bruce_miranda

Retrofit_Cable_For_LCI_Tail_Lights.doc
I've added the doc file here. I'll need some time to understand your information because I'm having a tough time to understand your colour coding with respect to the photos.

1. How did you figure out what was connected to what from the 6 pin to the 7 pin connector?

2. Are the Violet/Green wire and the thin brown wire that are connected from the outside of the holder connected to the hidden bulbs? Or are these wires shorting the pins 4 and 7? If yes then why use two different colour wires?

3. Also are the pins 4 and 7 from the new plug shorted to pin 6 in the plug itself or externally.

bmw_wpq31

hi bruce,
1) i opened it again and marked which wire colours were which...but, just double check with the pictures i attached...
2) the two wires were connected to the bulb i've been telling about...i just noticed that both sides have these bulbs, except that the bulb on the left side(in pictures sent) were hidden behind the pillar tied up with cable-ties...in short, it was properly hidden, that even i didn't notice until today...
3)what do you mean by 'shorted in the plugs or externally'? From the retrofit conector(7 pin), wires coming out from point 4 & 7 were looped somewhere in the middle of wire coming out from point 4, then it goes straight into point 6 of the original 6 pin connector...
Hope this helps...

bruce_miranda

What I got so far

The old pins are
Pin 1 : Ground (BR - Brown)
Pin 2 : Fog Light (GE/SW - Yellow/Black)
Pin 3 : Reverse Light (WS/GE - White/Yellow)
Pin 4 : Brake Light (GR/GN - Grey/Green)
Pin 5 : Turn Light (BL/BR/GE - Blue/Brown/Yellow)
Pin 6 : Tail Light (SW/RT - Black/Red)

You say a blub or resistor is connected between pin 6 (Grey Green wire) and pin 3 (Brown wire). Those are the Reverse lights and the Tail Lights so why did he connect it there? It has nothing to do with the turn light at all. I don't think this is correct. I think the Grey/Green wire is actually going back to become the 7th pin on the other side. But what about the thin Brown wire, where is that going?

Coming out from that female pins on the E46 retrofit cable are 6 wires but different colours. Each is connected 1 to 1.

Pin 1 : Brown
Pin 2 : Green/Black
Pin 3 : White/Brown
Pin 4 : Blue/Green
Pin 5 : Red/Yellow
Pin 6 : Purple/Grey


Those become the following on the other side of the e46 retrofit cable that connects to the new LCI lights.

Pin 1 : White/Brown
Pin 2 : Green/Black
Pin 3 : Red/Yellow
Pin 4 : Purple/Grey
Pin 5 :
Pin 6 : Blue/Green
Pin 7 : Grey/Green (note this is the pin connected to the Black Red on the original plug)
Pin 8 : Brown

bmw_wpq31

7 Pin Connector <----------> 6 Pin Connector
Point 1.(White/Brown)<--------->Point 3.(White/Brown)
Point 2.(Black/Green) <--------->Point 2.(Black/Green)

it goes on and on except for :

Point 4(Purple)&Point 7(Green/Grey)<---------------->Point 6(Purple/White)

Did this help bruce?

p.s.: a typo error in word doc on colours of point 2.(Black/Green) not (White/Brown)

bruce_miranda

OK I think I worked it out. See diagram. Which is exactly how I worked it out from the first pictures of the LCI tail light posted by andy545.

All except 2 issues.

1. Where is the bulb / resistor connected.
2. Where is the thin brown wire that is connected to the pin0 3 (Yellow/White) on the old 6 pin connector going.

bmw_wpq31

bruce, the purple/white(black/red from original connector) goes to point 4 & 7 of the connector to lights...this is how 6 pin from our original connector become 7 pin in the new connector...regarding the bulb/resistor connections, for you, i'll check it up again later...most probably i mistakenly marked the points when jotting on a piece of paper, but it definately has something to do with the turn signals...but,... bruce, the grey/green wires don't become the 7th pin, that i can confirm... the brown and grey/green wires become (+) & (-) points of the bulb, i can confirm that because the bulbs seem to light up when the tail lights are switched on...

bmw_wpq31

Bruce,

Pin 0 1<------->bulb<------->Pin 0 5

It's only the turn signals that are affected...if you hook up the wires without the bulb, the tail lights still work, but they blink too fast and on top of that, you get an error message....

this will definately work...and bruce, your diagram is actually much easier to understand compared to mine...thanks man! now that diagram is exactly what i was trying tell everybody, but i can't seem to put it into words the "easy to understand" way...

bruce_miranda

I figured out that's where the bulb/resistor should go but why don't we see that in any of your pictures. Also what is the thin Brown wire in the picture doing.

bruce_miranda

Updated diagram.

bmw_wpq31

(grey/green)Pin 0 1<------->bulb<------->Pin 0 5(brown wire)

thats all there is to it...