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      11-05-2011, 09:26 AM   #1
cooots
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Lightbulb LED Interior Lights / Lighting

This is a DIY for the installation of LED interior lights on your Z4. A very easy and cheap mod that provides great results!

Will this work on my car?
I did this on my Z4M Coupe, but I'm pretty sure all Z4s have the same interior lights so it should be applicable for all Z4 variations.

Who should do this?
If you don't like the old yellow glow that the standard interior lights give off, then this mod is for you. The LED lights will give off a nice white light that, in my opinion, is much more aesthetically pleasing. In addition to this, the LEDs last much longer, are more reliable, use less energy and produce less heat than conventional bulbs.

Who shouldn't do this?
If your purely after MORE light, don't do this mod. I found that the LEDs I installed generally seemed to give off the same amount of light as the standard globes - if anything, even a bit less (particularly the roof lighting).

What tools do you need?
- A flat head screw driver

What parts do you need?
- 3 x 194/168 LED (Roof Light)
- 2 x 194/168 LED (one per Footwell)
- 1 x 194/168 LED (Glovebox)
- 1 x 194/168 LED (Centre Console)
- 1 x 39mm festoon LED (Boot)

Where do I buy the LEDs?
Ebay. All you need is an LED light that replaces the standard globe. You don't have to worry about getting ones that are CANBUS/Error free etc. as the Z4s interior lights don't set off any warnings. What you do have to worry about, however, is making sure the LEDs will fit through the holes/in the available spacing of the light housings - this is mainly an issue with the roof lights as they have small holes that the globes have to fit through, you shouldn't have any problems with the others.

I actually ended up working together with a guy called Jack from China (through ebay) to get my LEDs. Top guy! After I sent him some details and photos, he put together a Z4 specific LED interior lighting kit and shipped it over. Given that I told him the kit worked well, he has now made it available for anyone to buy from his ebay store. FYI his ebay ID/store is called easylife_go (note that I'm not affiliated with this seller in any way).

These are the parts he sent me...

3 x 194/168 LED with vertically directed light (roof)
Name:  LED1.JPG
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4 x 194/168 LED with horizontally directed light (footwells, glovebox, centre console)
Name:  LED2.jpg
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1 x 39mm festoon LED (boot)
Name:  LED3.jpg
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How do you install the LEDs?
Very simple. Use the flat head screw driver to carefully pop the light housing out, pull the standard globe out, put the LED in and carefully pop the light housing back in its place. Keep in mind that the LEDs need to be installed with the right polarity, so if they're not lighting up - pull them out, flip them over and stick them back in again.

How long does the installation take?
30 minutes.

How are the results?
I couldn't take a photo of my actual results as my sh*tty camera wouldn't pick it up, however the photos below depict pretty much exactly what my interior lighting looks like now when viewed in person...

Name:  Interior.jpg
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Name:  Interior2.jpg
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As you can see, the LEDs give off a nice soft neutral white light. There is no harsh, white, fluorescent type light and by no means does it look cheap/after markety. I really can't stress enough how much nicer this looks compared to the standard lighting. The orange dash lights look so much better against the neutral LED lighting too and it perfectly matches the speedo and tacho. Also, the LEDs fade in and out just like the standard globes.

Personally, I'm wrapped with the results and highly recommend doing this to everyone.

I wrote up this DIY as I felt it was time for me to give back to the community that has helped me out a million times over. I understand this is not the most technical of DIYs out there, but hopefully it will be of some value to you

Thanks for reading and please leave your thoughts/comments/suggestions/feedback below.

cooots.

Last edited by cooots; 11-05-2011 at 10:37 PM..
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      11-05-2011, 09:48 AM   #2
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Nice Write-Up.

I wish someone did this before I changed mine over.
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      11-05-2011, 10:39 AM   #3
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Looks nice. I don't see the kit you mentioned for sale in his ebay store?
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      11-05-2011, 10:42 AM   #4
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http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Error-Fre...item2a14fc3547

or

Item# 180740699463 if the link doesn't work.
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      11-05-2011, 11:22 AM   #5
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For the center roof, I ended up using a 5LED 194 (shown in the attached picture). It won't fit through the hole opening, but you can easily remove the plastic cover (2 screws) to installed the bulb without needing for it to fit through the socket opening. I found that this 5LED bulb glows much closer to OEM (in terms of brightness) than the single LED.

