[Jose_JN]

Hi mates!

This time I am showing you how to install the light package inside your Bimmer. This is only valid for e92 or e93 but maybe you could adapt it to e90 or other models...

This package is composed by 4 lighting pipes which are installed in the leather panels. I have also retrofitted the rear footwell lights which are very usefull on the e93 because they don't have lights at the rear seats...

This is a quite difficult DIY because you have to drill your panels and this is not a plug&play installation.

Luckly for us, the holes are marked at the panels.
You have to drill them, then install the mouldings and glue them to the panel.
There are many ways to glue them to the door panel but the original is melting the plastic pipes in the mouldings and fix them.
I did it in this way but if you use screws and washers could be better because you could adjust better the moulding to its position.

Then, you have to give electricity to the LEDs, I connect them to the power windows switches lights for the front lights and the light at the lighter for the rear part.

This is the video where I show you how to do it. Remember that you can see in HD, better for focus on the details

Be careful with:
- Insulate the wiring and connections!
- Be careful when drilling the leather because it has a quilted inside which could roll up easily in the drill bit
- Be careful with the transparent pipes, they are very fragiles

For me, they are wonderful, now, I have a warm light which illuminates the entire car but not very bright.

Regards!
PS: Remeber that you can watch my other DIY at JoseJJn - YouTube
PS2: Sorry if I made some mistakes writing in English, it isn't my mother tongue...

[yakev724]

It can be a pain to properly crimp those contacts without an expensive AMP tool, so you can order the contacts already crimped to wire via part nos.:

Female - 61130005197
Male - 61130005198

[Jose_JN]

Originally Posted by yakev724

It can be a pain to properly crimp those contacts without an expensive AMP tool, so you can order the contacts already crimped to wire via part nos.:

Female - 61130005197
Male - 61130005198

I decided to solder them to the wire instead of crimping them.
Thanks for this parts I used them in other DIY when I saw them.

As you said, it is easier with the contacts crimped from factory.

Regards.

[FrozenM5]

Subscribed

Well done!

[FrozenM5]

Nice

Subscribing!

[Jose_JN]

Thanks a lot!

Thinking about next retrofit!
Maybe illuminated door sills but they are absurdly expensive.

Regards!

[Jose_JN]

If someone wants to try to install them on a e90, this are the dimensions:
Front e92/e93 = 89cm (~35 inches)
Rear e93 = 54cm (21.26 inches)

I don't know about rear e92 because they are different from e93, but I bet that they are about the same.

Keep in mind that they are not perfectly straight! They have the shape of the doors and the line between the leather and de plastic part of the panel.

The front mouldings are too long for an e90 but you could tweak them (cut, paste and paint)

Regards

[Agent11br]

Jose what two wires (coloring and bundle) do you tap in the door panel for the power source? It's hard to tell in your video and I do not have a full shop manual handy.

TIA

[Jose_JN]

White with a red stripe -> Positive
Brown -> Negative

TEST IT WITH A VOLTMETER BEFORE CUTTING THEM. You can connect the voltmeter to the windows panel connector and turn the ignition on (don't worry, it is not dangerous even if the windows panel is not connected but be very careful of not short circuiting them!)

The value should be around 9v (remember that the brightness can be seted with the BC menu)

Regards!

[Agent11br]

Originally Posted by Jose_JN

White with a red stripe -> Positive
Brown -> Negative

TEST IT WITH A VOLTMETER BEFORE CUTTING THEM. You can connect the voltmeter to the windows panel connector and turn the ignition on (don't worry, it is not dangerous even if the windows panel is not connected but be very careful of not short circuiting them!)

The value should be around 9v (remember that the brightness can be seted with the BC menu)

Regards!

Thanks for the info!

[Najt]

I have the light package in my car as origin . But i think the inner lights are to low. is it possible to recode some ecu to make them light stronger?

[Jose_JN]

I am sorry but I don't think so.

You can adjust it from the dash board (the same adjust that the inner lights brightness)

The other thing you could do is open the led case and change the limiter resistor for other with low value or change them for high bright leds. It is not very complicated

Regards

[delmarco]

Originally Posted by Najt

I have the light package in my car as origin . But i think the inner lights are to low. is it possible to recode some ecu to make them light stronger?

I heard the original leds dim and fade over time. Some guy in another thread long ago said he installed a newer door card on one side of his car with the led strip and the newer door card's strip was much brighter. So one side of his car was much brighter than the side with older strip. When new it should look like the picture below...but it fades over time and will need to be replaced. Coding won't work. A couple of folks after realizing this have attempted to replace the led fiber tube that goes inside the trim. I think it was fairly cheap to buy at the dealership and moderately easy to install.

Originally Posted by Josh1a1h

This looks awesome! I want to do this!

The E90 Sedan Interior Ambient Lighting Retrofit was NEVER completed since this thread (was it even attempted tho?)!

But I am here now and this mod will be done on an E90 sedan so help me....

I've actually done this mod on both of my previous 3 series (E36 and E46)

The thing you NEED to remember is the LED must have the ability to dim with the rest of the amber lamps (like a dimmer switch bulb) or it can blow a fuse.

My E36, a 1995 318i, had an older electrical system that would accept any thing tapped into the car's 12v power source without issue. So that DIY was easy.

The E46, a 2001 330i, had a bus type architecture that was aware and sensitive to anything tapped in. So after a week my leds which were tapped into the footwell lamps (for exterior door handles) and trunk open switch (for the interior door handles) in the same footwell area went out one by one. In fact they took out a fuse as well.

So when it comes to the ultra advance elctrical system of the E90 I'm a little leery with running taps to power LEDs! So any help I get from you guys will be great!

It is sort of difficult to replicate the coupe/convertible E92/E93 door card led set up on a sedan so I will go my own route for an OEM-looking ambient set up.

My plan is to just buy strips of 12V 'dim-able' amber/orange LEDs for automotive applications and sticking them inside the door pockets-aiming down into the pockets (as shown in the F10 5 Series below) and tapping into the window switches for the ambient-lamp power. I have a black/oyster door car and a black colored LED strip should look invisible until lit up.



here are pictures of my past work with this:

My E36 cubby lamps installed:






Cupholders rear and front:









On my E46 I did all the door handles (interior and exterior):