XSeries-forum

I mentioned in another thread that a burning smell in my car was traced to overheating LEDs that I had recently put in the car. On investigation all the festoon type were getting hot enough to melt the solder on the circuit board. Having initially decided to go back to stock I decided to give it one more go using a different brand so today this set arrived..

Will fit it by weekend hopefully.

Will have to see how it looks as there is only the one large module for the dome light so may end up having to get another however it may be ok with the standard T10 type LED in the rear dome.

Wow you've spent some money there !!

[quote="wilkoturbo"]
Wow you've spent some money there !!
[/quote]

you can get a full set from ebay for £30-£40

You may well be able to get a full kit and indeed I got a full set of LED's for £30 but when they start burning out its not so good. I saved for a fair while and spent several months finding a car in the condition that this one is in so I'm happy spending a bit of my hard earned getting it where I want it to be. To be honest the car is my only vice - I don't drink or smoke so its not just about doing things for the lowest price. Anyway as long as the missus doesn't know what I spend on the car its all good  O:-)

It's refreshing to hear someone say that price is not always a deciding factor, for sure everyone wants a deal, but quality is remembered, long after the price is forgotten . Is it possible to mention the company/brand selling the lights that have caused the buring smell, as well as the supplier/brand you have used to source your new LED's? I will soon be delving into this murky environment for my own selfish pleasure too . . . and burning smells in my X5 will be about as welcome as one of my ears s******g down my shoulder!! 

The set I got were from amazon and were for an 'ERROR FREE SET OF 19 XENON WHITE LED BULBS BMW X5 E53 INTERIOR CAR LED LIGHT BULBS KIT'. Just got the old ones boxed up to send back tomorrow. They no longer seem to be available on the website although the 'brand'/supplier was dabhees. To be honest the t10 type was ok and didn't seem to get hot but all the festoon type were melting solder and led's dropping off the boards. May have been a dodgy batch as they said they had no previous issues.

This set were from Bimmian and I admit the price is awful but the quality is another league. My missus thinks they cost £30 as thats what she had to pay UPS when they were delivered but the true cost including duty (and the charge from UPS for the pleasure of them paying the duty and claiming it back off you) came close to £200 for the set. All the door, footwell and boot units are complete replacements and there is one large unit for the front dome. I am going to leave the middle dome with the t10 type LED as its more than adequate for the kids.

Iphone pictures so not the best - the first 3 were taken within minutes of each other so the replacement unit is actually a lot brighter than the others but the exposure gets changed by the phone :/

Standard OEM filament -




The first LED -




Complete replacement unit -





And finally a picture of the interior -

Looking well, I replaced mine for LED's last year but they arent that bright.  How bright is inside the cabin compared to stock?

Have you a link for the ones you bought?

cheers

Kit I got was this one - http://www.bimmian.com/IXBX5AUYY

Ignore the xenon bulb bit as this is the full kit as per the first pic in the thread.

Interior is a lot brighter. Biggest difference I noticed so far is the new modules for the boot really light it up. OEM and the first set of bulbs are pretty dull but these are excellent.

Thank you Psychosis.

[quote="psychosis"]
You may well be able to get a full kit and indeed I got a full set of LED's for £30 but when they start burning out its not so good. I saved for a fair while and spent several months finding a car in the condition that this one is in so I'm happy spending a bit of my hard earned getting it where I want it to be. To be honest the car is my only vice - I don't drink or smoke so its not just about doing things for the lowest price. Anyway as long as the missus doesn't know what I spend on the car its all good  O:-)
[/quote]

its always going to be hit and miss even when you spend more. spending more doesnt always mean it will be 100% fault free. Iv got friends who have bought kits for £40 and they work fine and i know of others who have spent more and they are also fine. just the luck of the draw.
Just because you pick up a bargain just to see how it turns out doesnt mean your skimping.

I do like the look of your new lights though. i hope this set turns out to be more successful than the last! 

You are absolutely right. If these hasn't been ok I would have probably gone back to standard. I was really surprised though when the first lot performed so badly as I didn't expect any issues with interior LEDs.

[quote="psychosis"]
The set I got were from amazon and were for an 'ERROR FREE SET OF 19 XENON WHITE LED BULBS BMW X5 E53 INTERIOR CAR LED LIGHT BULBS KIT'. Just got the old ones boxed up to send back tomorrow. They no longer seem to be available on the website although the 'brand'/supplier was dabhees. To be honest the t10 type was ok and didn't seem to get hot but all the festoon type were melting solder and led's dropping off the boards. May have been a dodgy batch as they said they had no previous issues.
[/quote]

This is leaving me a bit worried, I ordered a set from eBay last week and they have just turned up yesterday, the brand is dabhees and the supplier is Bright Lights 4 All. Making me a bit wary of fitting them to be honest. But I can't really send them back until I've fitted them.