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      03-07-2016, 02:42 PM   #1
Steenos
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Just had the bulb light go off on the dash board.

Turns out it's my passenger side bumper light is out. How much of a PITA is it to change out?
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      03-07-2016, 11:19 PM   #2
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Bumper light?
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      03-08-2016, 09:13 AM   #3
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Sorry Rear Bumper. The little red circle light.
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      03-08-2016, 10:41 AM   #4
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You have to change these from under the car. I can't remember if I had to pull the fender liner or not but its real straight forward.
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      03-08-2016, 07:06 PM   #5
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Oh, OK.
I took one out once to see what kind of bulb it had so I could replace it with an LED.
Discovered it's a sealed unit, and already an LED, so I put it back in.
It has a bayonet lock that holds the whole thing in place.
You can reach it from underneath the car, barely, and turn it from behind.
Didn't have to pull the fender liner. There's just enough gap to get your arm up in there, well, my arm anyways.
Your arms may vary.
As I recall, it wasn't up on stands either.
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      03-09-2016, 08:10 AM   #6
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Thanks guys. Anyone have a part number for the bulb? I'll do some research.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/show...diagId=63_0760
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      03-09-2016, 06:15 PM   #7
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Sealed unit with an LED inside.
Would be worth taking out and bench testing to make sure it's broke.
If so, you could try and get crafty and fix it, but probably better to just get a new one.

Edit:
Just took a walk around the car and guess what! I have one out, too.
So I guess we'll figure this out together.
I don't have a bulb warning though, so I think you have something else going on. I didn't think those were monitored.
My left rear marker has the tiniest little glow. It flickers if I tap on it, but it won't stay lit.
It probably has a surface mount LED that's now a surface dismount.
Friday I'll make sure it's not just a connector issue, then pop it out and see what's what.
If I think I can get it apart without cutting myself I might just do that.
I can probably resolder it, but probably not reseal it, but it will do while I order a new set.

I wonder if any forumites have done a delete and have theirs just lying around?
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      03-11-2016, 12:27 PM   #8
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Pulled it out and bench tested it.
I can get it to light if I wiggle the clip leads just right.
I think there's a solder joint come loose inside.
Doesn't look easy to get apart non-destructively.
I'm going to order up a coupe of new ones, and then do an autopsy on the broken one after I replace them.
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      03-21-2016, 11:45 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by StickMon View Post
Pulled it out and bench tested it.
I can get it to light if I wiggle the clip leads just right.
I think there's a solder joint come loose inside.
Doesn't look easy to get apart non-destructively.
I'm going to order up a coupe of new ones, and then do an autopsy on the broken one after I replace them.
Did you get anything working?
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      03-21-2016, 07:44 PM   #10
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New lights should arrive tomorrow. I'll swap both sides with new on Friday.
Then I'm free to try and disassemble the old lights.
I give myself a 50/50 chance of getting them apart in such a state that I can glue them back together.
I think there's also a near 100% chance that at some point I'll stab myself in the finger with an Exacto knife.

I also ordered some blue SMD LEDs. If I can get them apart I think I'm going to purple them up a little.
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      03-22-2016, 08:58 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by StickMon View Post
New lights should arrive tomorrow. I'll swap both sides with new on Friday.
Then I'm free to try and disassemble the old lights.
I give myself a 50/50 chance of getting them apart in such a state that I can glue them back together.
I think there's also a near 100% chance that at some point I'll stab myself in the finger with an Exacto knife.

I also ordered some blue SMD LEDs. If I can get them apart I think I'm going to purple them up a little.
Did you just order the lights? Or is it a whole piece with everything? I've never replaced this before. Good luck!
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      03-22-2016, 11:55 PM   #12
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It's a single piece. The one you found in post #6. Different part numbers for right and left side.
Has a little circuit board inside with 2 LEDs. $32 each from getbmwparts.
I bought both sides since I figure if one's gone flaky the other can't be far behind.
Just got them today and one of them is glued together crooked.
Hopefully it'll still sit flush and centered in the hole.
With luck, it'll only be temporary, anyway.
I still have hope of being able to open the old ones, fix the bad solder joints, add some blue LEDs for some purple haze, and put them back in.
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      03-23-2016, 11:25 AM   #13
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Quote:
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I think there's also a near 100% chance that at some point I'll stab myself in the finger with an Exacto knife.
your anecdotes crack me up
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      03-25-2016, 03:03 PM   #14
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Better living through chemicals

Put the new lights in. Bit of a faff, but not too bad. No need to remove the bumper cover if you have long skinny arms.

I was able to smoke the broken one apart by running a bead of Goof Off around the seam, letting in marinade for a while, and then carefully prying.
The Goof Off melts the gray back plate, but not the lens. A little messy, but effective.

The circuit board has a diode, a 140Ω resistor, and 2 LEDs, all in series.
One end of the resistor has come unsoldered.
I think I can fix it. It'll take a good soldering iron, good eyes, and a steady hand.
I have a good soldering iron.

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      08-06-2016, 06:01 PM   #15
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my LR LED rear side marker lamp was out; tapped on it and it came back on; it went out again; ordered two OEM replacement assemblies online at $33 ea; my tech was able to reach behind the rear tires and undo a few rear inner fender fasteners and replace w/new without removing the rear tires or rear bumper; replaced both pro-actively; I did not receive a lamp out warning when the old lamp did not light up; perhaps this is due to LED lamp had not failed, but had a loose electrical connection.
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      08-09-2016, 12:03 AM   #16
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They're not monitored, so no way to know they're broke unless you look.
There's a surface mount resistor that gets fairly hot, and from growing and shrinking it eventually cracks the solder at one end.
I put new ones in, then fixed the old ones, then added blue LEDs to get an eerie purple glow and swapped them back in.
If I get tired of the purple I have 2 brand new ones in my spares stock.
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      08-14-2016, 11:19 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by StickMon View Post
They're not monitored, so no way to know they're broke unless you look.
There's a surface mount resistor that gets fairly hot, and from growing and shrinking it eventually cracks the solder at one end.
I put new ones in, then fixed the old ones, then added blue LEDs to get an eerie purple glow and swapped them back in.
If I get tired of the purple I have 2 brand new ones in my spares stock.
Thank you StikMon,
Were you able to access the lamps as I described??
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      08-15-2016, 07:29 PM   #18
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You mean to get them in and out?
I have arms like an anorexic chimpanzee, so I didn't have to remove anything.
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