LED Upgrade Project + Dome Light Conversion

[SdotSdotS]

Has anyone else noticed after swapping out their interior lights for LEDs that you have to wait until the lights go out (interior dims) to be able to lock the car?

Before installing my interior lights, I could hop out of the car, hit the button on the door immediately, everything would lock and I walk away. Now I have to wait until the interior dims before the button even works. I initially thought the problem was the battery in my key fobs so I went and bought two brand new batteries and I still have the same issue regardless of whether I lock from the door button or with the remote.

If it matters, I have all 5K VLEDs. X5 194 bulbs in the footwells, 6LED DIY multisocket in the maps & domes BA9s up front wit polarity swapped & 3175 in the rear, and the 4 M-SMT 194 bulbs in the door puddle lamps

[a.blanco0905]

Has anyone else noticed after swapping out their interior lights for LEDs that you have to wait until the lights go out (interior dims) to be able to lock the car?

Dang, that sucks. I havent finished my complete LED swap yet but if this was to happen to me they'd be coming out asap, that's pretty sh*tty man. Can you lock the doors as soon as you get out of the dar with the handle button tho? Give that a try.

[SdotSdotS]

I tried both handle button & key fob. Both require a wait time of a few seconds. Pretty inconvenient & I'm surprised no one hasn't mentioned it yet.

[SdotSdotS]

Bump... Still having the same dilemma.

Anyone else?

[06M4.5]

Last Sunday Don_BLaZe and I tried my car with the key-fob and had no problems, as soon I close the door I can use the key-fob. I don't have to wait.

[relentless1]

Just checked mine also. I don't need to wait for the light to go out either.

[SdotSdotS]

Well that sucks (for me). I guess I have to try some trial an error. I don't think I have anything else in the car that could be causing interference. Last resort would be putting all the oem bulbs back in & see what happens. I'll report back with results when I get around to it.

[06M4.5]

before going thru all that work I would check your settings, maybe you changed something.

[sunoco]

Has anyone done a conversion recently with lights from VLEDS? Some of the part numbers for the post by infinitiandbeyond dont seem to be part numbers at vleds anymore.

Anyone have all the part numbers from v-leds for a complete interior led swap?

[SdotSdotS]

before going thru all that work I would check your settings, maybe you changed something.

I definitely did not change any settings before installing the LEDs, but I was able to temporarily solve my problem. I turned off the auto interior illumination setting and set the headlight delay to zero.

Now the headlights don't stay on for that extra 30 seconds and the interior doesn't light up when I unlock the car. I have to open the door first for it to glow.
These are things I guess I could live without for the time being. Being able to immediately lock my car was my priority. I'll revisit these annoyances someday... maybe when i try the nav hack or the ipod adapter install.

[1_Fast_M]

CAN SOMEBODY PUT ALL THE LINKS WE WILL NEED TO ORDER THIS LIGHTS FOR THE WHOLE CAR,

[mycross3]

Does anyone know what size is the footwell lights? And where can I find them?

Thanks

[SdotSdotS]

CAN SOMEBODY PUT ALL THE LINKS WE WILL NEED TO ORDER THIS LIGHTS FOR THE WHOLE CAR,

Reverse: http://www.v-leds.com/921-LED/c122312-1-2/
License Plate, Footwells, Trunk, Puddle (in the doors): http://www.v-leds.com/194-168-158-LED/c506139-1-2/
Rear Dome: http://www.v-leds.com/3175-31MM-LED/c506137-1-2/
For the front map lights, enter "BA9s" in the search box on the vleds site.

DRL: use one of the 194 bulbs, but preferrably with a heat sink. I believe some have used the X5, but I wasn't willing to risk it. I went with the 4 M-SMT 2W one instead and liked them so much I decided to use them in the doors as well. I put the X5 bulbs in the footwells.

[2008m35S]

how do you remove the 4 doors light assembly? im having trouble doing so. i took off the lens but the bulb is hard to twist off!

[IlyaKol]

Not sure. You might need to push it in, twist, then pull out. That's how some of the bulbs were if I recall.

