Looking for Quality LED Bulbs??

[Googone20]

Hey guys, I am about to order new LED bulbs for my complete interior, as well as the exterior. I am curious what you guys recommend? I have heard people have good success with ordering the OEM BMW LED kits. Anyone have any other ideas to a solution besides OEM? I also want to do the corner turn signal bulbs to get ride of the yoke look, and the factory fog lights. Is it better to do a 55w HID kit in the dogs, or is LED better due to the cornering bulb function? I would greatly appreciate all your insight in this before I order stuff up and regret it.

[Deftronix]

I did a full interior conversion little over 2 years ago with below (50K miles). Much prefer the smd panels for the courtesy lights compared to oem offerings. Cost about $200

iJDMtoy 18smd door / courtesy lights (75-006) x 10 + 1 for glove box
iJDMtoy 18smd vanity lights (75-040) x 2
iJDMtoy 5smd reading/map lights (10-036) x 7

No warnings/bus errors. Have only had to replace one due to flickering so far.

As for exterior signals etc, check out WeissLicht. I use them for brakes, signals, reverse. They are a little pricey but have lifetime warranty. Here is a reference of what I used. Wouldn't bother with the reverse lights as they aren't very effective, but the stock bulbs aren't either, more of a design flaw in the reflector

WeissLicht LED Front Turn Signal - amber (WTS707FAY)
WeissLicht LED Rear Turn Signal - red (WTS707RRY)
WeissLicht LED Brake Signal - red (WTS707BRY)
WeissLicht LED Reverse Signal - white (WTS707VWY)

The housing quality of these are top notch, they look really good in the front headlights. Did the brakes and rear blinkers because I wanted the on/off crispness and color that LEDs have. They are bright!

Fogs - Planning to do what "-c-" did and retrofit F15 LED housings (http://www.xbimmers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1349916). Otherwise, from what I have read almost any type of led "bulb" doesnt work very well in the LCI OE housings and imagine its due to reflector design for corning light feature causing weird light scattering.

[gsnake]

Originally Posted by Deftronix

I did a full interior conversion little over 2 years ago with below (50K miles). Much prefer the smd panels for the courtesy lights compared to oem offerings. Cost about $200

iJDMtoy 18smd door / courtesy lights (75-006) x 10 + 1 for glove box
iJDMtoy 18smd vanity lights (75-040) x 2
iJDMtoy 5smd reading/map lights (10-036) x 7

No warnings/bus errors. Have only had to replace one due to flickering so far.

As for exterior signals etc, check out WeissLicht. I use them for brakes, signals, reverse. They are a little pricey but have lifetime warranty. Here is a reference of what I used. Wouldn't bother with the reverse lights as they aren't very effective, but the stock bulbs aren't either, more of a design flaw in the reflector

WeissLicht LED Front Turn Signal - amber (WTS707FAY)
WeissLicht LED Rear Turn Signal - red (WTS707RRY)
WeissLicht LED Brake Signal - red (WTS707BRY)
WeissLicht LED Reverse Signal - white (WTS707VWY)

The housing quality of these are top notch, they look really good in the front headlights. Did the brakes and rear blinkers because I wanted the on/off crispness and color that LEDs have. They are bright!

Fogs - Planning to do what "-c-" did and retrofit F15 LED housings (http://www.xbimmers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1349916). Otherwise, from what I have read almost any type of led "bulb" doesnt work very well in the LCI OE housings and imagine its due to reflector design for corning light feature causing weird light scattering.

for the exterior bulbs - do you have the flickering or any errors? you mentioned you don't have these for the interior ones but I am curious to know about exterior ones. thanks

[Deftronix]

Originally Posted by gsnake

for the exterior bulbs - do you have the flickering or any errors? you mentioned you don't have these for the interior ones but I am curious to know about exterior ones. thanks

Only noticed flickering on the reverse lights but coded out voltage monitoring and that cured it. Then coded the remaining exterior bulbs I switched out just to be sure no others would flicker. No idrive errors before or after coding. You can use Carly or something similar to disable.

[Googone20]

I have the Carly, so I can code out all the LED bulbs issues easily. I actually believe I already did it for the car in preparation.

