LED Conversion Questions

HootisTigglebits · 02-24-2021, 04:47 PM

I'm getting a 2016 M235i this Friday and have a few questions about switching to exterior LED's.

The low beams are incandescent, correct?
Are there any recommended low beam LED's on Amazon.com?
Do I need CANBUS or can I use any LED as long as I code for it after the swap?
Can anyone recommend some tail light LED's on Amazon.com?

Thanks.

TrboMike · 03-02-2021, 10:38 AM

Dont know about headlights, never researched it.

As for the rest, the ECU will check each bulb for outages at startup, and then every 5 to 10 min as you're driving. The way it does this is by sending a quick pulse to each bulb to make sure there is no break in the circuit. An incandescent doesnt have time to light up, but an LED will flash. So canbus or not you will want to code your car not to send the bulb checks. For that reason canbus is a waste of money as the non-canbus is cheaper. But now you have to invest in coding.

Z K · 05-11-2021, 04:26 PM

I just installed LED bulbs in halogen housings. You definitely need to have canbus error free LED bulbs or else you will get flickering or error messages. Alternatively, you can code out the bulb check as mentioned above. I went with the canbus led bulbs.

POMFKIMOCHI · 05-14-2021, 11:36 AM

I grabbed a bunch of cheap leds of ali and had some mixed results. I was rushing the esys coding (my laptop was on limited battery) and am not sure if i somehow caused this, but whenever I'm applying brake pressure, the taillight leds will begin flickering, but when theyre running otherwise, no issues? (for example, rear daytimes, signals, reverse lights, all fine just when i brake and the red get brighter, they start flickering) I may have fucked up the coding and somehow limited the voltage of rear brake lights whem they need the 2 intensity modes? I have since attempted to remedy it by coding over with bimmercode (didn't have access to it at the time of esys coding) but to no avail. Anyone experienced anything similar? (flickering on red tails only when applying brake)

02-24-2021, 04:47 PM	#1
HootisTigglebits Private First Class 25 Rep 199 Posts Drives: BMW M240i & BMW 330e Join Date: Feb 2021 Location: Oregon iTrader: (1)	LED Conversion Questions I'm getting a 2016 M235i this Friday and have a few questions about switching to exterior LED's. The low beams are incandescent, correct? Are there any recommended low beam LED's on Amazon.com? Do I need CANBUS or can I use any LED as long as I code for it after the swap? Can anyone recommend some tail light LED's on Amazon.com? Thanks.
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03-02-2021, 10:38 AM	#2
TrboMike First Lieutenant 142 Rep 345 Posts Drives: BMW M240ix Join Date: Sep 2019 Location: 07508 iTrader: (0)	Dont know about headlights, never researched it. As for the rest, the ECU will check each bulb for outages at startup, and then every 5 to 10 min as you're driving. The way it does this is by sending a quick pulse to each bulb to make sure there is no break in the circuit. An incandescent doesnt have time to light up, but an LED will flash. So canbus or not you will want to code your car not to send the bulb checks. For that reason canbus is a waste of money as the non-canbus is cheaper. But now you have to invest in coding.
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05-11-2021, 04:26 PM	#3
Z K Major General 1889 Rep 5,506 Posts Drives: E90 M3, G20 M340i Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: San Francisco iTrader: (3)	I just installed LED bulbs in halogen housings. You definitely need to have canbus error free LED bulbs or else you will get flickering or error messages. Alternatively, you can code out the bulb check as mentioned above. I went with the canbus led bulbs. __________________ Auto Detailing Enthusiast!
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05-14-2021, 11:36 AM	#4
POMFKIMOCHI Private First Class 39 Rep 188 Posts Drives: 2017 M240i 6MT/RWD EBII Join Date: May 2019 Location: Ontario iTrader: (1)	I grabbed a bunch of cheap leds of ali and had some mixed results. I was rushing the esys coding (my laptop was on limited battery) and am not sure if i somehow caused this, but whenever I'm applying brake pressure, the taillight leds will begin flickering, but when theyre running otherwise, no issues? (for example, rear daytimes, signals, reverse lights, all fine just when i brake and the red get brighter, they start flickering) I may have fucked up the coding and somehow limited the voltage of rear brake lights whem they need the 2 intensity modes? I have since attempted to remedy it by coding over with bimmercode (didn't have access to it at the time of esys coding) but to no avail. Anyone experienced anything similar? (flickering on red tails only when applying brake)
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