[1_Fast_M]

only missing the dome lights which im modifying this week, then the fenders one which i dont know what bulb is it, can somebody actually tell me the number or give the link to order them

[SdotSdotS]

Lol @ the apple stuck on the orange. Lights are looking good. All I have left to do is the side markers & the trunk. (I'm leaving the blinkers alone)

The side markers are 2825. You can use the regular 194 bulb and may need resistors to avoid the hyperblinking.

[06M4.5]

sidemarker with 194 white no yellow:

[06M4.5]

this pics shows lic plate, back up & blinkers


this pic shows blinker & parking lights


and this shows side marker on fender (NO YELLOW)

I like it all white

[IlyaKol]

This is my plan for LED'ing my car (if anyone wants the same look as me). I have a 2007 M35x:

Amber Front Running Light (above high beam) - 194 - 1 pair - 194_10_CP_A - $15.99 - Link
Pure White Rear License Plate, Trunk Area, Door and Footwell Lights - 194 - 4 pairs - 194_10_CP_W_5K - $63.96 - Link
HID White Reverse Lights - 921 - 1 Pair - 921_19_HP_W_5K - $39.99 - Link
Front "Map" Lights - BA9s - 1 Pair - 57_6_CP_W_5K - $12.99 - Link
Rear "Map" Lights - DE3175 - 2 Needed - 3175_4_W_5K - $3.98 - Link

"Stealth" Turn Signal Bulbs (look clear but light up amber) -

Front Headlight and Rear Taillight - 7440 - 4 Needed (2 pairs) - $3.49 each - Link - Towards the bottom

The side marker lights on the front fenders will require resistors if you use LED. Just an FYI.

[nolmt50]

This is my plan for LED'ing my car (if anyone wants the same look as me). I have a 2007 M35x:

Front "Map" Lights - 1 Pair - 57_5_SMT_W_5K - $8.79 - Link
Rear "Map" Lights - 2 Needed - 3175_4HP_W_5K - $25.98 - Link.

Do you have any pics of the front and rear Map lights? Wanna see how bright that setup looks.

[kermit the guy]

HID for the fogs thats what i did , they are pretty cheap now and i went with the yellow fogs and they are nice and bright on those foggy and rainy days !

hey infinitynbeyond - great right up , was thinking of changing my back up lights ! thats the only thing i want to change brighter , the rest of my lights are changed already ! i want mine bright !!!!!!!!!!!

[nolmt50]

Has anybody changed the vanity lights for the mirror? I just ordered all my leds and those are the only ones I havent.
What I'm doing is Just getting SMD panels from ebay for the Front Map/Rear/Footwells/trunk, and some 10 led wedge bulbs for the puddle lights.I've seen some of the bulbs from vleds people are getting but a lot were out of stock, and I would just get confused with the diff styles or amount of leds people were getting for front or rear.

[nolmt50]

Got my interior switched over to leds, Only ended up spending $30 shipped for all 12 leds. Came out decent looking for what I spent.What I ended up doing was putting:
6 of these for the 4 map lights and 2 trunk lights
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... K:MEWNX:IT

6 of these for puddle lights and footwell lights
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... K:MEWNX:IT

[TDot]

Has anyone used these for their backup lights?
http://www.v-leds.com/Exterior-LED-Bulb ... 07296.html
Do they wash out the reverse camera?

[TDot]

Bump

[moedawg140]

I own the 19 led 8W 5K lights used as backup lights.

http://www.v-leds.com/Exterior-LED-Bulb ... 07296.html

They are the best in my opinion, and do not wash out the backup camera's view. I have used the 13 led 5K blubs (not very bright), then the 4 HP 5K bulb (VERY bright), and I've found the 19 led is overall brighter and a little better than the stock blubs when it comes to illuminating the rear of the car. The lights look very bright and classy as well. I wound up moving the 4 HP 5K bulbs to the trunk, and now my trunk is super illuminated now!

On a side note, I found out a way to create my own vanity mirror led - since I couldn't find any led vanity lights online that were the small size (24mm) these lights are. If anyone wants to know how I did it, let me know, and I'll explain and add pics.