[gsnake]

Originally Posted by Deftronix

Only noticed flickering on the reverse lights but coded out voltage monitoring and that cured it. Then coded the remaining exterior bulbs I switched out just to be sure no others would flicker. No idrive errors before or after coding. You can use Carly or something similar to disable.

that is good to know. do you see any light improvement while reversing? in BC it rains a lot from November till March and it is dark - so I was hoping to get a better picture if I replace the reverse bulbs to LED..

[Deftronix]

Originally Posted by gsnake

that is good to know. do you see any light improvement while reversing? in BC it rains a lot from November till March and it is dark - so I was hoping to get a better picture if I replace the reverse bulbs to LED..

Honestly, no, visibility is still terrible. Don't really remember the difference on the backup cam other than being unimpressed. Not the LEDs fault though.

[gsnake]

Originally Posted by Deftronix

Honestly, no, visibility is still terrible. Don't really remember the difference on the backup cam other than being unimpressed. Not the LEDs fault though.

got it. then replacing the nav screen to 10" would definitely help.

[Lunker325]

I installed this interior LED kit from eBay, works great. Some kits can be too bright, this one is perfect for me. Really updates the yellowish light from the stock bulbs.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/17256518323...&ul_noapp=true

Want to be sure to mention that you need to be careful when installing the glovebox light. There is a metal frame near where the light fixture fits into, if you touch the live portion of the fixture to the metal frame, the fuse will blow. The electronic release mechanism will not work when the fuse blows, so be sure not to shut the doors if it does. I ended up coating that portion of the fixture with liquid electrical tape, problem solved.

[Deftronix]

Originally Posted by gsnake

got it. then replacing the nav screen to 10" would definitely help.

I run the avin. All it does as far as the backup cam goes is bring out the poor quality of the camera unfortunately. I have heard of people putting in an aftermarket cam to get better quality but can't make any recommendations.

If it was something I really wanted to address I would find a nice day/night cam and retrofit some legit infrared leds (not 3/5mm) in the rear fog light spots of the brake lights that would go on during reverse. Haven't seen anyone do this.

Originally Posted by Googone20

I have the Carly, so I can code out all the LED bulbs issues easily. I actually believe I already did it for the car in preparation.

NP for the info dude, glad you already got it taken care of

[gsnake]

Originally Posted by Deftronix

I run the avin. All it does as far as the backup cam goes is bring out the poor quality of the camera unfortunately. I have heard of people putting in an aftermarket cam to get better quality but can't make any recommendations.

If it was something I really wanted to address I would find a nice day/night cam and retrofit some legit infrared leds (not 3/5mm) in the rear fog light spots of the brake lights that would go on during reverse. Haven't seen anyone do this.



NP for the info dude, glad you already got it taken care of

Yep, I read people say the same after upgrading to 10.25 screen. At least it will make it larger
getting 10" screen would be step one which is a must-have. then I will see if I want to replace the rear cam. I actually got a front one and will wire it. Too bad I don't have the 10" screen (waiting for the new version to come out) to test it.

[Googone20]

Originally Posted by Lunker325

I installed this interior LED kit from eBay, works great. Some kits can be too bright, this one is perfect for me. Really updates the yellowish light from the stock bulbs.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/17256518323...&ul_noapp=true

Want to be sure to mention that you need to be careful when installing the glovebox light. There is a metal frame near where the light fixture fits into, if you touch the live portion of the fixture to the metal frame, the fuse will blow. The electronic release mechanism will not work when the fuse blows, so be sure not to shut the doors if it does. I ended up coating that portion of the fixture with liquid electrical tape, problem solved.

How do these stack up to the OEM BMW LED’s? Just curious if these give off a bright white quality look, or are these more blue and not as bright? Seems like that a great deal for the entire interior.

[Lunker325]

I’ve never seen the OEM LEDs, but can say that these, and other inexpensive SMD LEDs that state they are white that I’ve had in previous cars, do indeed give off a true white color that is not blue at all. There is a point where you can install bulbs that are too bright, which is why I like these, they are “just right”

[Jax_415]

Originally Posted by Lunker325

I’ve never seen the OEM LEDs, but can say that these, and other inexpensive SMD LEDs that state they are white that I’ve had in previous cars, do indeed give off a true white color that is not blue at all. There is a point where you can install bulbs that are too bright, which is why I like these, they are “just right”

Did these led give out any errors or flickering?

