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      03-21-2012, 02:10 PM   #1
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Any DIY for Changing the Courtesy Lights?

Search but didn't come up with anything. I tried removing the door courtesy light but couldn't figure out how to remove it and didn't want to force it and break something. I'm thinking of switching it all to LEDs (footwell, courtesy, map lights, trunk) and any guide or tips would be helpful.

Thanks!
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      03-21-2012, 03:23 PM   #2
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Bimmian.com has DIY videos for light replacement. Check it out.
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      03-21-2012, 03:30 PM   #3
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Found this guide from Bimmian: http://www.bimmian.com/elements/page...ht/IXB/IXB.gif

Thanks for the help JP!
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      03-21-2012, 05:22 PM   #4
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Door Lamp &*@%^

WARNING: The door lamps (in my '11 Z4) are wired with exactly NO extra length of wiring to the lamp fixture. When you remove the fixture to access/change the bulb, the socket unplugs and the wiring is no longer accessible. I believe it was the better part of a couple hours to make a hook out of safety wire to lasso the socket and pull a few millimeters of slack to allow me to plug in the new bulb and reinstall the fixture.
I switched all my interior/trunk lamps to LED. The footwells, trunk and door lamps are the configuration shown here.

I drove to the ijdmtoy storefront in Rosemead and got good service/information/product.
http://store.ijdmtoy.com/BMW-E89-Z4-...uro_smd_18.htm
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Last edited by z4z4z4; 02-04-2015 at 01:39 AM..
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      03-21-2012, 07:11 PM   #5
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That is disappointing to read, now I'm afraid to replace it myself.
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      03-22-2012, 06:44 PM   #6
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Dont do it yourself, i had to pull apart one of the door card to fix the plug.

The dealer replaced all the other lights for me at no charge.
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      03-22-2012, 10:45 PM   #7
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The dealership will likely charge $200 for installation of 7 bulbs.
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      03-23-2012, 09:51 AM   #8
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I have not helped you by scaring you. I need you to go to the trunk light to practice first. The trick for the doors is that the fixture design allows the lense to come off WITHOUT removing the entire fixture. You can read that in the bimmian guide also. It helps to have the hinsight to understand the written instruction. Again....only remove the sliver of the lense and do not remove the entire fixture. Practice on the accessible footwells or better the trunk light. Good Luck!
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      03-23-2012, 02:55 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rfx45 View Post
Search but didn't come up with anything. I tried removing the door courtesy light but couldn't figure out how to remove it and didn't want to force it and break something. I'm thinking of switching it all to LEDs (footwell, courtesy, map lights, trunk) and any guide or tips would be helpful.

Thanks!

Don't bother changing the map lights or the single dome light. They will constantly give you errors and refuse to work if you use the standard 5 smd LED's. The footwells and the door lamps are NOT monitored for current flow so they will not throw errors.
The doors on my wife's car had very short wire leads too. I just popped them out and twisted 90 degrees to remove the bulb holder from the housing.
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Last edited by bmwmick; 10-24-2012 at 03:45 PM..
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      10-24-2012, 03:11 PM   #10
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Front Map Lights

Has anyone recently tried just swapping out the front map lights (from yellow to white)?

I called up ijdmtoy and they said that the following (error-free-LED) should work:
http://store.ijdmtoy.com/Mercedes-Er...ree_t10_2r.htm

Has anyone tried this?

Thanks
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      10-24-2012, 03:44 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by motobike View Post
Has anyone recently tried just swapping out the front map lights (from yellow to white)?
Yellow must have been an option, ours were all clear halogens. The super-white LEDs were nice when they worked, I have not tried the newer ones with the built-in load resistors.


Mick
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      10-24-2012, 03:51 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by motobike View Post
Has anyone recently tried just swapping out the front map lights (from yellow to white)?
Yellow must have been an option, ours were all clear halogens. The super-white LEDs were nice when they worked, I have not tried the newer ones with the built-in load resistors.


Mick
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      10-27-2012, 06:51 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by motobike View Post
Has anyone recently tried just swapping out the front map lights (from yellow to white)?

I called up ijdmtoy and they said that the following (error-free-LED) should work:
http://store.ijdmtoy.com/Mercedes-Er...ree_t10_2r.htm

Has anyone tried this?

