe net. or that metal beam is there so you can not look directly into the laser but the reflection alone is as bad. You said that it could also be design to laser splitter to have equal light on the sensor. Once assembled it would run a calibration routine. if it is calibrated I guest you don't need to be split into equal light. Thanks again!

[@SaNjA2659]

Cool stuff! I really want to see this coupled into a multimode fiber for endoscope-type illumination of hard to reach spots.

[@davidc4162]

“Surprising amount of electronics” new to BMW are we? Mine is from 2006 and it’s INSANE. The newer ones.... exponentially more complex!

[@konasteph]

mercedes same story I went from 1987 E class to 2006 E class: NIGHT AND DAY except the older one was SOO MUCH MORE PRACTICAL AND RUGGED..And I am watching here also how ridiculously over sophisticated Tesla is. I mean the EV should be much simpler but instead they mainstream this technological arrogance (I am talking here about the touchscreen taking the place of a physical switch ..headlight etc..)

[@jotatsu]

@@konasteph Believe it or not, Tesla touchscreen is actually cheaping out vs having physical controls and display. At the factory the LCD is probably a little more expensive as a part than the tachometer, gas indicator, warning lights, air condition controls, music and so on etc. But they are reducing a lot of parts that need to be sourced , tracked, stored, installed and QA. And the number of man hours or machines needed.

[@vsvnrg3263]

@@konasteph , touchscreen? "keep your eyes on the road and your hands upon the wheel". - the doors - late 60's

[@KerryWongBlog]

Presumably it's a blue/ultraviolet laser with phosphor coating to generate the white light beam? I wonder what the long term luminous degradation characteristics are? Using R/G/B lasers to form the white beam would be more reliable although a lot more expensive I suppose.

[@sanches2]

The first version of the laser headlights used a combiner prism.

[@ryansmithza]

Note to self: Don't buy a used car with laser lights!!!!!!!!

[@Sqeezerful]

10:33 "turning light" - illuminates towards the side of the car when taking a sharp turn at low speed. Works great in parking garages etc.

[@NicksStuff]

Alright, so can I use my BMW as a laser engraver?

[@DrKnow65]

Very concise information that was well delivered, worth every moment of 26 minutes. Subscribed, well done.

[@roryevans5032]

On the laser unit metal guard piece, the shape of the inner edge appears to have two curves on it. They look like elliptical sections, so they bounce light from the spot onto the two sensors, even if not very mirrored. I'm guessing it's a feedback to make the output uniform. Probably to counter any age related degredation of the output power. I don't think safety is a big concern because of the reflector dispersing the laser beam, meaning that any escaping power is very low by the time it reaches somebody.

[@LandenG23]

A lot of these newer headlight assemblies and even some older ones, don't actually require a whole new assembly if you crack the lens. A new lens is quite cheap, and you really just have to "bake" them open. It takes a bit longer, but it's a difference of hundreds, even thousands of dollars.

[@NicksStuff]

I think some of them use an ultrasonic weld now...

[@qviewq2071]

I expected to see the BMW carcass covered in "Danger, class 2 laser device" yellow stickers.

[@vsvnrg3263]

it probably should have. the warnings are on everything i have with a laser inside it.

[@Stephen_Heathcote]

Nice video. Well explained.

[@mitchellbarnow1709]

The BMW system is really incredible!

[@cbrown17982010]

Did you say corrosion? No no no, the German's call that connector seasoning and isn't covered by warranty 🤷‍♂️

[@Ryan-95-]

In easy way of removing the headlight front glass is to put the light in an oven at around 125 degrees for 5 minutes, this softens the glue and the lenses can then usually by gently levered off

[@kwinzman]

Yes, exactly what we needed! Some chinese car lights that laser focus potentially on the other drivers. And burn themselves out if a tiny dust particle gets onto the phosphor. I am exaggerating of course.

[@dtiydr]

18:23 The blue stuff on the sensor will have some detection of the white light when it working as expected but not much at all just to get a feedback that the light is on fex. But the more blue light, as is worse phosphor material, the more blue light will get to the sensor and at a certain level some internal alarm will go off and most likely kill the light.

[@Some_Beach]

When I first saw laser headlights I was half expecting those headlights with DLPs in them

[@ephjaymusic]

When I hear "laser headlights" I thinking a freaking awesome RGB laser configuration with some fiendishly complicated optics, heatsinks and power supplies to provide an utterly clean fan of pure white laser light that's perfectly mapped and flexible when it's projected onto the road.