[Lunker325]

No sir. The interior lights are not monitored, so you’ll never have issues with putting in LEDs. No flickering at all and they even do the slow fade to off. As good as an LED can do anyway.

[Googone20]

I ended up buying that kit off of EBay. I figure for the price I can’t really go wrong. If they suck, I am only out $28. If they are solid, I have a cheap solution. I’ll report back as soon as I get them all in.

[Googone20]

I got my kit in. Shipping was quicker than they estimated, which was a nice surprise. I installed everything yesterday, and I am happy to report the kit works great. The bulbs all work perfectly, and the color and lighting is exactly what I hoped for. I highly recommend this to everyone one else. Best $28 you could spend on your truck. The kit didn’t come with any instructions, so I had to learn where to install which bulb on the fly. The only tough part is trying to decide where to sick the flat panel 194 bulbs, and where to stick the 360 194 bulbs. I found that the flat panel 194 bulbs work great in the door bottoms, footwells, and under the rear seats. I used the 360 194 bulbs for all the overhead areas in the dome and map lights. I had to cut off a small portion of the bulbs to fit into the rear map lights, but this was very easy with some tin snips. All in all, the kit is great and I will be ordering another one for my wife’s Escalade Platinum.

One issue I do have, and I need some help figuring out. The lights in my rear tailgate are not working at all. They weren’t working before I changed the bulbs, so something is going on beyond the bulbs or LED polarity. I am thinking when I coded the car, something may have been disabled causing the lift gate to not have power for the lights. I have since gone back through the coding options, and I don’t see anything for the lift gate lighting. Does anybody have any idea why only the 2 lights on my lift gate would not be working?

[-c-]

Originally Posted by Googone20

I got my kit in. Shipping was quicker than they estimated, which was a nice surprise. I installed everything yesterday, and I am happy to report the kit works great. The bulbs all work perfectly, and the color and lighting is exactly what I hoped for. I highly recommend this to everyone one else. Best $28 you could spend on your truck. The kit didn’t come with any instructions, so I had to learn where to install which bulb on the fly. The only tough part is trying to decide where to sick the flat panel 194 bulbs, and where to stick the 360 194 bulbs. I found that the flat panel 194 bulbs work great in the door bottoms, footwells, and under the rear seats. I used the 360 194 bulbs for all the overhead areas in the dome and map lights. I had to cut off a small portion of the bulbs to fit into the rear map lights, but this was very easy with some tin snips. All in all, the kit is great and I will be ordering another one for my wife’s Escalade Platinum.

One issue I do have, and I need some help figuring out. The lights in my rear tailgate are not working at all. They weren’t working before I changed the bulbs, so something is going on beyond the bulbs or LED polarity. I am thinking when I coded the car, something may have been disabled causing the lift gate to not have power for the lights. I have since gone back through the coding options, and I don’t see anything for the lift gate lighting. Does anybody have any idea why only the 2 lights on my lift gate would not be working?

Also for what's its worth autozone now carries philips / Osram OEM manufacturer, interior led modules that look very similar to the Bmw ones only white and in some cases better than the Bmw ones as their all covered with a protective case around the led.

Their also lifetime free replacement.

It's nice as you don't have to wait .

And the color is the same as the Bmw's color and performance but way cheaper.

[Googone20]

I am covered for the interior now. I am trying to shop exterior bulbs now. Want to score some nice bulbs for the turn signals and rear brake lights. Still tryin to decide what I want to do with the fog lights. I wish someone would manufacture the F15 retrofit brackets so we could easily mount the OEM LED fogs.

[urabus040]

I'm curious, I have the Icarly and on my poor totaled 530XI i did all tails and turns front and back with the philips and zevo led's, i coded them never had a issue, when i tried the same process on my X6 one of the outer bulbs just wouldn't work even after fiddling around with the inner and outer it just didn't work, polarity? and how can this be over come it that were to be the cause? I am seriously leaning to the WeissLicht brand but has the polarity issue ever cropped up ?

[do_0b]

sorry but was wondering if the LED 1156 is what the x6/x5 use for back up light?

[0-60Motorsports]

Does anyone has a new link for the ebay $28 interior bulbs? Thanks.