[bremerd1]

No - they don't. The LED lights I used have a connector that looks much like a lego brick: Square, with the + on one side, and - on the other. The adapter wiring has the matching 'brick' receiver on one end, and a connector that matches the car's harness on the other.

Different brand LEDs might have a different connector, so the wiring part might need to be purchased after the LEDs arrive (so you can assess what is needed).


Dan B

 

[RBEmerson]

My wife has an '02 325ix (xi? whatever) with two halogen bulbs per side (no projectors). The current lens covers are miserable (brown, close to sandblasted), replacements are on their way via the smiley blue truck. The current bulbs are... I've splatted lightning bugs that were brighter.

One low beam is dead. Now is the time to shift to LED's. I found this thread, and followed that Amazon links. I'm puzzled about the choice of LED type. I'm also puzzled by what bulb types are in each light assembly.

Are the hi/lo and hi-only lamps both H7 or...? The H7 replacement LED's seem to be hi-only H7's, making me think Bremerd1's conversion didn't get all four light assemblies, but the text seems, to me, to indicate all four assemblies were updated. If I read that correctly, these LED's are only part of the job. Or I need to find hi/lo LED's, too.

(I understand the need for the mounting and wiring adapters - no problems there)

Question one: what bulb types (H7, etc.) are used in the headlight assemblies (no projector)?

Question two: Recommendations for hi/lo and hi-only?

 

[bremerd1]

At the start of the thread, I only replaced the stock (halogen) H7 bulbs with H7 LEDs in the low beams (the two outside lights). His car was halogen from the factory (no projectors). Since my son didn't use high beams very much, this worked out good. The initial list of parts was to put H7 LEDs into the low beam sockets (a 'direct' replacement for the halogen bulbs). If you wanted to do both high beam, and low beam, you'd need to purchase two sets of bulbs, wiring adapters, and holders (both high and low halogen are H7).

A couple things I didn't touch on in the thread (it didn't cross my mind): The LEDs do flicker/blink: You'll need to use INPA or PASoft to turn off the bulb checking (which causes the flickering), or (if your OCD isn't as bad as mine) it's not fatal - you can live with it (it drove me nuts, so I coded it out).

The LEDs are quite bright. Without projectors, you'll get 'flashed' a lot from oncoming traffic (wasn't a problem for us: nighttime use was rural - the wildlife on the side of the road was a larger issue than oncoming cars). Even cheap projectors reign the glare in, but they'll use a slightly different bulb than a H7.

The LED bulbs will likely not have the same 9006 connector as the BMW harness. I didn't want to cut the car's harness, so I bought the appropriate wire adapter (about 8 inches long, with a 9006 connector on one side, and one that matched the LED on the other. If you look at the photos for the Aukee bulbs linked in the original post, one of them shows the plug peeking out from behind the bulb...

The holders are needed: LED bulbs will have a fan or heatsink on the back, and these replace the L shaped stock bulb holder allowing the fan or heatsink to pass through. There are a couple of 'tits' that stick out on the socket in the headlight. I took a pair of wire cutters, and clipped them off (the aftermarket holder won't sit flush if you don't, and the bulb will be misaligned). Some additional filing/trimming/smoothing for the remaining tit 'lump' may be needed. There is also a pair on the holder (that fit into the two holes on the opposite side of the headlight socket). For the low beams, these line up fine (although I may have clipped mine anyway - I can't remember). For the high beam socket, they do not, and these must be clipped as well. The Aukee bulbs are a real tight fit in the holders because of where the power wire exits the side of the fan housing. It's not super-smooth-going to get them to squeeze in there, but they do fit, and once in, you don't have to mess with it ever again...

A little twisting and adjustment is needed to get the bulbs to line up perfectly vertical, and the aftermarket holders don't grip the headlight bucket quite as well as OEM. A little finesse and patience is required to get it all lined up and seated correctly.

This is NOT something you are going to do easily with the headlights in the car... Removal will almost certainly be needed (if not for the lens replacement, then for the clipping of the 'tits'). I wouldn't try and do this with the headlights in the car.

I have a sedan (different from my son's sedan) that has the halogen headlight buckets with all four bulbs changed out for the Aukee LEDs - swapping all four isn't a problem. I plan on leaving this one as-is (no projector installation is planned).


Dan B

 

[RBEmerson]

Sigh... mystery solved about why no hi/lo. I continue to think Chris' car uses hi/lo's like our VW T-3 "Westy" (with LED's, of course). Put it in hi, and paint blisters on anything in front of the lights.

Once installed, I'll let Motorcar Makeovers (Blue Bell, PA - tell Scott I sent you - subtle plug? Moi?) code out the check, and do a full-on aiming. Checking alignment is a check item on PA's annual inspection - no hurt there.