[@Graham_Langley]

Surprised that the Aliexpress one has a RHD dip beam pattern - was it something you could specify on the order?

[@JAKOB1977]

No info on what laser didoes there was fitted on the org and the Aliexpress ones? The majority are Nichia or Osram in this blueish-wavelength and if it's off the shelf diode, but from the bottom, it looked like an std 9mm Nichia 2pin fx NUBM, but I have no idea if it's custom or off-the-shelf LD. you can often conclude it from the signatures on the back or the number of bond wires but those you can't see with that extra can on the Original kit. . But the back looks like a single 9mm Nichia-unit like the same you find in projectors or Lazingstack-diode arrays.. 19:15 Most of the blue Osrams I come by have been 5.6mm, where the majority of the Nichia is 9mm, but difficult to tell from the back... Mike, you don't have a LPM? they are quite cheap, at least they were like 4 years back..I m quite surprised how a 35USD LPM performs when I compare its reading to fx Ophir-head-basedLPMs. surprisingly accurate from something this crude, at least in the blue wavelength- 6.3w kzbin.info/www/bejne/rYPGaGebfMuBjdU

[@gershwillquenchyourthirst221]

It's 4am,I can barely keep my eyes open.. "ohh headlight laser beams"

[@fuzzy1dk]

I believe automatic leveling is required if the light output is above some limit. afaict it is based on the suspension height of the four corners and must go to minimum level in case of a fault etc. maybe that's what all the extra electronics do?

[@D4no00]

to be fair I'm so tired of these fucking led lights, leveling works normal as long as the are no bumps on the road. I'm not even talking about the degenerates driving SUVs that blind you when they drive behind you.

[@viperidaenz1]

The left-right motor will be for BMW's "Adaptive Headlights", there the beam is moved in the direction you're steering

[@Knaeckebrotsaege]

So basically what Citroen did in the 50s with the DS

[@dcallan812]

Yes it was Big Clive I was watching too. Very interesting subject lasers as headlights and what safety issues will come from that. The one lit on regular beam has a real issue with colour fringing blue, Is that from the led phosphor?

[@TomKappeln]

More shitty electronics in ONE LAMP than in my whole car ...lol

[@lj516]

Also I seem to remember that the laser headlights had adaptive capability to alter output around oncoming vehicles? My only explanation of the excessive circuitry on the laser assemblies

[@firstmkb]

I can follow about 90% (being generous to myself) of what you're talking about. Is the second blue capped sensor around 19:00 possibly to detect oncoming traffic? I seem to remember these would drop the long range beam on the traffic side, while letting the roadside beam extend farther. If you build a laser flashlight, would you use components we would be able to copy (and credit) your design with? I considered making a high power LED version a few years ago, but trying to pick up enough practical engineering (heat management, brightness requirements, power, etc.) was overwhelming. I didn't want to learn about those by trial & error & fire.

[@mikeselectricstuff]

Sensor is nothing to do with traffic - lene-following camera is used to detect oncoming traffic. I've ordered a few Li-ion torches to investigate conversion using the BMW laser module.

[@jongandy6732]

Thank you for this video, sir. I'm building a motorcycle and just picked up one of these modules with the laser to install as my headlight. I've been looking for a on it and couldn't find anything. Are you able to share any pinouts or amperage/wattage in addition to what you mention here?

[@transtubular]

The typical way of removing the front clear lens from the BMW (and other brands) is to heat the whole assembly in an oven heated to around 230-250 degrees F for around 10-20 minutes to soften the glue enough to pull it off of the main housing. Best example of how complicated modern lighting systems are getting on cars today. I think it's really cool, but soon it seems the head lights may not work without being plugged into the car and be super expensive to replace.

[@perlamiseriaccia]

12:45, that's for the cornering light

[@juricekrezi6357]

If you heat up the whole unit u can easly remove the outer lens and possibly replace it. And the side led there is for cornering light when u are turning it will light up the side

[@dosgos]

Some big global car makers were staffing lighting teams in San Fransisco a decade ago. There were people from Audi and (maybe) a Japanese maker. Maybe this was one of their projects. . .

[@Zadster]

This month's Car Mechanics magazine has an article on car lighting, worth having a look if you see one in the newsagent's. It has an exploded diagram of an Audi headlamp cluster, very similar to this. Hopefully you will be able to get hold of one of the new Audi units that use TI's automotive DLPs to project fancy images. They should prove interesting.

[@houssemhosni3920]

Pretty cool! Keep up man thanks

[@ewanmcalpine2393]

Great vid , thank you . please can you give a link to the cheepy lights