E89 Brake Light Bulb

[Tinker15]

Can anyone tell me the bulb type as per the photo below.

 

[BeardyJon]

Should be a W16W bulb 16 Watt according to the owners manual.

 

[Tinker15]

Thanks BeardyJon that’s what I thought on reading the manual. The bulb in the photo is a H21W which I’d have discovered if I’d read the bulb holder! The W16W bulb is pictured below. Both bulbs come on when braking.

 

[BeardyJon]

Well that’s nice of them to sneak a 2nd type of bulb in there and not make that obvious!

 

[Tinker15]

Well that’s nice of them to sneak a 2nd type of bulb in there and not make that obvious!

That’s what I thought while dashing out to buy another bulb.

 

[DaytonZ4]

The owner's manual does indicate that there are two bulbs per side: H21W is the inside one while W16W is the outer. However, the real reason for posting is the car indicates right brake light is out (verified) and I wanted to see if anyone has replaced these with LED bulbs. If so, did it have any issues. I've seen them on Scamazon and they say they are error-free. What say the crowd?

 

[matsmith749]

Error free just means it has a similar resistance to a traditional incandescent lamp.

Some led replacement lamps have tiny low resistance & throw an error.

 

[B21]

The owner's manual does indicate that there are two bulbs per side: H21W is the inside one while W16W is the outer. However, the real reason for posting is the car indicates right brake light is out (verified) and I wanted to see if anyone has replaced these with LED bulbs. If so, did it have any issues. I've seen them on Scamazon and they say they are error-free. What say the crowd?

I have LEDs in for the brake lights and reversing bulbs..they don't throw any errors but..

First issue is that the FRM does a 'cold check' which results every 15 minutes with a brief pulse of light in sequence across the bulbs..keeps folks following on their toes..also in weak reception areas the DAB radio washes out for the period the brakes applied...I use Carplay now mostly so DAB is effectively redundant now..

Irritatingly my 20i and its LED bulbs the DAB didn't wash out...

Nice and bright!

If they do throw errors its easy to code out that using Protool or similar..

 

[JACKAZZ2000]

I did that to my angel eyes on the front. The error free code is usually valid because they have an internal circuitry that prevents that issue. Long as you install them quickly and check you can always return em within 30 days no questions asked.

 

[cjmadura]

Not sure why my car is different (2016 35i, USA). I have three bulbs per side - two brake lights and one reverse.
The H21W is used for both brake lights per side, so I need four in total.
The W16W is the lone reverse light, so I need two of those.

Now I know why I'm getting an intermittent warning lamp when braking. BOTH inner brake lamp bulb holders are cracked, so clearly someone ham-fisted these holders out of the car once. A-shopping I go (sheesh). Part# 156-240-01.

 

[cjmadura]

Well, BROKEN actually........

 

[sakamoto]

This valve socket costs 1000 yen on AliExpress, but 13000 yen for a genuine BMW part. What's the reason for this difference?

 

[flybobbie]

What was wrong with the old bayonet fitting, at least the bulb can't come loose and drop into lamp housing.......