I've done HID and LED installations in the Westy and on a BMW K1200RS (bike) (why I gave up on HID's - that delay did not amuse me). LED's, by comparison, are easy. OK, measure twice cut once, RTFM, and think it through. I use adapters on the Westy - at least the 325 gives better places to tuck wires.

The game plan is very much to pull the whole headlight assembly as part of replacing the covers. No worries there. Well, ignoring the one accursed screw hidden in a dark corner. Grrr...

Regarding the little nubbins, my worst problem will be picking the right burr to put in the Dremel tool.

Alright, alright, alriiiight! I know enough to be dangerous! Great thanks for your postings!

Now, off to keep Jeff Bezos wealthier than most third world countries... 😄

 

[RBEmerson]

In the end... fail. The problem isn't the bumps. they seem to be on passible terms with the headlight reflector's collar. Where things came apart was the size of the Aukee fan. It's too short, meaning the power cable comes out well inside the adapter. Hogging out a groove in the adapter collar is, I suppose, workable, but only just. Long story short (pun unplanned), the Aukees are just not going to fit without serious adaptation. My guess is the fan type, size, etc. varies for unknowable reasons. Such is life in Shenzhen, PRC.

 

[bremerd1]

That is accurate- they were tight. I'm not sure if they change things up (I did two of the cars back to back, and the third one a little later, and the LEDs were all the same). It took some fiddling around with them to get everything to squeeze together and all sit nicely. You could always notch the plastic holders out with a pair of wire cutters or dremel: The power wire was right at the edge of the holder with the parts I used, but if it's far deeper on the ones you have, that may not work. (It could be a difference in the holder brand/mold/design, and not the LEDs...)

Keep plugging away at it - a solution may make itself apparent after a little time. A different brand of LED may do it (plug in a different place), but I can't attest to anything other than the one's I've tried...



Dan B

 

[bremerd1]

I re-read the whole post, and hit the original links in my first post: If the wires from the LEDs hit the inner part of the holder, try pulling the two halves apart, and notch the inner half so the wires have somewhere to go...It'll take a little bit to figure out where it needs to be notched (so the LED is straight up and down when the holders are mounted in the headlight), but after notching the inner half for the wires, I bet it'll go together a lot easier...

Dan B

 

[RBEmerson]

Right now, the roads are coated with ice. I guess I've got time to grind away, instead of saying s*** it, and going to the dark side (halogen).

Waiting for new LED's isn't an option here. I'm tinkering with my wife's daily driver. Which means she has my daily driver. You see the need to get on with it. [laugh]

 

[RBEmerson]

Was the problem with the blinking LED problem resolved? Is there a CANbus adapter in the power adapter for the Aukee LED's?

Rather than grind down the two posts in the reflector, I'm thinking hard about making (drill or grind) relief holes for those OEM posts. It leaves a way to return to halogen H7's if needed.

 

[bremerd1]

I don't envy you the weather (I'm in Florida- it's actually the right time of year to work in the garage!)

The flickering LED thing is due to the headlight bulb checking that the BMW computer does (not sure which module, most likely the LCM). It sends a lower voltage through the system and looks for resistance - a open circuit with no resistance means a light is out (checks occur right after turning on the car, and again every so often). It's not an issue with halogen lights (they just can't illuminate that quickly, and offer resistance), but LEDs don't require the high voltage, don't have the resistance, and respond MUCH quicker than halogen bulbs. The effect is that every minute or so, the lights flicker (faster response), and (occasionally) set off the dash 'light out' indicator (due to less resistance).

I've tried the CAN error correctors before - when I first put HID lights in my 'vert... I never got them to work. I tried a couple of different brands (the ones that came with the kit I bought, and ones from Morimoto), but I was never successful with the inline correctors. Autozone (or similar parts stores) have load resistors, but I've never tried those...

If you have PASoft (or BMW Scanner 1.4) and the cable (I bought this adapter in 2017 [comes with a copy of BMW Scanner 1.4.0]), its really easy to code that out (you just uncheck the box in the LCM module that says something like 'headlight check', and click 'save'). If you plan on keeping the car for a long time (I've had one of my sedans since it was under factory warranty and still the current model), it's worth the $30 for the cable to be able to tweak the various settings and modules. I treat the old laptop that has it installed like a tool: I put WinXP on it, fully updated it, and then made BMW Scanner 1.4.0 work: Nothing else on the laptop, and I use it just for that task, and that task alone...