Thanks
I just bought this set from eBay "7000K XENON WHITE LED BULBS BMW Z4 E89 INTERIOR CAR LED LIGHT BULBS KIT" and will start installing them by Monday. They look to be very good quality. I'll report results.
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      10-28-2012, 09:43 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bmwmick View Post
Don't bother changing the map lights or the single dome light. They will constantly give you errors and refuse to work if you use the standard 5 smd LED's. The footwells and the door lamps are NOT monitored for current flow so they will not throw errors.
The doors on my wife's car had very short wire leads too. I just popped them out and twisted 90 degrees to remove the bulb holder from the housing.
I don't have any problems changing the map lights. NO errors...now taking off the cover was a pain in the you know what. I had to enlist the help of the crew at EAS. There is a lot of elbow grease needed and balls because I was afraid of breaking it trying to take it off. But it can be done.

Floorwells are the next thing for me.
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      11-03-2012, 12:06 PM   #15
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Interior LED DIY

I just replaced all of my interior lights with LED's. Took about 15-20 minutes to change out the trunk, doors, underdash, glovebox and map/dome lights.
As stated in a previous post, it is best to start with the trunk so you can see what you are working with clearly and also, the lamp housing does not come out like the doors and underdash do.
I have added a few pics with details to help out, as it sounds like many are apprehensive to do this upgrade for fear of dsconnecting their harness from the door lamp and having to remove the door panels. Check out the pics below and the notes and you will have no problems.
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      11-05-2012, 12:39 AM   #16
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Great Thanks. Any pictures and instructions on how to remove the dome and map lights?

Quote:
Originally Posted by BMWZ44me View Post
I just replaced all of my interior lights with LED's. Took about 15-20 minutes to change out the trunk, doors, underdash, glovebox and map/dome lights.
As stated in a previous post, it is best to start with the trunk so you can see what you are working with clearly and also, the lamp housing does not come out like the doors and underdash do.
I have added a few pics with details to help out, as it sounds like many are apprehensive to do this upgrade for fear of dsconnecting their harness from the door lamp and having to remove the door panels. Check out the pics below and the notes and you will have no problems.
Attachment 776017

Attachment 776018

Attachment 776019

Attachment 776020

Attachment 776021
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      11-05-2012, 08:47 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by motobike View Post
Great Thanks. Any pictures and instructions on how to remove the dome and map lights?
It is really simple. I will post a DIY this afternoon. This is where it helps to have a cheap set of plastic trim removal tools so that you don't mark up the trim.
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      11-05-2012, 01:07 PM   #18
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Courtesy & Map Light LED Replacement DIY

Here is a quick DIY for replacing the coutesy & map light bulbs with LED's that I put together. Like I said, I put this together quickly and there are a few spelling errors I hope you can overlook, but I hope it is helpful just the same.

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      11-05-2012, 11:11 PM   #19
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Wow. THANK YOU.

PS. Are you using an LED that built-in load resistor? I just wanted to replace them with a different bulb but now that I your instructions, I'm tempted to replace all 5 lights with this: http://store.ijdmtoy.com/BMW-E89-Z4-...0brands_18.htm
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      11-06-2012, 08:43 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by motobike View Post
Wow. THANK YOU.

PS. Are you using an LED that built-in load resistor? I just wanted to replace them with a different bulb but now that I your instructions, I'm tempted to replace all 5 lights with this: http://store.ijdmtoy.com/BMW-E89-Z4-...0brands_18.htm
http://www.ebay.com/itm/261079090066...84.m1438.l2649 This is the kit I used. It is a more complete kit and it also replaces the trunk, both doors, both courtesy under dash, glovebox, both maps and courtesy lights. It is a high quality kit and they have resistors in them so that you will have no problems with codes or messages due to improper voltage draw. I hope this helps.

Last edited by BMWE934me; 11-06-2012 at 08:44 AM.. Reason: sp
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      12-20-2012, 04:19 AM   #21
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Do it!

Thank you BMWZ44me! I did it yesterday and it is awesome! What a beautiful white atmosphere in the car now. so much better than the old yellow.

I bought the same kit from the same seller and everything went perfect.

Here are my impressions on the kit:
  • All leds are matching perfectly their location:
    10 LEDs for: trunk(x1)/doors(x2)/foot(x2)/Front Dome & Map(x3)/Glove box(x1)
  • Packaging makes it easy to understand which one goes where
  • I got an extra led (10 LEDs instead of 9)

About the installation:

It took me 1h to do. It was easy but I took my time not to break/scratch anything in the car. However you need to be careful of some locations: i.e. under the door, the light cable is very short and it could be difficult to put the light back in place after changing it. My tips is to pull cable slowly (not to break it) to try to strech it out. It works most of the time.

So for $50 you got a nice white lighted car: better looking and better visibility.
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      11-07-2014, 11:26 AM   #22
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Great instructions. Thanks!

I bought these from online and turned out OK.
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/-/1927352154.html
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