[Twizz]

I own the 19 led 8W 5K lights used as backup lights.

http://www.v-leds.com/Exterior-LED-Bulb ... 07296.html

They are the best in my opinion, and do not wash out the backup camera's view. I have used the 13 led 5K blubs (not very bright), then the 4 HP 5K bulb (VERY bright), and I've found the 19 led is overall brighter and a little better than the stock blubs when it comes to illuminating the rear of the car. The lights look very bright and classy as well. I wound up moving the 4 HP 5K bulbs to the trunk, and now my trunk is super illuminated now!

On a side note, I found out a way to create my own vanity mirror led - since I couldn't find any led vanity lights online that were the small size (24mm) these lights are. If anyone wants to know how I did it, let me know, and I'll explain and add pics.

Please do. I have a set that I ordered, but they are too fat. I'd like to know. Thanks

[merlinq2]

Quick question, did anyone else try to change the map lights and end up breaking the assembly? I could not get the new led lights to fit the factory retaining clip. So now I have one map light? From the picture above it looks like it worked fine nolmt50. I will have to pull down the entire map light assembly and practice my soldering skills.

[moedawg140]

DIY: LED Vanity Mirror Light mod:

I have all of the lights that I have wanted to be changed to LED or HID in my car, but found out that there were zero companies creating a 24 mm fuse type of LED light bulb that would fit in our M's vanity mirror housing. I was pretty adamant about not cutting into the mirror or anything like that, and wanted to keep the integrity of the car...so my thought was, if I could make a LED bulb that I could take in and out and not have to cut anything, that would be a pretty cool thing that could be done.

This is how I created my own 3 LED vanity mirror light bulb.

What you'll need:

1. (2) 3 LED 5K (or other color of your choosing) Vanity Mirror Bulb from v-leds:

http://www.v-leds.com/Interior-LED-Bulb ... 14848.html


2. Solder gun and solder wire/flux (I used the Weller battery operated gun, pictured here:) Side note, A plug-in unit is much easier to use, as you don't need to hold down any buttons for a period of time for it to warm up to operating temperature.




3. Flat, non metal opening device, like a credit card, or in my case, a spatula!

4. Fuses (purchased from Frys). Make sure to use the flat opening device to open vanity mirror lens and take out the old vanity bulb. Use that bulb to find the pack of fuses that are just about the same diameter as the old vanity bulb. The fuses purchased will probably have a little bit bigger diameter than the old vanity blub. Once you have the new blub created, it is still able to go into the mirror light housing just fine.



5. Pliers and something to keep one of the sides gripped well - in this case, I used a power drill.

6. Snips or sharp scissors (Straight snips work well).



7. Scotch tape

8. A hard, flat, solder-friendly object like a ceramic plate.

9. Flat, non metal opening device, like a credit card, or in my case, a spatula!

Let the creation begin!

Use the pliers and your gripping tool (this case it was my power drill) and take apart the glass from the fuse. Make sure you are wearing eye protection or at least cover the fuse with something like a bag while breaking it. Pulling it apart and even twisting the ends of the fuse will make it break.





Take any fuse material out of the ends using your pliers.





Create a front opening for your fuse end using snips. Create a block letter C about the width of your LED board and about half the length of the fuse end, shown by these pictures. You'll need to make 4 of these:












Take your LED blub and take out the glass and LED fuse ends as well, so all that is left is the LED board with lights on it.

Use your snips and cut off approximately 1/8 inch from each side of LED board (don't worry if you cut off more than that - the LEDs will block you from cutting too much).

Use scotch tape to hold down the LED board to a hard, flat, solder friendly object like a ceramic plate.

Slide the fuse end you created into the LED board. Use the solder gun to fill the opening you created from the fuse end with solder wire/flux. Do this to the other side as well. Make sure ends are as straight as possible, which makes installation into the mirror that much easier. (Notice the ends of the LED board that has filled solder wire/flux).



Repeat with second LED bulb and fuse ends you created.

Replace old vanity bulb with newly created LED blub (if it doesn't light up, turn it the other way around). Enjoy the light show!