Relief holes in the bulb adapters are probably a better idea than what I did (but I've got four e46's, and two spare sets of headlights: I was uneducated about the whole 'swap lights around' the first time, and I replaced the whole headlight bucket when I did the HID conversion. I thought I needed a different bucket for HID projectors (bought the whole thing from Umnitza)... (Turns out the thread-in projectors go right in if you drill a 1/2in hole for the wiring right below the main hole...). The second set of lights was due to a minor accident when my son was first learning to drive, and we replaced the headlights as part of that repair (and hung onto the old set - turned out it was just the lenses that needed replaced).


Dan B

 

[bremerd1]

The first time out swapping in projectors from scratch, I found this thread. It was super-useful (lots of pictures).

Dan B

 

[RBEmerson]

Oof! That's a massive handful for a vehicle that has to be on the road 48 hrs from now. Back to the "dark side" until then. Bummer.

This project gets saved until spring, when I get back off the road. I have all of this bookmarked, so I can refer to these notes to continue.

We have a friend in the WPB area, reporting iguanas dropping out of the trees. At least we don't have that problem, just frozen runoff running across local roads. But no iguanas, period. Heading back to AZ, I was counting on friendly weather at least in the Phoenix area. Hah! Cold there, too. I so look forward to riding while layering. At least it'll soften the landing if I get thrown. LOL

 

[Beyanineg]

Thanks for the information; I will most likely use these options. I'm having trouble choosing bulbs for the house right now since the connectors of my chandeliers do not allow the use of standard bulbs. It seems like I found the right lamps on https://www.amazon.com/smart-light-bulb-bulbs-color/dp/B0922Q43LY/, but I still don't know if I should order them and whether they will suit me at all. Is there someone here who knows what I should do in a similar situation? I don't understand
it myself, and I can't figure out what kind of light bulbs I need

 

[RBEmerson]

For some reason, after fiddling with the clear lenas covers, the light assembly didn't go back correctly. There's a 1/8"(?) gap between the marker and lens cover.

There shouldn't be a gap.

The four mounting screws are in the right place, all of the snap tabs(7?) are snapped in place. It should be back, looking like the driver side picture.

Any suggestions about fixing that? FWIW, there's no headlight sprayer.

 

[bremerd1]

@RBEmerson

I was crusin' youtube today, and stumbled across this:

Different brand of LEDs, but from what I can see in the video, they look to be direct plug-and-play: No adapters or anything - a 30minute job. I thought of this thread, and figured I'd share...


Dan B

 

[bremerd1]

As far as the corner markers, I honestly don't know. All my e46's are the 'slide in' type (as opposed to the screw in type), but if they are the slide in ones, it could be that one of the slide rails on the corner markers didn't slide into the slot on the headlight... They are fiddley (and break easy in my experience: I keep a cheap set on the shelf because I usually end up snapping a tab or breaking one every third or fourth time I pull it out).

Dan B

 

[RBEmerson]

For some reason, after fiddling with the clear lenas covers, the light assembly didn't go back correctly. There's a 1/8"(?) gap between the marker and lens cover.
View attachment 945513

There shouldn't be a gap.
View attachment 945514

The four mounting screws are in the right place, all of the snap tabs(7?) are snapped in place. It should be back, looking like the driver side picture.

Any suggestions about fixing that? FWIW, there's no headlight sprayer.

The problem was an installer error. In at least the '02 (and) later, a screw secures a tang on the back of the marker housing. It's possible to put the tang in the wrong place, and still be able to screw the marker in place. Done correctly, the gap between the marker and clear cover is back to a hairline gap.

The after-market covers don't seal fully. Grrr... I'll yank everything, put bedding compound on the gasket to get a proper seal, and close it up.

 

[jasondotcom]

I'm currently using H7 LEDs as well. Lights up far far better than halogen bulbs for damn sure.

 

[bremerd1]

All,

An update on longevity: In my second sedan (not my son's car at the start of the thread, but another sedan I put LEDs in), I have a failure. One of the bulbs started flickering, but I suspect it's my fault: I replaced a cooling system on the sedan, and while everything was out, I cleaned the engine bay. I suspect I got either the bulb or the little box attached to the wiring too wet somehow (I did spray ALOT of Gunk degreaser and water), and caused it to fail. Purchase date on that set of bulbs was in January 2021 (so it made it nearly two years). The bulbs in my son's car are still just fine.

Dan B

 

[BMo]

Hi @bremerd1, a bit of thread revival here. This is an excellent guide!

I have halogens on a 2004 325xi and am looking at the cheap projectors and Aukee H7 LEDs to put into the low beams. The projectors have shutters that drop for low beam...did you wire those in for your son's E46? If yes, how does that connect? As far as I can tell there's no signal from my car to apply 12V to shutters as it's never had projectors.

Thanks!