[neonnblack]

Originally Posted by F30lolz

So OP,

1). Thinking down the line, what will you replace it with? Another 335/6 or 340/6?
2). Must be manual?
3). Headlight still on?
4). Glad you aren't well done.

Thanks, i moved it and got out pretty quick. I even made a sad attempt to put the fire out with a mountain dew. lol

Doesn't have to be manual, no.

I went back a little bit ago and behold. Hard to tell but yes the headlight is still on.

[neonnblack]

It was bought from a dealer, yes. And of course I'll be looking into another BMW! This is number 3 for me so far and I'm not backing down yet. Unless a great deal on something cool comes along.

[Zanity]

Thats crazy! Glad you're ok, never seen this happen before, let us know what they determine the cause to be if they ever found out.

[F30dud]

glad you good, get a lawyer

[floridaorange]

4 months of ownership and it's totaled due to a headlight fire?! Inconceivable!

[learntocode]

Originally Posted by Poochie

I'm not blaming you, I don't know if you bought the vehicle used but in the US, the front amber side markers are mandatory and are illuminated from the factory; someone coded them out apparently.

At least that's the way it looks from the grainy photo.. I apologize in advance if I'm mistaken..

Previous owner or someone definitely coded/front light amber turn signals delete... unless stock OEM amber yolk bulbs were swapped out with white turn signal HID/LED bulbs.

[upsidedownfunnel]

It's a sport line with an M Sport bumper so it's definitely possible the previous owner made other modifications. It doesn't matter though, insurance will pay unless there is clear evidence of some sort of intentional damage, which there obviously isn't here.

[IK6SPEED]

Originally Posted by upsidedownfunnel

It's a sport line with an M Sport bumper so it's definitely possible the previous owner made other modifications. It doesn't matter though, insurance will pay unless there is clear evidence of some sort of intentional damage, which there obviously isn't here.

How can you tell it's a Sportsline that had MSport Bumpers retrofitted?

[Poochie]

Originally Posted by learntocode

Previous owner or someone definitely coded/front light amber turn signals delete... unless stock OEM amber yolk bulbs were swapped out with white turn signal HID/LED bulbs.

Walking home one night, I witness a house on fire, so I alerted the residents who where Inside, unaware and sleeping, that managed to get out in time.

I was the primary witness and after the fire marshal interviewed me and took all the related photos from my phone, he later determined the the root cause of the fire was from a cheap, Chinaman lamp, as you can see from as the point of origin of the fire, in the photo.

Long story longer; cheap, uncertified bulbs and mismatched coding is most likely the cause of this unfortunate incident.

And before anyone wrongly assumes, I called 911 way before I took this photo of the house on fire.

[Fliplegend]

Originally Posted by learntocode

Previous owner or someone definitely coded/front light amber turn signals delete... unless stock OEM amber yolk bulbs were swapped out with white turn signal HID/LED bulbs.

+ 1. I'm not seeing an amber corner. Wonder if a higher wattage bulb melted the socket harness.

[AndDown]

I’m impressed with the diagnosis of the probable cause of the fire!

[neonnblack]

Yeah, wild. I honestly had no idea that anything had been coded in the lights and that different bulbs were in it.

[Zanity]

Originally Posted by neonnblack

Yeah, wild. I honestly had no idea that anything had been coded in the lights and that different bulbs were in it.

I don't know why people assume coding will cause fire, more than half the people on the forum have coded their car, including me, I coded my car since day 1, euro style amber delete, everything. I've never heard of a headlight coding can cause a fire, this is total bull of an excuse. If the last owner modified it with a cheap chinese made ballast for the HID, then yes, that may have overheat to melting point to cause a fire, but it still has nothing to do with coding.

[Poochie]

Originally Posted by Zanity

I don't know why people assume coding will cause fire, more than half the people on the forum have coded their car, including me, I coded my car since day 1, euro style amber delete, everything. I've never heard of a headlight coding can cause a fire, this is total bull of an excuse. If the last owner modified it with a cheap chinese made ballast for the HID, then yes, that may have overheat to melting point to cause a fire, but it still has nothing to do with coding.

You have a lot to learn then; there are such things as resistors bouncing back a surge of power that can start fires.

