Bmw F36 How to Change Rear Tail Light Bulbs - Review

As LED lighting continues to improve and grow in popularity, more and more manufacturers are utilizing them in larger calibration products such every bit household appliances and cars. Unfortunately, many manufacturers take shortcuts when designing these parts, using poorly designed and built electronic components. Not only do these failed parts damage the reputation of LED lighting just they as well create short term problems for the owners as they at present must deal with partially broken products that could be expensive to ready.

One of these types of issues has been identified in BMW models (2011-Present). The second generation BMW X3 F25 (years 2011-2017), like many other BMW models, added new style features to the high cease mid-size SUV. One of these added features was LED lighting within the tail calorie-free assembly. Unfortunately, the BMW X3 LED tail lights take become notorious in failing as early on as lx,000 miles subsequently purchase. This issue has left many faithful BMW owners frustrated and looking for a solution.

BMW has a practiced warranty system and if under warranty, BMW will supercede the whole tail low-cal assembly…unfortunately there is a blueprint flaw inside the tail light arrangement that will cause it to fail merely like the commencement.

Hither at LEDSupply we have a $6 part for this tail light repair. Follow the beneath guide to easily fix the BMW tail lite by replacing the abiding electric current driver. Below the guide bank check out exactly why this issue happened to sympathise how to troubleshoot other LED lighting bug.

seven Step DIY Guide to BMW LED Tail Light Repair

First you must purchase the LDD-500HW. Select wire connections and a 500mA output to get the right model for this replacement.

Step 1: Have out the tail lite associates

Follow the below video for the commencement four minutes in guild to easily remove the tail low-cal.

Step 2: Locate the Valeo Board

This is the simple abiding current commuter for the LEDs is the effect inside the tail low-cal. The inefficient board heats upwardly likewise much and causes a weak connectedness.

Pace 3: Disconnect Valeo Board

Cut the wires at the start of the connector or if you would like to try and reuse the connector un-prune it from the excursion board.

Some take used the connector past clipping the LDD driver wires and sliding them into the correct notches of the connector. They and then cease information technology off with hot gum to make sure the wires do not fall out.

Step 4: Wire Connections

Whether yous finish upwards using the quick connector or cutting it off and soldering wires together, make sure the wires connect in the following club:

• Red Wire from LDD-500HW connects to Red on the connector
• Black Wire from LDD-500HW connects to Black Wire.
• Yellow Wire from LDD-500HW connects to Pink Wire.
• Blueish Wire from LDD-500HW connects to Gray Wire.
• White Whire on LDD-500HW tin be clipped downwards and taped off. This is for dimming and is not needed.

Footstep 5: Protect Wire Connections

Protect the connections you lot just fabricated with heat compress or electric tape. This will ensure they are solid and nothing disrupts them. Use hot glue if you kept the connector on to ensure the wires practice not disconnect.

Step 6: Mount LED commuter within tail lite

This tin exist a tight fit but the LDD-500HW will fit within the assembly. Place cockeyed where the Valeo board was originally or hot gum into identify as pictured beneath.

Step 7: Put Tail Light Dorsum into Place

Connect the tail light and exam the light before putting it all the fashion back into place. When you confirm it works put it back in and your BMW tail light is fixed.

Check out the trouble with this tail light and why the LED tail calorie-free failed below.

The Effect: What is happening with the BMW LED tail light assembly?

Many X3 owners have noticed their tail calorie-free assemblies declining while still under warranty or even later at around 90,000 miles or and then. The tail lights (left and correct) seem to become out within months of each other or in some cases right around the same fourth dimension.

The peculiar office near the event is that some owners said the tail lights became dimmer over time before they went out completely. Other owners noted that afterward not driving the vehicle for some time, the lights would plow on upon startup before dimming and failing after a few minutes of utilize. This usually signals some sort of problem within the excursion, whether it exist with a poor connection or rut issue causing the LEDs to dim and and so neglect.

Many took their vehicles to dealerships or mechanics to effigy out the effect in which case they discovered the only option was to fix the whole associates which is $250-300 per lite!! Cars under warranty nonetheless would be covered but the result would just come up support downwards the line as the replacements were the aforementioned factory built tail low-cal assemblies. Finding a cheaper fix for this effect became a priority.

The Failure: What is causing the LED tail lights to neglect over a short fourth dimension?

The fact that the X3 tail lights became dimmer over time or intermittently working, leads us to believe that the LEDs themselves are fine and there is some internal component that is not working.

LEDs need a abiding current source which should exist congenital into whatever application that utilizes loftier power LEDs. That is usually the commencement place that nosotros await when troubleshooting a circuitry event. Inside a motorcar application similar this, there should be a depression voltage driver that will take the 12VDC input from the bombardment and then output a abiding current, safe for the LEDs.

This VALEO board (pictured right) is the culprit congenital in the BMW X3 tail light assembly. This tail light circuit board has an on-lath resistors that limit the electric current going to the LEDs. The power from the battery goes through this board before going to the LED tail lights themselves, making sure a safe, steady current is provided to the LEDs.

When troubleshooting the issue, many discovered that there was a bad (dry) solder joint on this board. It was believed that this was the issue and many owners discovered that by adding some solder to this joint and solidifying the connection with a solder fe solved the upshot. All was working well for the owners until a few months downwards the road when the X3 tail lights failed a 2d time.

What many did non realize is that the solder joint merely became 'dry out' or lost connection because the board was under too much heat, causing the solder to crystallize and disconnect. This all adds up with why customers have had lights dimming slightly over fourth dimension or why they will work afterwards the BMW had been sitting for a while.

To sum it upwardly, the overall event is that this Valeo board is not efficient enough to run in this application. The heat within the tail light and the heat the lath generates itself causes the connection(s) to fail and get useless over time. The loose connections obviously cut power to the light resulting in the failed tail light.

The Fix: Using a Mean Well LDD commuter for the BMW tail light repair

By locating the bad component, we know what needs to be replaced in order to permanently solve this issue. As some discovered, re-soldering the connections on the board will solve the problem temporarily, merely the area will heat up again over use and cause the circuit board to neglect again in no fourth dimension. To ready the tail light event for good the Valeo board needs to exist replaced by a more efficient LED driver to get in between the source ability and the LEDs.

The solution was found by a very helpful BMW X3 owner. By researching the Valeo board and finding the value of the resistor, he found that information technology was only a unproblematic constant electric current driver keeping the LEDs at a steady current of 500mA.

Later on finding the board specifications information technology was piece of cake to find a replacement for the board in the Hateful Well Low Voltage LDD Drivers. The LDD-500HW is a much more efficient driver than the Valeo board, fully potted to protect confronting dust and oestrus. At just $6 this is an astonishing prepare for this tail light issue that the dealer wants $300+ to fix.

Cheers a ton to the original BimmerFest forum discussing this issue particularly forum poster 'Smovva' for the recommendations.

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Source: https://www.ledsupply.com/blog/common-bmw-led-tail-light-fix/

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