Rear number plate lights, do later BMW's ones fit?
- Thread starter hopz121
- Start date
Butchery! :lol:
Jonny essex said:
Mine used to be great JE and were from the same seller you got yours from but as my car gets used as a daily and isn't a fine weather car kept under a cover.
I think the elements have got to it and killed it, pretty poor considering they are only months old. 
That was the very reason I went for OE units. Buy once, cry once 
A
Anonymous
Guest
AnttiO said:
Just make sure you keep hold of the wires and replace them back into the new plastic connector as they came out of the old. They are also different colours, so if you do let go of the wires, just make sure you've made a note of which is left and right.
As per this;
To be honest, it won't blow anything - so test the light before you put it back in the bumper. If it doesn't work, you've got the wires the wrong way around.
There should be a little triangle on the plastic connector for +ve, put that colour wire into the matching location on the new connector. Or test with a multimeter.
I disagree, I've never had much luck with cheapo LEDs especially CANBUS ones. Incidentally you don't need load resistors/CANBUS for the numberplates as they're not checked.
I didn't like the extreme brightness of other LEDs and would rather get the genuine article. Same with LED sidelights, went for OSRAM as I know they are very good quality and will last but that comes with a higher price tag.
I didn't like the extreme brightness of other LEDs and would rather get the genuine article. Same with LED sidelights, went for OSRAM as I know they are very good quality and will last but that comes with a higher price tag.
A
Anonymous
Guest
Ant said:
As someone has already said, buy cheap, buy twice. I've been through many cheaper and more expensive third party LEDs. I'd rather BMW OEM ones ta.
JAD said:
i think the point in this case is "buy cheap buy 5x and still cost less" for a number plate LED
if you buy decent quality leds which will still be around a fiver there's no difference, do you think the bmw oem lights are doing something magical that even your "expensive LEDS" arent?
Just because they're expensive doesn't mean they're decent being the point really.
i think some people have a case of everything oem at times which is frankly mental for certain things
anyway mine work no issues so i'm happy (or a wizard)
You're right, they're a fair bit more but the 2 year warranty also helps - I just prefer OE for these and, having seen the issues some people have had, would rather pay more for the genuine article.
Just got back from doing this (only took 10 minutes)
Thanks for the write up JAD I have a feeling it would have took longer otherwise!
The eBay specials that cost £25+ were ruined after only a few months use!
One didn't work and had water ingress and the other one fell to bits when I removed it from the bumper!
I would either go OEM upgrade like this thread or use LED bulbs in existing holders.
Ash
Thanks for the write up JAD I have a feeling it would have took longer otherwise!
The eBay specials that cost £25+ were ruined after only a few months use!
One didn't work and had water ingress and the other one fell to bits when I removed it from the bumper!
I would either go OEM upgrade like this thread or use LED bulbs in existing holders.
Ash
Easy job if a little fiddly with connectors but I bet you're well chuffed. Even though you rarely see them! 
A
Anonymous
Guest
Ant said:
Less of the childish sarcasm chap. We're all allowed an opinion. Mine is that something OEM is far more likely to last, as ££££ has been spent by BMW on R&D. Cheapo ebay sellers presume R&D is something to do with postage.
Plenty of posts in this an other threads showing failure of non-OEM parts bought cheaply. So there is method in what you call madness.
A
Anonymous
Guest
hopz121 said:
Great stuff, Ash!
would also like to add my two pence worth....
had some bad experiences with cheap LEDs myself in the past (who knows, maybe i have just been unlucky each time??) so i was happy to pay a little extra for some OEM parts and also wanted to make sure they didn't sit proud as my Z is white so the black of the unit would be more noticeable.
used JADs pics/tutorial and made life so much easier and thanks for the links to parts as doubt i would ever have thought of looking for new connectors and even less likely i would find the correct connectors!! so for that Sir, Thanks!!!
took me about 15-20 mins but i was drinking coffee and talking to friend at the same time
will upload some before/after pics in a bit if anybody is interested or unsure of doing this themselves....
had some bad experiences with cheap LEDs myself in the past (who knows, maybe i have just been unlucky each time??) so i was happy to pay a little extra for some OEM parts and also wanted to make sure they didn't sit proud as my Z is white so the black of the unit would be more noticeable.
used JADs pics/tutorial and made life so much easier and thanks for the links to parts as doubt i would ever have thought of looking for new connectors and even less likely i would find the correct connectors!! so for that Sir, Thanks!!!
took me about 15-20 mins but i was drinking coffee and talking to friend at the same time
will upload some before/after pics in a bit if anybody is interested or unsure of doing this themselves....