cakM3
07-05-2011, 05:50 PM
I wanted to post this thread addressing the "dreaded" bulb out error that you sometimes get when installing either the Depo or Eagle Eyes LED tail lights. I have seen threads where some got the bulb out error on the passenger's side and others getting the bulb out error on the driver's side. I have even seen some get bulb out errors for both the passenger's and driver's side. The fix is actually not that hard. I had to do some research and will also post links to those threads which helped me. As for pics, sorry guys/gals. I did not post pics but will update this thread with pics so you can see where to tap the load resistors to.
I think the hardest part was seeing an actual picture of where to tap the load resistor to. In the mean time, I will describe where to place these resistors (actually it's not too hard to do) :biggrin
First this is the problem I faced after installing my EE tail lights :rofl
http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp37/macdctr/BulbOutError02.jpg
got the dash indication but when looking at my tail lights, all was in order so I knew that either the resistor packs or the capacitor packs were not doing their job....
Driver's side where the dash showed that there was a problem:
http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp37/macdctr/RightLEDTaillight.jpg
Passenger's side LED:
http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp37/macdctr/LeftLEDTailLight.jpg
As you can see there doesn't seem to be a problem here. I realize that the issue is that the LEDs do not create enough of a resistive load so the car's computer thinks that there is a problem (ie. burned out light bulb) and gives the error indication. I did some research since there were threads dealing with this issue but for pre-facelifted sedans. Here are the links I found:
From the E46Fanatics website http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=499295&highlight=led+tail+light+load+resistor
Specifically post #4 by luckysnafu and post #12 by DropTopKingM3. After reading these two threads I grabbed my Haynes book (I know....it's not a Bently!) and looked up the lighting wiring diagram for facelift sedan.
Next, I got access to the driver's side tail light connectors (you will have to take apart the rear to gain full access to the tail light connection/wiring). Looking at the actual tail light connector/pins from the vehicle (highlighted in red), not the connector attached to the tail light. I compared the wiring diagram to the actual wires on the connector. What I came up with is the following:
PIN#6 (Pin#1 in the wiring diagram) - BLU/GRN wire Left Light Turn signal
PIN#7 (Pin #13 in the wiring diagram) - GRY/VIO wire Outer LT TAIL LGHT
PIN#8 (Pin #8 in the wiring diagram) - GRY/GRN wire Outer LT TAIL LGHT
PIN#2 BRN wire is the ground for the tail light.
I then attached the first load resistor (one end to the brn wire via supplied wire tap and other end to BLU/GRN wire at pin#6 via another wire tap)
Then I attached the second load resistor (one end to the brn (ground) wire via wire tap and other end of the load resistor to pins# 8 & 2. There was enough room to run these two wires on one side of the wire tap and the load resistor wire. (I realize that this is where pictures will come in handy...I will update to show these steps).
I then used 3M double sided tape to attach the load resistors to the body of the car just under the tail light. Once this was done I inserted the key into my ignition and went to position 2 so I can see my gauge cluster light up and noticed that the bulb out error has gone away :roundel
http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp37/macdctr/ErrorGone.jpg
Overall difficulty on a scale of 1 to 5 was a 1 if you have a good understanding of electrical wiring and feel confident to splice into existing wiring. Without the wiring diagram I would not have trusted myself as there were no pictures showing the actual connector and wires to tap into. I will be posting more pictures on this thread so what I have explained will be easier to follow. Rather than wasting time between the vendors (shipping to and from) I was able to read enough from other forums where members there figured out a fix for their pre-facelift bimmers and applied this to my facelift sedan. Hopefully this will help others.
You can order load resistors for your tail lights here http://www.eautoworks.com/product-Led-33226.htm
For the sake of discussion I will also cover the passenger's side as well and what wires to attach the load resistor to there when I update my thread.
Cheers!
I think the hardest part was seeing an actual picture of where to tap the load resistor to. In the mean time, I will describe where to place these resistors (actually it's not too hard to do) :biggrin
First this is the problem I faced after installing my EE tail lights :rofl
http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp37/macdctr/BulbOutError02.jpg
got the dash indication but when looking at my tail lights, all was in order so I knew that either the resistor packs or the capacitor packs were not doing their job....
Driver's side where the dash showed that there was a problem:
http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp37/macdctr/RightLEDTaillight.jpg
Passenger's side LED:
http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp37/macdctr/LeftLEDTailLight.jpg
As you can see there doesn't seem to be a problem here. I realize that the issue is that the LEDs do not create enough of a resistive load so the car's computer thinks that there is a problem (ie. burned out light bulb) and gives the error indication. I did some research since there were threads dealing with this issue but for pre-facelifted sedans. Here are the links I found:
From the E46Fanatics website http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=499295&highlight=led+tail+light+load+resistor
Specifically post #4 by luckysnafu and post #12 by DropTopKingM3. After reading these two threads I grabbed my Haynes book (I know....it's not a Bently!) and looked up the lighting wiring diagram for facelift sedan.
Next, I got access to the driver's side tail light connectors (you will have to take apart the rear to gain full access to the tail light connection/wiring). Looking at the actual tail light connector/pins from the vehicle (highlighted in red), not the connector attached to the tail light. I compared the wiring diagram to the actual wires on the connector. What I came up with is the following:
PIN#6 (Pin#1 in the wiring diagram) - BLU/GRN wire Left Light Turn signal
PIN#7 (Pin #13 in the wiring diagram) - GRY/VIO wire Outer LT TAIL LGHT
PIN#8 (Pin #8 in the wiring diagram) - GRY/GRN wire Outer LT TAIL LGHT
PIN#2 BRN wire is the ground for the tail light.
I then attached the first load resistor (one end to the brn wire via supplied wire tap and other end to BLU/GRN wire at pin#6 via another wire tap)
Then I attached the second load resistor (one end to the brn (ground) wire via wire tap and other end of the load resistor to pins# 8 & 2. There was enough room to run these two wires on one side of the wire tap and the load resistor wire. (I realize that this is where pictures will come in handy...I will update to show these steps).
I then used 3M double sided tape to attach the load resistors to the body of the car just under the tail light. Once this was done I inserted the key into my ignition and went to position 2 so I can see my gauge cluster light up and noticed that the bulb out error has gone away :roundel
http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp37/macdctr/ErrorGone.jpg
Overall difficulty on a scale of 1 to 5 was a 1 if you have a good understanding of electrical wiring and feel confident to splice into existing wiring. Without the wiring diagram I would not have trusted myself as there were no pictures showing the actual connector and wires to tap into. I will be posting more pictures on this thread so what I have explained will be easier to follow. Rather than wasting time between the vendors (shipping to and from) I was able to read enough from other forums where members there figured out a fix for their pre-facelift bimmers and applied this to my facelift sedan. Hopefully this will help others.
You can order load resistors for your tail lights here http://www.eautoworks.com/product-Led-33226.htm
For the sake of discussion I will also cover the passenger's side as well and what wires to attach the load resistor to there when I update my thread.
Cheers!