The Random E46/ZHP Question Thread

[das boots]

Bimmian's stuff is obscenely overpriced. The things they sell are for the most part the same stuff you can get on eBay.
Any LED bulb labeled as CANBUS will do the trick; these have built in circuitry to make them compatible with the CANBUS system our cars use. I found the best bulbs are the ones that have CREE chips in them. Mine have CREE chips, and are labeled as 25W (which are plenty bright even in direct sunlight), and are CANBUS bulbs, so all I needed to do was plop them in the bulb carrier (no extra load resistors, all built in) and do the coding.

The full method of doing this involves CANBUS bulbs as well as doing the hot/cold check coding.

Going through eBay now. Turn signals would require the Clear CANBUS? I don't intend to install Amber bulbs.

Please explain the hot/cold check coding after install of the CANBUS. I never did any coding or notice anything unusual in the cluster when I installed the Reverse LED.

[az3579]

Going through eBay now. Turn signals would require the Clear CANBUS? I don't intend to install Amber bulbs.

If I may make a recommendation, I would advise against white LEDs for turn signals simply for the fact that they would be incredibly blinding to other people at night. Also, I recommend red LED bulbs for any parts of the lights that have a red lense. This way, the color will remain true red and not the pinkish color you get from having white bulbs behind red lenses.

Please explain the hot/cold check coding after install of the CANBUS. I never did any coding or notice anything unusual in the cluster when I installed the Reverse LED.

The CANBUS system utilizes a series of bulb checks to check for bulb functionality. Cold checking occurs when you first turn the ignition on. The LCM sends small pulses of electricity to the bulbs to verify that they are there and functioning. If it detects any bulbs that don't meet its parameters, it will trigger a bulb-out warning on your cluster.

Hot checks occur periodically while the car is in operation. Its purpose is the same, which is to notify you of failed bulbs.

These electricity pulses happen very quickly, and because our cars have incandescent bulbs from the factory, they will never actually illuminate when these checks occur due to the very long time it takes for the bulbs to warm up enough to illuminate the bulb. With LED bulbs, the response is immediate since they are instant on/off bulbs. What that means is that when the hot/cold checks are occurring, you'll see the LED bulbs flicker a few times as the pulses are being sent.

Coding the hot/cold checks to be disabled prevents the LED bulbs from flickering. What does that mean for you? Well, you'll lose the advance notice of a failed bulb, and instead will only get the bulb out notification when the bulb actually fails. In theory, you could start your car, drive down the street and go to use your turn signals, for example, only to find that one of them isn't working, at which point the bulb failure light will illuminate and the indicator will blink rapidly.

Since my LEDs have been working flawlessly for the few years I've had them and have not experienced a failure, I can't comment on how an actual failure presents itself. I have, however, tested this by pulling random bulbs with the car parked and then activating them to see how the instrument cluster displays a failure. So far, these tests have proved that the system still does its job and notifies of failures, just not with advance warning.

Hot/cold check coding can be done with NCS Expert. I don't know if PA Soft does it because I rarely ever use it for anything, but I'm sure it would have basic functionality such as that type of coding.

[das boots]

If I may make a recommendation, I would advise against white LEDs for turn signals simply for the fact that they would be incredibly blinding to other people at night. Also, I recommend red LED bulbs for any parts of the lights that have a red lense. This way, the color will remain true red and not the pinkish color you get from having white bulbs behind red lenses.



The CANBUS system utilizes a series of bulb checks to check for bulb functionality. Cold checking occurs when you first turn the ignition on. The LCM sends small pulses of electricity to the bulbs to verify that they are there and functioning. If it detects any bulbs that don't meet its parameters, it will trigger a bulb-out warning on your cluster.

Hot checks occur periodically while the car is in operation. Its purpose is the same, which is to notify you of failed bulbs.

These electricity pulses happen very quickly, and because our cars have incandescent bulbs from the factory, they will never actually illuminate when these checks occur due to the very long time it takes for the bulbs to warm up enough to illuminate the bulb. With LED bulbs, the response is immediate since they are instant on/off bulbs. What that means is that when the hot/cold checks are occurring, you'll see the LED bulbs flicker a few times as the pulses are being sent.

Coding the hot/cold checks to be disabled prevents the LED bulbs from flickering. What does that mean for you? Well, you'll lose the advance notice of a failed bulb, and instead will only get the bulb out notification when the bulb actually fails. In theory, you could start your car, drive down the street and go to use your turn signals, for example, only to find that one of them isn't working, at which point the bulb failure light will illuminate and the indicator will blink rapidly.

Since my LEDs have been working flawlessly for the few years I've had them and have not experienced a failure, I can't comment on how an actual failure presents itself. I have, however, tested this by pulling random bulbs with the car parked and then activating them to see how the instrument cluster displays a failure. So far, these tests have proved that the system still does its job and notifies of failures, just not with advance warning.

Hot/cold check coding can be done with NCS Expert. I don't know if PA Soft does it because I rarely ever use it for anything, but I'm sure it would have basic functionality such as that type of coding.

Thanks. I agree the Brake and Running lights should remain Red. I just might decide to continue the incandescent bulbs for the rear turn signals.

[anandoc]

I don't know if PA Soft does it because I rarely ever use it for anything, but I'm sure it would have basic functionality such as that type of coding.

Yup, you can enable/disable hot/cold checks in PA Soft

[derbo]

Nice looking photos! Love the action in the top photo and the juxtapositioning against the neighborhood in the second. Good looking car, too.

7 years ago lol.

[NYRhockey]

When a car has smoked lights are these removable or do you have to buy the whole unit(s)? there's a local zhp i'm sort of interested in but it has smoked tail lights, corner lights and side markers which i would want gone asap.

[John in VA]

When a car has smoked lights are these removable or do you have to buy the whole unit(s)? there's a local zhp i'm sort of interested in but it has smoked tail lights, corner lights and side markers which i would want gone asap.

Depends on how they were smoked - homemade using a film tint or spray tint, vs. replacement units made with smoked plastic.

[derbo]

When a car has smoked lights are these removable or do you have to buy the whole unit(s)? there's a local zhp i'm sort of interested in but it has smoked tail lights, corner lights and side markers which i would want gone asap.

You can always buy amber lights from someone. They are pretty cheap in the classifieds.

[NYRhockey]

Depends on how they were smoked - homemade using a film tint or spray tint, vs. replacement units made with smoked plastic.

Thanks for the feedback, i guess only way to know would be to ask the seller

You can always buy amber lights from someone. They are pretty cheap in the classifieds.

Good idea, though if i had to change the tail lights i'd go for the clear ones. They look awesome on zhp's, imo

[az3579]

When a car has smoked lights are these removable or do you have to buy the whole unit(s)? there's a local zhp i'm sort of interested in but it has smoked tail lights, corner lights and side markers which i would want gone asap.

Is this an Imola Red sedan with Grey interior, 6MT? If so, I know the guy.
I have a full set of stock amber lights, if you're interested in them. We're not far from each other.