Replacing ambient light on door card bmw e92

Mango1991 · 03-29-2021, 01:16 PM

Can the ambient light be replaced on the drivers side without removing the black strip as this seems to be bonded on from the back of the door card. Or do I need to unbond the black strip then fit the light and bond back on. Sorry for the long message just need advice on this as I may be easier just buying another door card with light working. Please see photo attached.

Fritzer · 03-29-2021, 10:10 PM

Replacing ambient lighting, or installing it aftermarket? What I am thinking of when you say 'ambient lighting' is the LED colors that glow lightly and constantly in cars like the S-Class or new 3-Series. Confused at what you are talking about specifically, in lieu of my lack of experience on E92s comparatively.

nibbtastic · 12-22-2022, 10:09 AM

As Fritzer says, it depends on what you want to do. Each strip in the E92/3 is lit from the rear by a single amber led. It’s in a small black housing that detaches from both the door card and the light strip.

Just want a solid single color change? You’ll have to get into that black lighting element to do some modification, but you can relatively easily replace it with another solid color dimmable LED. Make to sure to adjust for the required voltage of whatever color LED you run with.

If you’re more the technological sort, you could rig up an RGB LED for each. That’s more or less how the ambient door lighting is setup in the F3x, which are still lit by just one LED per strip.

If you want each strip to have its own light “Gradient,” which is not a currently available feature in any BMW other than the MX, you’d need to chisel off the the trim strips from the backside. You’ll then fit a run of nano pixel (or similar) LEDs into the very limited space within the ambient light strip housing and either screw or plastic-weld them back to the door cards.

If you go that route, It’s probably also worth soda-blasting the clear diffusion element of each strip as this will create better diffusion for the new lighting location.

Both of these RGB options would all but require wiring their leads back through the door terminal blocks to a microcontroller (arduino, etc.) or microprocessor (raspberry pi, etc.) for control, and to power. MAKE SURE YOU USE CLEAN POWER!!!

It’s A LOT of work, but you can do some pretty wild stuff, especially if you’re able to utilize cues such as ignition, PWM for dimming, and other vehicle states.

03-29-2021, 01:16 PM	#1
Mango1991 Private 4 Rep 98 Posts Drives: BMW e92 330d M-Sport Join Date: Oct 2019 Location: Scotland iTrader: (0)	Can the ambient light be replaced on the drivers side without removing the black strip as this seems to be bonded on from the back of the door card. Or do I need to unbond the black strip then fit the light and bond back on. Sorry for the long message just need advice on this as I may be easier just buying another door card with light working. Please see photo attached. Attached Images
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03-29-2021, 10:10 PM	#2
Fritzer No one sleep in Tokyo 945 Rep 1,507 Posts Drives: 2011 E90 328i//1995 E34 530i Join Date: Oct 2018 Location: San Diego, California -> Austin, Texas iTrader: (3)	Replacing ambient lighting, or installing it aftermarket? What I am thinking of when you say 'ambient lighting' is the LED colors that glow lightly and constantly in cars like the S-Class or new 3-Series. Confused at what you are talking about specifically, in lieu of my lack of experience on E92s comparatively. __________________ 2011 E90 328i, 1995 E34 530i, 1992 E32 740i, 1991 E34 525i
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12-22-2022, 10:09 AM	#3
nibbtastic New Member 3 Rep 20 Posts Drives: SULEV 325 Touring Join Date: Apr 2021 Location: Chicago iTrader: (0)	As Fritzer says, it depends on what you want to do. Each strip in the E92/3 is lit from the rear by a single amber led. It’s in a small black housing that detaches from both the door card and the light strip. Just want a solid single color change? You’ll have to get into that black lighting element to do some modification, but you can relatively easily replace it with another solid color dimmable LED. Make to sure to adjust for the required voltage of whatever color LED you run with. If you’re more the technological sort, you could rig up an RGB LED for each. That’s more or less how the ambient door lighting is setup in the F3x, which are still lit by just one LED per strip. If you want each strip to have its own light “Gradient,” which is not a currently available feature in any BMW other than the MX, you’d need to chisel off the the trim strips from the backside. You’ll then fit a run of nano pixel (or similar) LEDs into the very limited space within the ambient light strip housing and either screw or plastic-weld them back to the door cards. If you go that route, It’s probably also worth soda-blasting the clear diffusion element of each strip as this will create better diffusion for the new lighting location. Both of these RGB options would all but require wiring their leads back through the door terminal blocks to a microcontroller (arduino, etc.) or microprocessor (raspberry pi, etc.) for control, and to power. MAKE SURE YOU USE CLEAN POWER!!! It’s A LOT of work, but you can do some pretty wild stuff, especially if you’re able to utilize cues such as ignition, PWM for dimming, and other vehicle states.
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