BMW's amazon shop wanted £26 for a new flashlight. I thought they went nuts as in 4 years I only used mine once. I wasn't going to pay that much for something I virtually never use.
My existing flashlight had always been extremely dim and more or less useless. The batteries were spec'ed to last anything from 3 to 6 years depending on the temperature. So mine were in the dead territory.
I looked around for cheap parts and eventually found them at http://www.rs-online.com. The original batteries were the Varta V250H and these were still available. The original bulb was a 2.2V, 250ma, E10, 24mm length, 9mm diameter, lensed bulb. I chose a 2.5V, 300ma bulb as a replacement because the voltage available from the batteries was 2.4V. The new bulb and the 2 new batteries cost me just over £5.
I tried soldering the battery on to the flashlight internal parts with no success as the solder just wouldn't stick. But I found keeping the flashlight casing closed tight kept everything together. A clip on the new battery also helped. So I tied up the flashlight with a couple of cable/zip ties. This may not look the best but was quick, cheap, and functional. I didn't care to mess with glue.
Now my car is back to factory spec with a fully working flashlight. It will come in handy when I get stranded in the middle of nowhere in complete darkness while it's raining. The camera makes the light look much brighter than it really is. But it is good enough for changing tires in complete darkness.
I did look into LED mods for the flashlight. But those looked like too much work and too expensive. Also I didn't know enough about electronics to know for sure the charging circuit would work properly for different kind of batteries. I didn't want to risk a fire or exploding batteries, so I decided to stick with the original arrangement.
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My existing flashlight had always been extremely dim and more or less useless. The batteries were spec'ed to last anything from 3 to 6 years depending on the temperature. So mine were in the dead territory.
I looked around for cheap parts and eventually found them at http://www.rs-online.com. The original batteries were the Varta V250H and these were still available. The original bulb was a 2.2V, 250ma, E10, 24mm length, 9mm diameter, lensed bulb. I chose a 2.5V, 300ma bulb as a replacement because the voltage available from the batteries was 2.4V. The new bulb and the 2 new batteries cost me just over £5.
I tried soldering the battery on to the flashlight internal parts with no success as the solder just wouldn't stick. But I found keeping the flashlight casing closed tight kept everything together. A clip on the new battery also helped. So I tied up the flashlight with a couple of cable/zip ties. This may not look the best but was quick, cheap, and functional. I didn't care to mess with glue.
Now my car is back to factory spec with a fully working flashlight. It will come in handy when I get stranded in the middle of nowhere in complete darkness while it's raining. The camera makes the light look much brighter than it really is. But it is good enough for changing tires in complete darkness.
I did look into LED mods for the flashlight. But those looked like too much work and too expensive. Also I didn't know enough about electronics to know for sure the charging circuit would work properly for different kind of batteries. I didn't want to risk a fire or exploding batteries, so I decided to stick with the original arrangement.