The gauge of wire can't support the added amperage passing through that can cause fires.

And simply crappy wiring can start a fire.

Not sure if that's the reason here but just because guy who knows a guy who know another guy that did it on his 1999 318i before doesn't mean it's not a potential fire hazard.

Google is your friend.

[Zanity]

Originally Posted by Poochie

You have a lot to learn then; there are such things as resistors bouncing back a surge of power that can start fires.

The gauge of wire can't support the added amperage passing through that can cause fires.

And simply crappy wiring can start a fire.

Not sure if that's the reason here but just because guy who knows a guy who know another guy that did it on his 1999 318i before doesn't mean it's not a potential fire hazard.

Google is your friend.

No, I don't agree, you do know that coding is OEM right ? Amber delete is standard in Europe, as I've said, if any hardware (wiring or ballast or bulb) is changed then yes, it can cause a fire from cheap after market parts. But if he had OEM stock headlights, and he's just coded off amber side markers or have 100% halo brightness for low beam, etc, no way these can cause a fire, because they come OEM standard depending on which country you're in.

[Poochie]

Originally Posted by Zanity

No, I don't agree, you do know that coding is OEM right ? Amber delete is standard in Europe, as I've said, if any hardware (wiring or ballast or bulb) is changed then yes, it can cause a fire from cheap after market parts. But he had OEM stock headlights, and he's just coded off amber side markers and such, no way that can cause a fire.

You misunderstood why I asked that question; him possible coding the side markers out have absolutely nothing to do with the fire but it shows evidence of coding.

Plus, the glare from increase in wattage to the rings and obvious missing or altered government mandated side markers reveals signs of tampering, whatever they might be.

[jimbobiggens]

Could it have been a rag stuck in a hole while somebody was working on the car? Maybe it blocked airflow to the headlight?

[neonnblack]

I finally got the car off the street and to the yard. Won't know more until this coming week. I hope it's a simple process, I've never had a car totaled out before, let alone from a fire.

[floridaorange]

[QUOTE=Poochie;24915800][QUOTE=learntocode;24915655]

Originally Posted by Poochie

Walking home one night, I witness a house on fire, so I alerted the residents who where Inside, unaware and sleeping, that managed to get out in time.

I was the primary witness and after the fire marshal interviewed me and took all the related photos from my phone, he later determined the the root cause of the fire was from a cheap, Chinaman lamp, as you can see from as the point of origin of the fire, in the photo.

Long story longer; cheap, uncertified bulbs and mismatched coding is most likely the cause of this unfortunate incident.

And before anyone wrongly assumes, I called 911 way before I took this photo of the house on fire.

The Chinaman is not the issue here, we're talking about drawing a line in the sand!

[Poochie]

[QUOTE=floridaorange;24916589][QUOTE=Poochie;24915800]

Originally Posted by learntocode

The Chinaman is not the issue here, we're talking about drawing a line in the sand!

Alrighty then, you go "draw that line in the sad..."

[npe]

Originally Posted by IK6SPEED

How can you tell it's a Sportsline that had MSport Bumpers retrofitted?

For someone constantly giving flack to other forum members for not looking at fine details, you're no better

Look at the OP's third pic and the photos in his past threads if you're bright enough

[The Airman]

Originally Posted by Poochie

You misunderstood why I asked that question; him possible coding the side markers out have absolutely nothing to do with the fire but it shows evidence of coding.

Plus, the glare from increase in wattage to the rings and obvious missing or altered government mandated side markers reveals signs of tampering, whatever they might be.

Exactly. Signs of tampering.

If the OP files a claim with the insurance company, believe me, the investigator will be highly trained in car fires and their origins.

Insurance companies have gotten tired of paying off on people who burn their cars to get out of payments, and a multitude of other reasons they burn their cars. He'll zoom right in on that other headlight stuck on from the photos the firemen took, and trace any non-factory modifications on the good headlight back to the burnt one.

Although clearly not arson, if they find a cheap Chinese HID upgrade or something like that, just thrown in there on the good headlight, they may be under no obligation to pay because of non-factory upgrades that should be done at your own risk.

This will be interesting to see the outcome. I wish the OP much luck for a good outcome. Buyer beware.