Rear Light Cluster failure / fix (LED Type) as fitted to 2008 on LCI

[sie1uk]

SORRY FORGOT TO SAY THIS IS FOR THE E90 3 SERIES MODEL (please put back in the E90 Technical forum)


After having suffered a rear LED light cluster failure as fitted to the LCI's i was quoted £256 for a replacement at the delaers, due to what looked like 3 failed leds in the turn indicator (causing blown bulb warning light on dash) which had it been a normal light would have cost me 3 quid for a new bulb i decided to take the light apart and investigate the issue.

This is what i found :

after you remove the clustser from the car you have to remove the plastic lens very carefully using a heat gun and a wide bladed screwdriver or similar, then you can unscrew the light boards which will then pull through the lens side of the light, once removed i tested all the resistors which were all fine, i then checked the voltage at all LEDS and found the centre board which contained the 3 failed leds, was pulling the voltage down to 6 volt, from 12 volt, i then checked each individual leds and found the top led to have failed and the others were fine, i replaced the failed one with a new 3 pence led of the same type from ebay (slighty diff shade of orange - but looked the same through the lens) this immediatley took the voltage back upto 12volt accross all leds and the light then functioned as it should do, Fixed at a cost of 3 pence and 60pence delivery ! BMW are a proper rip off for parts !

Seems to be a very common problem with the same led's failing and it really is an easy fix for anyone with a little knowledge and a decent soldering iron, i can post pics if anyone is interested

Simon

[tonyace]

Sear sie1uk Many thanks

Your post seems to have answered my problem it was well worth reading. Is it possible please to e-mail me the photos and any other info such as type of led and location to buy same. My problem is one LED is out on the side light outer rear cluster. If you can contact me on acereno@mail.com

It would be very much appreciated. many thanks.

Tony

[Davec03]

Simon,

I have exactly the same problem which started as an intermittent problem but the right turn indicators now flash at double-speed all the time. I also have a column of three LEDs out (Offside unit, the most right hand column with 3 LEDs is out). The other LEDs flash much duller than normal. I had resigned myself to purchasing a new light unit until I had read your post. However, could you expand on the method of dismantling please. I presume the heat gun is used to soften the glue between the lens and rear housing and wondered whether a hair drier would be sufficient? Also, can you explain how you checked the LEDs to see which one was faulty (I have a multimeter) and provide more details of the replacement LED you purchased on eBay. I presume it will need to be a certain wattage/amperage? Once repaired, what did you use to glue the lens back into place? Any advice and photos would be really appreciated,

Thanks,

Dave

SORRY FORGOT TO SAY THIS IS FOR THE E90 3 SERIES MODEL (please put back in the E90 Technical forum)


After having suffered a rear LED light cluster failure as fitted to the LCI's i was quoted £256 for a replacement at the delaers, due to what looked like 3 failed leds in the turn indicator (causing blown bulb warning light on dash) which had it been a normal light would have cost me 3 quid for a new bulb i decided to take the light apart and investigate the issue.

This is what i found :

after you remove the clustser from the car you have to remove the plastic lens very carefully using a heat gun and a wide bladed screwdriver or similar, then you can unscrew the light boards which will then pull through the lens side of the light, once removed i tested all the resistors which were all fine, i then checked the voltage at all LEDS and found the centre board which contained the 3 failed leds, was pulling the voltage down to 6 volt, from 12 volt, i then checked each individual leds and found the top led to have failed and the others were fine, i replaced the failed one with a new 3 pence led of the same type from ebay (slighty diff shade of orange - but looked the same through the lens) this immediatley took the voltage back upto 12volt accross all leds and the light then functioned as it should do, Fixed at a cost of 3 pence and 60pence delivery ! BMW are a proper rip off for parts !

Seems to be a very common problem with the same led's failing and it really is an easy fix for anyone with a little knowledge and a decent soldering iron, i can post pics if anyone is interested

Simon

[takksi]

Hi, on my e90 LCI I got one of the horizontal bars in the left tail light that went off. It seems that there are 2 LEDs from the side that light up the whole bar. Is it the same story as the indicator to fix them?

[Davec03]

Hi,

I am fairly sure that the horizontal bars are illuminated by LEDs as well as there are two wires from the printed circuit board running to them. The LEDs for the indicators and top half of the light are square with 4 pins soldered into the printed circuit board. In my case, one of the LEDs had a poor joint with the circuit board (I found this out by reconnecting the light after I had opened it up and started pressing on each LED in turn) Additional soldering on the pins fixed the problem. I have a few photos of the upper half of the light after dismantling but unfortunately not the back of the horizontal bars. I can post a couple of pics which may help if you want.

[takksi]

Hi,

I am fairly sure that the horizontal bars are illuminated by LEDs as well as there are two wires from the printed circuit board running to them. The LEDs for the indicators and top half of the light are square with 4 pins soldered into the printed circuit board. In my case, one of the LEDs had a poor joint with the circuit board (I found this out by reconnecting the light after I had opened it up and started pressing on each LED in turn) Additional soldering on the pins fixed the problem. I have a few photos of the upper half of the light after dismantling but unfortunately not the back of the horizontal bars. I can post a couple of pics which may help if you want.

that would be most helpful if you can - at least I'll get an idea of where I need to start

[Davec03]

Hi Takksi,

Photos attached - Note: on photo 2975 you can see the socket at the bottom which is for the plug taking the power to the horizontal bars. As mentioned earlier, I don't have photos of the circuit board for the part you need to see. However, I assume the LEDs will be the same as the ones in my photos. They are "4 pin" LEDs which are meant to have a stronger mounting and resist vibration! A search on Google eventually found some, but I don't know what the voltage/amperage should be. If you look closely at the printed circuit board, it looks like 1 pin is the supply and the other 3 pins are the earth.

[takksi]

Thanks a lot that's actually very helpful. I'll try to figure out the rest - should be a logical following of what you have done with the indicator cluster

Cheers - much appreciated

[Davec03]

No probs. Would be interested to hear how you get on. Good luck!

[takksi]

cheers