vkhong |
10-04-2012 07:17 PM |
I received my smoked LED sidemarkers, thanks for the quick two day shipping to my location. There are 4 LEDs in each sidemarker: one faces the front, one for the side, and two for the rear. Good all round visibility. The fitment is good - flush on the fender and no play when installed.
These do not give errors because BMW does not enable the Check Control error messages for the sidemarkers. The cold and warm checks (flicker-test) are enabled though.
Installation is quite easy.
Needed: small needle-nose pliers, electrical tape, detailer spray; optional: dielectric grease for water resistance, nitrile rubber or latex gloves. - Compare the old and LED sidemarkers and note which is the left and right-side housing.
- Start with the left side (US driver side).
- Clean the area around the sidemarker with detailer spray.
- Remove old sidemarker. Slide the sidemarker back (towards rear of vehicle) about 1/8-inch, the resistance is caused by a metal tension clip, nothing will break. When the sidemarker has moved back, lift the front edge of the sidemarker with a fingertip, away from the fender panel surface. The sidemarker housing should continue to come all the way out. Leave it hanging by the wires.
- Clean the fender area again.
- Do not unclip the wires, leave them connected.
- Untwist the bulb base from the sidemarker housing. You should see a light bulb connected to the bulb base and the bulb base is still connected to the wires from the vehicle. Make sure the wires remain outside of the vehicle.
- Look at the sidemarker housing and note that the front of the housing is held to the fender panel by a notch and the rear of the housing is held to the fender by a metal spring clip. This will help you remove or install sidemarker housings with greater ease.
- Place the old sidemarker housing in a safe location where it will not be stepped on. Handle the bulb with a clean gloves or clean microfiber cloth if the light bulbs are to be reused. Do not allow skin oil to come in contact with the bulbs. Remove the light bulb by pulling it away from the bulb base. Place bulb in a safe location or discard it.
- Get the new LED sidemarker housing.
- Apply a thin layer of diaelectric grease to the plug at the end of the LED sidemarker housing wires. A gloved finger is fine for this. Diaelectric grease helps repel water and moisture buildup.
- Insert the LED sidemarker plug into the bulb base at the vehicle. Do not mount the LED sidemarker housing into the fender panel yet.
- Test by turning on hazard light / emergency blinker. If LED sidemarker is not lit, remove the plug from the bulb base and re-insert using the opposite polarity. When LED sidemarker is lit, turn off the hazard light.
- Use electrical tape to make sure the plug does not slip out of the bulb base over time and to help keep water and moisture away, Cut about a 5-inch length of electrical tape. Start a spiral wrap beginning at the bulb base towards the vehicle wires, squeezing with your fingers to help the tape stick closely to the bulb base, socket/clip and wires. Make sure the LED sidemarker housing plug is still firmly in the bulb base during the tape wrap.
- Mount the LED sidemarker housing onto the fender panel. Place the metal clip end into the fender cutout, slide it towards the rear of the vehicle. Continue to compress the metal clip and slide the front end of the sidemarker housing onto the fender panel. When the sidemarker housing is fully on the fender panel, gently release the housing so that the metal clip pushes the sidemarker towards the front of the vehicle, allowing the notches to catch the fender panel.
- The left side is done.
- Repeat the process for the right side.
Note: You may notice that when mounting the LED sidemarker housing onto the fender panel, the metal clip may pop / slide off the fender panel, rather than catch the panel. If this is the case, use the needle-nose pliers and slightly bend the curved edge of the metal clip outwards and towards the rear of the vehicle. Keep bending a little more and trying to mount the housing until the clip can catch the fender panel.
I coded out the cold and warm checks so that the sidemarkers no longer flicker during startup (cold check) or every 100 seconds (I think) when ignition is on (warm check). I also coded out the cold / warm checks and error messages for the front turn signals in preparation for SMDs.
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