For the trunk (boot), I used the 16LED festoon. Since the trunk only have 1 bulb, I want the maximum luminescent out of the bulb.
Attached Images
  
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      11-05-2011, 12:57 PM   #6
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Excellent write up. I am shocked at how cheap the kit is(actually less than the Bimmina NON-LED kit). I may try the 16LED festoon suggested above as I hate how dim the trunk lighting is with both stock and my new whiter alternative...

Last edited by chickdr; 04-13-2021 at 05:25 PM..
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      11-05-2011, 06:31 PM   #7
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Thanks OP, ordered a set
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      11-05-2011, 07:43 PM   #8
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No worries guys!

Yes, I should stress that brightness wasn't my objective here - nor the result. If it is, experimenting with stronger/bigger LEDs (as per XMetals post) is the way to go.

shakib - let us know what you think once you've got them all installed.
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      11-05-2011, 08:48 PM   #9
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Excellent writeup, thanks for sharing the info!
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      11-05-2011, 09:23 PM   #10
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ordered a set, thanks! i'll post some studio-style shots when i get them installed
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      11-05-2011, 09:56 PM   #11
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That would be great if you could do that dubsesd!


Out of curiosity, I actually installed a pair of these 8-LEDs in the roof light afterward (2xreading lights)...
Name:  LED4.jpg
Views: 10429
Size:  15.7 KB

They fit fine through the reading lights holes, but not through the centre light hole??? must be slightly different diameter (or maybe it was just me). Not necessarily an issue though because, as XMetal mentioned previously, you can easily remove the glass and reverse-install the LEDs without any hassles. Or dremel the LED down a bit.

I did find that these LEDs were more closer to the brightness of the standard globes. Although I was happy with the ones I got with the ebay kit, I figure I might aswell keep these new ones in.

Moral of the story - if your not satisfied with the brightness of the LED roof lights, or any of the other LED lights for that matter, just spend an extra couple of bucks to get an LED with more lights on it to replace it.

A bit of trial and error may be required to satisfy your lighting preferences - no big deal. The results are definitely worth it and you'll probably never have to change the LED again.

Last edited by cooots; 11-05-2011 at 10:17 PM..
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      11-06-2011, 02:18 PM   #12
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My set is on the way. Looking forward to this subtle change.
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      11-06-2011, 07:06 PM   #13
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Nice! Something else for me to work on this winter!
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      11-07-2011, 05:51 PM   #14
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let me know what you guys think after you install them
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      11-12-2011, 01:49 AM   #15
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Replaced my rear licence plate lights with these...
Name:  LPLEDs.jpg
Views: 10760
Size:  24.2 KB

Same amount of light as the standard globes, but white instead of yellow. finishes off the job nicely.
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      11-15-2011, 01:01 PM   #16
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I went ahead and ordered a 16LED festoon for my trunk only to find out my trunk doesn't use a festoon.... The roadster uses a wedge style lamp. Back to the drawing board.... Glad I only paid 1.50 for the bulb.
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      11-15-2011, 01:04 PM   #17
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Hmmm...it's very odd that they would use different bulbs/housings between the roadster and coupe, especially in the trunk of all places.
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      11-15-2011, 01:33 PM   #18
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has anyone installed this kit and has pictures of their z4?
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      11-15-2011, 03:08 PM   #19
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I'll have some this weekend or earlier.
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      11-16-2011, 02:54 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by XMetal View Post
Hmmm...it's very odd that they would use different bulbs/housings between the roadster and coupe, especially in the trunk of all places.
Agreed. I thought I used a festoon somewhere when I put the bimmian bulbs in, but can't find it now. All appear to be 194 wedge bulbs.
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      11-17-2011, 06:03 PM   #21
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You guys... don't go too cheap on the license plate lights! They tend to flicker and can be very dim. I always get the more expensive ones that replaces the entire housing. I like them WAY more but you'll spend about 50 bucks for them.

Ebay search: r-dash e85


Quote:
Originally Posted by cooots View Post
Replaced my rear licence plate lights with these...
Attachment 606721

Same amount of light as the standard globes, but white instead of yellow. finishes off the job nicely.
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      11-17-2011, 07:26 PM   #22
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Thanks for the feedback Jumbosock, no issues with mine to date but I'll keep an eye on them.
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