Xenon lamps – BMW 2006 bmw 325i User Manual

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Xenon lamps

The xenon lamp provides forward illu-
mination with significantly more bright-
ness and uniformity than the traditional
halogen lamp.

In a xenon lamp, an electric arc replaces
the filament in order to generate intense
illumination. A gas mixture in a quartz
glass tube with metal vapor is ignited by
a high electric voltage. The arc that is
generated is then sustained by a lower
voltage. When the lamp is turned on,
there is a brief warm-up period.
Maximum brightness is attained in
approx. 15 seconds.

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Xenon lamps provide significantly-
improved visibility, especially during
adverse weather conditions and driving
situations, (driving at night in heavy rain
or through road repair areas where
there are no lane markers, for instance).

Vehicles with xenon lamps are
equipped with automatic headlamp
range control. As a result, the lane
ahead of you is always optimally
lighted, even under varying load condi-
tions, and drivers in oncoming traffic
are not blinded.

Xenon lamps make a significant contri-
bution to highway safety since other
highway users, bicyclists and motorcy-
clists in the right lane, and pedestrians
are more easily detected.